Posted on 2/24/2010
With the recent focus in Ventura County on improving fuel economy, we've been told how important it is to maintain our tire pressure. Everyone in Ventura County knows that tires wear out, but we all want to make them last as long as possible because they're fairly expensive to replace. In addition to saving gas, properly inflated tires last longer. Under-inflated tires will wear out more quickly. Some people in Ventura County wonder if there is benefit to adding a few extra pounds of pressure when they fill up their tires. But actually, there isn't. In fact, there are very good reasons not to over-inflate your tires. For one, the middle of the tread will wear unevenly because the full tread is not contacting the road properly. That also adversely affects your handling. Every vehicle in the Ventura County area has a sticker on the driver's side door jamb that tells you the manufacturer's recommended tire pressure ... read more
Posted on 2/16/2010
At Camarillo Car Care Center we've had a lot of people asking how they can make their vehicles last longer. These questions are actually a reflection of a trend that's been building for several years. The median age of personal vehicles is now over nine years. And 33 percent of all vehicles on the road have over 75,000 miles on them. It looks like it's going to keep heading in that direction for a while. With high fuel prices a lot of folks are putting off buying a new car. Thanks to AutoNetTV, we can provide you with a video answer to this question. So let's say you're one of the average people in the Thousand Oaks area; you've got a nine year old car with 80,000 miles on the odometer. What can you to do make it last another year or two? Let's start with the premise that there's no reason that a modern car can't run for 200,000 miles with proper care. The engineering and manufacturing quality is there ... read more
Posted on 2/12/2010
At Camarillo Car Care Center we hear from a lot of people who are excited about the new diesel engines that will soon be available in passenger cars and SUV's. But our CA friends are often curious about the preventive maintenance requirements. People may not know that diesel engines have long been used extensively in Europe and Asia. In fact, in some markets, there're nearly as many diesel powered passenger cars as there are gasoline. Here's who's announced or is expected to announce new diesels for North America: BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Volkswagen, Nissan, Honda, Toyota, Hyundai and Subaru. Of course, the US auto makers will be expanding their diesel offerings as well. Diesels will become a very big deal here in CA. You may ask, why has it taken so long getting to CA and North America? There are a bunch of reasons like fuel tax policies and such, but the biggest hurtle was that CA diesel fuel had a high s ... read more
Posted on 2/2/2010
You know, at Camarillo Car Care Center we get a lot of people asking about how to prepare their car for a trip. That's a big deal. You could be driving through mountains and deserts in some pretty lonely areas outside of Camarillo so you may be anxious to know that the car is up to the task and won't leave you stranded. You really do need to plan ahead for a major road trip there are a lot of things to get ready. Where should you start? You could start with the tires. Look them over for tread wear and check to see that they are properly inflated. Take a quick test drive around Camarillo to see if you can feel any vibrations: are the wheels are in balance? Is the car tracking straight? Is the alignment ok? The next thing is a full service oil change to make sure all of your fluids are topped off and you have fresh oil for the trip. And if your car has over 75,000 miles, you may consider putting in the high-mileage formulation to clean harmfu ... read more