Blogs

Wheel alignment determines how your car handles, and for an everyday driver, there’s no telling what kind of obstacles you’ll encounter. This is why it is very important to keep your vehicle’s wheels in-line.

Suspension is what connects your vehicle to its wheels and provides a smooth, safe ride over uneven streets. Parts of your vehicle’s suspension will bend over time or as a result of collisions with curbs or potholes. As these parts change shape, your wheels may become misaligned and cause your car to veer to one side or go through your tires very quickly.

A new automobile, for most people, is their second largest investment (next to a home). A great way to save money and increase financial assets is to hang on to that vehicle, rather than purchase a new one every few years. With proper maintenance, it’s very common and inexpensive to get 150,000 miles from a vehicle, if not more.

The Car Care Council estimates that $60 billion in vehicle maintenance or repair is not performed every year. This is evidence that there is considerably more that consumers can be doing to protect the investment they made on their automobile.

Transmission repair can be expensive, but without a properly working transmission, your vehicle cannot run. Both manual and automatic transmissions ensure that power moves from the vehicle's engine to the wheels. Your vehicle's engine works at speeds called RPMs or Revolutions per Minute. The transmission's job is to transmit power to the wheels while keeping the engine's RPMs in the optimal range. It does this through a complicated combination of gears and parts that recognize changes in speed and RPMs and move accordingly to optimize the vehicle's energy.

Do you cringe every time you arrive at the gas pumps and see how much it’s going to hurt your wallet to fill up this time? There are some ways that you can add some extra miles to the gallons of fuel your vehicle consumes. Some ways require you to purchase something to help your car out, while others ways are simple driving tips, either of which will have significant long term effects.

The automatic transmission is one of the most complicated parts of the vehicle, and the second most expensive component to replace. You can probably see why it’s important to take care of your transmission and make sure it’s in great shape!

What causes transmission problems?

Overheating is the cause of most transmission troubles. Overheating can occur when towing a heavy load, rocking the vehicle from the snow, having continuous stop-and-go traffic in hot weather, racing, and other activities that work the transmission hard.

June 2011 Good tires can be expensive, so it only makes sense to try and get the most out of them. Everyone is interested in getting the most “bang for their buck,” so here are some ways to get the most out of your tires:

Balance

Although most car maintenance should be left to an ASE Certified Technician, some regular monthly checks will protect your vehicle from incurring any serious unexpected problems on the road. Make sure to take some time to get familiar with what is under the hood of your car and stop by an auto repair shop in Vacaville if you have questions.

Is being a safe driver all it takes to avoid accidents? Although this is a great start, driving defensively takes safe driving to a whole new level. Allstate has released its Collision Prevention Formula to help teach people techniques that will decrease the chances of getting into an accident.

There are several defensive driving techniques that will alleviate dangers and help you drive safely: Know, Show, Slow, Go.

Know the rules for intersections and know which way you plan on going before you arrive at the intersection.