Auto Repair Tempe

Expert Advice and Savings Tips for Maintaining Your Car on a Budget Many of our customers worry about their cars breaking down, so they buy a new one. That's fine if you really want a new car, but thanks to improved engineering and technology, you can keep the car you have on the road longer than ever before. The trade off for the improved quality found in today's vehicles is higher maintenance and repair costs to keep their sophisticated systems running. The upside for customers who choose to drive their cars a few years longer is that it costs much less than the alternative of getting locked into a monthly car payment on a newer car, which also comes with higher auto insurance costs. If you choose to keep your car instead of buying a newer model, you'll need to keep it well maintained to make it last. Sometimes unexpected repairs will crop up for your car too, but there's no reason to get stressed out about it. The secret to handling routine car maintenance and unexpecte ... read more

With a slow and gradual economic recovery, today's consumers are more careful about spending their hard-earned money, even if it means putting the performance of their vehicle at risk. The average age for most vehicles in the United States is more than 11 years according to automotive research firm R.L. Polk and Co. Most consumers would rather hold on to their current vehicles while hoping the performance and functions of the vehicle hold out long enough to avoid the purchase of a new vehicle. Proper maintenance of the current vehicle will go a long way towards ensuring the vehicle stays on the road longer. The Real Dangers of Vehicle Neglect It may be tempting to avoid vehicle maintenance due to the associated high costs, but you may be doing more damage in the long run. A recent survey conducted by Automotive Service Excellence showed that a properly maintained vehicle not only lasts longer, but will also retain much of its resale value compared to a vehicle t ... read more

Let's talk cabin air filters. There seems to be some confusion about them, and I’m going to clear that up right here today. I think much of the confusion comes because prior to the 2000 model year, very few vehicles had cabin air filters. I believe people tend to confuse their cabin air filter with the engine air filter, and I can certainly see how that can happen. Every vehicle has an engine air filter that cleans the air going into the engine, but not all have a cabin air filter that cleans the air going into the passenger compartment. It's easy to get them mixed up. The cabin air filter cleans out dust, pollen, spores and other pollutants. To give a point of comparison, a grain of sand is about 200 microns across. A cabin air filter can stop particles that are just three microns in size. It really makes the passenger cabin a much more pleasant environment. I've read that the air in your vehicle can be up to six times more polluted than the outside air, so your cabin air filter r ... read more

If you were like most kids (me included) you had at least some exposure to the toy trucks known as TONKA! Oh, I wanted mine to be real in the worst way. And one of the most popular Tonka trucks was...the dumbstruck, with real tilting dump bed! Ford has intentionally decided to fight dirty by playing on this childhood fantasy of so many kids. Okay, maybe not "dirty", but as strong as this fascination with Tonka is for me and other children, it's at least not fair. :) Meet the Ford F-750 Tonka, or as the automaker calls it, the "ultimate Tonka truck". (Okay Ford, you have my full attention!) Based on the 2016 all-new Ford F-650/F-750 medium duty truck, the dump truck created by Ford and Tonka is a real life replica of the famous toy truck. Unveiled at the NTEA Work Truck show in Indianapolis, the Ford F-750 Tonka truck sports the signature Tonka yellow paint with a custom blackout nostril grille and fully functional dump body from Truck Tech Engineers. The 2016 Fo ... read more

If your car's air conditioning goes out on a hot summer day, your commute to work and to run errands is going to be miserable. There's nothing quite like being stuck in a hot car in the middle of a traffic jam. If your air conditioning isn't blowing cold air, there are a few different things that could be wrong with it. Here are some of the most common issues and what you can do to fix them. It Needs Recharging The most common cause of an air conditioner not getting cold enough is that it needs to be recharged. You can recharge your refrigerant by yourself, but if you're not comfortable doing it, one of our ASE Certified mechanics are standing by and should be able to get your cold air flowing again pretty quickly. There's a Freon Leak Freon is the chemical that cools the air, so if there's a le ... read more

Our little slice of Arizona is considered a severe service area for a lot of automotive parts, not the least of which is your car's battery. The constant heat and driving demands can test your battery to the limit. If you haven't had to replace a car battery yet, you most likely will at some time in the future here in the Tempe/Phoenix area. When it comes to choosing the right battery for your car or truck you need to consider the Reserve Capacity (RC) and Cold Cranking Amps (CCA). Listen to ACDelco's Kurt Pursche explain the difference between RC and CCA and give you advice on which one is the more important item to focus on when you are deciding on your next car or truck battery

A lot of us are "do it yourselfers" when it comes to some of our automotive maintenance chores. If this applies to you, it's good to know you have to be careful with some of these chores so as not to do more harm than good. This especially applies to anything involving your electrical system. One wrong move could potentially damage some of your computer-based systems, and that's a recipe for a lot of very expensive parts and labor auto repair bills! Watch Scotty Kilmer, a mechanic for the last 46 years, as he shows how you can work on your car's electrical system WITHOUT shorting things out and causing further damage. A few simple precautions is all that's needed, and this video shows them to you. NOTE: Working on your own vehicle's electrical system is NOT something we recommend. However, if you're determined to do so, please take these precautions seriously

Batteries are a huge part of modern life. How many battery chargers do you have around? We've got a box full of them. Of course, we're here to talk about your car battery. When people come into our tempe auto repair shop and need a new battery, they're really not that happy about having to spend the money. But the fact is, 70% of batteries don't last four years, but there are some things you can do to extend the life of your battery. First, keep it clean. If you see it getting dirty or greasy, let us know and we can clean it off. A dirty battery runs hotter, and that shortens its life. If your battery terminals are corroded, let us take a look at that, too. We can clean them up, and if the corrosion has gotten into the battery cables, we can replace them. Also, running your battery way down is bad for it. Things like running the headlights or watching a DVD player with the car turned off, can deeply deplete your battery. The typical battery can only take about ten of these d ... read more

Some states have already made driving while using a cell phone illegal, and it's highly discouraged in every part of the U.S. But there are many more distractions in the car than just talking on the phone or texting. Fortunately, voice control software has reached the point where many different devices in the car can be controlled by voice commands. However, not everyone can afford these extras, and they're still fairly expensive. Here are some of the most common things people use their hands for instead of driving and their safer alternatives. Cell Phones While some people say that talking on the phone isn't distracting at all, it really is. It takes at least one hand to hold the phone up to your ear, and that can severely impact your control of your vehicle. You may also be so distracted by the call that you don't pay as much attention to the road as you should. The other option is to tuck the phone between your ear and your sh ... read more

A part of car ownership involves vehicle maintenance and the occasional shopping trip to replace obsolete auto parts. Whether the parts aim to maintain the function of the vehicle, or you're looking to improve the appearances of your vehicle, shopping will present a whole new challenge if you can't determine the difference between OEM and Aftermarket Parts. Many often wonder if it's worth sticking to genuine vehicle parts or if there are some benefits other than cost to purchasing aftermarket parts from a different manufacturer. While it's normal to wonder about such things, it may be comforting to know most of the parts you'll ever have to replace on your vehicle were probably outsourced to another company to begin with. It's rare and sometimes even expensive to produce auto parts in house. Take it from Henry Ford, who was known to outsource the production and purchase of parts such as tires, springs, and even generators. Yes, even for his beloved Model T cars. Depending on the aut ... read more