July 2021

There are many safety features on your vehicle that matter, but your brakes are one of the largest and most important. Instead of crossing your fingers every time you get into the vehicle, hoping the brakes work well, even if they are starting to make noise, it’s best to work on preventative maintenance with auto repair in Philadelphia, PA.

Know Your Owner’s Manual

One thing you can do to prevent issues with your brakes, and other parts of your vehicle, is to know your owner’s manual well. Read through it and see about how many miles you can go between oil changes, about how many miles the brake pads can take, and other such things You might even be able to mark your calendar to check your mileage and make appointments to make it easier on you as you move ahead with your life.

Understand Brake Pad Needs

The brake pad is always going to be the first thing to go on your brakes. Those pads are going to have to be changed. And the good news is, they don’t cost nearly as much to change out as other parts of the brakes. You can usually go a certain number of miles on pads, but they can wear faster if there are other things going wrong with your car or if you are hard on the brakes overall. It’s wise to have them checked out every oil change so you can anticipate when they need to be changed. And when they start to show wear, change them so nothing else gets out of whack on the brakes.

Check Price Points

Before you commit to a certain brake pad, it’s smart of you to check through price points. There are options and while you want something high in quality that’s going to last, you might have some wiggle room in price with certain manufacturers and what you can use on your vehicle.

Get A Reliable Mechanic

The best thing you can do for any type of repair or maintenance you need on your vehicle has a reliable mechanic. You want something you can trust that when they say something needs to be done, it really needs it. You know when they tell you the brakes need fluid or the pads are getting worn that those are things they would do on their own vehicle. They aren’t trying to pull anything over on you.

Auto repair in Philadelphia, PA is very important and you will want to stay on top of things when it comes to your ability to break. Brakes are something you use every time you drive. You have to stop at signs, lights, and sometimes, suddenly when someone pulls out in front of you. The professionals at Schafer’s Auto Center are here to help you with brake maintenance, oil changes, and everything else you might need on your vehicles. Give us a call if you have any questions, otherwise, schedule a tune up and we can look things over and make sure all is well.

There are lots of parts to your vehicle that are important, but you know that the car wouldn’t go anywhere at all without the engine. You hate to hear that you need auto repair in Philadelphia, PA on the engine because it can often be costly and time consuming. That is a large part of why you should preserve the engine in any way possible. Here are a few ways that you can do that.

Keep The Vehicle Clean

You might like the way your vehicle looks when it’s clean—who doesn’t, but did you know that washing your vehicle regularly can help your engine run better, too? When you have dust and debris on your vehicle, it can float around the car and end up in the engine. That gunks things up inside and causes it all to slow down and not run as well. When you wash your vehicle, you are making it look nice, and doing the engine a favor as well.

Change The Oil

If there’s on regular maintenance item you do on your vehicle, make it the oil change. Getting your oil changed according to the manufacturer’s recommendation is the biggest thing you can do to preserve the engine. Oil changes don’t take long and they can take your vehicle a long way down the road to good health. The clean oil will lubricate the engine well and keep things operating nicely well into the future.

Get Tune Ups

When you have the oil changed, it’s a good time to get a tune up as well. The mechanics can look things over, top off fluids, and let you know if there are any small things wrong. You might hear that an air filter is getting dirty and needs to be changed out or that you can probably drive another 5,000 miles or so, but after that you will want to consider new tires. The tune ups showcase small issues and help you to avoid them from getting larger and more costly.

Run Maintenance As Needed Based On Owner’s Manual

Keep a close eye on your owner’s manual and run regular maintenance on things as it requests. You are going to need certain things at certain stages. The manual will likely tell you in miles. Every so many mile and your vehicle needs an oil change. Every so many mile and you need this checked or that tweaked. When you keep track of those items, it will be a good thing for your engine as well.

It can be hard to keep up with auto repair in Philadelphia, PA when you have so many other things going on in your life, but just ask yourself where you would be without reliable transportation. You need to be able to get from place to place and that makes tune up and engine life very important. Contact the professionals at Schafer’s Auto Center any time you have a question, or even when you need an oil change or other maintenance.

