by Admin | Dec 20, 2019 | Auto Care Blog
The Subaru brand has some peculiarities, some of these facts you might already know, but some you won’t. So, let’s start at the beginning.
Strange Subaru Logo
You might have heard about this one before. Subaru is what the Japanese call the Pleiades star cluster. In Greek mythology the 7 brightest stars are called The Seven Sisters and those are the stars you see in the Subaru logo. But wait! There are only 6 stars in the logo, so what’s up with that? Well, one of the sisters is invisible, duh!
And the 6 stars in the logo represent what? Well, the 5 companies that merged to make Subaru! Of course! It’s Ok to give up now, we all have…
Subaru’s Anime
Back in 2011, Subaru teamed up with Gainax to create an anime series Hōkago no Pleiades. The original 4-part web series turned into a TV show in 2015. There were lots of magical girls, witches, a green blob from the Pleiades and stuff happened. The lead character was named Subaru.
Bricklin SV-1
Few cars are known for being spectacularly unsuccessful, but the Bricklin SV-1 was one of them. Bricklin, the person, was who launched Subaru of America and took it public, the only publicly traded car company. This made him hugely wealthy, so what did he do?
Malcom Bricklin created a sportscar that was safe and economical – the Bricklin SV-1. However, hunkered down in all that safety equipment made it UNeconomical, not sporty and less than reliable. Oh well.
Subaru Brat
The Subaru Brat was an odd 1970s pickup truck that maybe belonged in that anime they made. In order to avoid a “chicken tax” tariff, they had to make this little pickup truck not a pickup truck. So, they bolted two plastic chairs in the bed of the pickup truck, which was more of a whiplash maker as the backward chairs put the passengers’ heads above the roof of the truck to sort of flop around up there.
by Admin | Dec 4, 2019 | Auto Care Blog
There are two types of car buyers. There’s the buyer who loves to go to the dealer to haggle the price on a used car. Then there’s the person who hates going to the dealer so much that they’ll drive that old jalopy for years past its expiration date. For the latter, these tips make the car buying experience just a little easier.
Tricks Dealers Use on Car Buyers
Save yourself some grief by doing your best to follow these tips before stepping foot on the used car lot.
Educate Yourself
If you’re interested in purchasing a particular make and model of car, then look up the fair price for it on Kelley Blue Book (KBB.com) or Edmunds.com. Don’t go crazy thinking you should pay low wholesale when you’re a retail customer. The dealership needs to make a profit to stay in business, so be fair.
The Monthly Payment
Avoid talking in terms of your monthly payment. Already know what you can afford monthly before you go. Your monthly payment is not a negotiation point. You want a fair price. You can talk to the finance company about monthly payments. The salesman wants to sell you a car for more than it’s worth by talking only about a low monthly payment. Stay on the price topic.
Financing
Avoid the dealer’s financing choices. Your credit union or bank will likely have a fair auto loan rate for you. So, get pre-approved before you go to the dealer. Some dealers will pad your loan with a couple of points of interest for themselves when they are loan shopping for you.
The Pay Off
If the salesperson promises to pay off your car no matter how much you owe, then they plan to add all that excess money to your new loan. So, in the end you’ll be far overpaying for this newer car you’re getting. It’s better to take the loss on your current car. Just pay it off and negotiate a fair deal on this newer car.
Get it Checked Out
We’re happy to check out the condition of the car you’re thinking of purchasing. Give us a call and ask about our rates to take a look at your potentially new car. Good luck in your search for the perfect car for you.
by Admin | Nov 20, 2019 | Auto Care Blog
Flushing your car’s radiator is a fairly simple procedure, so you might be tempted to do it yourself to save money. But is that such a good idea?
Flushing Your Car’s Radiator
Your car’s radiator should be flushed periodically. Your car’s manual will tell you how often this needs to be done. It’s usually around every 5 years or every 100,000 miles.
Your radiator will stay in great condition if you flush it periodically. Letting it go for a many years without a flush will mean the coolant can no longer prevent corrosion in your radiator. This will lead to rust and it will spring some leaks causing it to overheat. If you plan to keep the car for many years, this is one more maintenance that you’ll need to have done.
Do It Yourself
Flushing your radiator will involve several simple steps.
- Buy a flushing agent.
- Buy 3 gallons of distilled water.
- Buy enough new coolant to fill your radiator.
- Make sure your radiator is completely cooled.
- Raise the front end of the car with a jack and jack stands.
- Put a large drain pan under the radiator’s drain plug.
- Remove radiator cap.
- Then unscrew the radiator plug.
- Let the fluid completely drain into the drain pan.
- Package the fluid so you can return it to a mechanic to recycle it. (It’s poisonous to pets, children and wildlife.)
- Once it is drained, screw the radiator plug back in.
- Fill the radiator with distilled water and flushing agent.
- Put the radiator cap back on.
- Start the car engine.
- Follow the instructions on the flushing agent container. It will tell you how long to let the engine run.
- Keep an eye on the car’s temperature gauge to make sure It doesn’t overheat.
- Turn the engine off.
- Drain the radiator again.
