Percussive Car Maintenance vs. Preventative Car Maintenance

by Marjorie, Cars for Keeps Social Media Manager

All of us have been guilty of performing "percussive maintenance" at one point or another. For those of you who don't know what percussive maintenance is, I'll give you a hint: it usually involves hitting things with a hammer.



Wikipedia describes "percussive maintenance" as "the malediction of an ill-behaved device to make it work, that is to say, swear at it and hit it." (Don't you love Wikipedia?) I've performed this countless times on countless items, such as my door lock, my computer (before I bought a Mac), and of COURSE, my car.

True enough, percussive maintenance may work sometimes - like it did for Marty McFly when he needed to start the DeLorean in Back to the Future I, or as it worked for Apollo 12 astronaut Pete Conrad when trying to remove a piece of equipment from the 1969 space shuttle (true story!). But eventually, hitting things with a hammer only ends in having lots of broken things.

When I think about all the things I've sworn at and hit to make work, I realize that they all could have benefited from some preventative maintenance before percussive maintenance was necessary. My computer could have been de-dusted and de-bugged; my door lock could have been greased, and my car could have been better maintained with regular oil, fluid and filter changes.

Percussive maintenance may be therapeutic, but preventative maintenance is effective. So if you've been having to kick the tires or hit the steering wheel lately, try giving them one more kick, then roll on in to Cars for Keeps. We're a percussive maintenance-free zone!

What Women Really Want

by Colette Cooley, Cars for Keeps Office Manager

Listen up guys. This is one answer to the mystery every man is confronted with all the married days of his life. Women want perfection. In everything we do and in everything we are. We want the perfect man, (be honest ladies, haven’t you ever wished you could build your own?), we want the perfect house, the perfect kids, the perfect job, the perfect body, hair, skin, teeth, etc. etc. etc. Every time we go shopping we look for the perfect gift, the perfect sweater, the perfect car. It just has to “feel” right.

I am convinced that we women have an extra gene in us that makes us crave perfection. We are always looking for a perfect world while we live in an imperfect world.

Take heart ladies. There are islands of perfection that we find all the time. The biggies are being in love and hugging our kids. Lesser, but by no means inferior, are friends you can count on, waking up without “bed-head”, and compliments from a stranger.

All of us at Cars For Keeps endeavor to create a small island of perfection for women. When you walk in the door you feel welcome as a friend. You will be treated with respect for your intelligence. Kindness, humor and honesty will be applied to meet your needs. We women want our car to be fixed and ready for us when promised, so we can get on with the pursuit of our next “perfection”. Go Girl!

Enter to Win a Car Care Club Card & Get a Free Oil Change!

Well, we're not exactly giving away free money, but with our Car Care Club Card Sweepstakes, we might as well be.

As part of our effort to get to know our customers better, we're giving away a free oil change to everyone who participates in our Car Care Club Card Sweepstakes. The grand prize winner will receive a Car Care Club Card, a unique product Rob cooked up a few years back to reward dedicated car owners with a bundle of savings. The card contains free & discounted maintenance services worth over $435, and is perfect for the car owner who plans on keeping his or her vehicle for many years to come.

Second and third prize are nothing to sniff at, either. Check out all our auto repair prizes below, and don't forget that everyone who enters our contest gets a FREE oil change. Everyone.

Enter the Car Care Club Card Sweepstakes here.

The Club Card includes:

- 4 FREE Oil Changes + Maintenance Services ($180 value)
- FREE Air Conditioning Performance Test ($49.95 value)
- $35 off Transmission Flush & Fill
- $30 off Mile Service Packages
- $50 off Front or Rear Brake Service
- $20 off Radiator Flush
- $15 off Power Steering Flush Service
- 50% off Computerized Wheel Alignment
- Buy one Wiper Blade get one FREE ($19.95 value)

Even if you don’t use any of the discounts on the card, the 4 FREE oil changes and FREE air conditioning test are alone worth over $225!

2nd Prize

Wheel Alignment – FREE ($60 value)

3rd Prize

New Wiper Blades – FREE ($30 value)

All contestants:

Everyone who enters this contest will be given a FREE oil change!

Antifreeze: Helping Your Car (and You) Stay Cool

by Dennis, Cars for Keeps Customer Service Manager

Hi everybody,
Since it seems like it could be warming up sometime soon, I thought this would be a good time to talk about "keeping your cool". What I really mean is keeping your car cool. Not air conditioning, but antifreeze. I’m talking about the vehicle’s cooling system.

As most of you may know, not only does antifreeze keep the vehicle cooling system from freezing, but it also keeps it from boiling over - if the system is working correctly, that is.

