If you know anything about product testing, you'll know there's always the ideal world and then there's.... reality. Your car is no exception to this rule. When the vehicle is designed and manufactured, often faults aren't discovered until well after the car is on the road. Or what happens in the ideal world (at the design and testing stages) isn't a true reflection of the real world.
It's not often that I come across something really unique in the automotive world. Most of the time, the new technologies that you hear about are old technologies with fancier names and marketing strategies for them. When I came across the MV-1, it impressed me because it's the world's first factory-built vehicle manufactured “from the ground up” for wheelchair accesibility. Talk about forethought.
After my last post about what to do after a car accident, I received questions about what information is relevant to take down at the scene. FineLine Collision provides a Collision Handbook to their clients that lists what should be (at the very least) recorded at the scene.
Hopefully you won't ever need to use this post because you won't have a car accident. But just in case, it's always good to know what to do in the aftermath of a collision. If you've ever been in a car accident, you may have felt overwhelmed and frustrated. There are a lot of things that run through your mind so here's a checklist, courtesy of Mina Bajric from FineLine Collision, to help you if you're involved in a collision.
A recent Consumer Reports survey asked 168,000 vehicle owners how satisfied they were with their auto repair shop. The survey found that most owners prefer taking their cars to independent shops rather than dealerships for repair work.
Leaving your car parked outside while you make an escape to an air-conditioned environment? Here are five tips to keep your car cooler while it's waiting for you.
Park in the shade where possible. Or try parking with the sun towards the rear of your vehicle. That way there's less direct sunlight on your front dash and seats.
During the gruesome heat waves, do you long to hop in your car, turn on your air conditioner and feel that cool, crisp air? Much to your dismay, you turn it on and find it to be mildly cool and somewheat humid still. Uh-oh... is your car's air conditioner on the fritz?
I’m dating myself here but I remember when Ontario switched over to ‘no-fault’ insurance and it was a big change to our auto insurance system. Now, over 20 years later there’s still some confusion about what ‘no-fault’ really is. With the help of Fraser Wilkinson, Insurance Broker with Deeks Insurance, here’s what I found out about Ontario's no-fault insurance system.
There are some people in my life who think that talking about insurance is taboo. To talk about insurance is to say with certainty that something bad is going to happen. Well, I like to be prepared and let’s face it, insurance is important to cover the ‘what ifs’ in life. I sat down with Fraser Wilkinson, Insurance Broker with Deeks Insurance, to talk auto insurance in Ontario and here are some interesting things I found out.
Ever been in a situation where you wanted to lend a car to a friend, or needed to borrow someone’s car just to run an errand? I spoke with Fraser Wilkinson, Insurance Broker with Deeks Insurance, who reminds me that we are ultimately responsible for lending the car to someone who can be trusted with the care, custody and control of the vehicle.
When you ask men why they like their auto service tech (a.k.a. mechanic), they'll usually respond with the fact that their tech fixed the car right, they know what they're doing, the price was reasonable, etc. When you ask women why they didn't like their tech, it's usually because they weren't treated right, the repairs weren't explained adequately, they felt ripped off, etc.
According to a recent Skills Canada survey, many Canadians don't have practical, everyday skills. The survey results aren't surprising to many of us in the skilled trades, we've long known that Canada is facing a critical skilled labour shortage. Ask anyone who recruits skilled tradespeople and they'll attest that it's difficult to find good skilled workers.
I've seen alignment services that range from $50 to over $150. So what's the difference for some shops to command such a big price difference? There are two types of alignments: 2-wheel and 4-wheel. Often shops don't specify what type of alignment they're quoting, so make sure you ask if you're trying to compare quotes.
Did you know that an alignment is recommended every year for general maintenance? There are some repairs that require alignments, such as tie rod or strut/shock replacement, and it’s also done when a car has hit a curb or been in a collision. Most often, alignments are performed when a new set of tires is put on.
Earlier this month, various media outlets reported on a survey done through IllicitEncounters.com, a British dating website for married people (yah...that's a whole other post right there) where they surveyed their members and asked what kind of car they drove.
Does this happen to you? You're driving on the highway and all of a sudden you hear a loud 'ping'. Next thing you know, you're scouring your windshield to see if there's a chip somewhere!
A windshield chip may be something small and you may still be able to see through your windshield but it should really be addressed promptly. Small chips can easily be repaired but if left untouched, may grow to be a large crack in the windshield. At that point, the whole windshield needs to be replaced.
When searching for a used car, many people look at the mileage and think that low mileage means a better purchase. After all, the less a car has been driven, the less wear and tear, right?
This can be the case, but more important questions to ask are how and where the car was driven.
There are many advantages to a newer, higher mileage car including:
I can't emphasize enough how important it is to wear in your new brake materials properly-especially pads and rotors. Too much heat is a big problem for your car, and a lot of it is produced when you brake. Overheating in brakes causes many issues, including ineffective braking (it may take longer to come to a complete stop or you'll need to push harder on the brake pedal) and pulsation in brakes (due to warped rotors).
Park in the shade where possible. Or try parking with the sun towards the rear of your vehicle. That way there's less direct sunlight on your front dash and seats.
