lifestyle auto car

by Dennis Sweet, Cars for Keeps Customer Service Manager

Hello again!

I hope all of you are having a great summer. Here at the shop, we've noticed a change in our customers' auto repair trends over the last several months. It seems that more people are putting more of their financial resources into fixing the cars that they already own, rather than buying new (or used) cars.

New/used cars: to buy or not to buy.

Maybe it's just because we're an auto repair shop named "Cars for Keeps", but repairing and maintaining the vehicle you already own makes a lot of sense to us. By maintaining your current vehicle rather than buying a new/used car, you can be assured you know some or all of
the vehicle's service history. You know how it has been driven and where, and you also know what its "quirks" are.

Ideally, buying a brand new car would ensure there's "no service history", but you may also be signing up for system bugs and problems (did someone say Honda brakes?) the manufacturer hasn't yet found. If you by a used vehicle, its history and quirks will be known to you little - if at all.

Most used vehicles need anywhere from $2000 to $4000 worth of work to get them back
in the shape they should be in. Maintaining the vehicle that you already have, on the other hand, keeps the repairs down and no payments or interest. New vehicles often require you service your new car at dealerships, which are famous for being overpriced, to maintain vehicle warranties.

So if you've been thinking of getting rid of your vehicle in exchange for another one, we encourage you to weigh the decision carefully. Is it going to be more cost-effective in the long run to fix up the car you own, or to start all over on new or used car?

If you have any questions about how much it would cost to fix up your current vehicle - or what kind of repairs would be needed on a new-to-you used vehicle - we'd be happy to give you a free quote. Give us a call or stop by.

Your friendly neighbor Service Manager,
Dennis

by Colette Cooley, Cars for Keeps Office Manager

All you parents have probably noticed how your lives revolve around your kids. When they were born, you gave up sleep. When they were toddlers, you gave up any kind of social life. When they started school, you gave up your sporty car for that van. When they reached teen-hood, you gave up your schedule in favor of their schedule. When they started college, you gave up your life’s savings.

Oh but, what you have gotten back is priceless! All the back-talk, all the sass, all the temper tantrums are strangely forgotten when you see them in that cap and gown, or watch them perform in the orchestra, or watch them do what is right instead of what they have a right to do. You parents are truly heroes in this world.

So, once again the circle comes around and it is time to send the kiddies back to school. Whether you are bravely watching them let go of your hand and walk into school all by themselves, or more bravely watching them drive off to college by themselves, you hold panic back by going over the list of everything you have done to prepare them and seeing to their safety and welfare while they are out of your sight. Yes, a lot of it involves your car(s). Picking up, dropping off or sending off, you want that car to be in top condition.

We at Cars For Keeps can help you with that. If you are a Facebook Cars For Keeps Fan, you will see our coupons and specials as they are released, PLUS get Special deals for fans only! Savings on brakes, tires, maintenance, cooling and heating, and more are yours to be had with the touch of a Facebook button.

Welcome Back to School. Is your car ready?

by Colette Cooley, Cars for Keeps office Manager

One day last week I was innocently driving along, thinking everything was right with the world when, suddenly, there came a very loud ‘thunking’ from my rear tire. The sounds coming from the wheel well reminded me of rocks in a rock tumbler. All that racket simply shattered my peaceful afternoon drive. It’s amazing how quickly a person’s mood can go from contentment to irritated.

I arrived home to discover that I had picked up a rather large chunk of patching tar on my rear wheel. It was covering about a quarter of my tire and was firmly ground into all the little valleys and crevasses. Talk about Gunk! That stuff is worse than chewing gum. Which reminds me that I sat on some gum last weekend, but that's another story.

Anyway, I got out a screwdriver and some rags and patiently started to chip away at it. After ten minutes of scraping this incredibly sticky substance, I deduced that this stuff could hold the space shuttle together. After another ten minutes of strenuous scraping my mood plummeted from irritated to downright grumpy. I had cleaned a spot about the size of a quarter. OK, so physical labor is not going to do this job. It was time to use logic mixed with a healthy dose of slyness.

I found a can of something in my craft supplies called Oops. I read the directions with anticipation and, Yes, it says it removes tar. I squirted that whole can onto my tire. It softened that tar to the consistency of ---well, soft tar, which was enough to let me scrape the rest of it off in about an hour. By the time the job was done my mood had hit rock bottom. Only one remedy for that. You guessed it. Ice cream liberally covered with chocolate.

PS: I heard, but did not try, that WD40 works pretty well for tar removal too.