Five car etiquette musts for first dates

So you’ve found a special someone and have organised an amazing date so everything should be sweet right? WRONG! At carsales, we’re not dating experts, but we’re experts in all thing cars so car etiquette certainly in our wheelhouse. As we embark on another year, we want single people's resolution to find love so here are some helpful tips to get you slightly ahead. We can’t promise a fairytale ending but what we can offer is some helpful tips that may just get you across the line for that second date.

Firsts things first, make sure your car is clean. This sounds straight-forward enough but it’s staggering how this slight detail tends to be forgotten. All of those empty drink bottles and empty McDonald’s bags in your car, well they're not impressing anyone! Neither is turning your back seat into an extension of your wardrobe, so make sure you take all of those hoodies and backup shirts out of there (and probably wash them too).

We’re all guilty of sometimes leaving the odd sports-bag in the boot of the car but this has absolutely got to go! You might love talking about your new fitness routine but smelling it is a whole different story. So once everything is removed, it’s time to vacuum, because your car mats look and smell better without all the dirt. The last important step in cleaning your car is getting that perfect air freshener, here's some inspo:

So now that you and your car look and smell nice here’s the next important step; the music.

Now, this is very important! We’re not saying to play Marvin Gaye’s greatest hits to set a particular type of mood (even though he has some fantastic songs) but what's played out of your car speaker is vital in not only setting a mood but in showcasing who you are. Tuning into an FM radio station is playing it pretty safe but if you really want your date to know more about you and the music you listen to you'll have to show them your favourite tunes. Music is an incredible window into your personality and is a great way to connect with someone and share a common love (or hate) in.

We know you have a great taste in music and all of your playlists are certified bangers but by having a curated playlist at the ready might be a better idea because let’s be honest, everyone has a few questionable guilty pleasure songs on their playlists that are sure to raise eyebrows. Taking Murphy’s Law into account we can guarantee that those few songs you don’t want to play will most certaily rise to the top of the shuffle.

The car journey to your destination is the only real-time you have complete control on setting up the particular vibe you want by pre-planning your music because dates can get awkward especially if it’s an early meeting so get things going your way early. This is also a perfect opportunity to score some serious brownie points by adding that song they added to their Instagram story only a few days ago. What better way to bond, than bonding over music?

It’s a date, you’re basically on borrowed time so why waste it? Make sure you’re as organised as you can be because why waste precious time with your date by needing to stop for fuel when it can be better spent on going on the actual date. Make sure you at least seem like you have your life sorted because people love that!

Still a little confused as to exactly what we mean? We’ll spell it out; Fill up your car before you meet them, put the passenger seat into a normal position (not one that was a perfect fit for your drunk mate on the way home from the pub). You may not have your life sorted but this is a perfect way to at least look like you do and who wouldn’t want to get off on a great start? 

You’re completely prepared now, so we move on to the next step the actual pick-up. We shouldn’t need to say this but be normal, it’s 2021 and you’re not late for the early morning school drop-off so don't beep the horn to let your date know you've arrived. When you beep the horn you just give off an inpatient, intolerable feeling that isn’t a great way to start off any sort of date.

Unfortunately, we’re going to have to go with the Millennial way of doing things so knocking on the door to let them know you’ve arrived is an obvious no. The advice we’re giving is to just shoot them a message or a quick call because it’s instant, un-evasive and makes you look pretty chilled out. You don’t need to jump out the car to open the door for them either, that’s probably a bit much especially considering you’ve just messaged them. Don’t feel the need to impress too much, you’re already on the date so you must be doing something right.

This advice shouldn’t need to be said but just in case we'll say it anyway. Please, follow the road rules. We cannot stress this enough, not only for a date but in your general driving life. In a dating circumstance though, nobody wants to have someone put their life in danger especially someone they’re just starting to get to know.

Under no circumstance, should you speed, hoon drive, drink and drive, touch your phone or break any other road rules because honestly, you’re not impressing anyone. The best dates are the ones that you actually get to, so please be safe!

Yes, this dating advice can be taken with a grain of salt. This advice is from a single person. The best dating advice we can tell you is to be yourself but remember, your car is an extension of you so make sure it’s at least clean and tidy.

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