Gary's Garage Tips

The value of a car is not always what Kelly Blue Book lists, but what it would cost to replace it.

YOUR CAR'S WORTH There are four major factors taken into account when evaluating the worth of a car: mileage, market data and the condition of the vehicle and how well it has been maintained.

How often you should rotate your tires.
Your tires should be rotated every other oil change, or every 6000 miles. Neglecting to rotate tires is a major cause of premature tire wear.




It is really necessary to replace your timing belt at the recommended interval.
The failure of a timing belt in many cars can result in major engine damage. The cost of repairing an engine with a broken timing belt is much greater than the cost of a timing belt replacement.




When your "check engine" or "service engine soon" light comes on, it means.
There are many sensors and computerized components that manage your vehicle?s engine performance and emissions. When one of these fails, the "check engine" or "service engine soon" light is illuminated. Although your car may seem to run fine, this is because the computer substitutes a known good value for the faulty component. This value errors on the side of caution which means an overly rich air/fuel condition. This will cause increased fuel consumption and accelerated failure of other components. This includes some very expensive components such as the catalytic converter. Therefore, it is important to have the issue addressed as soon as possible to prevent long-term problems.