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Questions to Ask When Choosing a Local Mechanic

questions to ask when choosing local mechanic, GreeleyWe’ve all needed last-minute car repairs at times, and too often we rush to the nearest mechanic rather than finding the most reliable Greeley mechanic for help. Sometimes, we don’t have much of a choice in mechanics because we need something done right away. But what about routine maintenance, or when your Check Engine light comes on? Choosing a reliable local mechanic can be a challenge at times, and it’s a nerve-wracking decision because it involves hundreds if not thousands of dollars being spent on your car.

Finding the Most Reliable Mechanic

It can feel impossible to learn how reliable or skilled a prospective mechanic is before you pay them, but if you ask the mechanic these questions, you’ll get a better sense of whether you want to give them your business:

Can You Work on My Make and Model?

Most mechanics will say ‘yes’ to this question and find out if they can actually do the work later, but it doesn’t hurt to ask what the shop specializes in and whether they can handle your car. This should be your first question after you research mechanics who specialize in certain cars, such as Japanese or European models.

What Automotive Associations are You Certified With?

There are several reputable automotive associations out there that hold auto shops to certain standards. The most common is the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence. If the mechanic is certified by this group, they’ll say they’re ASE-certified. AAA (known for its roadside assistance service) is another organization that certifies mechanics across the country.

My Car is Making a Strange Noise. What Could it Be?

You should be able to call and ask any mechanic any question about your car. Usually, they’ll say, “Well, I’d have to look at it first but…” and give you a few ideas about what your issue might be. You should be comfortable asking any and all questions that come to your mind about your car and its performance. Too many people are afraid to ask questions and end up paying more for repairs later. Compare their responses to other mechanics to get an idea of how they operate.

What Should I Do?

Sometimes the best test of a reliable Greeley mechanic is asking them what they would do in your shoes. It might not be worth it to make certain repairs on cars a certain number of years old, for instance. There might be a cheaper repair that a mechanic can do that will solve your problem better than a more expensive one. Make judgments on how honest the mechanic is when you ask questions like this. The mechanics that don’t automatically upsell you repairs you don’t need are the ones you want.

Which Repairs Should I Prioritize?

If you take your car in for an inspection and the mechanic hands you a laundry list of work they feel they need to do, ask which ones they consider a top priority and which can be put off. A reliable mechanic will be happy to recommend which need to be done now and which can wait.

 

Experiencing issues with your car? Contact the mechanics at Autotailor today to learn how they can help.

Tips That Could Help You Increase Your Car’s Lifespan

greeley car maintenance increase your car's lifespan tipsA car’s lifespan is affected by many factors. Many Colorado cars on the road today will last their owners many years or even decades with the help of frequent Greeley car maintenance, but with improper maintenance and care, those same cars could be off the road in less than five years. Maintenance and repairs can be costly, but they usually outweigh the cost of a broken-down car that won’t run.

Many car owners are unwittingly shortening their car’s lifespan with their maintenance habits, or lack thereof. Here’s how you can improve your car’s lifespan with responsible, everyday practices and habits, and how you could be shortening your car’s lifespan with detrimental habits:

Improve Your Car’s Lifespan with Car Maintenance

Regular check-ups are the key to maintaining things like oil levels and quality, transmission fluid, and brakes. Your oil will start to lose its effectiveness after a few thousand miles, so replacing it often is a part you can play to keep your car on the road.

Aside from regular maintenance check-ups, you should also consider below tips that could help you increase your car’s lifespan:

  • Break in your new car and be gentle. Cars, just like shoes or baseball mitts, need to be broken in a bit before they reach their peak efficiency. If you bought a new car recently, keep the engine in the lower RPM range for the first 1,000 miles, if you can. This may sound oxymoronic, but you should also vary your speeds and gears to utilize your car’s full range of performance.
  • Warm your cold engines. You probably already know that cold weather, i.e., below freezing, is not the best for your engine. Oil becomes thick and sluggish, battery charges aren’t as strong, and gasoline burns differently. Idling in your car until your cold engine light turns off isn’t the best way to warm your engine up. Idling warms your engine, but slowly, because it’s not working very hard. Instead, sit for a minute (or five if the temperature is below zero), and drive slowly for a few blocks to let your engine warm up efficiently.
  • Watch your speed. Speeding may sometimes be necessary. When everyone around you is speeding, it’s actually safer to match their speed, even if it’s above the limit. However, egregiously speeding everywhere you go makes your engine work harder than normal by pumping and using that excess fuel, forcing the pistons and the many other moving parts in your car’s engine to work at faster-than-optimal speeds, which can lead to faster wear and tear on many engine components.

