Pothole Season

As winter winds down and the weather gets warmer, motorists will see more potholes on the roadways and avoiding them can be a real challenge. If you hit a pothole, watch for three warning signs to determine if your vehicle has been damaged.

Loss of control, swaying when making routine turns, bottoming out on city streets or bouncing excessively on rough roads are indicators that the steering and suspension may have been damaged. The steering and suspension are key safety-related systems. Together, they largely determine your car’s ride and handling.

Pulling in one direction, instead of maintaining a straight path, and uneven tire wear, are symptoms of an alignment problem. Proper wheel alignment is important for the lifespan of tires and helps ensure safe handling.

Low tire pressure, bulges or blisters on the sidewalls, or dents in the wheel rim will be visible and should be checked out as soon as possible, as tires are the critical connection between your car and the road.

If you feel your vehicle has suffered damage from hitting a pothole, it is wise to have it inspected by a professional service technician. Potholes occur when water permeates the pavement – usually through a crack – and softens the soil beneath it, creating a depression in the surface of the street. Many potholes appear during winter and spring months because of freeze-thaw cycles. Potholes can also be prevalent in areas with excessive rainfall and flooding.

Pothole season may last longer these days as many municipalities do not have the resources to fill potholes as fast as they should, leaving drivers to dodge them well into late spring and summer. Because hitting a pothole can put a big dent in your wallet, making necessary repairs right away could save you from more costly ones down what could be a very bumpy road.

Spring Car Care

3 Cars That Refuse to Die

These surprisingly reliable vehicles just keep going and going and going.

Cars in general have become more reliable over the years. Yet there are always some that just seem to keep rolling along, whistling right past the junkyard. Pinpointing exactly how many miles, on average, any given model has racked up is virtually impossible, but we've identified some with exceptional -- sometimes surprising -- endurance and value.

When you combine reliability and best-selling status you get ubiquity. Honda Accords of all years are everywhere, usually in tan, silver or white. If you look up the Honda Accord in Consumer Reports you will see a sea of red dots in the rankings -- a sign that owners have darn few problems with these cars.

Now, the smaller Honda Civic shares the Accord's inherent quality but is more likely to be modified by its owners with spoilers, wings, loud exhausts, that kind of thing -- with maintenance simultaneously neglected. So the Accord gets the nod.

Of all the cars General Motors put out in the 1990s and early 2000s, it's the Buicks that got all the awards from the quality-ranking organization J.D. Power and Associates. And so it is that the Buick LeSabre, along with Centuries, Regals and Park Avenues live on, more so than their Chevrolet, Pontiac and Oldsmobile equivalents.

One reason these cars endure? They were popular with older drivers, who maintained them well and drove them gently. That makes them a great value to pick up used. Check out that sweet cassette deck!

And this is a Geo Prizm. They last forever, too. A what, you ask? Here's the secret: Under the skin, it's actually a Toyota Corolla. So are a number of Chevy Novas, Chevy Prizms and Pontiac Vibes. Makes more sense now, right? It's a Corolla! All these cars were built on the same line in California, at a factory jointly owned by GM and Toyota. That technology-sharing project ended in 2010, but these cars, sometimes into their third decade, roll on.

Find these 3 and many other reliable used cars at our Raleigh, NC used car dealership!

To Idle or Not to Idle, That is the Question

It is that time of the year when many motorists let their vehicle “warm up” or idle before driving. In fact, today’s modern cars are ready to drive in cold temperatures without excessive idling.

Unless you are trying to defrost the windshield or warm the interior of your car, idling is not required for today’s vehicles. In most cases, idling longer than 30 seconds is unnecessary. The best way to warm up your car’s engine is to drive gently at the start. Remember, a vehicle gets zero miles per gallon when idling and the result is lower fuel economy and wasted money.

The idea of idling before driving dates back to when cars were built with carburetors. With new fuel-injection technology, complex computer systems and thinner synthetic oils, drivers don’t need to warm up their cars before hitting the road.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “When a car idles for more than 30 seconds, it has several negative effects, such as increasing air pollution unnecessarily, wasting fuel and money, and causing excessive wear or even damaging a car’s engine components, including cylinders, spark plugs, and the exhaust system. Contrary to popular belief, idling isn”t an effective way to warm up most car engines."

Car Care for New Drivers

It’s never too early to learn the ABCs of car care.

• A – Always follow a preventative vehicle maintenance plan.
• B – Be sure to have your car inspected when you suspect there is a problem.
• C – Correct the problem to help avoid the inconvenience and potential safety hazards of breaking down away from home.

Most young people can’t wait to drive, but their car care education should begin well before their parents hand over the keys. Understanding the basics of car care before taking the wheel will help keep new drivers safer on the road.

