Express Car Care of Denver

"Denver's Best Auto Repair and Quick Lube"

Car and Truck Suspension Problems in Denver?

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Suspension Problems In Denver?Suspension systems should continue to operate effectively for many years and thousands of miles, but eventually components do wear out.  How long it takes for them to wear out depends a lot on how you drive.

As you can imagine, if most of your driving is on smooth Colorado highways, your vehicles shock absorbers will last a lot longer than if you do most of your driving on bumpy Denver roads or hauling heavy loads.  In addition to just wearing out, upgraded shock suspension components can be damaged in an accident or just by a hard impact – like hitting a pothole, curb or a rock in the road.

Because the life span of shocks can vary so widely, your vehicle manufacturer recommends periodic inspections.  During a car inspection at Express Car Care, your service technician will check for worn, broken or missing suspension parts.  If the inspection reveals any problems, it’s important to have them  taken care of quickly.  When you do need to replace your shocks, it’s usually a good idea to replace all four at the same time.  This will give you even handling at all four corners of the vehicle.

If you have special road handling needs – like – improved cornering or towing and hauling requirements in Denver, your Express Car Care adviser can recommend an upgraded shock or strut that will meet your needs.

At Express Car Care, we have been providing quality auto repair in Denver for over ten years.  Ask manager Rob about transmission service and windshield wipers.  We are here to help with all your auto repair needs.  Give us a call @ 303-691-2760 or come in and see us.

Chilling In Denver With Winter Tires

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Chilling In Denver With Winter TiresThere is more to winter tires than Denver drivers may think.  Those days of clunky, tractor-like snow tires are long gone in Colorado.  They have been replaced by high-tech winter tires with special rubber compounds and advanced tread designs.

In Denver winter temperatures, the rubber in summer tires becomes hard and inflexible and they don’t grip the road as well.  In contrast, winter tires use special rubber compounds that are more pliable when the thermometer drops below 45 degrees, giving you better road contact; so even if you don’t get much snow, winter tires will really add to your cold weather safety in Denver.

Winter tires may also use a micro-pore rubber compound that increases surface area so they can bite into ice and packed snow on Denver roads and highways.

The tread on winter tires needs to clear out water, snow and slush as the tire turns so it’s ready to take another bite when it comes back in contact with the road.  But summer tires can actually be dangerous because they get packed with snow, making them very slick, so your vehicle will be hard to control.  Winter tires have a lot of thin slits in the tread which help the tire grab ice and packed snow, providing extra traction.

Many new vehicles in Denver come with all-season tires which are good for a wide range of Denver weather and road conditions, but don’t provide top performance in Colorado snow and ice.  For example, winter tires provide 25 to 50% more traction than all-season tires.  And all-season tires take up to 42% longer to stop than winter tires in slick conditions.  For all these reasons, the tire experts at Express Car Care in Denver recommend you put winter tires on all four wheels because it makes sense to have equal traction and handling at all four corners of your vehicle.  Uneven traction could result in loss of control for Denver motorists.

Your vehicle may be equipped with stability control, anti-lock brakes and traction control – all important safely systems for Colorado auto owners.  But in order to do their job you still need good traction.  Winter tires help you start, stop and corner when things get cold and slippery.

So when temperatures drop below 45 degrees, be sure you have a set of four winter tires for maximum performance in snow, ice and wet Denver roads.  Your Express Car Care professional can help you find the right winter tire for your vehicle and driving needs.  Give us a call @ 303-691-2760 or come in and see us.

Busted in Denver: The Maintenance Free Myth

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Busted in Denver: The Maintenance Free MythQuality surveys report fewer problems with new Denver cars than ever before.  So does that mean that modern vehicles have become maintenance free?  Not really.  Back when cars spent more time in Denver repair shops, drivers were more mindful of routine service.  Now, it is much easier to put it off.

Take tune-ups for example.  In the days of mechanical ignition system, an engine needed to be tuned-up every couple of years.  If your engine was out of tune, you knew it.  It ran poorly and got bad gas mileage driving on Colorado streets and highways.  Now, the ignition system is electronic and controlled by the engine management computer.  Spark plugs rarely get extremely dirty and will last for as much as a 100,000 miles.  So car tune-ups used to force you in for service and while you were there you just took care of whatever else was on the list.

