Auto Repair In Bainbridge Island

Ouch, it’s no fun heading to the gas station today. What can you do to save on gas and help you keep a little more money in your pocket? It’s simple, don’t drive your car. But that is not really a viable option for most of us, so what can you do? Consolidate some of your trips like grocery shopping. Do you really need that one thing, or could you wait and combine it with a trip to the hardware store and to town? Combine a few needs into one trip and it could save you a gallon or two of gas. Most vehicles out there are in need of some sort of maintenance that can improve fuel mileage, like making sure your tires are properly inflated, a new air filter or spark plugs.   One of the most overlooked items is the fuel system. Injectors and the fuel system can develop build-up over time just like us and our arteries. But for our car, we can flush the fuel system with solvents to break up these deposits and restore proper fuel mileage. I have seen fuel mileage incr ... read more

I was talking to my doctor the other day about what we eat today will affect our health the latter part of our life.  It made me think of our cars and how we maintain them today will affect them as they age. Granted when something breaks on our car we can just replace it but at what cost?  If you look at what is spent on maintenance over the life of a car, you will see there are smaller costs that are fairly spaced out and easy for your buget to handle. Routine maintenance will also bring dependability and a peace of mind knowing you can trust your vehicle and it will get you home safely.  We have vehicles come in for the first time, we open the hood, look around and can see how well the vehicle was maintained. Usually these vehicles need a few repairs immediately to continue running and functioning properly and then prioritize a “to-do ... read more

Oil is the life blood of your engine, yet it is one of the most neglected fluids.  In the last article we discussed the importance of using the correct oil and why.  In this article we are going to discuss the importance of changing your engines most vital fluids.  During this past year, people have been driving less and their cars have been racking up less miles.  But your engine’s oil is still degrading over time.  Just because you're driving has decreased, doesn’t mean the oil is fine.  When oil is new, it is designed to keep your engine well lubricated and provide protection to all those internal parts.  As you drive, even if it just a couple of miles a day, your engine oil is slowly becoming contaminated with small fuel and exhaust particles that break down that protection oil provides.  That ... read more

Wow! where to begin? Years ago, the fluids were almost all universal throughout all vehicle makes and models, which made it easy to find and top off fluids anywhere you were. In the shop you could have one type of coolant, a couple different grades of oil, a couple different transmission fluids, some power steering fluid and a bucket of 90 weight gear oil and that would about cover 90% of the cars on the road. With the advancing technology in vehicles since about the 1980s, fluids have been redesigned and modified to function and service the technological advancements in our cars today. Each particular vehicle manufacture has their own specific fluids, most designed for that particular vehicle.  Engine oil has one of the most diverse assortments, it’s like going to our local Thai restaurant and looking at the 6-page menu, what do I order? There are oil grades t ... read more