Americans Are Hanging on to Old Cars - Auto Repairs in Tampa by Guy's Automotive

Americans are continuing a growing trend; a trend we are seeing is especially at a high here in the Auto Repair industry in Tampa.  Everyday people in Tampa and across the nation are making the choice the keep their vehicles and repair them opposed to buying new vehicles. In fact the nation hit a record all-time high in Feb 2012, with people keeping their vehicles a surprising 10.8 years.

With unemployment continuing to be high people simply cannot afford to buy new vehicles, they can’t afford car payments, they don’t have the qualifications to get a new loan so they are holding on to vehicles as long as possible. Many owners of auto repair shops in Tampa are seeing mileage on cars at record highs with it not being uncommon to see a vehicle with 250,000 miles on it.

To keep a vehicle for a good ten years it’s important to continually keep up on the vehicles maintenance. Auto repair shops in Tampa all agree it’s essential to keep up on oil changes, fluid exchanges, air filters, fuel filters, belt replacement, timing belt maintenance, including water pumps and seals. The experts doing auto repair in Tampa agree that is you keep good maintenance on your vehicle the car will last you a long time with no major issues. Of course there are also wearable things that go bad such as the brakes, fuel pumps, starters, alternators, luckily none of these things costs nearly as much as purchasing a new vehicle making it the easy choice to just repair the vehicle and hold on to the car as long as possible.

Ford, GM, Chrysler, and even Nissan are reporting sales are down as people continue to hold on to their vehicle. Imagine your vehicle breaks down, you tow It to a local auto repair shop in Tampa and they say you need a new engine, the car is 8 years old, has 180,000 miles on it, at this point you can either do a engine replacement and spend anywhere from approximately $1500 to $3000 on a used engine, you could do a long block and spend a little more, or you buy a new vehicle. In this economy $3000 is a lot of money but it’s much cheaper than buying a new car, $3000 which is considered a very big car repair is about the same as making 6 car payments but then imagine this repair gets you another 180,000 miles over 8 years. Seems like the more logical choice to many in Tampa as well as across our country.

For more information on auto repair in Tampa information, please visit http://GuysAutomotive.com

Transmission Tampa Repair Tips by Guy's Automotive

Transmission and clutch repairs are the types of services that most auto owners will eventually experience one time or another. Choosing an automotive transmission shop in Tampa, Florida that knows how to repair your vehicle is just as important as not being overcharged for the repairs needed. Before choosing an automotive transmission shop, you should do some digging on the type of shop you are taking your car to. Just a little homework on your repair shop like checking blogs, online reviews and BBB (Better Business Bureau) are a few ways to learn about a repair shop prior to taking your car in. Here are some pointers to help you decide which transmission shop in Tampa, Florida you should take your vehicle to. If you need a clutch replaced, make sure you are getting a new clutch kit or all the clutch parts such as clutch disc, pressure plate, throw out bearing and or pilot bearing. Purchasing replacement parts from wholesalers can save you money and can also spare from getting lemon parts. Some vehicles should also replace a clutch slave cylinder when applicable. If your automatic transmission breaks, use this as a guide: - If it is slipping, check the fluid. When the engine RPM's (rotation per minute) increases and the transmission takes longer than usual to shift gears or changes too soon, that’s when you know you have slippage in your transmission. - A noisy transmission system usually means your oil levels are low or you have a breakdown in the system’s internal mechanism. Take these signs seriously and have a mechanic look at it as soon as possible. - If the fluid is low, add recommended fluid to top it off and see if the slip goes away. If it does, you may have a simple transmission leak that needs to be repaired. Otherwise this usually means the automatic transmission probably needs to be rebuilt. - Transmission shops know the average costs of these repairs, but scammers can lure you with a low price but then you may still end up paying for “extra” repairs. You have to be cautious because these types of problems happen after the transmission is out of the car and disassembled. Many people feel they are stuck with whatever they are being told at this point and may spend far too much money on repairs that they should. Taking transmission repair needs for granted will result to more expensive repairs. Practice these tips and choose a trusted auto repair shop with positive consumer reviews on relevant websites. http://transmissionrepairtampa.com http://autorepairtampa.com

Engine Repair in Tampa Florida Tips by Guy's Automotive

What is the purpose of your car’s engine? Some people do not understand what your engine does not to mention how to properly maintain it. The engine of your vehicle is designed to be a power plant and mechanically or electrically produce power to your transmission to ultimately move your car down the street. Your accelerator pedal is the device that increases or decreases the power of your engine and this is what moves your car. Proper maintenance is required to keep your engine lasting the longest it can on your vehicle. Understanding how to take care of your engine is key to your car lasting and your repair bills to stay low as possible.

