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Thursday, June 24, 2010 — THE MEDICINE HAT NEWS


Your car has something important to tell you and it’s about time to listen up or pay up


A UT O KN O W


THE W A Y Y OU DRIVE BY WHEELBASE COMMUNICATIONS


GREG PERRY/ FOR WHEELBASE COMMUNICATIONS H


ave you ever received a repair bill so high that you began to wonder if your car re- ally and truly hated you?


The problem might not be


your car. It might be you. The way you drive can have a


big impact on your repair bill. Even though today’s cars are designed to take a lot more stress and strain than their an- cestors (and last longer), care- less driving can still wear out parts before their time and cost you enough to put your me- chanic’s kids through college.


“People shouldn’t do any-


thing that doesn’t fall under normal acceptable driving practices,” said John Vincente, who works in the service de- partment at a Volkswagen deal- ership.


“Say you’re a hard-cornering


person, and you go into corners much faster than a comfortable speed would be . . . that would be hard on your suspension.”


Another potentially expen-


sive habit, Vincente said, is wearing out your brakes by driving too fast and having to


brake harder and more often. He suggests braking firmly, not hard, and also suggests not rid- ing the brakes to a long, distant stop. Bad habits like these can lead to squealing brakes, a sure sign of more pending repairs.


Mechanic Sid Minuk has an-


other suggestion. “The blood line of an engine


is the oil,” he says. “People are driving a lot further on their oil changes than they used to.” He recommends changing the oil at least every 5,000 kilometres; or more often depending on the climate.


“If you’ve got cold, extreme


temperatures, it’s very, very critical that the oil be changed every three months. But if you’re in California, you can put a lot more miles on a vehicle.”


If you drive a vehicle


equipped with a manual trans- mission, there are a couple of easy ways you can extend the life of your clutch.


“I have a very general rule of


thumb for that,” Vincente says. “A clutch should be either de- pressed fully to the floor, or your foot should be completely off it, with as little time in be- tween as possible.” Vincente


stresses the transition should be smooth, but quick.


Another rule, he says, is to


make sure that whenever you start off from a stop, you always take off in first gear and don’t over-rev the engine. Being in the right gear for whatever speed you’re traveling is vital to the long life of your clutch.


The main thing, Vincente


says, is to make sure that whether you’re gearing up or down, the drive feels comfort- able.


“If it doesn’t feel like it’s com-


fortable to be driving the car while you’re doing it, then it’s abuse.”


In fact, cars with manual


transmissions tend to have lon- ger brake lives because gearing down takes some of the wear and tear off the brake pads and places it on the clutch. Conversely, you can extend the life of the clutch by downshift- ing less when slowing. Not stressing one or the other too much is the key.


Of course, all advice aside,


there is one simple, cheap thing you can do that’s guaranteed to save you money on your car. Like any major purchase, the


CRIMES OF ABUSE: Why was this low-kilometre Camaro totalled? The owner rode the brakes to point where they finally failed. While he luckily escaped injury, the car . . . well.


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BIG TROUBLE: If the outside the of the vehicle is this far gone, chances are that the underside is even worse. Bad things happen when bad driving habits include ignoring maintenance . . . like actually washing the vehicle.


last thing many people do is read the owner’s manual, Vincente says.


“In many cases, a customer


will come in and complain or ask about something, and one of the first things we do is refer to the owner’s manual.


“A lot of times, the informa-


tion is right there.” Wheelbase Communications


supplies automotive news and features to newspapers and Web sites across North America.


Maintenance you might not


have considered 1) Living in salty climates (or just Canada, generally) means rust and corrosion and not just when it comes to the body. Aluminum parts (suspen- sion and engine, usually) are suscep- tible to corrosion, which is not always visible but looks like a white powder. Be on the lookout since corrosion can easily ruin a set aluminum wheels in just one winter.


2) Fluids are vital since they lubricate parts that are constantly meshing together. Ignore the maintenance schedule at your own peril as dirty lubricant actually works against you to wear out parts. How much is that engine in your Mercedes? Hmmm.


3) If rough and rutted roads feel bad on your body, it’s a sign that your vehicle isn’t doing all that well either. Worn shock absorb- ers, aside from being dangerous, cause excessive suspension travel, which prematurely wears out bush- ings. Yes, the neck bone is connected to the ankle bone. By the way, you did have those bushings lubricated at your last stop at the dealership, didn’t you?


4) At $1,000 or more a set, the 18-inch (or larger) tires on your vehi- cle have to last as long as possible. Checking air pressure and the align- ment are just common-sense proce- dures, but be careful to stay off road shoulders and away from curbs, which is where debris winds up that can cause tire punctures. A sidewall hole generally cannot be repaired.


5) If you’re running hot, be aware that the heat/cool cycle is hard on engine belts and hoses, which are affected by heat. Having a properly working cooling system with clean fluid also reduces internal cor- rosion that eats your engine from the inside out.


2002 CHEV CAVALIER 4 door, auto, 4cyl, air, CD player, red, P.L, tilt, cruise


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Auto, PW, PL, PM, P Seat, CD player. 132,000 Km


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2004 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN V6, auto, 7 pass, quad seats, air, tilt, cruise, PW, PL, PM, Pseat, DVD player, silver


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22005 CHEV VENTURE VAN EXT 8 pass., V6, auto, air, tilt, cruise, PW, PL, PM, CD player, sunscreen glass, 100,000 km, white


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2000 GMC YUKON SLE XL, 4x4, V8, auto, 9 pass, PW,


PL, PM, Pseat, Gold, Air, Tilt, Cruise, Keyless Entry


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2002 JEEP LIBERTY SPORT


V6, auto, 4x4, air, tilt, cruise, PW, PL, PM, CD player


$7,500


6) Environmental damage such as acid rain is not limited to big cities. It’s not pretty and it detracts from the value of your vehicle. There are ways to deal with it after the fact, but the best thing to do is to clear the junk out of your garage and use it (the garage). Your interior will also look fresher longer since it will spend more time out of the sun.


2004 CADILLAC ESCALADE ESV


Leather, loaded 7 passenger, DVD, moon roof


$19,999


1999 GMC YUKON SLT V8, auto, 4x4, leather seats, PW, PL, PM, p seats, rear barn doors, CD player, Maroon.


2000 TOYOTA 4 RUNNER


$6,999


SR5, V6, auto, 4X4, air, tilt, cruise, PW, PL, PM, CD player, green


$9,999 2006 GMC YUKON XL SLT


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2003 CHEV AVALANCHE 4x4 P0953


$15,959 + GST


2004 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX G2 P0954


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2003 CHEV SILVERADO 2500 HD P0945


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2009 NEW SAGA 250CC SCOOTER MARRON


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6) Leasing a vehicle that you’re going to return anyway is no excuse for poor maintenance. In fact, not adhering to the schedule still means you have to pay for things that go wrong as a result of poor maintenance and it will likely also mean reduced fuel econo- my. It might even raise a red flag at the dealership when you return the vehicle at the end of the lease.


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53846900•06/24/10


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