So what is the benefit to keeping up with factory scheduled maintenance at Express Car Care?  Well, your vehicle will perform better and return better fuel economy.  Those benefits pay for the service as you go along.  the big plus is that major repairs – and the associated breakdowns – are prevented.  And these aren’t just repairs that are a long way off.  Modern engines are far more sophisticated and have many parts that are in critical need of lubrication.  Missing just one oil change at Express Car Care can allow oil sludge to start forming.  Sludge clogs small engine passages, robbing car parts of the lubrication they need.  An expensive failure could easily occur with two or three years.

Taking care of the little things at Express Car Care prevents big problems with your vehicle later.  No Denver motorist wants to be stranded by a breakdown.  Your car still needs to be taken care of – it’s just that some of those points of care have changed with automotive advancements.  The need for proper maintenance at Express Car Care in Denver did not go away.

Give us a call @ 303-691-2760

The Maintenance Mindset: Full-Service Oil Change

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The Maintenance MindsetPeople generally accept that many things in life require regular maintenance:  their teeth, clothes, homes, yards and so on, but Colorado motorists don’t often apply the same idea of maintenance to their vehicles.  If you never brush your teeth or go to the dentist, you’ll become painfully aware of your neglect when you get a big cavity.  Once the damage is done, we learn our critical lesson and start to take better care of things.

Unfortunately, Denver people too often learn the hard automotive lesson only after they bring their vehicle to Express Car Care on a tow truck.  So many times, a little routine maintenance would have prevented an expensive breakdown.

So how do Denver car owners get into the habit of taking care of their vehicles?  It’s so easy to forget it’s not like cutting the grass which you can see every time you pull in the driveway.

Here’s something that will help:  The key to good vehicle maintenance starts with the oil change.  Think about it – when you go in for a full-service oil change in Denver, your cheerful Express Car Care service adviser will check all your fluids.  If one of them is low, he can look for the reason why.  If your serpentine belt is worn, he’ll see it and let you know.  Corroded battery cable – they’ve got you covered.  And they’ll check to see if your manufacturer has recommended any critical services at your current mileage.

The oil change becomes kind of a focal point, a way to check in to see what needs to be done.

The fact is that vehicle inspection surveys consistently reveal that over 80% of vehicles have one or more needed repair or maintenance service that goes undone.  Vehicles are generally very reliable and can take a lot of abuse and neglect – but you can only press your luck for so long.

So when you come into Express Car Care for an oil change, you get a visual inspection of your car and a reminder for recommended services so you can avoid a total failure.  Also keep in mind that your service professional can help you work out a maintenance and repair plan for your vehicle, prioritizing and scheduling the work to make sure you and your family are safe and help you avoid expensive breakdowns.

In addition to full-service oil changes, at Express Car Care we also offer air conditioning service, transmission service and tire rotation.

Give us a call.  Express Car Care 303.691.2760

 

 

 

The Express Car Care Guide to Synthetic Oil

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The Express Car Care Guide to Synthetic OilSynthetic motor oil has been around for a long time in Denver and more and more new cars are leaving the auto manufacturers factories with synthetic oil in their engines.  But a lot of car owners still don’t really know much about it.

Let’s start with conventional oil – the kind Denver folks are familiar with using in their engines.  Conventional oil is made up of naturally occurring hydrocarbon chains, which means its molecules are long and have various lengths, ( like a pile of pencils ), some of them are new and some of them are used.

Synthetic oil is man-made.  Its molecules are more uniform and regular in shape -more similar to marbles than pencils.  Some synthetic oil starts with a petroleum base that’s modified and others are entirely synthesized from other materials.

Synthetic motor oil works best in both hot and cold Denver temperatures.  It’s more chemically stable so it doesn’t readily evaporate or breakdown in the high heat produced inside your vehicles engine.  This means it resists turning to sludge, which is a real engine killer.

Remember the marbles and pencils thing we were talking about?  Well, that makes synthetic oil more slippery than conventional oil which means less friction in your engine when you use synthetic oil.  Your vehicle’s engine runs cooler, wears less and lasts longer.  You also get a boost in power and maybe even an improvement in fuel efficiency.   Synthetic oil also lasts longer so you change it less often – which is great for the environment.  With longer oil change intervals, you will need to use an oil filter specifically built for the longer service life of synthetic oil.  Talk with your cheerful Express Car Care service professional about synthetic oil and synthetic blends -they might be just what you need to improve engine performance and extend the life of your vehicle.

