Spring is here; the snow is going fast soon the grass will be greening up. We soon will be getting to our summer routines, travel to the cabin, summer sports and vacations. But there is one other season we need to get through first. It’s the pothole season in Minnesota. The roads break up this time of year due to the frost coming out of the ground. This does a number on your cars shocks, struts and other suspension parts. Dose the car seem more bouncy? Have clunks or creeks when hitting bumps? Dose the steering wheel shake? These are all signs that there might be problems that could lead to tire wear or mean the car may be unsafe to drive. Before you start doing all the spring and summer travels it’s a good idea to give your car a complete suspension check and tire rotation so that you will minimize tire wear and you will arrive safe at your destination

It’s that time of year when people that have or uses a commercial trucks and trailers should be thinking about the spring start up. Often times these vehicles have been sitting since last fall when work shut down or at least slowed. These companies might be a grounds maintenance company, a carpenter, cabinet maker, fencing company, or a construction company that uses a Bobcat trailer.

 These vehicles are a target of the DOT and many local municipalities have added officers that do nothing but look for these vehicles. Even if your vehicle isn’t required to have an annual DOT inspection it still must comply with all the regulations. They are often stopped along the roadside and inspected for equipment violations. This can cause a lot of down time for the company as well as the expense of repairing it. My employees are certified DOT inspectors and know what to look for when inspecting them. Also not many shops work on these trailers.

 So if you know anyone that owns or operates one of these trucks or trailers tell them that we can help keep the Sheriff of their backs.

We still get this question quite often. Customers will call and say that a light just came on, what should I do? Do I need to pull over right away? Will I be stranded? Even worse if this should happen when you are traveling and you’re not near your usual help network. First rule of thumb is look at the lights like a traffic light. Red means stop or deal with the problem right away. Yellow or amber means caution or deal with it soon. AAA has a good article in the Home & Away magazine this mouth explaining this further. Hope it helps. http://www.homeandawaymagazine.com/content.cfm?a=2863

Money is still tight and more than ever now people are keeping and driving their cars longer. We hear them say, my car is in good shape and I like it so I want to keep for a long time. Or I know this car is getting to the end of its life but I need to keep it going for 2 more years, how can I do this?

The good news is the cars today are very good products, very capable performing well for over 200,000 miles. To insure you can get to 200,000 miles if that’s your goal you do need to do some preventive maintenance.

The first thing is to have the car thoroughly inspected on a regular basis, say once a year, so that you catch small problems before they become big ones.

We can provide you with a “complimentary maintenance inspection” and a prioritized list of any recommendations we might have so you make plans for them rather than be surprised by breakdowns. We want you to buy your next car because you want to not because you have to.

See what the car care council has to say about maintenance and how to reduce the cost of owning a car, http://www.carcare.org/2011/10/how-to-reduce-your-vehicle-maintenance-costs/

Several conversations with customers recently gave cause for thought on this;

Have you ever said “this car is costing me too much money I think it’s time for a new car”? Or “I really like my car but I’m told I need to spend $XXX on this repair”. What should I do?

 It may very well be time for a new car, but the first and most important thing to do is to have it thoroughly inspected to see just what state of repair and maintenance the car is in now and what it would take to make it safe and reliable. With this information a person can make an informed decision on the best course of action to take in solving their car problems.

 Most people may not realize that today’s cars are very capable of performing well for 200,000 to 250,000 miles. A far cry from cars built 20 years ago. But this is done not without some tender loving care.

 A second opinion is never a bad idea. We offer a complimentary maintenance

Inspection that will go a long way to answering the questions that need to be asked when trying to decide if it’s time to replace or repair the car.

 You will never spend more money on a car than you do with its depreciation. A rule of thumb is that every 3 years a car depreciates by 50%. That means that a car that is 3 years old is worth 50% of what it sold for when new. And a car 6 years old is worth 25% of what it sold for new. With cars costing $20,000-$40,000 or more that’s a lot of money.

 If you are asking should I replace my car? Why not give us a call and we will inspect it for you and talk about we see, what maintenance and repairs have already been done, and see if it make sense to replace or repair.

 We are here for your help and have been “Helping to keep the Community Rolling Since 1983”

A service we offer that we don’t always talk enough about is a vehicle per-purchase inspection.

Many people have brought cars or trucks in to us after they have purchased them and asked us to look it over. This is the wrong way to do it. A recent example, we had a customer that bought a car and brought it to us. We inspected it and found it was in need of brakes and had a coolant leak that required major work to repair. The coolant leak is a very common problem with this make and model car. The estimate to repair the car was about $1400.00. How much would this information have worth beforehand? Cars cost a lot of money make sure you know what it is you are getting into, have it looked over before you buy. Sellers are not usually dishonest; they simply don’t know the condition of their car either.

For about $160.00 we will give the vehicle a very thorough inspection and road test, and we will give you a written report of what we found. This often is a good negotiating tool if you are still considering buying the car. Just because we find something wrong or have questions about maintenance doesn’t mean you should not buy the car, but it might help you buy it at the right price.

“ people have been counting on us to help keep the community rolling since 1983.”

Congratulations to Maggie Miller last month’s Pro-Tech Auto Repair Facebook sweepstakes winner. Maggie will receive a $25 service certificate that she can use on her next visit. Thanks to Maggie for being such a loyal fan. And please if you are not a fan yet, become one and sign up monthly for the sweepstakes, its one way we try to recognize and reward our many loyal customers.

While this is not really new information we have been starting to see it more lately so I thought I should pass it on for your benefit. 2007 through 2009 GMC, Chevy & Cadillac trucks with aluminum engine blocks and the active fuel management option and Pontiac G 8 cars are experiencing oil consumption problems which might be covered by the manufacturer. If you have one of these vehicles that use oil, referrer to service bulletin #10-06-01-008B or call us for further information. This could be a problem you don’t have to put up with and it may be covered by warranty.