Auto Repair Tempe

How Do I Know If My Mechanic is Honest?     Considering there are some 800,000 auto mechanics in the US, about one for every 316 cars, it makes sense that most drivers don’t know much about cars. Unfortunately, dishonest mechanics might exploit that inexperience, overcharging for auto repairs or suggesting unnecessary and expensive services, to name a few. How do you know if your mechanic is being honest? How Dishonest Mechanics Work Dishonest mechanics may exploit the unaware by hyping up a service, with confusing technobabble, or suggesting “shotgun” repairs. If you hear, “Your car is going to (explode, burn, die) if you don’t do this,” be wary and get a second opinion. Rarely is a repair such a dire emergency. Dishonest mechanics and hack mechanics might suggest shotgun repairs. There’s almost no chance that your no-start problem will need a starter, battery, and alternator to fix. Similarly, there’s almost zero chance t ... read more

How to Do A Brake Job the Right Way Why do we need another article on doing a brake job? This article will give you the know-how and numerous tips to help you solve common braking issues on today’s vehicles. In this article, I will give you professional advice and technician-accredited tips that we’ve been using at our shop for years. Hopefully, whether you’re a driver, do-it-yourselfer, or technician, these steps and tips will help you make the right decisions when it comes to addressing brake repairs on whatever vehicle you’re driving or working on. One of the first things you need to start with is why your vehicle needs brake repairs in the first place. At the risk of minimizing your technical expertise, no matter what level you are at, I believe it’s important to first nail down the reason behind the brake job. On the one hand, if you know you need brake repairs because you’ve done a brake inspection and have verified that brake pad thickness ... read more

Do you understand the difference between the MSRP (sticker price) and the New Car invoice price? Not knowing can end up costing your thousands of dollars when you go to buy a new car at the dealership. To successfully negotiate a good deal on a new car, you must first know what to pay. That is why in the video above we show you how to find new car invoice prices and use them in the negotiating process at the car dealer. Do not negotiate from the MSRP down or you may end up in a long tiring negotiation. Create a folder and print out all of the new car invoice prices you have researched. Make sure you include every possible option associated with the cars you are interested in. Although knowing how to find invoice prices on new cars is very important, it's only a small piece of the new car buying process. Go to http://www.BuyCarsRight.com and go to our Car Buying Blueprint and go through all the stages so that you can put yourself in the position to not overpay on your next new car ... read more

Volvo has always done things a little differently than BMW and Mercedes. Rather than hold back updates and release them all in "mid-cycle refreshes," Volvo prefers to let the changes dribble out slowly year after year. As a result of this process a car can change significantly over time but it happens so incrementally that to the casual observer it's still the same car that launched four years ago. Such is the case for the 2015 Volvo S60. Verses the S60 launched just four short years ago this S60 has new bumpers, hood, grille, seats, dashboard, infotainment system, gauge cluster, headlamps, new and revised safety systems, all-new engines, and a new 8-speed transmission. The question before us today is: are these changes enough to keep the S60 fresh and competitive while we wait for the complete model-line makeover we're all expecting in the next few years? Have a look at the video and decide for yourself

Self-driving cars could cut road deaths by 80%, but without better security they put us at risk of car hacking and even ransoms, experts at SXSW say Youre about to drive to work. You turn on the ignition and a message on the dash lights up. Weve hacked your car! Pay 10 bitcoin to get it back. Hacking into software and then demanding a ransom to release it whats known as ransomware is not new. Finnish security expert Mikko Hypponen fully expects it to become a reality as self-driving or autonomous cars start to become more commonplace. Already, one hacker claims to have taken control of some systems on board a passenger plane he was on, getting as far as issuing a climb command that he accessed through the entertainment system. Another pair of hackers caused a ... read more

What should you do when your vehicle won't start? This frustrating experience can put a wrench in your day. Over the years, cars have become much more reliable. But with so many moving parts, even the most well maintained vehicles are occasionally temperamental. Assuming you're not a mechanic, let's take a look at the most common situations and how to deal with them. You Turn The Key - Nothing Happens Listen to your car. Even though it has betrayed you by not starting, it's still considerate enough to give you hints as to why. If you turn the key and the engine doesn't crank at all, things may not be all that bad (believe it or not). The problem most likely lies with the battery, especially in cold weather. When your car responds with silence or clicking: • Turn on the car lights. If they're dim, you may have poor battery connections or a dead battery. Did you leave your headlights on last nig ... read more

Living in the Valley of The Sun you probably don't do much driving on snow and ice. And that could be more of an issue than you might realize, especially if you plan on doing a little snow skiing this winter up north. A little advanced knowledge in driving in winter conditions could save you from some expensive repairs or even physical harm. Winter roads can be trouble. Ice, snow, slush, and sludge all create a mess that can be difficult to drive in. On top of that, it gets dark much earlier and sweeping snow, on-coming headlights, and a dirty windshield can make visibility difficult. Sometimes, our tires lose grip with the surface of the road, causing the vehicle to slide out of control. This guide shows you how to keep your cool and recover from an ice-induced skid. Wheel Spinning This type of skidding occurs when you apply too much pressure to the gas pedal for the available traction. It occurs when there's a lot of soft sno ... read more

With the price of gas continuing to increase, many people are looking for ways of increasing their car's fuel efficiency. The more miles per gallon you can get, the less you have to fill up and the more money you can save. While some would say the answer is to buy a hybrid vehicle, these cars are still fairly expensive, plus it makes no sense to buy a new car if the one you're currently driving isn't that old and is in good running condition. Instead, make use of these top five ways you can increase the fuel efficiency of your car. 1) Be Smart About How You Drive. While different brands and models of cars have different optimal fuel speeds, all of them start to see a major decrease in efficiency when being driven over 50 miles per hour. Rapidly accelerating also wastes gas and decreases your efficiency. In fact, it's been estimated that speeding, rapid acceleration and quickly hitting the brakes can drop your fuel efficiency by more than 30 percent. In ... read more

While the majority of us can't afford to spend a lifetime's income on a single automobile, it's sure fun to dream about! It's also amazing the kind of detail and care that go into building these ultra high-end automobiles. Today we're going to take a look at the making of a Rolls-Royce Phantom. The Rolls-Royce Phantom is a saloon automobile made in the United Kingdom by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, a BMW subsidiary. It was launched in 2003 and is the first model introduced during the BMW era. The Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé, and the Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupé, are both based on the 2003 Phantom. It also won the Top Gear Car of the Year Award for 2003. It now serves as its flagship model. Here's how it's made

Today we end our three part series on Part 3, "How Diesel Engines Work" with this final video that covers the valve timing diagram of a diesel engine. Missed the first two parts? Simply check the posts for the last two weeks