Maintenance is composed of services to your engine like oil change service, coolant flushes, tune-ups, filters, and a computerized check system. Oil service should be done to keep the mechanical parts of your engine from prematurely failing and this prolongs the life of a gasoline or diesel type of engine. Coolant flushes help keep the cooling system like the water pump, hoses, radiator, heater core, and thermostat from failing and this is what keeps the temperature of your gasoline or diesel engine at a proper temperature. If your engine’s temperature is to low, you will spend lots of money on fuel. If your engine’s temperature gets to hot, this causes engine failure and repairs like engine replacement, cylinder head gasket or cylinder head replacement, as well as the cause of the failure such as a cooling system component like a radiator or a water pump. Tune-ups keep your engine running smoothly as does the filters and computerized components.

Oil and coolant leaks can not be ignored. Oil can leak out or your engine from things like a broken oil pan, faulty gaskets, faulty seals, valve cover, oil filter, and timing cover. Coolant leaks from things like water pumps, hoses, radiator, heater core, manifolds, and freeze plugs. When parts to your engine leak, you run a high risk of overheating or starving the engine for oil pressure which either can lead to the engine failing.

Now most people notice noises on a car like the tires, engine, exhaust system, wheels, transmission, belts, steering and suspension, this can be the first indicator of an engine problem. The best thing you can do is to take very special attention to the way your automobile sounds and performs. Any sound that doesn’t sound the same or normal can be the first indicator of an engine, tire, or anything else that may be starting to break down. In some instances, getting the car to the repair shop could help save you money or keep you safe if your car was about to break. Most engines failures will occur when sounds are ignored and the owner keeps driving the car.

If you need your strange car noises listened to, check out Guy’s Automotive. Their ASE engine technicians can listen to your sounds and determine if it is your tires, engine, transmission, exhaust, or anything else it may be. Guy’s Automotive also has 2 locations in the Tampa Bay area to help better serve you.

Enginetampa.com AutorepairTampa.com

Doubling Your Boot Space With Mercedes Audi Volkswagen Jaguar Or BMW Roof Bars

Doubling Your Boot Space With Mercedes, Audi, Volkswagen, Jaguar Or BMW Roof Bars by Dominic Donaldson

Cars, they are generally the chosen method of transport for the masses, if you don't drive or own one yourself then you probably use someone else's car as a passenger on a regular occurrence. They are resourceful and powerful and allow us to explore regions which might be unavailable to us normally. However, they are far from perfect. Most modern cars are built for comfort rather than usability, and this can become a problem when people what to start travelling around and transporting products as most modern cars have little usable boot space.

Thankfully, manufacturers have come up with other ingenious ways for you to carry products on your car. One of the places manufacturers have been making space for people to store and transport items is on the roof of the cars. If you own a car from Mercedes, Audi, Volkswagen, Jaguar or BMW, roof bars are generally fitted to the car as standard.

Through the use of these Mercedes, Audi, Volkswagen, Jaguar or BMW roof bars, owners will be able to fit a number of accessories that will enable them to transport a whole array of products from one location to another. For instance if you are planning a holiday where there are some nice bicycle routes, you could use your BMW roof bars to fit the bicycle rack and take your own bicycles with you.

Of course this isn't the only reason why you should utilise your Mercedes, Audi, Volkswagen, Jaguar or BMW roof bars, if you have children and you plan to holiday somewhere in the United Kingdom, then it would be beneficial to have some extra space that you could utilise to transport all of the luggage that you might need. Simply by utilising your Mercedes, Audi, Volkswagen, Jaguar or BMW roof bars to fit a roof box, you can double or in some cases triple the amount of storage space that you have.

Cars constantly seem to be in the news for the wrong reasons, with everyone claiming that the automobile is the main cause behind the global warming and pollution levels. However, we need to remember that we would struggle to get through our day to day lives without the use of the automobile. There are currently engineers constantly working on ways to improve and clean up the amount of pollution being emitted from exhausts and I'm sure that with a little investment we will all be able to utilise the car for generations into the future.

Dominic Donaldson is a car journalist with many years of experience in the car industry. Find out more about BMW roof bars at http://www.ultimotive.co.uk/c-12497-bmw.aspx

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