Preparing for your week long vacation or just getting ready to hit the road for a nice long weekend??
Don't forget to Prepare you Vehicle for the journey! Regular maintenance is critical to the life of your vehicle, but it is especially important when heading off for a long trip in the summer heat. When was your vehicles last tune up? When was your last oil change?
It’s Friday night after a long week of work, and you’re ready to cut loose. The weatherman is yapping on the news channel about how this weekend will be perfect temperatures and cloudless skies. Your mind wanders to that bike in your garage, and you start thinking about how a ride is in order. Whether you have ridden that bike every day to work this week, or you are just taking it out of the garage from the winter, giving your bike a quick motorcycle check is the best way to start a ride.
Sitting at a motorcycle rally in 1997, I was talking to a grizzled old biker. He was different from the rest of the bikers there; he used a full face helmet and a leather jacket when he rode, even in the heat of summer. He explained to me that I was a ~explicative~ idiot for not wearing a real DOT helmet and that my brain bucket wasn’t worth its weight in doggie droppings. We talked about the price of helmets, and how his was a $500 helmet before the custom paint, so I asked him how much a rider should spend on a helmet. His response has echoed to me ever since. “Well kid, how much is your head worth?”
Thankfully! Pollen does not get inside of your car the way it covers the outside, but it can still cause issues, especially if you or anyone riding with you suffer from spring-time allergies. These simple steps will help you keep the inside of your car as pollen free as the outside.
There are two types of people in the world, those who love detailing a car, and those who prefer to take their ride to a car detailer. Most people spend lots of time in their car commuting to work, grabbing groceries, or even going on vacation. With all that time in your vehicle, there are plenty of chances to spill coffee, let your pet shed, leave fast food in the seat, or watch your kids wipe a PB&J across the back of your headrest.
Contrary to what a lot of car product companies tout, pollen is not 'highly acidic" and will not aggressively eat holes through the metal of your car's body. Pollen is classified as environmental fallout by the EPA. This has a lot less to do with how pollen affects your car than how pollen affects people. So, even if the Ph. of pollen is low, that does not mean that pollen is harmless to your car's finish.
There are many reasons for detailing a car. Some may subscribe to the thought that “How your car looks on the outside is a reflection of the driver on the inside.” Others are looking to maintain the value of their car. Maybe you just enjoy spending a lazy Saturday afternoon cleaning cars. Professional car cleaning is expensive, so you might prefer to do it at home. No matter why you do it, there are right ways and a definite wrong way to wash your car.
Receiving your Federal Tax Refund can be an exciting day. Whether you prepare taxes yourself with an online tax return calculator, or you’ve let a professional handle your business, nothing beats the day you look at your account and find yourself a bit richer. So what do you do with that extra dough? Spend it on a vacation? Buy a cute new outfit? A wiser decision may be taking care of your car. Next to a home, your car is the biggest and most important investment you’ll make. To keep your vehicle running smoothly, and to avoid pouring your wallet’s contents into the pocket of an auto mechanic, check your scheduled maintenance, and regularly inspect for worn parts. Each vehicle will have specific car service needs, and here are a few they all likely have in common.
For decades, the narrative of the shady used car salesman has been repeated. While this misconception is not entirely unfounded, it is greatly overstated. Running into a person who has a story about the time when their little sister’s best friend’s neighbor had to get involved in a car sales transaction because their kid was about to get into a bad deal makes a great story. Either the storyteller (and the person listening to the story) gets the satisfaction of “sticking it to the man”, or gets to commiserate about how they “got stuck by the man.”
An essential part of buying a new car is the test drive. Test drives are exciting, the car is new to you, and you likely have a lot of hope that this is the car you’ll love. Don’t get overly sentimental about the first car you test drive, or even about the third car you test drive. Drive many cars that are in your price range. Driving several cars will allow you to get over the excitement, and remain objective. A car is an investment that you will likely live with for at least a year; the test drive will give you a good idea of problems to come.