Everyone is doing things to stay safer right now and that’s no different when it comes to your vehicle and the auto repair in Philadelphia, PA that it may need as the miles go by. You want your car to get you from place to place and you certainly don’t want to be stranded by the roadside at an inconvenient time. Here are a few ways to keep your car safe, even during this trying time.

Check The Tire Pressure

You want your vehicle to run, but also to be as efficient as possible. You never want to spend more on gas than you have to, and right now, you don’t want to have to get gas any more often than you have to. Keep the tire pressure at the proper levels and you can prevent trips to the gas station from becoming more frequent than needed.

Clean The Cabin

As is true with everything right now, you want to keep surfaces as clean as possible. Clean out the interior of your vehicle so there isn’t trash lying around and so that the surfaces are disinfected. Even if you are the only one that usually drives the vehicle and even if you are alone, you might bring in who knows what with you, so it’s best to wipe things down to make sure the car is as clean as possible.

Clean The Exterior

You want to take good care of your vehicle so you can ensure it will get you everywhere you want to go. That can help you with vehicle care overall. When the car gets dusty, wipe it down. Give it a thorough cleaning every week or two as needed.

Change Filters

You want your vehicle’s air to be as clean as possible and that means making sure any air coming into the vehicle goes through a clean, not clogged, filter. When the filters need to be changed, do so as soon as you can so you can get the clean air that you want for anyone who rides with you throughout the days ahead.

Get Regular Service

You don’t want to have to take your vehicle into a service station in an emergency. You might end up at a service place you don’t know and can’t trust. Instead, get regular service with a station you trust so you know they are going to keep you and your vehicle safe for the whole process.

If you want to make sure you have the safest possible vehicle for the duration of this crazy time, get auto repair in Philadelphia, PA, and other tips from the professionals at Schafer’s Auto Center. We are here to help you with small things, like oil changes and new wiper blades, to larger things, like brake pad changes and tire balancing. Give us a call when you need to come in and we’ll work around your schedule. We will keep you and your family as safe as possible every time you are here.

There are lots of things that can go wrong on a vehicle over the years that cause you to need auto repair in Philadelphia, PA, but in addition to wanting the car to operate well, you also want it to be comfortable inside for you to drive it. That won’t be the case if the AC isn’t cooling in the summer, or the heat isn’t warming in the winter. Here are some of the most common issues in those areas that might need auto repair.

AC-Low Refrigerant

One of the most common things that go wrong with the AC system is a low refrigerant level. The air conditioner might make noise and blow air, but the air won’t be cool. Top off the refrigerant and you could have a cool cabin again in no time.

Heat-Low Coolant

On the other side, if you don’t have enough coolant in your vehicle, the heat won’t work well. The car takes heat from the engine to warm the vehicle and if there is no coolant, the efficiency of the draw on the heat from the engine won’t be good. Getting more coolant will help things heat up in the cabin.

AC-Clogged Condenser

IF the condenser is leaking, it can reduce the effectiveness of the air conditioning as well. There might be crud built up on the condenser, which restricts the coolant from coming through and the air might make noise, but never reach that coolness level that you want.

Heat-Failed Thermostat

If your thermostat isn’t working, it won’t be telling the heater what the temperature is in the vehicle. Just like in your house, the vehicle needs to read the thermostat to know when to heat the car. If the thermostat has failed, it might need to be replaced so the heat will run as needed.

AC-Damaged Compressor

Since the compressor is what dumps the heat from the car back outside, if it isn’t working properly, it makes sense that the AC would feel like it’s not cranking out the air that you want for your vehicle. This part is often vulnerable to rocks and other things so it can become damaged easily enough.

No matter what the issue might be, it’s easy to notice when your AC isn’t blowing air that is nice and cool or when your heat isn’t making the car warm. When those things happen, especially when it’s really cold or really hot outside, you want auto repair in Philadelphia, PA as quickly as you can get it. It’s best to take the vehicle into a trusted shop so you can get the diagnosis you need and get the parts repairs or replaced so you can stay cool or warm all season long. Your car will run more efficiently and effectively when you have AC and heat that works as well. The professionals at Schafer’s Auto Center are here to help you figure out what’s going on so you can stay comfortable on any drive.