How to Diagnose a Failed Car Thermostat: Two Easy Symptoms

by Marjorie, Cars for Keeps Social Media Manager

Your car's thermostat would easily fit in the palm of your hand, yet like many vehicle components, a properly functioning thermostat is critical for engine health and proper vehicle function. It regulates your car's engine temperature, a critical factor for engine health.

Some of you may be inclined to cut repair costs by performing a "simple" thermostat replacement yourself. eHow details how to replace your car's thermostat in 11 not-so-easy steps. I'm sure these instructions look very simple indeed to an auto mechanic, but for the rest of us, it looks like a path down the road to almost certain failure. Unless you're a mechanic yourself, cutting corners by replacing a thermostat on your own will likely end in far greater costs - like an improperly installed thermostat and an overheated engine. Watch the Cars for Keeps Coupon page, Frequently Cars for Keeps offers free thermostats for thermostat replacement jobs - a far cheaper (and easier) option than attempting to do the job yourself.

Diagnosing a failed thermostat, however, isn't difficult at all.


How to diagnose a bad car thermostat:
Most car thermostats fail in one of two ways: they become stuck either in an open position or a closed position. A closed thermostat valve will cause the engine to overheat, harming the engine and potentially destroying the head gasket, while an open thermostat valve will over cool the engine, causing it to work much harder than necessary.

The symptoms for both an open and closed stuck thermostat valve are relatively easy to tell. A closed thermostat valve (overheated engine) will be indicated by your vehicle's temperature gauge plunging into the red. This may happen slowly or quickly, and wintertime driving may make this symptom less severe, but a vehicle that's running hot should always be brought to a mechanic immediately. An open thermostat valve (underheated engine) is indicated by a car not putting out as much heat through the vents as it should, and by automatic transmission vehicles having difficulty shifting to higher gears. The latter may be more difficult to tell in summertime, when heating vents aren't used, which is another good reason to always be attentive to your vehicle's engine and transmission performance.

If any of these symptoms describe your vehicle, bring it in to Cars for Keeps immediately for a quick test, and have a cup of coffee while you wait.

Safe driving!

A Woman’s Point of View: One Less Thing To Worry About

by Colette Cooley, Cars for Keeps Office Manager

At Cars For Keeps we will drive you home or to work, and come pick you up when your car is ready, at no charge.

As I was driving a customer to her work place, we were chatting about this and that when she suddenly changed the subject and said, “I can’t tell you what a relief it is to take my car in to Cars For Keeps to have it worked on and to know that it will be done right and at a fair price. It is so good not to have to drag my boyfriend or my father with me to make sure I don’t get cheated or talked into something that I don’t need”.

She went on to say that she knows nothing about cars, does not want to know anything about cars and has made a lifelong commitment to not having to learn about cars. Let’s face it ladies, most of us feel that way too. There are only three things that that are important to us about cars. What color is it, how do we feel when we are driving it, and is it safe.

We understand these concerns at Cars For Keeps and the guys here do not think they are frivolous or silly. They can’t do anything about the color or how you feel, but they have dedicated their working careers and themselves to making your car as safe as possible for you.

Come on in ladies where you are taken seriously and treated with respect.

The High Mile Club: Getting the Mileage Your Vehicle was Designed to Get

by Marjorie, Cars for Keeps Social Media Manager

My favorite page on the Cars for Keeps website is the "High Mile Club Gallery", a page dedicated to Cars for Keeps customers who take Rob's call to preventative maintenance seriously. It turns out, getting high mileage out of your vehicle is as simple as regular preventative maintenance. Most cars in the gallery are at least 15 years old and are running well past 200,000 miles - in great condition.

We've discussed many of the benefits of regular preventative auto maintenance here on Keep the Car blog. They include getting higher gas mileage from your vehicle and spending less money on large, costly repairs. The biggest benefit of keeping a well-maintained vehicle, by far, however, is that you get to keep the vehicle longer, delaying the far higher costs of purchasing a new vehicle. Vehicles are designed and built to last. Why not let them perform the way they were made to perform?

Take a moment to visit the High Mile Club Gallery, which features some true classics - all in mint condition.

