Vehicle Maintenance
Is Your Car Ready for Winter?
Have you given your car the tender, loving care it needs to survive the ravages of winter? Following our checklist can help ensure it’s prepared to take on the cold. Antifreeze and Cooling System Before temperatures drop significantly, drain your cooling system and add new antifreeze (draining the car radiator and refilling it with new…
Read MoreTransmission Service, What Is It and Why Do I Need It?
How can you avoid transmission troubles? Next to your engine, your transmission is the most important component in your vehicle – so you want to do all you can to avoid transmission repairs. Many drivers may have noticed a trend of engines becoming more and more powerful in recent years. At the same time, fuel economy…
Read MoreTiming Belt Replacement
What does it do, and why should you replace it? Well, a broken timing belt can lead to one of the most expensive engine repairs drivers will ever face. The good news is that replacing your timing belt on its recommended schedule can help avoid those problems. Here’s a brief overview of what the timing…
Read MoreWhat To Do After You Buy A Used Vehicle
So you’ve bought a “new” used vehicle. How do you know what you’re getting? It is hard to know what you’re getting because people sell cars for different reasons. Think about why you’ve sold cars. Did you just want something new or were there problems that you wanted to run away from? Maybe it was…
Read MoreIt’s Probably Time to Replace Your Vehicle’s Cabin Air Filter
If you get headaches, allergic reactions or breathing problems riding in your car, it’s probably time to change the cabin air filter. Cabin air filters clean the incoming air and remove allergens, and should be replaced every 12,000 to 15,000 miles, or per the owner’s manual. More than 80 percent of new domestic and import…
Read MoreOnline Vehicle Service History
Douglas Automotive Repair is pleased to offer a new service designed to help you manage your vehicle information online! It provides you with online access to your vehicle’s service history, detailed maintenance schedule information and more. If we had your email in our system when we rolled this out in early July, you should have…
Read MoreFor Safer Teen Drivers, Read This Before Handing Over the Keys
Moms are the ones who usually cart kids around from school to scouts to baseball. More often than not, these women take responsibility for the repair and maintenance of their vehicles. But what happens when the kids grow out of the backseat and into the driver’s seat? Who’s looking after their vehicles? Automotive preventive maintenance…
Read MoreHeadlight Maintenance 101
When is the last time you changed your headlights? April is the perfect time to get your vehicle ready for spring and summer, when most road travel occurs. April marks the end of winter. While many focus on oil changes, brake pads and tire pressure checks, there’s one safety element that’s critical yet often overlooked…
Read MoreIt’s All In The Timing
With automotive engines as with many aspects of daily life, timing is critical. One vehicle component often overlooked during routine maintenance is the engine-timing belt. If it fails, the engine will stop and the car will coast to a stop. The lucky motorist will only have the inconvenience of being stranded on the side of…
Read MoreSix Ways You Could Be Killing Your Car
Good reminder from the Car Care Council. Owning a car can be a dream or a nightmare depending on how well you take care of your vehicle, says the non-profit Car Care Council. The following are six things that many motorists do that can harm their car and their wallet. Ignoring the check engine light. Ignoring…
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