Tag: Seattle Auto Body Shop

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.

Has this ever happened to you? You start your car normally, you get out on the road, and suddenly the engine surges, causing your vehicle to abruptly speed up and buck. This can be a dangerous problem, and one that you should fix or bring to our auto body shop in Seattle as soon as you can manage. Unfortunately, there are many potential causes for engine misfires, including the following:

• Your Cooling System isn’t Working: Check for problems in your radiator fluid, your coolant, your fan belt, your thermostat, or anything else that might cause your engine to overheat.
• Your Ignition Timing is Malfunctioning: Check to see if your timing needs an adjustment.
• Your Fuel-Pressure is Too Low: Look for problems in either your fuel pump or your fuel pressure regulator.
• You Have an Ignition Problem: The culprit may be your starter, your starter solenoid, your ignition coil, your distributor cap, your distributor rotor, or your spark plugs.
• Your Torque Converter is Locking: If you have an automatic transmission, check to see that your converter is properly in place.
• Your Fuel Injectors or Fuel Filter is Clogged: When your fuel injectors or filter become completely clogged, it can cause your engine to fail. Try changing your filter and cleaning your injectors.
• There is a Leak in Your Vacuum Line: Inspect your vacuum line to see if it needs to be replaced.
• Your EGR Valve is Stuck: When your EGR valve refuses to close, your engine can surge. Check to see that it is opening and closing properly.
• Your Drive Axles are Faulty: Inspect your CV joints for signs of damage.
• You Have Internal Engine Trouble: Look at your compression to determine the condition of your engine.

The cold season is rapidly approaching. Here in the Northwest, this means rain, snow, slippery roads, biting cold, and early nightfall. In short, this is far and away the worst season for driving. With this in mind, our auto body shop in Seattle has prepared the following advice to help assure that you and your car get through the winter intact.

First of all, get your proper maintenance, equip your car with an emergency kit, and keep your car filled with gasoline. Your chances of getting stranded out on the road are all the greater in the winter, and you’re likely to encounter far fewer people to help you. Should you end up stranded, resist the urge to seal up your car and crank your heater to fight the cold while you sleep. This is a good way to succumb to carbon monoxide poisoning, which is lethal. And if you end up in a wreck, bring your car down to Greenwood Collision; we’ll have you back on the road in no time!

Your timing belt is a very important and often overlooked part of your engine. Without a properly functioning belt, your engine will simply fail to run. Our auto body shop in Seattle can check up on your belt as part of your regular maintenance, but you may occasionally need to replace this belt ahead of schedule. Be on the lookout for the following signs that your belt is in need of a change:

• Problems Starting: If you have trouble starting up your engine, the timing belt may be to blame.
• Excess Emissions: When your belt falls out of synchronization, the problem may manifest in your exhaust valve. This leads to excessive exhaust emissions in your exhaust pipe.
• Overheating and Leaking: If your engine has been prone to overheating or fluid leaks, these may be inflicting damage on your timing belt. You’ll want to fix whatever is causing your overheating or leaking problems, and then check to make sure your belt is holding up.
• Abrupt Changes in Noise: Sometimes you may notice that your car’s engine isn’t making the same sound it usually makes. This can be caused by a faulty belt.

Taking your car in for maintenance and repairs at our auto body shop in Seattle is a good way to keep up the resale value of your vehicle. However, there is no way to completely prevent the gradual decline of your investment. There are many factors that will chip away at a car’s value over time, one of which is the mileage.

Mileage is a big factor for people buying a used car. Unfortunately, the specifics of how mileage affects a price are not cut and dry. The general rule of thumb is that a car should accrue roughly ten thousand miles every year. If your car has significantly more mileage on it than it should for its age, this can be taken as an indication of additional wear and tear. You can therefore expect to drop the price by a few hundred dollars when trying to sell your car.

Obviously, it can be difficult to reign in your driving if you have a particularly strong need for your car. It therefore pays to focus on the factors that you can control. With that in mind, always remember to bring your car in for appropriate maintenance and repairs with Greenwood Collision in Seattle.