Welcome to
Classic Motoring Accessories
7717 Anderson Rd.
Tampa, Florida 33634
Dear enthusiasts,
Thank you for visiting our website.
When we founded this company over 21 years ago, there were only a handful of national distributors specializing in car care products. Today there are hundreds of websites offering car care products. Some, like us, operate out of a 11,000 sq. ft. warehouse with computerized invoicing, purchasing and shipping systems. Others are a one person business working out of their home or garage.
Right from our beginnings, to distinguish ourselves from our competitors, we decided to specialize in products that we felt were best in their class. To find these products, we made an issue of personally testing and evaluating every product we could find. When we found a product that really offered superior results, we decided to share our findings with fellow enthusiasts. This was the birth of Proper Auto Care.
Now, it's in vogue for websites to claim they evaluate the products they offer. Frankly, that's mostly hype. Recently, one of our suppliers (a major brand) introduced a new car wash shampoo. Within days, this shampoo was on many websites with glowing accolades describing the shampoo's outstanding performance. When we received this company's press release introducing this new car wash, we ordered a bottle for evaluation. It was evaluated by one of our staff and he reported his results in a Friday morning product roundtable. We have a system in place where various staff members test new products and report their findings at a weekly meeting. This shampoo was evaluated by Jack Kruer, our President. Jack felt the product was a dud. The suds evaporated in the bucket after washing the first wheel and he felt the shampoo's cleaning ability was wimpy at best. When a product gets a bad review, we always have someone else test the product just to double check the findings. In this case, I agreed to use the shampoo. This product was from a well respected supplier, had fresh packaging and was being offered at an attractive price. I did use the shampoo a few days later and confirmed Jack's initial opinion. I'm sorry but this shampoo was a dog. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, at any price. At our next product meeting, we agreed not to carry this shampoo. In time, three weeks had gone by since we first received the press release announcing this new product. This is one reason we don't immediately jump on the bandwagon and blindly offer every new product that comes to market. We may not be the first to have a new product on our site but you can be sure that when it does appear, we have tested it.
In another example, last summer we received an impressive presentation portfolio for a new car care line out of California. The line looked fantastic and we requested samples for evaluation. When the samples arrived we tested every product. We were honestly disappointed. The formulas reminded us of 1980's car care technology. These products worked but were, in our opinion, sadly behind current technology. We elected not to offer this line but we do see it on more and more websites.
We've all been burned by purchasing products that don't live up their claims. We do our best to honestly represent every product we offer. We really appreciate that you trust our reviews and evaluations and we are not going to change our business plan and become a supermarket for every new product that comes along. We also recognize that we can't please everyone. You may try a product we like and have a different opinion. If that happens, please feel free to return the product (see our No Hassle Return Policy), even if it's half empty, and we'll refund the full purchase price.
We've tried to organize all our products into categories for easy shopping. If you are looking for a " car wax" simply click on the "Wax & Paint Sealants" icon below. On the "Wax & Sealants" page, read the first article, "Which wax is best?" This is a great article and will help you select the product best for you. For easy shopping, we group together all our Carnauba Waxes, Synthetic (Polymer) Sealants, One-Step Cleaner/Polish/Sealant Products and also list Paint Care by Brand.
You may have heard about "Clay Bars". This is the hottest, new, car care product to appear in decades. These bars quickly and easily remove paint contamination, rail dust and overspray without abrasive polishing. To learn more about clay bars, and to determine if you should use one, click on the Clay Bars icon below and read the article at the bottom of the page, Remove Paint Contamination.
Compounds, polishes & glazes are the most misunderstood products in our industry. Many people assume that waxing and polishing are synonymous. In fact, they are two different processes. Polishing deep cleans the paint, removes oxidation, old wax & minor swirls, and rejuvenates the top paint layer. It prepares the surface for waxing and insures a uniform, high-gloss shine. To help take the mystery out of these products, click on Compounds, Polishes & Glazes below and read "Compound, polish, glaze. What's the difference?"
You can also Shop by Brand which brings up the question of why we've selected the brands we offer. Over the last 20 years, we've evaluated nearly every U.S. consumer car care brand. We then turned our attention to Europe and began testing the best car care products from the U.K., Italy and Germany. Lastly, we looked at the world's automakers and learned what products were actually being used at the factory and tested those products. From this experience, we grouped brands into a good, better, best category and selected the best brands in each category for our website. In our opinion, Meguiar's, 3M, Autoglym and Mothers make really, really good products for the money. Brands we found offering above average performance included Klasse, Glass Science (Rain Clear), 303, P21S, Stoner and Wurth. At the top end, we put these brands into our "best" category: Menzerna and Blackfire.
The rest of the categories on this page should be self explanatory. We have grouped together products for Tire & Wheel Care, Washing & Drying your Vehicle, Cleaning & Protecting Exterior Trim and Door Seals, Engine Detailing, Chrome and Metal Polishing, Glass Care, Plastic Care and Detailing Tools.
If you have a new or used vehicle and would like to know what products we would recommend, click on We Recommend. If you're trying to solve a specific problem, click on Ask the Detail Doctor on our home page and see if your problem is listed. If you still have a question, email us by clicking here, Ask the Detail Doctor a Question.
Thank you for shopping with us. We appreciate your business.
Jack Kruer
And the Staff of Classic Motoring Accessories
Click here for more details
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