Montpelier Auto Repair

If you own a vehicle with a healthy engine, a strong transmission, a beefy suspension and great brakes, but your tires don’t grip the road properly, then you have no traction and no control. It is the tires that determine the type of traction, grip and control that you have with your car. If you add up the amount you paid for the vehicle + the cost of car insurance + the maintenance and repairs you have in the car + the new stereo you bought for it, the cost of good tires may be one of the most economical purchases you can make. To help illustrate how important tire traction is, I’d like you take a sheet of paper 8½x11 and fold it length wise, then width wise. This is approximately the size of the contact patch of each tire. The traction of these tires must handle the job of starting, accelerating, steering and stopping – a big job for a small amount of rubber rolling on the ground. The compounds that make up a tire vary quite a bit depending on what ... read more

Once a year we take our bodies to our primary care physician to make sure we are still healthy. We are prodded and poked and looked over from head to toe. They take some of our fluids and test them to make sure there are no surprises. Sometimes we are hooked up to machines to see what is going on inside. If we have noticed any weird lumps, bumps, squeaks or rattles, now is the time to ask questions. It is best to find out ASAP what is going wrong so that it can be righted before it becomes critical to our health and well being. Like our bodies, our automobiles need to be looked at on a regular basis to make sure that everything is safe and sound. Like the physician, the auto technician prods and pokes, hooks your car up to machines, checks out the fluids, and checks out any weird lumps, bumps, squeaks and rattles. Just like our bodies, if problems are found sooner than later, accidents are prevented, and fixes are cheaper. Vehicles are misdiagnosed all the ... read more

I’m putting on my Women’s Board Hat when I tell you that it’s National Car Care Month & time to get your vehicle ready for winter. Winterizing your car is essential to getting through a Vermont winter with no problems! Here a the 8 Steps to Getting Your Car Ready for Winter. 1. Clean your vehicle inside and out. Getting your vehicle washed and waxed helps 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 for the next six months do yourself a favor and give your car a thorough cleaning ASAP. To prevent that stale air / locker room smell, consider replacing your cabin air filter. It’s also a great idea to take out your carpeted floor mats and replace them with a set of water-resistant rubber mats. 2. Make sure you can see. A winter s ... read more

Gasoline prices are on the rise again. With political turmoil and natural disasters happening all over the world, I don’t see the price of gasoline dropping in the near future, if ever again. You may not have control of increased fuel prices, but you do have control of getting better fuel mileage on your existing vehicle. By following these steps, you can add miles to every gallon with your coupe, sedan, wagon, SUV, minivan, pickup truck, or hybrid. (More on hybrids below). Slow Down! Each mph driven over 60 will cost an additional 10 cents per gallon. Rapid acceleration and hard braking can lower your gas mileage by 33% on the highway and 5% in the city driving Avoid excessive idling! You get zero miles per gallon when the car it just sitting there idling away (unless you drive a hybrid). Minimize air conditioning! In city driving ... read more