This could look completely raving nad, but when you’re looking at which new or used car to buy next; you’d be well advised to take a look at the Wiper blades. They can make a considerable difference to your non-fuel running expenses.

Many of the new cars that have been introduced in Europe over the last few years are coming fitted with the new type of Flatblade Wipers. These look terrific, and offer inherently much better wiping performance than traditional Wiper blades.

Flatblade Wipers are also said to be much more aerodynamically efficient than traditional Wiper blades, and this offers 2 benefits.

Firstly, Flatblade Wipers have much better contact with the windscreen , especially at high speeds.

Secondly, Flat Wiper Blades have a significantly reduced coefficient of drag when compared with traditional Wiper blades. However, when you realise what a tiny part of the overall drag of the car the Wiper blades account for; you’ll see that even cutting wiper blade drag by 80% won’t make any noticeable difference to your car’s economy.

On the other hand, if you’re not wary, you could end up spending up to a hundred and sixty pounds a year just on replacement Wiper blades!

This annoying situation has happened because the car makers and the makers of the Original Fit Wiper blades have managed to use their introduction as a means of controlling the unsuspecting owner into a very limited number of suppliers for the replacements; namely the franchised dealer and the wiper blade manufacturer’s own local distributors.

This shortage of competition has led to some extremely high prices being charged for Flatblade Wipers.

A friend of mine is lucky enough to own a very expensive Supercar. Nonetheless, even he was amazed to be quoted £80 for A wiper blade when his car was just over 6 months old. He looked around for a different source, but after the car main dealer, he could only find the wiper blade manufacturer’s local distributor, and guess what? The prices were within a few pence of each other.

He was particularly annoyed by this, because in the past, he’s always fitted Silicone Windscreen Wiper Blades to his cars as soon as the original rubber ones wore out. Despite keeping all his cars for at least three years; he’s never had to replace any of his Silicone wiper blades.

What further annoyed my friend was the salt that the rubber wiper blade manufacturers rubbed into his wounds. On the box of the £80 wiper blade was a warning that he should anticipate replace these Wiper blades within 6 months to a year.

Sadly, manufacturers of Silicone wiper blades have not yet found ways to get around the patents on the connection systems for these original equipment Flatblade Wipers, but you can find Silicone Retrofit Flatblade Wipers, which bring together the looks & aerodynamic efficiency of Flatblade Wipers with the performance, life and warranty of Silicone wiper blades.

So, when you’re choosing your next car, take a look at the wiper blade arms. If they have the well known hook type fittings, you can fit either traditional or Flat Silicone wiper blades to fit. If they’ve got the fancy new patented connections, remember you might need to change them twice a year, and check out the cost. It could well be as much as you spend on servicing!