Archive for the ‘Making Your Vehicle Last’ Category

Busted In Strongsville: The Maintenance Free Myth

Friday, May 18th, 2012

Busted In Strongsville The Maintenance Free Myth

Quality surveys report fewer problems with new Strongsville cars than ever before. So does that mean that modern vehicles have become maintenance free?

Back when cars spent more time in Strongsville repair shops, Ohio drivers were more mindful of routine service. Now, it’s much easier to put it off.

Take Strongsville tune-ups for example. In the days of mechanical ignition systems, an engine needed to be tuned-up every couple of years. If your engine was out of tune, you knew it. It ran poorly and got bad fuel economy driving on Ohio streets and highways. Now, the ignition system is electronic and controlled by the engine management computer. Spark plugs rarely get fouled and will last for as much as a hundred thousand miles. So truck tune-ups used to force you in for service and while you were there you just took care of whatever else was on the list.

So what’s the benefit to keeping up with factory scheduled maintenance at Strongsville Express Tire? Well, your truck will perform better and return better fuel economy. Those benefits pay for the service as you go along. The big plus is that major repairs – and the associated breakdowns – are prevented. And these aren’t just repairs that are a long ways off. Modern engines are far more sophisticated and have many parts that are in critical need of proper lubrication. Missing just one oil change at Strongsville Express Tire can allow oil sludge to start forming. Sludge clogs small engine passages, robbing truck parts of the lubrication they need. An expensive failure could easily occur within two or three years.

Taking care of the little things at Strongsville Express Tire prevents big problems with your truck later. No Strongsville motorist wants to be stranded by a breakdown. Your truck still needs to be taken care of – it’s just that some of those points of care have changed with automotive advancements. The need for proper maintenance at Strongsville Express Tire in Strongsville did not go away.

Give us a call

Strongsville Express Tire
440.238.8473
12300 Prospect Rd
Strongsville, Ohio 44149

At Strongsville Express Tire in Strongsville Ohio (44149) we install quality NAPA replacement parts. Give us a call at 440.238.8473. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

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Deciphering The Menu Board At Strongsville Express Tire: F to W

Friday, May 11th, 2012

Deciphering The Menu Board At Strongsville Express Tire F to W

You may not be familiar with all of the items on Strongsville Express Tire’s menu board so here is a quick description of some of the typical services that might be listed. Remember, the board is there for reference; speak to your Strongsville Express Tire Service Adviser about other possible needs or services.

Strongsville Express Tire Fuel System Cleaning
: Over time, the fuel system gets gum and varnish built up. A fuel system cleaning at Strongsville Express Tire gets rid of that and cleans out the fuel injectors. Saves gas as you drive around Strongsville and on Cleveland freeways, by the way.

Strongsville Express Tire Headlamp Replacement: Halogen and standard headlamps gradually fade. When one burns out, replace both so they’ll have the same brightness. Also, if your headlamp lenses are yellowed or cloudy, you can have them professionally restored to like new-condition. As your considerate Strongsville Express Tire advisor for information.

Strongsville Express Tire Inspections: Strongsville drivers get inspections for many reasons. Maybe they’re going on a trip or just want to make sure their vehicle’s ready for summer or winter in Strongsville. Maybe they just bought a used car and want to give it the once over. An inspection at Strongsville Express Tire may reveal some things that are broken or are getting close to having a problem.

Strongsville Express Tire Oil Change Service – there are several options: Some Strongsville auto service centers offer just an oil change and new filter as an option. Most will also check and top off all of your other fluids and do a quick visual inspection with a full service oil change. There may also be options for higher mileage fluids or an upgrade to synthetic oil.

Strongsville Express Tire PCV Valve Service: PCV stands for Positive Crankcase Ventilation valve. It’s a little part that releases pressure from the engine. It can get gummed up and that can lead to engine damage. Just needs to be changed now and then.

Strongsville Express Tire Power Steering Service: Often overlooked. Your Strongsville Express Tire technician will evacuate the old fluid, clean out the system and replace it with clean fluid. Keeps the system running well for a long time.

Strongsville Express Tire Serpentine Belt Replacement: That’s the belt that powers the engine’s accessories like the alternator, air conditioner, power steering and brakes. You’ll want to replace the serpentine belt at Strongsville Express Tire before it breaks or wears down too much, because that’ll lead to other problems.

Strongsville Express Tire Shocks and Struts Replacement
: This starts with an inspection of the suspension components. Shocks last a long time and wear out slowly, so many Strongsville motorists don’t notice when it’s time to change them. If they’re worn or leaking, they need to be replaced.