The most impressive is Gale Moser and his 2000 Lexus running on a whopping 435,000 miles. See how good it looks?


Take advantage of Cars for Keeps' free "pit stop" service, and maybe someday your vehicle will become part of the High Mile Club Gallery.

Customer Service: The Difference Is In the Smile

by Colette Cooley, Cars For Keeps Office Manager

We had a seminar the other day about interacting with people on the telephone. Although it was geared for business conversations, it occured to me that personal telephone techniques could be beneficial too. For example, how to react in a civilized manner to the telemarketer who calls you at dinnertime. Yes, I have grouched at them on occasion, and immidiatly felt guilty about it.

A trick to use that seems to work is the "smile-like-an-idiot" approach. Before picking up the phone, put a great big smile on your face. The first surprise is that you actually feel a lightness inside yourself. It may be fleeting, but we take what we can get at times.

The second surprise is that people on the other end of the line can tell, even subconsciously, that you are smiling, non-aggressive, receptive to their needs and requests and .... dare I say it..... loveable. Right off the bat, both people in that phone conversation benefit. There is power in that smile of the most positive kind.

Which is another one of the great things about stopping by the shop. Genuine friendliness! Thanks, Colette. - Marjorie

How to Prevent Premature Brake Wear

Automotive braking systems are often overlooked until something goes wrong.

With quality brake services ranging from under $200 to over $500, getting the most out of what you have makes sense. Comparing the same make and model vehicle, some drivers only get 30-40,000 miles from a set of brakes while many drivers can get 100,000 miles. Several factors are keys to longevity.

Quality of friction materials

• Heat
• Stress
• Corrosion and debris

It may help to gain an understanding of how the system was designed to be used.

Treating the brake pedal as if it were an "on-off" button is not an un-common (though incorrect) approach. It is more like a light dimmer. Light foot pressure will slow you, higher foot pressure will slow you more rapidly.If you've ever bumped into anything with you're car, you know the feeling of "mass" that the car has. If you haven't bumped into anything... I am not suggesting you do just to find out. Instead perhaps imagine dropping the car from an airplane. It takes a strong force to slow the mass, (a compact car weighs in around 2-3000 lbs & a large car or SUV often weigh 8,000 lbs or more.) down to a stop. That force is supplied by your brake system to create friction dragging the brake friction material against metal that is spinning with with wheels/tires. This generates an enormous amount of heat in a very short period of time. The amount of force input by you to the brake pedal is multiplied by the system, then distributed to the wheels.

We are often surprised to hear a comment like "I have ABS brakes, so I just step on them hard and let the ABS do its job". This does work, however it will cost you lots of extra money by using up the brakes, tires and other components much faster.

Have your brakes inspected regularly. Cars For Keeps clients have their brakes inspected at least twice a year while we perform other routine preventive maintenance. Regular inspection can prevent damage to critical braking system components. A vehicle driven for several hundred miles with brake pads worn beyond specification can allow the calipers (clamping device) to work past their normal operating range. Now we need to replace brake pads (relatively cheap), rotors (lots more money), calipers (even more cash). The bill could have been 75% less if the repairs were made when they needed to be.

Use quality parts. With all of the areas of our lives that are regulated, it is hard to believe that there are NO regulation of brake friction materials. They could literally be made from Jello (though they'd never make it past the mechanics).

The best brake pads consist of high tech ceramics. These require careful engineering to provide stopping power, longevity and noise reduction. Cheap brake pads typically are made to stop well and be quiet, but not to last or dissipate heat properly.

The Cars for Keeps Seasonal Pit Stop is designed to help ensure your brakes last as long as possible while maintaining the maximum safety for you and your family.

Happy Motoring!

Toyota Recalls Highlight the Importance of Routine Vehicle Inspections

by Marjorie, Cars for Keeps Social Media Manager

By now I'm sure everyone has heard about Toyota's halted production and mass recall due to sticky gas pedals and floormats that catch. Recent announcements say the Prius may be included in the recall due to faulty brakes.

