Montpelier Auto Repair

Tips to keep your pets safe and comfortable during the winter! Never leave your dog alone in a car during cold weather. In the winter, a car is just like a refrigerator, trapping the cold air inside and can cause him to freeze to death. When your dog comes inside after being outdoors, wipe off his paws, legs and abdomen thoroughly. You may notice his paw pads bleeding from a coating of snow or ice. Booties can help protect against this condition. Dogs who are left outside for too long can suffer from hypothermia and frostbite. Extremities, like ear tips, paws and the end of the tail are particularly susceptible to cold injuries. During the winter, outdoor cats sometimes sleep under car hoods for warmth. Before starting your car, bang loudly on the hood and wait a few seconds to give the cat a chance to escape. If your cat goes outdoors during the colder months, make sure he or she is acclimated and doesn’t stay out too long, especially when the temperatures are below freezin ... read more

Winterizing your car is essential to surviving Vermont’s frigid winters. Make sure you can rely on your car to transport you and your family safely in any weather conditions Old Man Winter can throw your way. Why take the risk? Be proactive! Make sure your car is mechanically sound before the temperature dips and the snow starts falling. 9 Steps to Getting You and Your Car Ready for Winter.1. Clean your vehicle inside and out. Have body of your vehicle washed and waxed. This preventative measure will protect the paint surfaces from snowy bombardments, and it will also make snow and ice easier to brush off. Since you will be sitting in your car with the windows up and the heat on for the next six months do yourself a favor and give your car a thorough cleaning ASAP. Remove any debris that has collected over the summer, and vacuum the seats and floor. Dust the dash, wash the windows and clean the upholstery. To prevent that stale air / locker room smell ... read more

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr When the temperatures dip below zero, my auto repair shop starts receiving early morning SOS calls that sound something like this, “Auto Craftsmen? Help! My car is stranded in my driveway and it won’t start! I need to get to work, what do I do?” Most people immediately blame the battery. YES, it could be the battery…. BUT, it’s important to rule out the following before you spend time and money on a new one: Is there corrosion around the terminal connections that is preventing a good connection? Did you leave the light on and the battery was drained, and just needs to be re-charged? Is the electrical system operating efficiently? Is the real culprit the alternator? OR, is the problem with the starter? The Battery Council explains the following; At 32 degrees Fahrenheit, a fully-charged battery has only 65 percent of its available power. When the thermometer reads zero outside, available power drops to 40 pe ... read more

Winter is right around the corner. Many of us put away our summer cars once the leaves have fallen from the trees.  Some of you park your cars while you take extended trips out of Vermont once the temperatures dip below freezing. If you store your vehicle for the winter, there are very important steps you need to take so it does not deteriorate while just sitting. First off, never park your car outside and cover it up with a plastic tarp. The moisture under that tarp will cause a big rusty mess.  It is always better park your car in a dry garage, storage unit or barn. Please don’t just drive the car into the garage, turn off the ignition and walk away. There are very important steps you need to take so it does not deteriorate while just sitting. If you are storing it for the whole winter, prior to parking it, take it to your favorite auto repair shop for an oil change. Old oil becomes acidic and if left in the motor, contaminants and moisture will eva ... read more

Squeeeeeeel...  When you hear this noise coming from another car, it’s annoying.  But, when you hear it from your own car, it’s frightening. How many times a day do you have to stop your car? If you actually counted it would be a very high number. Now, imagine what could happen if your brakes took longer than you had anticipated to stop or worse, quit working during one of those stops. You could damage your car or worse you could hurt yourself, one of your passengers, or a unsuspecting pedestrian. If you notice any of the following in your vehicle, then you should have your vehicle inspected by an ASE Certified Brake Specialist. The brake light is lit on your dashboard: This indicating that something is amiss and needs to be inspected ASAP.   Grinding or Squealing sound when you apply the brakes.  If the noise from your brakes is constant, you have a problem.  Consul ... read more