Mistakes that Shorten Your Car’s Lifespan

Looking at your car’s lifespan from the other direction, here are some common mistakes car-owners make that shorten the lifespan of their vehicles and send them to car mechanic experts more frequently:

  • A messy interior or exterior. It’s usually what’s on the inside that counts for proper car maintenance, but excessive dirt and grime on the exterior or interior of your car can cause excessive wear and tear in your engine as all those dirt particles enter your system. You should also consider the psychological effects of keeping your car clean. If you put in the work to keep your car spiffy, you’ll be more likely to get regular tune-ups and maintenance.
  • Not checking your levels. Regular maintenance is the key to avoiding most costly engine problems, but you can check your tire pressure, oil levels, and transmission fluids yourself. If you don’t have a tire gauge, you can usually find one at an air fill-up station for tires.
  • Ignoring symptoms of engine damage. If you hear an unusual rattle in your engine or any other sound it’s not supposed to make, take it in for a check-up as soon as you can. Catching engine trouble early is the best way to avoid serious damage in the future, as the engine problem worsens.

It’s Up to You

Maintenance shops can help you make repairs and avoid even costlier work in the future, but there’s plenty you can do to help your car stay on the road longer.

Looking for reliable Greeley mechanics to provide the maintenance your car needs? Contact us today.

Winter Survival Tips: When You’re Stranded in Your Car

winter survival tips: stranded in snowWe’ve had a mild and warm fall in Northern Colorado this year, but winter is just around the corner. You can bet we’ll get our normal allocation of snow and cold weather. When the ice, snow, and blizzards arrive, make sure you’re prepared to brave the elements without fear with our winter survival tips.

It helps to have all-wheel drive on your vehicle, but even the toughest, most powerful vehicles can still get stuck in the snow and ice of winter now and then. To avoid a dangerous situation on the road, make sure that you have all the essential survival items with you in your car if you frequently drive in the cold weather we’re all expecting in Greeley and Northern Colorado.

What Should You Put In A Winter Survival Kit?

You can complete the first step to keeping yourself warm in the event of getting stranded in dangerous temperatures and weather conditions long before you start your car.

Keep a bag of winter survival essentials in your car. Your bag should be tailored to the weather elements you’ll likely be facing. In the Greeley area in winter, that means snow and low temperatures.

Here’s a list of items your cold-weather survival bag should contain:

  • Sleeping bag—rated for temperatures in the teens or lower
  • Extra warm clothes—hat, gloves, base layer, wool or fleece sweater, wool or synthetic socks, jacket or coat
  • Food—don’t count on warming it (you can include snack foods like protein/energy bars)
  • Water—or a metal container you can use to melt snow
  • Candles
  • Matches
  • Boots
  • Flashlight and extra batteries
  • Flares or some kind of signal light
  • Cell phone adapter that you can plug into the lighter outlet
  • Shovel
  • Jumper cables

Keeping these items in your car in the event of getting stranded on the road can save your life.

What to do When You’re Stranded

Now that you have your survival kit, you’re better equipped to handle dangerous wintery conditions on the road. Still, even the most prepared can be in danger on icy and snowy roads. You’ll need to take these steps to give yourself the best chance of being rescued and surviving the night if you need to.

You’re in impassable snow, or your engine won’t start, or for some other reason, you’re on the side of the road in a blizzard.

What do you do now?

The first step is to get out and check your tailpipe. This is why you packed warm winter clothes and boots. Clear your tailpipe of snow so that you don’t risk carbon monoxide poisoning. If you can’t see any buildings or other cars nearby, stay in your car where you can control the warmth.

stranded in snowGet your car warmed up as best you can, then turn the car off. Your car is surprisingly adept at keeping warm air inside it. Turn it on again when you get cold to conserve gas. Periodically check your tailpipe when you’re running your engine. If you can, do small, short, spurts to stay warm.