Antifreeze has a PH level which, without maintenance, can become corrosive and break down the cooling system. This can cause leaks. It can also create electrolosis. This is when the antifreeze actual has a low voltage electrical charge to it. Electrolosis can cause damage to the engine or cooling system.

By having your vehicle’s cooling system checked regularly (at least every six months), you can help keep your vehicle’s engine cool and running better, longer.

Which in the end helps you keep your cool.

That’s all for now, from you friendly neighborhood Service manager.

Dennis

Clean Car Air Filters Make for Better Mileage & Healthier Engines

by Marjorie, Social Media Manager

As per usual, today's post stems from one of my own (many) misadventures in automotive maintenance. My tiny little Ford Focus often bucks around on the freeway when heavy winds are present, simply because it's a very light vehicle (32 miles to the gallon!!). Lately, however, I've noticed uneven acceleration and bucking even off the freeway. When I noticed weird, asthmatic idling at multiple traffic lights, it occurred to me that something was wrong (duh!).

While it's likely that MANY maintenance issues need to be addressed with my Focus (at my next visit to the shop), these are common symptoms of a particular maintenance problem which is painfully easy - and inexpensive - to fix. As with all car maintenance issues, the cost of not fixing the problem is astronomically higher than the alternative - letting a mechanic pop the hood.

The problem is that the air filter hasn't been changed since...I can't remember when (not good). Air filters are extremely simple yet extremely important components in every vehicle. They filter the air which is taken into the engine's combustion chamber. It's important that this filter stay clean so that the engine can get plenty of clean oxygen with which to power your car - or to "breathe deeply", in other words. A dirty, clogged filter means your car's engine will have trouble breathing. Picture an asthmatic trying to run a marathon. That's my car trying to run on a dirty air filter.

It's a good idea to have your air filter checked routinely. However, if you've left it unchanged too long, here are a few symptoms you can expect:

- Rough or uneven idling
- Engine misses
- Start problems
- Decreased gas mileage

Yes, dirty air filters decrease your car's gas mileage - sometimes quite dramatically. Don't believe me? Have the Cars for Keeps crew swap your filthy air filter for a new one and notice the extra days between fill-ups.

Safe driving!

What Do You Look for In An Auto Repair Shop?

by Marjorie, Social Media Manager

Here at the shop lately, we've been brainstorming ways to keep our customers happy (and get more of them, of course!). In the process, it's occurred to us that our customers aren't always predictable! What we feel is most important in quality auto repair service isn't always the same as what you - the West Michigan driver - feel is most important.

Educating our customers is an important part of our business, because we want you to feel that you KNOW what your car needs and what work is being done on it. In the spirit of a well-rounded education, we recognize that we could stand to learn more about our customers! This weekend we'll be launching a giveaway (with a juicy prize) that will help us answer some of these questions, but in the meantime we figured it wouldn't hurt to open up the discussion here.

To provide better service, we'd like to get into the heads of car owners and find out what's most important to them when it comes to auto repair. For example:

What do you look for in an auto repair shop?

How do you, your friends or your family choose a new mechanic?

What unpleasant experiences have you had in repair shops that you'd like to avoid?

So if you have any thoughts, go ahead and pitch in! Tell us what makes you keep coming back to your favorite auto repair garage or mechanic - or what makes you run. We appreciate any feedback you have to help us provide you with better service.

Don't forget to stay tuned for our giveaway later this week!

Safe driving...

What's In A Name? The Aesthetics of Auto Repair Terminology

by Colette Cooley, Cars for Keeps Office Manager

It is pretty common knowledge that women are very sensitive to words. When you hear certain words do you visualize a color? Do you have an emotional response? Do you forget certain words because they are just too ugly to have roaming around in your brain?

Working at Cars For Keeps has introduced a whole new vocabulary. Some words are just too silly to be connected to a powerful machine like a car. Such as, O-Ring, nipple, universal joint, input shaft, tensioner and oxygen sensor, which all sound like words you would hear in a hospital.

Then there are words that have a lovely sound and just sort of roll gently around in your mouth. Such as, actuator, differential, solenoid, accumulator, evaporator, plenum and resonator. Words that are musical like harmonic balancer.

Then there's (this must be a guy thing) the slave cylinder. What is that! Most women don’t really care what the name of such things are, we just know that if it fixes the car – we’re good. The mechanics here at Cars For Keeps know what is in a name, how it works and what to do with it to make your car safe and running well. Like I said, “We’re good.”

