In our vehicles today, our engines are highly complex and under extreme workloads, so the topic of changing your engine oil can be controversial and complicated. Let’s break it down so that you have the information you need to make the decision of when and how often to change your engine oil.     As you know, the engine of your car is absolutely crucial to your car’s operation, so taking care of it is very important. The oil system pumps oil through screens and filters to keep it clear of dirt and debris, it passes through pathways between components to lubricate and keep them protected, then back through to continue the cycle. In short, engine oil keeps your engine functioning properly, keeping components of the engine lubricated to reduce friction, regulates temperature, helps to seal connection points, and cleans as it pumps through the system.    However, we know that car manufacturers are in constant competition with other manufacturers to f ... read more

As we talked about on Tuesday, knowing when to change your engine oil has become more complex as changes are constantly made to new vehicle models. While you may think that relying on your car to tell you when it’s time for an engine oil change is the way to go, your car’s sensors don’t have all of the senses and information that you do. When you check your oil, you can observe and take into account these things that your vehicle does not:   Is the oil filter still working or is it completely soiled?     Your car does not have a sensor that has the ability to check whether or not your oil is still being filtered. Once the filter is full, a bypass valve allows the oil to bypass the filter in order to keep engine oil flowing in the engine. If your filter is full, it might be a sign that it’s time to change.    Color, Smell & Viscosity     Unlike us, our cars don’t have the physical senses that we do, so t ... read more

  Often, car owners tend to forget about their battery until it’s four years into its life, and all of the sudden, it dies on them. We get it, there are so many things to remember maintenance-wise with your vehicle. But, even if you forget to keep track of the dates, paying attention to a few signs and doing a couple of easy tests can lower your chances of being stranded with a dead battery.       Some common symptoms to watch for when on the lookout for a dead battery are slow engine cranking and problems with starting the car (especially in cold weather), issues with the sound system, and dimming headlights. If you find yourself having to jump-start your car more often or experiencing any of these signs, it might be time to do a check-up on your battery.     An easy way to do this at home is to test your headlights. To do this, turn on the engine of your parked car and make sure the headlights are on. Rev the engine and watch your hea ... read more

  Last time, we discussed the types of warranties and the pitfalls of the extended warranty as a whole. Basically, warranty companies have a much higher chance of benefiting from your purchase of an extended warranty than you are because it’s not as likely that your warranty will cover something you actually need replaced in the time you have it. In the event that you are covered under warranty and the extended warranty company accepts fault, in many cases they will battle with the repair facility and tell them what quality of part they want to install on the car and then ask us to back it with our warranty and put it in writing for them. Depending on how far you are in your warranty will really determine what they decide on parts, but we often see  requests to install used parts. Naturally, a customer expects that they will be receiving a new replacement, just like they would with home insurance– if the roof goes bad, it’ll be replaced with a new roof&hell ... read more

We’re all familiar with questions about a car’s extended warranty, but is having an extended warranty even worth purchasing? We want to preface our answer by clarifying that not all extended warranty companies are terrible, but there are some companies that give their industry a certain reputation. However, it’s completely up to you to decide what you think and whether or not an extended warranty suits your needs, so we want to ensure you have all the information you need to make this decision. First, let's dive into some of the different types of extended warranties.   The basic extended warranty (sometimes called bronze) package will be an extremely basic warranty. It will only have coverage up to a certain amount of money per hour paid out, as well as it generally will only cover half of the bill up to a maximum amount. Usually, it covers internally lubricated parts of the engine and transmission.   The plus extended warranty (or silver) package wi ... read more