How to Keep Warm Quickly in Cold Weather (Car Edition)

When it’s cold, everything sucks.  Your main goal is to take precaution to ensure optimal warmth.  That means, shoveling the car out of snowy oblivion, making lunches on a cold tiled kitchen, bundling up the kids and warming up the car as quickly as possible.  We feel your pain, as a matter of fact, we share it, because there’s nothing worse than freezing your butt off in single digit degree weather.  In today’s blog, we’re providing tips on getting warm as quickly as possible with quick tips from the car gurus.  Enjoy!

First, winterize your car.  Use winter-weight oil and anti-freeze to perform better in the winter and maintain your battery.  Be sure your battery is in goof working order.

Start your car normally and be patient. Now, let your windows defrost by putting the setting on high, letting your car idle for ten minutes.  To help control humidity and dampness on your windows run the blower on the floor to keep your carpeting dry, when not needed to defrost your windows. This will prevent your windows from steaming up on the inside.

Today's engine and fluid technology is designed to start working as soon as you turn the key (or at lease once your windshield is defrosted). Not only does idling waste gas and cause pollution, it can actually cause damage to your vehicle.

If you're faced with severe winter conditions, you may want to consider a block heater, which warms the engine, or a battery warmer. A battery loses power as the temperature goes down, so warming it gives it that extra boost.

Cheers!

Uncommon Reasons For Getting a Ticket

You usually know WHY you got that traffic ticket.  “I was speeding, officer,” is the most common response, accompanied with a hanging head of shame and a defeated demeanor.  Tickets are a necessary evil for governing our roads, but the dread of receiving one always seems to deplete your mood…and your pockets.  In today’s blog, we discuss some uncommon reasons for being pulled over and given a citation from a traffic cop.

1.    Cruising in the left lane of a multilane highway – instead of using this lane to pass slower traffic on the right, you’ve grown accustomed to cruising for miles on end.  Stop it!

2.    Driving slower than normal traffic flow – if the speed limit is 65 mph and you’re traveling 38 mph, either something’s wrong or you’ve misjudged your vehicle’s speedometer.  Try and keep with the flow of traffic to avoid standing out.

3.    Peeling out at a stop sign – performing a peel out after a light turns green is a BAD idea.  It utilizes more fuel, damages your tires, and can warrant the attention of the police officer driving behind you.  Plus, squealing tires are just, well, annoying.

4.    Racking up unpaid parking or traffic citations – if you’re a magnet for attracting traffic tickets, you should always be willing to pay off these small fines as soon as you receive them.  Racking up a lot of these can lead to bigger and more expensive problems for your driving endeavors.

5.    Offensive bumper stickers – Plastering your vehicle with bumper stickers that are racist, include profanity, and are downright degrading, can lead to unwanted attention and a traffic stop. Keep your bumper stickers to a minimum (or at least within the safe range) and always make sure you’re abiding by the rules. 

6.    Acting like a “jerk” – Traffic stops have a moment where they can go either way.  Being belligerent during a stop can add extra violations on top of your primary citation.  When the officer asks: “Do you know why I stopped you?” take your time, asses the question and answer honestly.  This will keep your ticket to a minimum and de-escalate any quarrel that could have been created.

Hey Fans, do you have any weird or strange ticket citations?  Feel free to comment below!

Add Us to Your Circles on Google+

Have you logged into your Google+ Profile lately?  Well, if you have, you’ll realize there were a TON of new aesthetic changes!  Google+ recently released a new way to managing your profile content on Google+.  Now, you have access to a jumbo Google Cover Image at the top of your page and app integration.  We recently upgraded, so feel free to check us out right here:

https://plus.google.com/111321186523583174558/posts

See you on Google+!

5 Ways to Devalue Your Vehicle

So, you’ve got a reliable vehicle that’s great on gas, looks great, and gets you from point A to B in style.  You want to keep it for a long time, but you also want to maintain a lot of the value associated with it so you can trade or sell it when you’re ready to update.  In today’s blog, we’re describing 5 ways to devalue your car quicker than you can say “junk it”  So, hold on and be prepared, it’s going to e a bumpy ride (pun intended).

1. Lack of Maintenance and Servicing

Every buyer wants piece of mind.  A feeling of tranquility when they purchase their car AND verification that the vehicle is in a good state of reliability.  Each car comes with a service book, which will be marked and stamped by the dealer, so keep ALL of your records to show prospective buyers (dealerships, too) that your car has a great history.

2. Lackluster Paint Care

DO NOT neglect your paint job.  In most cases, vehicles these days maintain their paint jobs due to the detailed precision of application during the car’s inception.  Don’t buy discount car care products.  The best wax kits include: washes, waxes, polishes, and extra protective layers.  Don’t use brushes to wash your car, but rather soft clothes.

3. No Friggin Insurance

Always get insurance for your vehicle.  Why?  Because it’s the single most important remedy for accidents that can happen when you’re driving.  It also means any damage will be fixed properly, usually by us or a reputable bodyshop. 

4.  Smoking Cigarettes

If you EVER want to resell your vehicle., don’t smoke in it.  Smoking seeps into fabric surfaces, seats, headlining and carpets and is virtually impossible to extract.  This will depreciate any potential buyers who are repulsed by smoke, or potential buyers with children

5. Not Cleaning Vehicle Interior

For some parts of the day, your vehicle is your home.  Treat it well.   Make sure you keep your car clean and vacuumed. 

5 Ways to Devalue Your Vehicle

So, you’ve got a reliable vehicle that’s great on gas, looks great, and gets you from point A to B in style.  You want to keep it for a long time, bu you also want to maintain a lot of the value associated with it so you can trade or sell it when you’re ready to update.  In today’s blog, we’re describing 5 ways to devalue your car quicker than you can say “junk it”  So, hold on and be prepared, it’s going to e a bumpy ride (pun intended).

1. Lack of Maintenance and Servicing

Every buyer wants piece of mind.  A feeling of tranquility when they purchase their car AND verification that the vehicle is in a good state of reliability.  Each car comes with a service book, which will be marked and stamped by the dealer, so keep ALL of your records to show prospective buyers (dealerships, too) that your car has a great history.

2. Lackluster Paint Care

DO NOT neglect your paint job.  In most cases, vehicles these days maintain their paint jobs due to the detailed precision of application during the car’s inception.  Don’t buy discount car care products.  The best wax kits include: washes, waxes, polishes, and extra protective layers.  Don’t use brushes to wash your car, but rather soft clothes.

3. No Friggin Insurance

Always get insurance for your vehicle.  Why?  Because it’s the single most important remedy for accidents that can happen when you’re driving.  It also means any damage will be fixed properly, usually by us or a reputable bodyshop. 

4.  Smoking Cigarettes

If you EVER want to resell your vehicle., don’t smoke in it.  Smoking seeps into fabric surfaces, seats, headlining and carpets and is virtually impossible to extract.  This will depreciate any potential buyers who are repulsed by smoke, or potential buyers with children

5. Not Cleaning Vehicle Interior

For some parts of the day, your vehicle is your home.  Treat it well.   Make sure you keep your car clean and vacuumed.