One vastly underrated way to stay warm and maintain a healthy body temperature is to drink water. Either melt snow from outside (unless it’s obviously dirty, it’s fine to drink melted snow in a pinch), or drink the water supply you packed.

If you’re just off the side of the road, keep your seatbelt on. Other cars can still spin out and hit you, especially in dangerous driving conditions. Put your hazard lights on as well.

Your hazard lights will help people see your car. Put out road flares or other signal lights to alert other drivers and potential rescuers of where you are.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is to be prepared and not to panic. When you get stressed, anxious, and panicky, you’re much more prone to make mistakes and poor decisions. You should always take care of your immediate needs before you try to go anywhere for help. Get yourself warm, hydrated, and as well fed as you can before you make the journey down the road. Walking on a cold, slippery road at night in a snowstorm is dangerous, so make sure that you don’t have far to go before you set out. Usually, the best option is to stay put and wait for help, especially if you have your survival kit ready in your back seat.

If your engine has been giving you trouble, take it to Autotailor to get it ready for cold weather. Good luck out there!

Winter Driving: Fuel Economy Tricks

winter-fuel-economy-tricksFuel economy tricks are helpful to anyone who cares to save money and use their vehicle as efficiently as possible. Your fuel economy is affected by a number of different things, including your vehicle condition, driving speed, acceleration, traffic, road conditions, and even weather. As you most likely already know, vehicles tend to use more fuel in the winter.

Because vehicles run on many different fluids, the drop in temperature means your vehicle has to work harder to keep the changes to these fluids as minimal as possible. As a result, your vehicle ends up burning more fuel. Not to mention that driving during the winter time often means driving in harsh temperatures and conditions that also affect your fuel economy. So how can you help your vehicle use fuel most efficiently this winter? Let’s talk about a few helpful fuel economy tricks.

Letting Your Car Run While Idle

In the first of our fuel economy tricks, it’s necessary for us to debunk a myth. Many people are under the impression that it is necessary to warm up your car for some time before you drive off in the winter. While it’s certainly more comfortable to step into a warm car, this is not necessary. Your vehicle actually does better warming up while driving. According to most manufacturers, your car only needs about 30 seconds to warm up before you drive off slowly. Allowing it to run while sitting idly will only waste fuel.

Park Your Car in a Warm Garage

Hopefully, you can avoid having to drive off in a miserably cold car. Parking your car in a warm garage will help keep the various fluids in your vehicle closer to operating temperature. Your vehicle will use less fuel because it will take less time to warm up. When your car is parked in the garage, you won’t be as likely to use your remote start and leave it running idly for too long. If your garage is currently too full for your car, you’ll find it a worthwhile task to clear it out and make space. Not only will your car warm up faster, but you won’t have to scrape away ice early before work!

Drive Wisely in the Stop and Go Traffic

Depending on where you live, you may experience stop and go traffic all the time. However, winter can bring even more of it with adverse weather conditions. Always give yourself plenty of time to slow down and speed up. This will help you save fuel and keep you and the drivers around your safer. Fast accelerating and hard braking are a sure way to harm your fuel efficiency, no matter the weather conditions.

inflate-tires-for-winterKeep Your Tires Properly Inflated

Properly inflated tires mean better traction and because of that, better fuel economy. Remember that in cooler temperatures, the pressure in your tires will go down. Make sure you consistently check your tire pressure and have them inflated to the right amount of air.

Combine Your Trips

It takes more fuel to start a cold engine. That’s why, if possible, you should combine errands in your day so that you are not continually starting up a cold car.

Get Rid of Extra Weight

If you have traveling containers on top of your car but are not currently using them, remove them. Remove any unnecessary items that have collected in your car. The less weight your vehicle has to pull, the less fuel it will have to burn.

Maintain Your Vehicle

Of course, proper maintenance of your vehicle will help you any time of the year. Make sure you have consistent engine checks to ensure everything is running smoothly. Change your oil consistently. Use the oil recommended by your vehicle’s manufacturer. A poorly maintained vehicle is sure to suffer in the area of fuel economy.