During the Month of October which is ‘Breast Cancer Awareness Month’, Auto Craftsmen in Montpelier and more than 200 other Independent Auto Repair Shops across the US are once again raising funds for a new breast cancer vaccine. You will receive a FREE Brake Inspection [$53 value] and if you need brake work and have it done the same day, you receive FREE premium brake pads [as long as they are available from our NAPA Auto Parts Store] and then you pay for the labor and any other parts necessary to complete the brake job. We will then donate 10% of your brake job directly to Dr. Vincent Tuohy & the Cleveland Clinic Breast Cancer Vaccine Research Fund.  Total donations to date = $940,931.74! To make an appointment call {802} 223-2253, or click here to schedule an appointment now! Dr. Vincent Tuohy has spent the ... read more

Here in Vermont we have a fairly short season of hot and humid weather. Mostly we can get by rolling down our windows and letting fresh air in to keep us comfortable. But on those wicked hot days most of us really appreciate having the air condition working in our cars to keep us cool . Trying to explain how the air conditioning system of your car works is not an easy task. This is because it’s fairly complicated and counter-intuitive. Basically, when you push the A/C button in your car, you are starting a chain reaction that removes the heat from inside your vehicle and transfers that heat to the outside air. Once all the hot air and humidity has been removed the air becomes cooler. It can be a real ahhhhhhhhhhhh moment once the hot air is removed & you’re left with cool refreshing air . Here is a more technical explanation of how your Air Conditioning works is from Edmunds.com: There are six basic components in the A/C System: compressor, co ... read more

There are a ton of really cool 'AutoGirls' that I have gotten to know over the years. From mechanics to women who do body work & restoration, welders, fabricators, painters, race car drivers, writers, consultants, women who work for corporations and shop owners like me. Most of them live out of Vermont, which gives me a great excuse to travel multiple times per year. Every November I travel to Arizona and Bogi and I make our annual drive to Vegas to attend AAPEX & SEMA otherwise know as Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week. Bogi is one of my most favorite AutoGirls. Like me, she owns her own automotive repair business, but she is also an ASE Certified master technician, writer, speaker, educator and has co-hosted the show "all Girls Garage" on Velocity TV for seven years. Bogi is what I call a 'Bad Ass'. Back in 2015 Bogi talked about buying a 1957 Chevy Truck and restoring it. We talked about how much work that would involve, and how she would need ... read more

During the Month of October which is ‘Breast Cancer Awareness Month’, Auto Craftsmen in Montpelier and more than 100 other Independent Auto Repair Shops across the US are once again raising funds for the new breast cancer vaccine as part of the 'Brakes for Breast' fundraiser. Dr. Vincent Tuohy has spent the past 14 years working on a breast cancer vaccine that would both prevent the disease and keep it from recurring. This preventative measure would use a woman’s own immune system to protect herself from developing the disease. Dr. Tuohy is an immunologist at the Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute and will head up the company, called Shield Biotech, as the Chief Science Officer, Shield Biotech, so named because the vaccine it is developing will act as a defense against breast cancer, is a spinoff-company created by Cleveland Clinic Innovations, the commercialization arm of the hospital system. In Spring ... read more

Everyone here at Auto Craftsmen loves their pets. Here is some important information to help keep your pets safe during the summer! The summer months can be uncomfortable—even dangerous—for pets and people. It’s difficult enough simply to cope with rising temperatures, let alone thick humidity, but things really get tough in areas that are hit with the double blow of intense heat and storm-caused power outages, sometimes with tragic results. With a Pet Safety Days initiative, you can help keep your pets safe and cool this summer. Educate and Empower Pets should never be left in a hot car. Not even for a minute. Not even with the car running and air conditioner on. On a warm day, temperatures inside a vehicle can rise rapidly to dangerous levels. On an 85-degree day, for example, the temperature inside a car with the windows opened slightly can reach 102 degrees within 10 minutes. After 30 minutes, the temperature will reach 120 degrees. That beloved pet may suff ... read more