1. Check all fluids, including engine oil, power steering, brake and transmission as well as windshield washer solvent and antifreeze/coolant.
2. Check the hoses and belts to make sure they are not cracked, brittle, frayed, loose or showing signs of excessive wear.
3. Check the battery and replace if necessary. Make sure the connection is clean, tight and corrosion-free.
4. Check the brake system annually and have the brake linings, rotors and drums inspected at each oil change.
5. Inspect the exhaust system for leaks, damage and broken supports or hangers if there is an unusual noise. Exhaust leaks can be dangerous and must be corrected without delay.
6. Schedule a tune-up to help the engine deliver the best balance of power and fuel economy and produce the lowest level of emissions.
7. Check the heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system as proper heating and cooling performance is critical for interior comfort and for safety reasons such as defrosting.
8. Inspect the steering and suspension system annually including shock absorbers, struts and chassis parts such as ball joints, tie rod ends and other related components.
9. Check the tires, including tire pressure and tread. Uneven wear indicates a need for wheel alignment. Tires should also be checked for bulges and bald spots.
10. Check the wipers and lighting so that you can see and be seen. Check that all interior and exterior lighting is working properly and replace worn wiper blades so you can see clearly when driving during precipitation.

Why Buying a Used Car with a Tax Refund is a Smart Choice

Getting a big tax refund this year?

Good for you!

Tax season can be stressful for some taxpayers, but for those who will be receiving a large refund, it can feel like winning the lottery.

When deciding what you are going to do with this financial windfall, have you considered buying a used car?

If not, perhaps you should.

Buying a used car with a tax refund is a smart choice if you have been considering making a car purchase in the New Year. For many people, the tax refund is like free money from the sky – and it can be tempting to splurge on non-essential items or a vacation. While this is well and good, putting that money toward a used car is probably a wiser investment for the long term. There’s always next year for that vacation.

Here are 3 reasons why buying a used car with a tax refund is a great idea this year:

1. Reliability

A used car is a reliable machine. It has already proven itself over thousands of miles, and with proper care and maintenance can be trusted to keep going for the long haul.

Of course, there are risks inherent to any car purchase, and since your used car will likely not be under warranty, you have to be extra careful when making that purchase.

Getting the car from a trusted dealer is the best bet to ensure the reliability of your tax refund purchase.

2. Affordability

Used cars offer more bang for your buck than new cars do, generally speaking.

In the past, used cars have had a reputation for unreliability at the sacrifice of paying a lower price. More recently, this trend has been changed by seeing more used cars staying on the road for up to 200,000 miles.

Not only are they road-tested, but buying a used car from a reputable dealer ensures you are getting a great vehicle at a great bargain.

Your interest rate on a car loan for a used car will be lower, resulting in a lower monthly payment. In addition, your insurance rate on a used car is likely to be lower than on a new car.

3. All The Features of a New Car, Except the Price

Let’s face it, although the bells and whistles change, the essence of a car remains the same.

Four wheels, an engine, transmission, brakes – these are the important elements of a good car.

Do the high-end features look nice? Of course.

Are they useful and great to have? Absolutely.

But when deciding to purchase a used car, you are making an investment in the basics. You may have to trade in a couple of the fancier features, but in return you get great savings and a great car.

Conclusion

Trust us, we know that you want to put your tax refund toward some big purchases.

A big new TV or a week long vacation both sound so tantalizing.

But getting the right used car means getting a reliable, affordable, and high performance machine at a great price, and with many of the same advantages as buying new. Not to mention the investment that you’d be making your tax return, that some day can pay you back when you trade-in or sell your car.

Taking out a car loan will help you build good credit.

Like many people, you may find you will need some added help financing your purchase of a new set of wheels.

Getting a loan will help you pay for the car upfront, while you pay the lender back in smaller increments, usually over the course of a few years. Your interest rate may depend on several things, including your credit score and income, but the average right now is about 5.04 percent for a three-year loan to buy a used car, according to Bankrate.

Once you nail down how much you can spend on a car and the terms of the loan, you can determine how much you can afford each month. Be sure to cover all your bases in determining this amount, including:

• Loan payments
• Insurance fees
• Registration costs
• Gas
• Maintenance, such as oil changes
• Parking

Business Insider pointed out that first-time auto buyers can take this opportunity to begin building good credit.

Taking out a loan and paying it back consistently on time will help boost your credit score and give you an advantage next time you need to take out a loan, whether it’s for a new car or something else, like a mortgage.

However, if you fail to budget correctly and can’t make the loan payments every month, your credit can become damaged quickly, causing you more problems in the future.