Strongsville Express Tire Transmission Service: This involves removing the transmission fluid and replacing it with clean fluid. It’s like an oil change for your transmission.

Strongsville Express Tire Tire Rotation and Wheel Balancing
: The tires are rotated from front to back using the recommended rotation pattern. This helps tires wear more evenly. Wheels need to be balanced from time to time to keep them turning without any wobble or bounce. Helps the ride and saves tire wear as you drive around Strongsville.

Give us a call

Strongsville Express Tire
440.238.8473
12300 Prospect Rd
Strongsville, Ohio 44149

At Strongsville Express Tire in Strongsville Ohio (44149) we install quality NAPA replacement parts. Give us a call at 440.238.8473. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

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Budgeting for Auto Maintenance In Strongsville Ohio

Friday, September 9th, 2011

Budgeting for Auto Maintenance In Strongsville Ohio Everyone in Strongsville Ohio does our best to budget for scheduled vehicle maintenance.

What’s hard is planning for unexpected truck repairs.

The truth is that our vehicles can stay on our Ohio roads longer than ever before with proper maintenance. That’s because of improved vehicle design and manufacturing quality. But some of those same improvements also lead to higher repairs costs for every truck or vehicle.

There’s a tool that can be found on Edmunds.com that you can use to prepare your Strongsville Ohio service and repair budget.

Let’s suppose you have a used Toyota Camry – a very popular car in the Cleveland area…

It’s now paid for and you’d like to keep it running for the next three years. You can go to Edmunds’ True Cost to Own calculator and enter your vehicle’s data. The calculator will provide estimates of what it’ll cost to service and repair your vehicle in Cleveland over the next five years. The estimate’s based on where you live in Ohio, manufacturers’ recommendations and repair experience for your particular model.

Of course these are just estimates – there’s no way to predict what’ll actually happen to the car in your driveway, but it’s a good starting point. The calculator also has estimates for depreciation, financing, insurance, Ohio taxes and fuel costs.

Let’s focus on maintenance and repair in the Ohio area: This table at Edmonds.com shows that the average monthly cost of maintenance and repairs for our example in Ohio is about eighty-three dollars. That may sound like a lot, but compare it to a new car payment.

So if you set aside eighty-three dollars a month, you’d go a long ways towards taking care of routine maintenance and being prepared for the unexpected repairs that arise.

Some folks in the 44149 zip code area are afraid of what can go wrong with their older car so they buy a new one. That’s fine if you really want a new car, but if you properly maintain your older vehicle, you’ll save a lot of money on new car payments and insurance. It just makes good economic sense when times are tight in Strongsville.

Give us a call for additional advice on how to keep your truck running on a budget.

Strongsville Express Tire
12300 Prospect Rd
Strongsville, Ohio 44149

At Strongsville Express Tire we install quality NAPA replacement parts. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

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Making Your Vehicle Last With Regular Service in Strongsville

Friday, August 19th, 2011

Making Your Vehicle Last A lot of people in OH have older vehicles. They’re good commuters, grocery-getters or toy-haulers. They enjoy that fact that they’re paid off, or soon will be. They would gladly like to keep their vehicles for 200,000 miles or more – as long as it’s economical to do so.

There are plenty of people in Strongsville whose vehicles are running after 150,000 or 200,000 miles. We can learn from what they’re doing to keep our own cars on the road.

A common denominator is that they never skip an oil change. That may sound a bit unsophisticated, but it’s really not. First off, oil is the life blood of your engine and it needs to be clean to properly lubricate. Skipping oil changes leads to clogged oil filters and sludge that can damage your engine. Enough said.

There’s another reason why the scheduled oil change is so important. It’s simple – a Strongsville Express Tire professional is going to be looking at your car. All of your fluid levels will be inspected and topped off so they won’t get so low that damage can be done. If there is a significant fluid loss, let’s use brake fluid as an example, your Strongsville technician can look for the cause of the loss and find the problem before it leads to an accident or costly repair.

Your Strongsville service technician will also visually inspect the vehicle for worn belts and hoses, uneven tire wear, leaking shock absorbers and more. Problems get addressed before they lead to repairs that cost more than the car’s worth. And your Strongsville service advisor will be able to remind you of other services that the factory recommends you get done.

Just think of that oil change the same way as you do about going to the dentist for your six month cleaning and checkup. Don’t skip it.

Of course, good maintenance costs money, but it’s far cheaper than new car payments.

Give us a call to schedule your next oil change today. You can find us online at Strongsville Express Tire, or you can find us in Strongsville, OH 44149 at 12300 Prospect Rd. Or simply give us a call at 440.238.8473. At Strongsville Express Tire we install quality NAPA replacement parts. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

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