How do you get your car out (of snow)? (Buffalo: for sale, house)

[torridawn]

The first couple years of snow are a lot of fun (and the kids always love it) but it is a lot of work ... I guess the trick is learning snow sports (skiing, snowboarding, snow shoeing, sledding, ice skating, etc.) and appreciating the few great days of summer available before it starts over again.

Hope you get to be where you want to be soon ... I am moving from NY (upstate between Binghamton and Cortland) back to Montana (where I grew up) in August 2007.

Maybe we'll cross paths as you are coming in and I am leaving :-)

Torri

[aquaecny]

Remember to allot plenty of extra time before going anywhere with the snow, even the cold. You will need to time to let the car warm up before driving. Sometimes when cleaning the car off, it may have warmed up enough, sometimes not. I would suggest at least a good 30 extra minutes, maybe more or less depending on how close you live to main roads, and how far you have to travel. Good advice about the snow shovel and sunglasses. I think I used the shades as much in the winter as I did in the summer!

Have you thought about what part of NY? You mentioned lots of snow and okay with grey skies. Syracuse area gets huuuge amounts of snow and has grey skies, lol. There are the sunny days, too. You could easily expect temperatures to get down to 0F or less in the winter. Wind chill will make it feel much colder.

[greenm323]

Driving on snow takes a lot of practice. Do it right and you'll be fine. Take someone out with you in the snow who has a lot of experience. Bottom line: drive slow, do everything slower, turning, stopping, etc.

Or, take a vacation day if it's really bad, or call in sick! I've spun around a few times inmy life and it's very very frightening waiting to (land) stop. Experience is the best teacher. Then, once you get really good at it, you have to pray that the guy coming down the road toward you is good at it, too! Good luck.

[nymom]

Pioneer,
Rule # 2...learn how to make a snowman! It is the best fun especially if you have kids!

[Lookingforasafehome]

Well if you use a shovel your be outside in the elements for quite some time perhaps, I would invest in a good snow blower, if I could not afford a reg service to come do it for me.

[LBNY]

Well, at first I LOL at the question but for someone who is not familiar with snowy conditions and after reading all the responses, there was no more laughing going on here. Being a native NY'er you think of it as second nature of how to deal with the snowy, icy roads. You received some great advice.
Also, if you are skidding on ice or slushy snow, DO NOT slam on your brakes, let the car go into the skid. Of course, try to steer the car away from other cars or a guardrail, but slamming on your brakes (which is a natural reaction) will only make it worse.
After living in Florida for 2 years, I'm about ready for snow. I'll take a blizzard ANY DAY over a hurricane.
Just not for me. I'm heading back!

[heretohelp]

Buy a shovel. Its a good workout. Or work for the school district-their the only people who don't have to go to work on a snow day! But even if you have to shovel and go to work - ya gotta just love the snow or you'd be living somewhere it doesn't snow.

[cuse]

"After living in Florida for 2 years, I'm about ready for snow. I'll take a blizzard ANY DAY over a hurricane.
Just not for me. I'm heading back!"[/quote]

Me too! Let's save some $$$ and get a truck together!

My advice for winters in Syracuse:

Get a 4-Wheel Drive Vehicle.

[Jason_Els]

Things to your winterized car:

1. Coolant flush, oil changed to a lower weight (if necessary), fill washer fluid reservoirs,

2. Put on snow tires (mid-late November). Buy 4, put them on regular steel rims. I still swear by studs but you may be happy with regular.

3. In your car you should carry:

- A cell phone with 911 GPS location capability
- A flashlight
- A pack of flares
- A space blanket
- A first aid kit
- A metal folding shovel
- A bag of kitty litter to help you get traction if you should get a wheel stuck.
- Jumper cables
- A good ice scraper and snow pusher/brush.
- Extra gloves, hats, umbrellas, boots
- Lock de-icer (better in your purse or winter parka).
- A gallon of windshield washer fluid.
- A bottle of dry gas for when it gets below zero.

4. Put winter wipers on the front wipers (and rear if you have one).

5. Some alcohol-based glass cleaning wipes to get the road salt off your headlights/taillights.

6. If it frequently drops below zero, get an engine heater. Your car will love you because it will greatly enhance engine life and you'll have nice toasty air in only a minute or two after starting it up. A battery blanket makes a nice companion.

7. Wash your car frequently in the winter, particularly after the roads have been salted. The salt is murder on the undercarriage.

Driving in snow is tough. If you have rear wheel drive then buy 2-3 big bags of kitty litter and position them in the trunk right over the drive wheels to put more weight in the back. Front wheel drive is easier but franklly just do what I did. Buy a Subaru. Heated seats, heated wipers, heated mirrors, weatherband radio, traction control, all wheel drive (AWD), ABS, and limited-slip differentials (in most models). Fantastic snow cars. I work late and having an AWD car is a big load off my mind when it comes to getting home at 2am in a foot of unplowed snow.

Best advice is to go find a school parking lot or equivilent where you know there are no curbs and practice snow driving. Remeber with ABS to keep your foot on the brake, don't pump it.

Have fun!

[SteelCityRising]

Sometimes you just have to take time out of your hectic schedules to enjoy the simpler things in life. For example, while waiting for my car to defrost in the pre-dawn hours one morning last winter here in Scranton, PA (just south of Bingo) before heading down to class, I left my front drivers' side window down a crack and cranked up "Bittersweet Symphony" by The Verve on my CD player. As the large, fluffy snowflakes continued to beat down upon the pavement around me, I noticed myself dancing along with our snow shovel, in perfect harmony with the violins and other wonderful sounds of that beautiful song. I noticed a few other neighbors in my development firing up their snowblowers while looking at me as if I was a nutcase as all they cared about was digging out to get to work, but I truly didn't mind. All that I could think of was the awe-inspiring scenes around me of birch trees and evergreens laced with a thick coating of the large, white fluffy snowflakes while mellowing out to my favorite classical song, totally oblivious to the stresses of work and college that I had become accustomed to for day after day. Couple this with the beautiful sunrise and the aroma of woodburners in the air, and I truly don't see how anyone here in Scranton/Upstate NY could truly hate a fresh snowfall.

With the forecast calling for snow flurries on Tuesday, I'm already jumping for joy in anticipation of what should be a snowier-than-average winter to make up for the relatively "tame" ones we've had for the past few years. I love winter, and I think your family will as well, Pioneer!