Automotive News & Information - Dad's Garage Auto Repair

If you want to avoid nasty and unexpected surprise maintenance costs, sticking to a regimented schedule of preventative maintenance is something you are going to want to get used to. The reason being is simple – frequent maintenance will keep your car in good health, ensuring you get the most out of all those expensive-to-replace parts. While it might sound counterintuitive, the best way to reduce maintenance costs is to stick to a prescribed maintenance schedule.

You may be surprised – shocked, even – to learn just how important automotive shocks and struts really are. If you need new shocks or struts, don't delay, because these are crucial safety items that help you maintain control behind the wheel.

But wait a minute. How do you know whether or not you need replacements? And what does a shock or strut even do in the first place? Every driver should know the answers to these questions, yet few actually do. So we're going to walk you through the answers, step by step.

For those of you who aren't mechanically-savvy, you probably still understand that transmission problems are among the most expensive repairs required for your vehicle. That's because your transmission is a complex system of gears that transmit mechanical power to your engine, ultimately determining the rate of speed you travel.

Car Exterior care tips include:
1. Protect car paint from the sun: Paint does more than make your vehicle look great. It’s also the first line of defense against rusted body panels. Of course, the best way to protect the paint is to park the car in a garage. If that is not possible, park in the shade or purchase a car cover. The sun’s ultraviolet rays break down paint and cause it to fade. Some car covers protect your car from more than sun, moisture, bird droppings, and dust — they also have a thin layer of cushioning that will guard against light impact, such as from a tipped bicycle or small falling tree branch.

2. Touch up nicks sooner rather than later Touch-up paint won’t adhere well to rust. So be sure to keep some matching touch-up paint on hand so you can touch up any minor nicks, often found around door edges, before rust has a chance to form.

Let's talk about air conditioning service and repair issues. Most of us we don't give our air conditioning a second thought as long as it's making cold air. But it's a complex and expensive system that we should think about before it starts blowing hot air in the summer months.

You've probably noticed a bunch of warning lights on your dash when you start your engine. They flash on to test the circuits and then go off if everything's OK. One of the warning lights looks like a car battery. Its job is to tell you if your battery's not charging properly.

When your check engine lights comes on, you may be torn between utter panic and just wanting to ignore it and hope it goes away. That's perfectly understandable. That same check engine light could come on for anything from a serious engine or transmission problem all the way down to a loose gas cap.

Some people are confused by charges for diagnostic services for a vehicle repair, even though many other services in life include diagnostic fees – things like computer service and appliance repair are just two examples. Even when we go into the doctor for a medical problem, we're paying her to diagnose our ailment and of course for the tests that go along with it. So receiving a diagnostic charge for a tricky automotive problem shouldn't be a surprise.