Give us a call at 303-691-2760 or stop by and see us.

Extend the Life of Your Cooling System in Denver

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Extend the Life of Your Cooling System in DenverOur vehicles  need to operate in a wide range of temperatures.  That’s why vehicle manufacturers use testing grounds from the frozen tundra to the blistering desert.  The engine antifreeze/coolant in your cooling system must be able to perform in these extreme temperatures.

Antifreeze/coolant has to move heat away from the engine to prevent costly damage.  Water does a very good job of holding heat, but it freezes at thirty two degrees.

That’s why we mix anti-freeze with water – it lowers the freezing point of the coolant, and raises the boiling point as well.  A fifty/fifty blend of water and antifreeze/coolant is the usual recommendation for Colorado motorists.

And on top of that, antifreeze/coolant has the job of  protecting the components of your vehicles cooling system from corrosion.  Your manufacturers owners’ manual will tell you what kind of antifreeze/coolant you should be using in your car.  Of course, at Express Car Care, we can advise you on what coolant to put in your vehicle.

Cooling system failure is one of the most common mechanical problems for Denver motorists.  Much of that can be avoided by following factory scheduled service intervals.  Check your owner’s manual or with your Express Car Care service adviser for recommendations.  He can also conduct a cooling system inspection to look for leaks, weak hoses or bad connections.

Give us a call

Express Car Care   303-691-2760

 

The 411 on Cabin Air Filters

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The 411 on Cabin Air FiltersThe cabin air filter is a filter that is placed in the vehicles ventilation system to remove pollutants from the air before they enter the passenger compartment.  Cabin air filters can also be called pollen or dust filters, interior ventilation filters, ACC filters, or passenger compartment filters.  Since cabin air filters are a fairly recent addition to automobile equipment, this filter can often be overlooked.  The cabin air filter purifies the air as well as protecting the heater and air conditioning components.  If your filter becomes dirty or clogged it can greatly reduce the effectiveness of the vehicle’s air conditioning and heating performance and significantly reduce air flow from the cabin vents.  You might also notice unpleasant odors coming from the cabin vents.  The recommendations for replacing this filter are at least once a year or every 12,000 to 15,000 miles.  It should be replaced more often if your car is driven in areas with heavy pollution or dusty conditions.

There are two types of filters that are offered for replacement, a single stage filter and a multi-stage filter.  Single stage filters trap dust, large soot, and allergens.  Multi-stage filters use activated carbon that reduces toxic gases and odors as well as dust and allergens.  Multi-stage filters are usually recommended more often because of their higher quality.

Since this filter is a relatively new feature, not all vehicles have them.  If your car is a 2000 or newer, it probably has a cabin air filter.  Cars and trucks in the U.S. started using cabin air filters around 1995, so if you aren’t sure whether you have one or not, check your owner’s manual or talk to your repair technician.  Most repair technicians should be able to tell you whether or not your car has one.   The ease or difficulty of replacing the filter depends on the make and model of your vehicle.  There might be some models that would be a lot less trouble to have an auto repair technician replace it , rather than trying to replace the filter on your own.

Top Maintenance Mistakes Denver Drivers Are Making – Are You?

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How old is your car? Is it brand new? Five years old? Ten years old? Twenty years old?

Top Maintenance Mistakes Denver Drivers Are Making – Are You?Cars of today are capable of making it a lot further than they were even just a few short years ago. To keep cars in top running order, regular maintenance is needed. But just like cars have changed and improved over the years, so to has the way we should regularly maintain our cars.

People still think of regular car maintenance in much the same way as we did decades before. Yet that may be where your maintenance mistakes begin. Every car has a supplied maintenance schedule – in the owners manual that came with your car, or in a a separate maintenance log book. A few minutes looking through this guidebook and assessing the requirements needed with your make and model can help you avoid maintenance mistakes that do little to help maintain your car.

Proper tire maintenance

Tires leak – it’s a fact of life. Therefore they need occasional checking to make sure they are still in good working order. Under or overinflated tires wear out sooner and can put you at risk under emergency maneuver situations, so it is important to check. Furthermore tires on the front of your car wear differently than on the back of your car – making tire rotation necessary on a periodic basis. How often? At least twice a year – winter and summer extremes can and do cause havoc on your tires.