5 Tips for Driving Safely in the Rain

by Marjorie, Social Media Manager

Over the winter, we covered safety tips for driving on snow and black ice. Thank goodness we don't have to talk about that anymore! Just because winter is over doesn't mean the weather ceases to cause safety hazards on the road, however. Rain can cause just as many problems as snow on the road, especially for commuters and those traveling on the freeway. In honor of our recent, much-needed Easter rains, let's look at a few ways to stay safe in rainy conditions.

Be extra careful of driving in the rain after a dry spell. Fumes and oil leaks that build up on dry pavement rise to the surface of the road when it rains, making the road far slicker than it may seem. If it hasn't rained in a while, this buildup gets extra thick and takes longer to wash away. It's always a good idea to take it extra careful under these conditions.

Beware of hydroplaning. When rain on the pavement is thick enough, it can cause cars to "float" on a layer of water rather than adhering to the pavement surface. The effect of hydroplaning is very similar to that of driving on black ice, only far easier to correct. Hydroplaning usually occurs when your vehicle is going relatively fast, so one way to avoid hydroplaning is to simply take it slow. When the unavoidable happens, however, simply let your foot off the gas and steer your vehicle straight until its tires come back in contact with the pavement. It should only take a few seconds, while braking can quickly cause you to lose control of the vehicle.



Don't rely on your car's brakes. Similar to driving on snow and ice, hard, fast braking is likely to cause more harm than good when driving in rain. Be sure to use slow, light braking only when necessary, using slow acceleration and steering to control your car. Heavy, sudden braking could induce hydroplaning or a spin.

Leave extra space between you and the cars around you. It's always a good idea to leave a good distance between you and the car in front of you, especially in freeway driving. Increasing that distance in rainy conditions allows you more time to react to potential problems. Here's a good rule of thumb: pick a landmark (like a road sign) up ahead beside the car in front of you, and count the number of seconds it takes for you to pass the same landmark. Under average freeway driving conditions, a safe count is five seconds. Under rainy conditions, it should be at least eight.



Keep tires and windshield wipers maintained. Poor visibility is often the most dangerous handicap when driving in the rain. A good set of soft rubber wipers and a windshield treatment (which causes water to bead) will do wonders for visibility, and they're cheap to have installed. Bald summer tires greatly reduce your car's traction in rainy weather, and they should be replaced with good all-weather tires. We keep summer, winter and all weather tires in stock to fit a range of budgets, and we're happy to replace old wipers at the cost of equipment. Just stop by and ask!

Thanks for stopping by. Safe driving!

Spring Cleaning Car Care Tips

by Marjorie, Social Media Manager

It doesn't seem very long ago that we were posting tips on how to prepare your car for winter. For those of you who hate winter, that may seem like a very long time ago! Spring has reached West Michigan in force this weekend, and at last it's time to talk about something much more pleasant: preparing your car for spring!

Here are a few things to keep in mind as you clean out your car this (beautiful) weekend:

Remove sand, salt and extra weight in the trunk. Last fall, Robert recommended keeping bags of kitty litter or sand in the back of your car to give it more traction or to use in emergencies. Now that we don't have to worry about black ice and snow, this extra weight will only serve to decrease your car mileage. If it's not a spare tire, get it out of the trunk!

Wash off that salt! Especially from the undercarriage. It's best to take your car through a quality drive through car wash for its first post-winter wash. Your car's undercarriage has undoubtedly accumulated untold layers of salt and grit that will eat away at the vehicle's vital organs if not removed. Tell the car wash fundraiser kids (or your husband) they can have the next cleaning.

Organize your car's interior to help keep it clean. There's a reason there's always garbage in my car, and it's not ONLY because I'm usually too lazy to bring it inside and throw it away. My tiny compact car has no trash can! My mom has solved this problem by hanging a small plastic bag from the cigarette lighter, but anything else would work. An old plastic cup from the gas station, a paper bag under the seat - it could be anything, as long as it keeps the trash all in one place.

Do you struggle with having stray CDs or receipts around the inside of your car, too? Treat yourself to a car CD organizer and a few plastic containers and place them in easy-to-reach locations inside your car.

Change those winter tires! Don't waste your super-sticky tire tread on dry pavement. Throw your car's summer tires in the trunk and run them down to the Cars for Keeps shop to make sure your winter tires keep their tread longer.

And finally...

Check for repair needs. Your vehicle's fluids, wiper blades, oil and undercarriage should be inspected to make sure they're keeping your vehicle in good shape. Antifreeze and transmission fluids are often low after a winter season, oil is often dirty and snow clods may have damaged important wiring in the undercarriage. You can have all this taken care of with our free Pit Stop inspection.

Enjoy this weekend's beautiful weather!