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Car & Truck Tips For Buying, Selling, Service And Quick Fixes
Welcome to Car & Truck Tips! Browse our site and you will find quality information about sales and service related to cars, trucks, vans, suvs, and all other new and used vehicles. Our car and truck tips are brought to you by people who have spent their entire careers in the automotive industry selling, buying and servicing cars at the dealership level. Our primary goal is to provide you, the consumer, with quality and sound advisement concerning your car and truck buying, selling and servicing. Whether it is a routine tune up or buying a used car or truck online, the advice and tips on this website will help you to make wise and informed decisions and feel confident negotiating a deal on and offline with car dealers and negotiating service contracts with dealer service departments or your local mechanic. |
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 Replacement Parts: OEM vs Aftermarket
AAA towed the Ford Windstar into the dealership with a no start condition. The owner had called the shop and told the Service Advisor that the no start problem had been diagnosed by another shop as bad Powertrain Control Module, which was replaced to no avail. Our shop went through the normal diagnostics associated with a no start concern. All diagnostics led to a bad PCM. Armed with the information that the PCM had just been replaced the technician ignored what the diagnostic test were telling him and dove into the wiring harness that feeds the vehicle’s power train. After a couple hours of looking for other causes of
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Parts Replacement: The Water Pump
I heard the growling noise coming from the engine of my son’s car as he pulled into the driveway. I thought to myself, that is not a good sound. He moved his mother’s car from the garage making room to get his in to determine the cause to the horrific noise. I met him in the garage ready to assist should he ask. At the least I knew he would be into my tool box. After lifting the hood and restarting the engine he located the source of the noise, the water pump. The water pumps purpose on your car or truck is to
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Honest Dealerships: It Ain't Easy Being Sleazy
The task of going out and purchasing a car or truck can cause anxiety to many a vehicle buyer. Next to your house, the purchase of transportation is the largest purchase you will ever make. Many a vehicle owner has an emotional connection to their vehicle, even naming them names like Old Betsy or Woolybugger. This emotional connection just increases the anxiety when it is time to shop. It does not have to be that way. The reality is there are more honest new and used car dealers then sleazy ones. In fact it is
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Repair Tools: What You Need To Do It Yourself
To perform your own maintenance or repairs to your car or truck, you will need some tools. My recommendation is that you buy the right tools but don’t go overboard. A professional automobile technician buys the best tools available because he/she makes a living using them. You on the other hand, are going to use your tools occasionally. When shopping for hand tools stick with brand names like Craftsman or Napa brand. These tools are a fair value and come with a lifetime guarantee that will replace the tool should it break. Your most important tool
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Road Trips: Safety Tips For Family Travel
I just wrote some tips for those that like to get off the beaten path and visit the remote country side via logging roads. It occurred to me that some tips for those that stay on pavement could be helpful as well. As I have said in so many of my tips, preparation is key when it comes to your car or truck. Before leaving for a road trip, take the time to check the fluid levels of all the lubricated components of your vehicle. This means more then checking the engine oil. Be sure the transmission fluid is full, the power steering, differential, and cooling system fluid levels are at capacity. Does your car or truck have
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Auto Maintenance: Avoid Costly Repairs
I have been associated with the automobile business my entire working life. From a high school part time job pumping gas at the local “service” station, to my current job as service director for one of Maine’s largest Ford dealer groups; if there is one thing I have learned in all those years of being around things mechanical it is, if you don’t maintain it, it will break, and you will have to pay to fix it. I don’t care if you are talking about your lawn mower, boat, snow blower, or your car or truck. Much like our own
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Pothole Damage: Tips For Colder Climates
If you live in a cold climate like Maine, you know about the battles we fight against the dreaded pothole. Well, pothole season is here with vengeance this year. Potholes are created when the temperatures rise above freezing and the snow and ice melts. When the melting occurs, the water seeps through the cracks in the pavement and when the temperatures return to freezing the water turns to ice. The ice expands forcing the asphalt to rise. As traffic drives over the rises the pothole is created. Potholes are an enemy of your car or truck. They show up
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Accessories: Styled Wheels & Chrome Rims
There is nothing that adds more appeal to your car or truck then a set of designer wheels or rims. Chrome and alloy wheels are the eye candy that brings attention to your ride. The most difficult part of dressing up your vehicle with wheels is which style to purchase. If you Google styled wheels or rims, chrome wheels, or any number of variations, the list of vendors is pages long. You can purchase wheels in the exact
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Buying Tips: Sail Away From The Sale
My mailbox has been stuffed with sales flyers from the auto dealers in my area. I have been offered free gas for a year, payments as low at $59.00 per month, and a chance to win $7500.00 if I buy a new or used car or truck in the next 5 days. According to the sales flyers, this is a Presidents Day Sale, a Liquidation Sale, or some other call to action campaign to get me to respond immediately. As I am bored this time of year I thought it would be fun to visit one of the dealerships and see what I might be missing. So with flyer in hand I strolled into the showroom and
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Starting In Cold Weather: Does Wind Chill Have An Affect
It is another cold day in the northeast corner. The weather channel reports the ambient temperature in my area to be 12 above zero, with a wind chill of minus 15. Believe me when I tell you there is nothing pleasant about being outside. This led to a discussion at the dealership where I work as to whether the wind chill had any effect on the cars and trucks that sit out in this climate. The answer is yes and no. If you took a car or truck radiator, filled it with antifreeze and set it outside in a howling north wind the wind chill would not
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