Category: Auto Body Blog

You’ve probably heard people talking about fuel additives from time to time. These mysterious substances are often advertised as improving the performance of your vehicle, probably by cleaning out your engine so that it runs like new once again. But are these additives all they’re cracked up to be, or is it a big batch of snake motor oil?

In truth, if you’re taking proper care of your engine, you probably aren’t going to benefit from any fuel additives. Many of the gasolines you’re pumping into your car are likely to be filled with additives already, and they’re not doing all that much for you unless your car hasn’t been properly maintained for several years. If this is the case, consider bringing your vehicle in to our Seattle auto body shop to have it tuned up.

When winter rolls in, you don’t want to be stuck with a faulty climate control system in your car. You can make sure that your heating and cooling system is in peak condition by taking it in to our auto body shop in Seattle, but you can also take a few simple steps by yourself to better assure that you won’t be caught out in the cold without a functional heater.

• Try running your car for roughly fifteen minutes. This should be enough time to get the engine warmed up. At this point, turn your heater on high with a medium blower. You should be getting a temperature of between 115 and 120. If not, move on to the following steps to determine where the problem may be.
• Check out your engine coolant. If your coolant isn’t properly filled or reasonably clean, it may cause your climate control to fail.
• Check the hoses in your engine for breakage or clogging.
• Open your temperature door motor. You can find this by consulting your owners’ manual. When you open this door, you should be able to see the motor and shaft turning. If it is not, you should bring your car in for repairs.

For many of us, the car’s cup holder gets ignored in our regular cleaning routine. We tend to use it as a garbage receptacle, so grime and filth quickly gathers on the hard-to-reach bottom. Our auto body shop in Seattle advises that you periodically clean out your cup holders, following these simple steps:

1. Remove whatever garbage and other items you can. If something appears to be stuck, you can loosen it up with a detailing brush.
2. Once the cup holder is clear, apply some car cleaner to a sponge and wipe down the insides.
3. Hit any tough stains or gunk with some warm, soapy water and let it soak for about ten minutes. Once you’re done soaking, get in there with a sponge or washcloth.
4. Let the cup holder dry completely before using it again.

When you need to drive in a particularly cold region, you may occasionally wake up to find that your car’s door has been iced over so much that you cannot get into your vehicle. When this happens, try walking through the following steps in order to de-ice your door without doing any damage:

• First, see if you can get into any of your other doors. If you can just get inside your car, de-icing your other doors is a simple matter of turning on the engine and getting the vehicle warmed up.
• Once you’re sure that you need to de-ice your car, start with the keyhole. After all, you’re probably going to need to unlock your door. Try heating up your key with a lighter, then putting it into the keyhole. Repeat as needed.
• If you find that the key refuses to turn in the lock, then you may need to thaw out the lock. A hairdryer is effective here. Simply turn it on to its highest setting and point it at the lock for a few minutes.
• When the lock is freed up, work on the door’s seal with an ice scraper or a hairdryer. Once the seals are unstuck, try pouring some windshield wiper fluid inside to thaw out the ice that may be inside.
• Your job isn’t done when you finally get the door open. Wipe it all down to get rid of any remaining ice and moisture that may serve to re-freeze your door later on.

Should you experience any other problems with your automobile, bring it to our Seattle auto body shop.

When it comes to buying used cars, the image of the “little-old-lady” car is a trope old enough to be called a cliche. Everybody likes the idea of purchasing a vehicle that some sweet, elderly woman only drove a few blocks every week, keeping the engine in near-perfect condition. Unfortunately, the reality of such cars is not what it’s cracked up to be. Our Seattle auto body shop advises that you stay away from the car that granny would only drive to church every Sunday.

The fact is that a short trip can actually be more brutal on your car’s engine than a long drive. This is because a short trip is not enough to make the crankcase hot enough to boil away the condensation that forms in the engine oil. Over time, this condensation turns into an acid which serves to corrode your engine components. Do yourself a favor, and take a second look at any used car that boasts a low mileage.

Nobody likes having to deal with car salesmen. If you go into the dealership unprepared, you never know whether or not you’re getting a good price for what you’re buying. To help assure that you get the best for your buck, our auto body shop in Seattle offers the following advice.

Fortunately for consumers, we live in an age of readily available information. There are resources available to you to tell you what kind of price you should be paying for whatever car might appeal to you. Firstly, you might consider going the traditional route of checking the Kelly Blue Book; this is the industry standard for information like current listings, resale value, and depreciation. Additionally, you might consider checking the websites of the manufacturer of the vehicle you are considering; they should be able to give you their recommended price for all of their models. By arming yourself with such information, you can enter negotiations for your new car from a position of strength.

Used tires represent a significant source of waste in our country. We’re all familiar with the sight of a hulking tire yard, occasionally plagued with the kind of poisonous tire fires that are nearly impossible to put out. This is why effort is being put into recycling our old tires, and why our auto body shop in Seattle encourages you to seek out a tire recycler when your own tires finally expire.

Though the rubber used in tires has historically been a very difficult substance to recycle, there has been a number of advances in the way of putting our inexhaustible supply of ruined tires to good use. Rubber mulch costs a fraction of the price of wooden mulch, while simultaneously saving many trees from being harvested for use as ground cover. Rubber particles can be used as a raw material for molded rubber goods, adhesives, and more. Some fields are able to use materials derived from old tires as aggregates, landscaping, or fuel.

Look for a tire recycle location near you to learn more about how you can put your old tires back to productive work.