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Car Maintenance Services to Schedule With Your Auto Technician: Spring Auto Maintenance Checklist

Don?t risk being stranded or getting less than you should from your car at trade in. A little attention to the basics now will improve its appearance and performance for years to come.

Now scheduling with your service center is easy, thanks to this handy checklist of items for the spring season. Don?t miss the first checklist, with items you can do yourself.

1.First, find a quality service shop. Look for one that services cars equal in value to your own (their parking lot will speak volumes!). Go inside and check out the equipment in the service bays (for example, our RK Chevrolet service center has state-of-the-art, computerized equipment. This facilitates faster diagnosis and repair, getting you back on the road quicker.)

To find out the qualifications of the technicians, scan the walls for trade school diplomas, certificates of advanced course work and training classes.

2.Have your technician check the tightness and condition of belts, clamps, and hoses. (RK Scion technicians recommend that belts and hoses be inspected monthly).

Worn, glazed or frayed belts should be replaced, as should bulging, rotten, or brittle hoses. Clamps should be tightened.

3.Anything that is worn or damaged should be replaced to prevent sudden breakdowns.

4.If your air conditioner system is faulty, have it checked. Cooling inefficiency could be the result of a lack of air flow across the condenser. Have your mechanic make sure the electric cooling fan motor near the condenser is coming on.

In fan blade models, the fan should turn very fast. Also have your mechanic check the Freon level and pressure. Air conditioners on older vehicles often contain ozone-depleting chemicals that could be released into the air if the system isn?t working properly.

5.If your engine is experiencing hard starts, rough idling, or stalling, have it fixed. Often times, the trouble stems from basic things like worn spark plugs, a dirty air filter, or bad ignition wires, but if you?re not mechanically inclined whatsoever, it?s best to go straight to a professional.

(Taking care of little things early will likely improve your gasoline mileage and prevent minor problems from becoming expensive repairs later on.

6.Don?t neglect your transmission. RK Toyota technicians report that routine service can eliminate costly repairs down the road. A manual transmission does not usually experience trouble, except for the clutch, which can be problematic if improperly adjusted or abused.

A common problem with automatics is fluid breakdown from overheating. Fluid and filter changes every 24,000 miles can avoid premature transmission failure but few people heed such advice.

Don?t miss Part 1 of this series: RK Auto Group Spring Checklist of Services You Can Do On Your Own. Article written by Tom Kline (RK Buick)

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Peugeot 206 cc from Israel

Peugeot 206 cc side Peugeot 206 cc Dash Peugeot 206 cc subs Peugeot 206 cc Interior

A modified Peugeot 206 cc from Israel. The customer is hoping to transorm the bodywork with some nice bumpers, side skirts, wheel arches etc. and promises to send us some more pics when done. Check our Peugeot 206 Body Kits section.

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Want to buy a Hybrid? We give you 7 reasons not to.

Majority of the people hold the view that if they buy a hybrid, all their worries about high fuel prices and other vehicle related costs will disappear. This couldn’t be further from the truth and becomes apparent when one stands back and wonders why the whole World hasn’t gone crazy purchasing these hybrid vehicles. Some of the many reasons are as follows;
  • 1 – Hybrid technology comes with its own unique problems which require expert knowledge to fix. Your local garage mechanic will just put his hands up and say “experts only I’m afraid”. Expert knowledge means you have to dig deaper into your pockets to get hybrids repaired.
  • 2 – Hybrids come with a limited battery life so you will only do a certain number of miles and then the battery is dead for good. Although Toyota and Honda have reported hybrids doing up to 200k, this nagging feeling that the battery could die on you can cause a few stomach ulcers.
  • 3 – Hybrids tend to stall and suffer loss of power more often than the normal cars we’re used to. Driving at high speed on a motorway, the last thing you need is for the petrol engine to suddenly cut off and the battery to be activated causing a sudden feel of loss of power.
  • 4 – Hybrids do not give a returns saving as expected. Most people would purchase a hybrid to save money in the long run but they’re shocked to learn that the premium costs incurred when buying the hybrid will not be recovered. Basically, hybrids do not pay for themselves.
  • 5 – Hybrids have a very low quality driving performance and are really only good for inner city driving. Petrol or diesel lower engine sized rival models give the same economy figures but a far better ride quality and performance.
    • 6 – Hybrids do not have as good a resale value as most will expect. This takes us back to the original thought that makes us wonder as to why we don’t see everyone driving a hybrid. The reason is the low demand although this factor may now change slightly with the favourability leaning towards the hybrids a bit due to rising oil prices.
  • 7 – Hybrids do not return the mileage promised by the makers. This point is true for most vehicle models out there where the car makers boast about an amazing mpg figure which never turns out to be true for the every day driver but in the case of hybrids, the official mpg figure seems to be exaggerated a bit too much. Still want a Hybrid, Go Ahead! But do share your experiences with us here.

    • Posted in Articles, Hybrid Cars | 1 Comment »

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