Have we forgotten last winter? Do you remember the incidents of ice coming off of one car and breaking the windshield of the car behind it? There were numerous accidents caused by the same.
As I drove in this morning it seemed quite a few people either forgot or they just don’t give a damn about anyone else on the road. We’ve also seen wiper systems damaged when the person hit the brakes and the pile of ice & snow slid off the roof and across their own windshield, taking the wipers with it. Please take a couple extra minutes & clear the snow.
They make some great snow pushers that reach on to the roof and don’t scratch the paint. They’re available at a number of places, including Hometown Garage.
There is a difference between maintenance and quick lube. When you go into a quick lube, you know the chains stores I’m referring to, they usually have one thing in mind; up-sell. You need to flush everything, need new filters and need a new belt. Sound familiar?
They don’t hire trained and certified mechanics. They train their help to change fluids and they typically get a commission on every up-sell. They don’t inspect the critical components and systems in your vehicle. They don’t check the brakes, steering linkage, suspension, exhaust and many more. They don’t do that work, they don’t sell that work and they aren’t trained to inspect it.
Just yesterday we had to do a $500 brake job on a late model 15 passenger van, with only 32k miles on it. They ran out of brake pad and destroyed the rotors. The reason I’m not happy about it is that it never should have happened. This vehicle is part of a fleet that belongs to a non-profit social service agency. Their budget and state funding has been cut; money is tight. We service their fleet when they break down and rarely see them for maintenance. This van had the oil changed at an Instant Oil Change 3000 miles ago. If a mechanic had serviced it he would have seen the almost worn out brakes and either scheduled the repair before damage was done or would have put in brake pads right then; at a cost of about $130. The last three times this exact situation occurred, different vans, the vans were serviced at an Instant Oil Change less than 300 miles before the brakes started grinding. $500 or $130, you do the math.
I know what you’re thinking, it was more profitable for us to do the larger job. You are absolutely right, but that’s not way we work. We want to sell you what you need , when you need it. We are here to help you maintain the investment you’ve made in your vehicle. That means sometimes selling you a smaller job and saving you money. It means never an unneeded up-sell. It not just about profit – it’s about Trust.
Want to save yourself a lot of money and even more aggravation? It only takes 30 seconds or less. It’s easy, follow these simple steps:
- Turn off your windshield wipers and allow them to return to the parked position before turning the ignition off
- If the temperature is below freezing, make sure the wiper blades aren’t frozen to the windshield by lifting each one up before starting the car
- Clear the windshield of snow & ice before turning on the windshield wipers
- If snow & ice build up on the windshield while driving; pull over in a safe place, clear the windshield and then continue on
How is this going to save me money? It’s simple, the cost to replace a wiper motor or wiper transmission ranges from $300 – $1000, sometimes more. Your wiper system consists of four basic parts
- The wiper motor, an electric motor that rotates when the switch is turned on
- The wiper transmission, sometimes called linkage, a series of pivots and rods that convert the rotating force of the motor into the back & forth motion seen on the windshield
- The wiper arm, this connects the wiper transmission to the wiper blade
- The wiper blade, this is the rubber & metal part that actually clears the windshield
It used to be these were mostly metal and even though not designed to, they would clear several inches of snow. Today things aren’t made as durable, that’s a whole seperate post. Now there are many plastic parts and the metal parts aren’t as strong. We see it every winter; people don’t clear the windshield or they start the car with wipers on & frozen to the windshield. Snap, pop, bang and the wipers stop. It takes a large amount of force to move your wiper blades. When the blades can’t move that force has to go somewhere and something breaks. These parts are vehicle specific and we have to order them through the dealer. A few times last winter the parts were back ordered and took 2 weeks to get. Two weeks without a car, that’s aggravation. And it could have been easily prevented.
Our first snow fall Saturday night got a lot of people thinking about their tires. Every other call this morning was to have their snow tires put on. Others want to know if they should buy snow tires.
Snow tires are just that, tires designed for good traction in the snow. They are typically made with a very soft rubber because it grips the road better. Because it’s soft, it also wears much faster than an all-season tire. Snow tires should be put on as late in the winter season as possible and taken off as soon as the threat of snow is over for the season. Doing this will get you the longest life from your new snow tires. Winter tires also have a tread pattern which has been designed to clear snow from the tread and for excellent traction.
All-Season tires are not snow tires. They are designed as good all around tire. The tread is better in snow than a highway tread, very straight tread, but it doesn’t come close to the traction of a snow tire.
If you frequently travel during the storm or live in a poorly plowed area, you should consider snow tires.You should buy a second set of rims for your snow tires. This saves the cost of breaking down, mounting and balancing your tires twice a year. You will recoup the investment in just a couple years. The finish on your original wheels will hold up much better when they are not exposed to road salt.
If you don’t go out during the storm, get home before it gets to slippery or are satisfied with the way your all-season tires have handled in the past; you are probably alright with all-season tires. If you stay with all-season tires you should replace them if they have6/32″ or less of tread left. While 2/32″ is technically worn out anything less than 6/32″ is very ineffective in snow.
If you want to order a set of snow tires, just give us a call.
