DIY (do it yourself) has always been a popular mindset when it comes to the automotive industry, and for good reason. Paying a professional for car repairs can be awfully expensive. Opting to do your own vehicle repairs is tempting because it saves you money, gives you a feeling of satisfaction, and gives you the rewarding feeling of independence.
We at Searles always encourage people to take an active interest in how their vehicles operate and to tinker with their vehicles as much as possible without endangering themselves in the process, without voiding their warranties, and without causing problems (i.e., accidents!) for other drivers down the road. Read More
The team of auto mechanics at Searles sees a lot of cars come in with N’s on their bumpers, so we figured it was time to write a post geared towards new drivers.
The reason a lot of new drivers keep their N for longer than they are required to is sometimes financial, sometimes not having the time, but in a lot of cases it’s due to nerves about having to take another road test. The key is to relax enough so you don’t end up making these top seven mistakes that are commonly made on driver’s licensing tests across British Columbia.
When you first got your driver’s license, your mom and dad probably warned you that driving is expensive. It’s a huge cost that many teens incur before they have even moved out of the house.
Before the reality of learning how to cook for themselves and doing their own laundry kicks in, the cost of owning a vehicle usually hits teenagers right in the bank account before they are even done high school.
Whether it meant paying back our parents for gas money, or saving up cash from our part-time jobs in order to buy a clunker, cars became expensive as soon as we learned how to drive them. Most of us justify the costs because the convenience of owning our own cars is simply unbeatable in many places, Victoria being one of them.
Happy New Year, everyone! Now that the holidays are officially a wrap, it’s time to get back to the daily grind, and for some of you, the daily commute. If one of your resolutions for 2017 was to stay on top of your vehicle’s maintenance schedule a little bit better, this post ought to help out with that.
Whether you drive a used car or a new car, it will wear down as time passes.
If your car is suddenly making a new noise, it’s probably trying to tell you something. Don’t ignore this new noise as it could end up costing you more in the long run. Instead, listen carefully to it, what exactly does this noise sound like?
Here one day, gone the next. That is almost every Vancouver Islander’s attitude when it comes to snow and ice on the roads. It’s no wonder why drivers all blame each other for “not knowing how to drive in this crap.” Unfortunately, the City of Victoria also gets needlessly blamed for not responding fast enough…
If you’re anything like the team here at Searles Auto Repair, you tend to deny winter is coming and delay pulling out the winter boots for as long as possible. “It’s still not dipping below zero out there! I’m good,” you might catch yourself saying some mornings.
Now that we are well into Fall, Thanksgiving 2016 is all but a distant memory and Halloween has now arrived. While these dates on the calendar give us plenty of reasons to celebrate the onslaught of fall, they also make it all too easy for us to avoid the looming task of switching to our winter tires before the weather truly turns nasty.
Let’s face it, the majority of teenage drivers on the road aren’t driving anything too fancy. Their first rides are usually something a little older, whether that’s their parents’ thoughtful hand-me down vehicle, or their older sibling’s beat-up old ride.
Most blogs about how to spot a lemon at a used car lot recommend you do homework before you start car shopping. In other words, they say you ought to research the makes and models you might be interested in, and check:
- that they are known to be reliable
- that there are no known safety or operational issues with any particular year
- that recalls have been kept to a minimum or are non-existent
- that friends and family don’t have anything bad to say
While researching makes and models is an important step in the car buying process, it wouldn’t exactly help prevent you from ending up with a lemon. Why? Let’s take a look: Read More