The last thing anyone expects after purchasing a new car is a failed accelerator pedal or gas line. Nevertheless, I think this incident with Toyota highlights how important it is for car consumers to be aware of their vehicles' condition and to be pro-active in their own safety. Drivers who noticed the stickiness of their gas pedal and brought the car in for inspection immediately had the gas pedal problem identified early. While this doesn't prevent the recall from happening, it prevented a potentially serious accident from happening down the road, and auto repair shops could notify Toyota of the problem rather than a lawyer.

The moral of the story here is that you can never be too careful. Even if your car "should" be in top condition, if you notice something seems amiss, it's always best to have it checked out by a professional. At Cars for Keeps, we offer great deals on inspections and "pit stop" services, making it easy and affordable for you to make sure your car is safe to drive.

How to Diagnose a Dead Car Battery

by Marjorie, Cars for Keeps Social Media Manager

It's happened to the best of us - typically when we're in a hurry to get somewhere: the heart-seizing, irritating "click" and dead silence when the ignition key is turned.

A car that refuses to start can have any number of things wrong with it, but by far the most common is a dead battery. Rather than paying a tow truck to bring it in to the shop here at Cars for Keeps, there are a few simple ways to diagnose whether your battery is dead or something more serious is amiss.

Here are a few simple ways to check if it's time to get a new battery or some professional help from a mechanic.

Try turning the headlights on. If you turn the ignition key and hear a "click", but the engine doesn't roll over, this is a good indicator that there's not enough juice to turn the engine. A good way to double-check this is to try the electrical system by turning on your headlights and attempting to honk the horn. If they don't work, it's a likely bet your engine is dead. If your lights work but the engine might roll over, there may be a problem with your carburetor or fuel injector, and it's time to bring it in to Cars for Keeps for some car battery repair.

Check for dirty or faulty battery connections. Put on some non-conductive (latex) gloves, pop the hood and check the cable connections to your battery. If you're not at all mechanically inclined, simply look for the two large lead terminals protruding from a box, with cables leading out from the terminals. Wiggle the clamps to see if their loose, then reaffix them securely to the terminals. Clean excessive dirt from the lead terminals if they're dirty, then try starting the car again. If it still doesn't start, it's probably time to visit Cars for Keeps for some car battery maintenance.

Try jumpstarting the battery. Just like in Princess Bride, car batteries have different levels of "deadness". A car battery that's mostly dead will start when jumpstarted. If the car does jumpstart, you'll want to make sure the engine is turned on long enough for the car to recharge. If it doesn't restart, the car battery is likely all dead - or something more serious is wrong. Rather than looking through its pockets for loose change, give us a call.

Faulty alternators, fuel injectors and carburetors can often mimic a dead car battery, so if your vehicle has reoccuring start problems or none of the above tests work, it's a good idea to have a professional mechanic take a look under the hood. Catching these types of problems before they blossom into a full breakdown can save on hefty repair costs.

What it means to be an AAA Auto Repair Shop

by Dennis, Cars for Keeps Customer Service Manager

I had a customer call me several weeks ago in a panic. They were in Florida on vacation and their vehicle had developed a leak. They didn’t know what to do. They said “Cars for Keeps had always taken care of them”. They didn’t know who they could trust, down there.

I told them not to worry; all they needed to do, was locate a AAA Approved Auto Repair Shop. Which they did, and all was well. So maybe you are wondering, what’s with the AAA Auto Repair Shop.

AAA Auto Repair Shops have strict rules they have to comply with. Some of these rule are as follows. A clean facility, State Certified mechanic (ours are ASE certified, one step above state), at a minimum a 12/12 warranty ( we have up to 36/36). They have to have a history of honesty and integrity. This is found out by AAA surveying up to 200 of recent customers, at random. That way AAA gets an honest opinion.

The shop needs a 98% Customer Satisfaction Rate and to needs to comply with specific training and qualifications. They also need to have specific tools of the trade over and above the basics. These are just some of the criteria that a shop needs to be AAA Approved. I hope this helps you understand what it means for us at Cars for Keeps and other shops to be AAA Approved, and why I felt confident in sending one of our customers to a shop that has this approval.

Until next time, Happy and safe driving.