Wipers

Colorado gives you all the extremes. Hot dry summers. Cold wet winters. The only way to avoid hitting things is if you can see them – something that can be difficult if your wipers aren’t working properly. And under extremes, wipers dry out and fossilize into noisy and useless tools. To avoid a common maintenance mistake – and give yourself the edge on keeping your car up to date – replace wipers at least once per year.

Tune ups

Remember when tune ups were necessary on every make and model? Well no more. Today’s cars don’t have valves that need adjusting or carburetors to fiddle with. Instead, everything inside your car is controlled and monitored by computer. Sure, belts and other parts will need the occasional adjustment or replacement. But overall, your car will happily carry you from place to place in a much more reliable way.

Oil changes

As long as a car runs on oil, you will need to replace it on occasion. But the old rule of every 3,000 miles may not be true anymore. Today, engine design and lubricants make oil changes something that needs to be performed when the schedule calls for it. Check with your owners manual – some cars can go 10,000 or even 15,000 miles between oil changes.

Brakes

One of the most important parts of your car are your brakes. When they squeak, make noises, sound or feel funny in response, its time to talk to your mechanic. Its never worth putting you or your family at risk to try and squeeze a few more miles out of your brakes.

Keeping Your Car Safe With Routine Auto Maintenance

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Are you the type that spends every weekend washing, waxing, and working on your car?  If you are reading this article, you probably aren’t.  If you’re anything like me, your car is simply a means to an end; a way to get quickly from point A to point B.

Keeping Your Car Safe With Routine Auto MaintenanceHowever, I am coming to discover that this tool for transportation has needs too.  So, if I want my car to continue shuttling me safely from one place to another, I need to show it a little love back.

Regularly scheduled maintenance – If the car is running smoothly, this may seem like a waste of time and money.  But, there is actually a good purpose for the regular maintenance they recommend for your car.  At these little checkups, the mechanic can see how well the parts are working and what needs to be attended to.  Replacing parts before they break down tends to be much cheaper than fixing the mess they make when they go.

Tune-Ups – Consider these brief check-ups between your regularly scheduled maintenance.  The mechanic wants to make sure the little pieces are working well together to keep your engine (and your car) working at peak efficiency.

Oil Changes – Without oil, your engine will burn up.  Oil provides the lubrication that keeps your car from overheating as a result of natural friction.  In order for your car to continue running well, this oil needs to be changed periodically.  Clean oil keeps gunk from building up in the working mechanisms of your engine.

Fluid Flushes – If you look under the hood of your car, you will notice several different reservoirs.  These containers hold the different fluids needed to keep your car running.  Every now and then, your car would appreciate a top off or a fresh supply on each of these.

If you give your car a little love along the way, it will serve you much better.  A little TLC will keep you safe and moving in the foreseeable future.

Avoid These Used Cars – They Signal Endless Car Repair Problems

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Wouldn’t it be great to drive away in a brand new car?

Avoid These Used Cars - They Signal Endless Car Repair ProblemsUnfortunately, for many of us, a new car isn’t in our immediate future.

But that doesn’t mean we still don’t need a quality vehicle we can rely on for our day to day needs.

This need leads you to the used car market. While there are millions of used cars available, they are not all created equal. Just because a used car seems like a great deal does not make it the right choice.

When shopping used cars, it is essential that you take your time and use caution to ensure that you buy a quality vehicle that still has plenty of life left in it. Here are some used cars that you should avoid.

  • Cars with salvage titles – these cars were considered a total loss by insurance companies. Just because someone managed to make them look pretty again does not mean they are sound investments.
  • Cars that lack service records – you need to know that the used car you buy was taken care of by the previous owner. This reassurance comes from physical records of oil changes and other maintenance tasks, not from the mere word of the previous owner.
  • Cars with funky paint jobs and mismatched tires – if you can see brushstrokes in the paint, there is a good chance that someone tried to fix the paint themselves. If the tires do not match, this is an indicator that the tires may be wearing out at different rates, which could be a sign of a larger problem.
  • Cars with visible oil stains on the pavement – when you take a used car for a spin, if you notice oil stains underneath as you pull out, pull right back in. The last thing you need are engine problems, such as leaking oil.
  • Cars that were previously rented – no, not all rentals are bad cars, but there is always a chance that various drivers were harder on the car than necessary. After all, it wasn’t their car in the first place, so they didn’t have anything invested in it.

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Oil Change

Suspension

Transmision Service

Engine Service

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