Our cars are still carrying the gunk and grime of winter. With improving weather, now is the time to wash it all off.

Marsha Cohen, the chief retail analyst at Circana, spoke with News 12 regarding the costs of a good car scrub.

"It's worth the investment," said Cohen. "You're really maintaining your vehicle and eliminating some of the erosion factor."

Car protection can start well before the spring with weather mats.

"They run well over $50 for even the less expensive ones. You could spend up to $100 for car mats," said Cohen.

Those will go a long way in protecting your interior. When the snow is over, you can focus on the outside of your vehicle too.

"Auto car washes run on average about $26 and you can even get up to $35 if you go to a nicer one that really does a great job of interior and exterior."

But if you're really looking to scale down your scrub down, you will have to use a bit of your own elbow grease.

"Self-serve car washes run between $5 to $8. When you do that, work fast so you don't have to keep putting quarters into the meter."

A clean car may exhaust some funds, but it will hopefully greenlight a longer drive life or perhaps a more lucrative sale sometime down the road.