Good Wipers Won't Cost You; Replace Often

Car maintenance and safety is all about doing the little things right, such as frequently replacing your windshield wipers. According to Consumer Reports, a good pair of windshield wipers won’t cost you more than $10 in most cases.

Some of the least expensive wipers accounted for three of the four top-rated blades for Consumer Reports (no word yet on how one gets a job as an “independent windshield-wiper tester”). These included the Valeo 600 series ($9 for the 18-inch, $15 for the 24-inch), Michelin RainForce ($7 for the 18- and 24-inch) and Anco 31 Series ($7 for the 18-inch, $10 for the 24-inch).

The only caveat to the good news that you can go ahead and buy cheap windshield wipers is that you need to replace them fairly often. The report found that with regular use, even top-rated blades tend to degrade after six to nine months. It recommended replacement every 6 to 12 months.

Looking for top-of-the-line wipers? The RainX Latitude were the only wipers that maintained their “Very Good” performance through six months of testing. You’ll have to shell out a bit more for those, though ($17 for the 18-inch, $21 for the 24-inch).

Consumer Reports Windshield Wiper Tests Reveal Good Wipers Aren’t Pricey but Most Fade Fast (Yahoo News)