If you have not had your vehicle tuned up for this winter, be sure to contact your trusted mechanic to schedule your appointment.

We hope these fuel economy tricks help you run your car more efficiently this winter!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tips on Selling Your Car

new car greeley coloradoYou’ve decided you’re selling your car. Whether you’re ready for an upgrade, need more space, or simply want to get rid of an extra vehicle, you want to make sure you are getting the most out of it with the least amount of hassle. To help you make this as smooth and successful as possible, here are some tips you can follow.

First, know your car.

Before whipping out an ad on Craigslist in 5 minutes, make sure you know the accurate details about your car as well as any additional features it has.

For example, a Honda Civic Sedan LX and a Honda Civic Sedan EX have some different features, so you’ll want to be sure to clarify whether it’s an LX or EX.

What model is it? Is it the base model or a sport version of that model? Is it a 6 cylinder or a 4? What maintenance has been done on it? Has it ever been in a wreck? These are some of the questions people will ask when inquiring about your car and you want to be prepared.

Figure Out the Worth of Your Car.

As much as we would love to sell our cars for the same price we got them, we need to do the research to find out what the car is actually worth. Obviously, if you have had it for a while and have accumulated a few miles, you’ll be seeing a difference in value from when you first purchased it.

  • You can check your car’s value in the Kelley Blue Book. There you’ll be asked to enter your car’s year, make, model, mileage, and other information about your car in order to get the most accurate price.
  • Autotrader is another great tool to check your car value.
  • Nadaguides allows you to get a free dealer price quote.
  • Carfax also allows you to check your car value.

Make sure you have all the paperwork

  • Make sure you have your title and are ready to sign it to pass on to the new owner.
  • If you have them, provide maintenance records, making sure to black out any personal information.
  • Have ready 2 copies of a bill of sale, one for you and one for the buyer.
  • It’s a good idea to have a release of liability to protect you from damages or violations once you’ve sold the car.
  • Make sure to provide the buyer with any warranty documents if your car is still under warranty.

Figure out whether to sell it privately or to a dealership.

This decision will depend on how quickly you want to get rid of the car or how much you are wanting to get for it. If you sell to a dealership, you’ll likely be getting less than if you sell your car privately.

Tips for selling to a dealership

  • If you choose to sell to a dealership, make sure you’ve check the Trade-in Value before you approach a dealership about buying your car.
  • Be ready to answer questions they will have about your car’s history, maintenance, accident records, and your car’s general condition.

Tips for selling your car privately

  • Find out when is the best time of year to sell your car. There are certain times of year that some vehicles will sell better than others. For example, a sports car is often easier to sell in the summer when people aren’t thinking about having to get around in the snow here in Colorado.
  • If you are posting your car online, upload quality photos of your vehicle taken from every side, including pictures of the inside (including the trunk!).
  • Include your asking price, mileage, your vehicles condition, maintenance history, repairs, VIN number, how many owners your car has had, etc. on your online listing.
  • Be honest about issues the car has.
  • Meet in a public place with the buyer. Ask to see their Driver’s license and insurance before they take your car for a test drive.
  • When communicating with a potential buyer, have a set price in mind for as low as you are willing to go, but start out asking for more, knowing the buyer will likely try to negotiate.
  • Ask for cash as payment. You could do a check as well, but cash is best especially if you do not know the buyer. Don’t hand over the title until you’ve received payment.

Get your car ready to sell.

  • Make sure you run the car through the car wash and give it a thorough cleaning. Presenting your car in top condition will make a big difference in the selling process. Wipe down the surfaces in your car, vacuum all the rugs, remove stains, clean your windows inside and out, clean out your personal belongings and make sure there’s nothing under the seats.
  • If possible, it’s a good idea to top off fluids, do an oil change, fill up gas, and fix minor flaws (for example, removing dents).
  • Have a mechanic do an inspection on your car to see if there are any major issues that need to be repaired so that you can either repair them before you sell the car or can make the buyer aware of these needs (You can give the buyer the mechanic inspection report).

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