Los Altos Auto Repair

Duke here and today I have sirloin tips, no I mean automotive tips for you. My mind is always on steak though so excuse me on that little slip up.  Today's subject will be about when it is time to replace the timing belt.  So let's get barkin!

The timing belt in your engine controls the opening and closing of the intake and exhaust valves. Los Altos drivers need to replace it on a schedule to avoid failure.

Timing belts are very difficult to get to, requiring quite a bit of labor to access. Timing belt replacement is one of the more expensive maintenance services, but the cost at Allied Auto Works to correct an engine damaged by a broken timing belt is much, much more.

The timing belt has a tensioner to help maintain proper belt tension. The tensioner should be replaced along with the timing belt and any idler pulleys at the vehicle manufacturer’s specified service interval. Your Allied Auto Works service advisor can help you with the timing belt.

Give us a call.

I leave you with quote about giving advice for this week,

The only good thing to do with good advice is pass it on; it is never of any use to oneself. ~ Oscar Wilde

Duke

Allied Auto Works
2073 Grant Road
Los Altos, CA 94024
6509687227
http://alliedautoworks.com

Hi Cayenne here.  You know I always wonder do I keep my old dog bed or buy a new one?  It is a question us hounds often wonder just like you. Do I keep my old vehicle or buy a new one? It's a question most Los Altos drivers ask themselves at some time or another.  So today we will bark about should we buy a new vehicle or maintain what we have.  

Generally, what it comes down to is the choice between a car payment and the possibility of repair bills. Most of the time, we want to choose the car payment because we don't like the inconvenience and uncertainty of vehicle repairs. But that payment has a detrimental effect on our budget and bank account.

Edmunds.com is a great website to help you with your decision. This site uses repair histories to calculate the average repair bills for specific makes and models of cars. You can plug in the information for your vehicle and get an estimate on what it will probably cost you to continue owning that vehicle.

Now, Edmunds.com isn't a crystal ball. It can't know what will happen to your specific vehicle. But it can guide you in knowing how much money to budget for the repair and maintenance of your vehicle. Ultimately, that can help you in your decision to buy a new vehicle or wait a few years.

For example, a five-year-old Camry V-6 is projected by Edmunds.com to cost about $96 a month, on average, to repair and maintain (at the time of this writing). Remember, maintenance costs are part of vehicle ownership, whether it's a new vehicle or an old one, so the projected cost for repairs on your five-year-old Camry average out to only about $50 a month. That's a whopping lot less than a new car payment.

If your vehicle is older than five years, you should also talk to your friendly and knowledgeable professional at Allied Auto Works about its future. They are more familiar with the average cost of repairs for vehicles in your area and of specific problems they commonly see in particular vehicles. More importantly, they know you and they know your car. They can give you a heads-up on what repairs you may be facing in the near future.

Remember, the older your vehicle gets, the more important preventive auto maintenance becomes. Over time, vehicles accumulate wear and debris, and we just have to give them a little more attention. Getting to know your vehicle and its peculiarities is also good auto advice for Los Altos drivers.

If you decide to keep your older vehicle, you may want to talk with your Allied Auto Works service advisor about fluids specially formulated for older engines. These motor oils, transmission and other fluids are designed to clean older engines and automotive systems and recondition their seals and gaskets.

Good care at Allied Auto Works in Los Altos will keep your older vehicle on the road in CA. And that may be just the boost you need in this uncertain economy. It may even save you enough to be able to afford that new vehicle you've been dreaming about.

I leave you with this thought on spending,

"He who buys what he does not need, steals from himself." ~ Swedish Proverb 

Cayenne

Allied Auto Works
2073 Grant Road
Los Altos, CA 94024
6509687227
http://alliedautoworks.com

Hey Duke here and you know sometimes the movie is better than the book, sometimes it's the other way around.  But when it comes to your vehicle, the best book of all is the owner's manual. The plot is simple and not talking about me even though I am a Plott, I am not simple: Owner wants long life and dependable performance from the vehicle, manual has the way to achieve that long life and dependable performance.  So let's turn the page and bark into the "Owner's Manual"

And yet, it's amazing that some people will own a vehicle for years and never even crack this book.  They'll only read it when they absolutely have to, for things like finding out how to change the clock. 

Ok, so you're probably not going to rush right over to your glove box and start reading the owner's manual cover to cover.  We know that.  But just think of what you can get out of it.

Consider this.  Those who wrote or helped write this book include the engineers who designed it and the people who tested and refined it.  They know more about your vehicle than anyone, period.  They know how long a part is likely to last and what you need to do to take care of it. They know how far a distance or how long a time you can drive before you have to change certain fluids in it.  They know what temperature it can reach before things will start to break.

And they've put your vehicle model through torture, testing it in the absolute worst conditions to see how to make it stand up to more abuse than it will ever receive.  They've then torn it down, examined it and, in many cases, redesigned the parts to make them even better. 

And they've put down—in fairly minute detail—this blueprint that, if you and our experts at Allied Auto Works follow their suggestions, will make it very likely that your vehicle will serve you well for a long time.  If you don't follow those suggestions, all bets are off.

We didn't even mention that the owner's manual tells you how to operate everything in your car.  How to adjust the heat and air conditioning, how to pair your smartphone with the audio system, how to program your key fob so it won't sound the horn when you lock your vehicle.

Have you lost your manual or did you buy a vehicle that didn't come with one?  Many are available either online or in paper form. If you don't know where to begin with such a long book, try a couple of pages a week, just three minutes.  You’ll discover your vehicle does things you never even knew it could do.  And the movie will never be as good.

I leave you with a reading quote for this week,

If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all ~ Oscar Wilde

Duke

Allied Auto Works
2073 Grant Road
Los Altos, CA 94024
6509687227
http://alliedautoworks.com