- Refill the radiator with new antifreeze. Check the antifreeze bottle to see if it needs to be diluted. Follow the instructions on the bottle.
- Start the engine again.
- Let it run until it reaches normal operating temperature.
- Turn off the engine.
- Now that the air pockets in the radiator are full add more antifreeze up to the fill line and recap.
- Now you’re done.
This is something that can be done in an afternoon yourself. However, by the time you buy all the supplies and take the fluids in to a mechanic to recycle it, you’ll likely have spent a lot of money. A mechanic could have done it a lot faster, plus checked belts, hoses and the radiator for leaks for the same that you paid or close to it.
by Admin | Nov 13, 2019 | Auto Care Blog
Windshield wiper blades are something that isn’t discussed much. You’re told how often to change your oil, but how often do you change your wipers?
When to Change Your Wiper Blades
The simple answer is once per year. The exception would be if you’re spending time up in the mountains and frequently dealing with ice and snow. When your wipers have to struggle with getting the snow or ice off of the windshield it’ll wear them out sooner. So, you’ll be replacing them every 6 months.
But if you’re living in the valley and not driving in a lot of snowy, icy stuff then you might get away with 2 years before changing them out. The more you put the wipers through, the sooner you’ll need to replace them.
How much you spend on wiper blades can be a factor, as well. Cheap wipers will split, tear and warp rather quickly. The higher cost blades will do a wonderful job keeping good visibility for a long time. It might be best to spend more to have a clearer windshield.
Changing Blades Yourself
Some car and truck owners like to change the blades themselves to save money. They’ll purchase a set of generic blades that fit their vehicle from Costco or an auto parts store like Pep Boys. Then they’ll swap out the new for the old, torn up blades.
You take your chances buying blades like this. Many times, the universal blades will list your car year and model as compatible and it won’t be. Or there will be a complicated trick in order to get them onto to your wipers, leaving you watching youtube videos for hours trying to figure it out. It would have been far better to just pay the extra $10 and have your mechanic change your blades along with your oil change.
by Admin | Nov 4, 2019 | Auto Care Blog
You might have been asked to purchase auto repair insurance or an extended warranty when you purchase your car or truck. These two things are very different. Which should you choose?
Auto Repair Insurance
Geico and Mercury Insurance are two companies that offer auto repair insurance. This is insurance that you can add to your auto liability insurance that will pay for repairs to your vehicle. It covers the big repairs like a blown engine or a failing transmission, things that cost thousands of dollars typically.
With Geico you’ll need to sign up for it while your car is less than 18 months old. This means you’ll be paying for it for years through the warranty period. Mercury will let you wait to sign up within 30 days of your warranty’s expiration. To use it, you call for a pre-authorization and then go to an authorized mechanic to have the repair done.
Extended Warranty
You’ll purchase this from the new car dealer when you purchase the car or at some point before your warranty expires. Offers from companies you’ve never heard of are famous for being scams. So, only purchase this from your dealer. There are usually a range of plans that cover different things.
Which to Choose
If you’ve had trouble with the car during the warranty period then it might be a good idea to buy Mercury’s auto repair insurance or an extended warranty, depending on the price. You’ll have to weigh the coverage cost against your best guess on costs of repair. Geico’s coverage must start so early in the car’s life that it probably isn’t worth it by the time something breaks.
Generally speaking, if your car is a bit of a lemon then get rid of it. Don’t throw good money after bad. And paying for extended warranties are usually making the company rich, not saving you any money. It is better to always have money in a savings account for a repair emergency.
by Admin | Oct 26, 2019 | Auto Care Blog
If you’re doing a little car shopping for a used car, you should probably avoid any of them listed on the worst used cars to buy list. While the price tag might be extremely low, the repair bills will not. Take a look at some of the worst of the bunch.
Worst Used Cars to Buy
These worst used cars to buy featured on this list are from not just the Bay Area, but from around the USA. You might be a little more likely to find these cars in California, though, because cars last so much longer here.
Saab 9-7X
The Saab 9-7X didn’t have much in the way of longevity. It was produced for only 5 years. It featured terrible fuel mileage and a terrible safety record. It was supposed to compete with the Chevy Trailblazer with an inline 6 cylinder or a V8.
2008 GMC Canyon
This is a pickup truck that was never loved by critics and it just got worse from there. The interior was cheap, it was not good on fuel and it didn’t have the power it needed from the inline 4 cylinder or inline 6 cylinder.
2018 Jaguar XJ
While this XJ has 3 powerful engine choices and great handling, the interior is cheap and it’s reliability is low-rated. At a price around $64,000, it’s best to pass.
2007 Dodge Nitro
The Nitro scores ok for safety, but it’s slow to accelerate, not reliable and has cheap interior. While the price around $4 grand might attract a money-pinched family, the money spent to keep it going won’t be worth the cheap buy price. There are more reliable SUVs out there.
2009 Chevrolet Arrow
There’s good fuel economy on this Arrow, but it’s at the cost of good acceleration, safety and reliability. It may or may not be worth the less than $3 grand you’ll pay for it.
Finding the Right Car
When you’re car shopping, bring the car by to have it checked by our mechanic at A1 Performance Auto Repair. We will look it over before you buy.
