Automotive Repair: Auto Towing & Transmission. Allen, TX.Wylie, TX.

July 8, 2011

Budgeting for Auto Maintenance In Allen Texas

Filed under: Making Your Vehicle Last — craigs640 @ 8:10 pm

Everyone in Wylie Texas does our best to budget for scheduled vehicle maintenance.

What’s hard is planning for unexpected car repairs.

The truth is that our vehicles can stay on our Texas roads longer than ever before with proper maintenance. That’s because of improved vehicle design and manufacturing quality. But some of those same improvements also lead to higher repairs costs for every car or vehicle.

There’s a tool that can be found on Edmunds.com that you can use to prepare your Wylie Texas service and repair budget.

Let’s suppose you have a used Toyota Camry – a very popular car in the Allen area…

It’s now paid for and you’d like to keep it running for the next three years. You can go to Edmunds’ True Cost to Own calculator and enter your vehicle’s data. The calculator will provide estimates of what it’ll cost to service and repair your vehicle in Allen over the next five years. The estimate’s based on where you live in Texas, manufacturers’ recommendations and repair experience for your particular model.

Of course these are just estimates – there’s no way to predict what’ll actually happen to the car in your driveway, but it’s a good starting point. The calculator also has estimates for depreciation, financing, insurance, Texas taxes and fuel costs.

Let’s focus on maintenance and repair in the Texas area: This table at Edmonds.com shows that the average monthly cost of maintenance and repairs for our example in Texas is about eighty-three dollars. That may sound like a lot, but compare it to a new car payment.

So if you set aside eighty-three dollars a month, you’d go a long ways towards taking care of routine maintenance and being prepared for the unexpected repairs that arise.

Some folks in the 75098 zip code area are afraid of what can go wrong with their older car so they buy a new one. That’s fine if you really want a new car, but if you properly maintain your older vehicle, you’ll save a lot of money on new car payments and insurance. It just makes good economic sense when times are tight in Wylie

Give us a call for additional advice on how to keep your car running on a budget.

Craigs Car Care, Inc.
1005 West Lucas Road
Luca,Texas 75098

At Craigs Car Care, Inc. we install quality NAPA replacement parts. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

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June 10, 2011

On-Board Diagnostics in Allen Texas

Filed under: Diagnostics — craigs640 @ 5:19 pm

Some people in Allen Texas are confused by charges for diagnostic services for a vehicle repair, even though many other services in life include diagnostic fees – things like computer service and appliance repair in Allen.

Even when we go into the doctor for a medical problem, we’re paying her to diagnose our ailment and of course for the tests that go along with it. So receiving a diagnostic charge for a tricky automotive problem shouldn’t be a surprise.

Automotive diagnostics can cover quite a range. If you hear a noise in your brakes, a quick visual check is usually enough to know what needs to be done. If you’re having an intermittent problem with your engine, diagnosis may be much more involved.

Some think that when the check engine light comes on, the engine computer tells the technician exactly what the problem is. The reality is much different. The trouble code just tells your Allen technician what engine parameter is out of range, not what’s causing it. Your Allen technician at Craigs Car Care, Inc. needs to determine the underlying problem that’s causing the symptom.

As you can imagine, some automotive diagnoses are quick and easy. Others are more involved and difficult. Of course, we at Craigs Car Care, Inc. want to figure out what’s wrong with your vehicle and get you back on the road as quickly as possible.

Give us a call:

Craigs Car Care, Inc.
1005 West Lucas Road
Allen, Texas 75002
972.941.6700

At Craigs Car Care, Inc. we install quality NAPA replacement parts. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

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May 26, 2011

PCV Valve Service in Fairview

Filed under: PCV Valve — craigs640 @ 6:42 pm

The Texas push for fuel economy has the benefit of using less gas as well as fewer emissions in our local Allen environment. Cars and trucks run cleaner than ever.

Many people in the Fairview not realize that the first federally mandated pollution control device was in 1960: the PCV valve.

‘PCV’ stands for Positive Crankcase Ventilation. The crankcase is the lower part of the engine where the crankshaft is housed and where the engine oil lives. When fuel is burned in the engine some of the explosive gases from combustion squeeze past the pistons and down into the crankcase.

Now this gas is about 70 percent unburned fuel. If it were allowed to remain in the crankcase, it would contaminate the oil and quickly turn it to sludge. Sludge is like Vaseline and clogs passages in the engine leading to damage.

Also, the pressure build up would blow out seals and gaskets. In the old days, there was just a hose that vented the crankcase out into the air. Obviously, not good for the environment.

Enter the PCV valve. It’s a small, one-way valve that lets out the gases from the crankcase, and routes them back into the air intake system where can be re-burned in the engine.

As you might imagine, the valve gets gummed up over time. If you skip oil changes now and then, the PCV valve gets gummed up even faster. If the PCV valve is sticking you could have oil leaks. Fortunately, the PCV valve is very inexpensive to replace. Some can even be checked for function by your technician.

Manufacturer’s usually recommend they be changed somewhere between twenty and fifty thousand miles. Unfortunately, PCV valve replacement is left out of some owner’s manuals, so you may need to ask your service advisor.

Come down to Craigs Car Care, Inc. and have us take a look at the condition of your PCV valve to ensure you are running at top efficiency. Just come by our service station in Fairview Texas 75069, or give us a call at 972.941.6700:

At Craigs Car Care, Inc. we install quality NAPA replacement parts. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

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