I Want a New Vehicle. Or Do I? (Vehicle Maintenance Payoffs)

Spring is a peak season for vehicle sales; companies aggressively market new models and offer all sorts of incentives. So you may be tempted to buy a shiny new beauty. But should you?

If you’ve regularly maintained the vehicle you’re driving now, you probably don’t NEED a new one. Even if your current one needs some repairs, how do those costs compare to what you’d spend on a new vehicle?

A brand new vehicle starts to depreciate the second you drive it off the lot. How much? Experts say you’ll lose half of its value during the first 5 years of owning a new vehicle. So if you pay $30,000 for a new one, you’ll lose $15,000 in 5 years. That’s a lot.

If you have paid off your current vehicle, think of having to start making car payments again. Let’s say your new payment would be $350 a month. Bet you can think of a lot of things you can buy with an extra $350 a month.

Many considering a new vehicle don’t factor how much their insurance and license tag fees will increase. You may save yourself hundreds of dollars in insurance and license tag fees every year if you keep your old vehicle.

That gets us back to the original question. Do you need a new vehicle? Reliability and durability of most models have made dramatic improvements in the last couple of decades. It’s not unusual for a vehicle to reliably reach the 200,000 mile/325,000 km mark these days. That’s due to new engineering in powertrains, corrosion protection and lubricants.

The best bet to keeping a vehicle on the road longer is scheduled, regular maintenance and inspection. Replacing parts before they fail is often cheaper than waiting till they do fail; frequently that prevents a damaging domino effect that affects other systems in the vehicle. Finding a service facility you can trust and developing a relationship with that facility ensures your scheduled service and maintenance will be done correctly, minimizing breakdowns.

Sure, at some point you may find you need a big repair that will cost more than your vehicle is worth, or rust will destroy vital components. But it’s wise to use reason rather than emotion when you’re making any decision about your vehicle, and sticking with your current one could be the most sensible choice.

Autotronics of St. Peter
111 Jefferson Avenue
St. Peter, MN 56082
507.934.9290
http://autotronicsstpeter.com

I’m Cool With That (AC Exchange)

On a hot day, you want your vehicle’s air conditioning to work. When the air blowing out of your vents isn’t cold, it’s easy to think, “I’ll just take it by the shop and have them top off my refrigerant.” But while some people think air conditioning is that simple, it’s actually not.

If your refrigerant is low, something has to have happened for it to be depleted. Perhaps there’s a leak in the system. Or some hoses or clamps have failed. If the system isn’t evaluated by someone who knows air conditioning, it’s possible that adding refrigerant will just be a band-aid solution.

It’s also possible that contaminants have gotten into the refrigerant, such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, argon, or air. Some of those gases do not condense like refrigerant does which can increase the pressure inside the system and strain the lines and other components. At that point, the best course of action may be to have the old refrigerant (with its contaminants) bled from the system and have your AC recharged with new refrigerant.

Bring it to us, and we can inspect and test the system and all its components. That will include a pressure test for leaks. Most vehicle manufacturers don’t have a service schedule for air conditioning systems, so one way to know when you should have it looked at is when it’s not behaving the way it used to. For example, it may not get cold as fast as it did before or even at all.

So, when hot air is exiting your vents when you want it to be cold, schedule an appointment and have a trained technician take care of it. Are you cool with that?

Autotronics of St. Peter
111 Jefferson Avenue
St. Peter, MN 56082
507.934.9290
http://autotronicsstpeter.com

Rotation Explanation (Tire Rotation Patterns)

You may notice that when you get your vehicle’s oil changed, your service adviser may recommend that you have your tires rotated at the same time. The reasons are simple. That will allow your tires to wear more evenly and reduce the noise your tires make as you drive down the road.

There are different ways of rotating tires. If your vehicle has non-directional tires and the same size wheels at each corner, here are the different rotation patterns.

For all-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive vehicles, one is called the rearward cross pattern. The rear tires are moved to the front and stay on the same side of the vehicle, and the front tires are moved to the rear on the side opposite of where they were on the front.

For all-wheel and four-wheel drive vehicles, use the X pattern. The rear tires are moved to the front on the opposite side of the vehicle, and the fronts are moved to the rear on the opposite side of where they were on the front.

For front-wheel drive, there’s the forward cross. The front tires are moved to the rear wheels on the same side of the vehicle as they were on the front and the rear tires are moved to the opposite side of the vehicle than they were on the rear.

If you have directional tires (they only can be mounted in one direction) and the same size directional wheels, the rear tires are moved to the front on the same side of the vehicle where they were, and the front tires are moved to the rear on the same side they were on the front. And if you have tires with different sizes of non-directional tires and wheels on the front and rear, rotation will be from one side of the vehicle to the other.

If you have a spare, it’s put into the rotation using a forward cross or rearward cross.

Yep, that’s a lot to keep straight. So, we suggest letting your service advisor recommend the right rotation pattern for you at the interval your vehicle’s manufacturer specifies.

Autotronics of St. Peter
111 Jefferson Avenue
St. Peter, MN 56082
507.934.9290
http://autotronicsstpeter.com