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You’ve just made your last car payment. Should you keep the car or trade it in for a brand new vehicle? According to the Car Care Council, keeping your car rather than buying a new one is the way to go, especially if your goal is to save money.  

“People who keep their cars, treat them as valuable investments and commit to regular vehicle maintenance, end up saving a lot of money,” said Rich White, executive director, Car Care Council.  

When Mother Nature casts a sparkling spell, turning the landscape into a winter wonderland. It’s time to put your favorite ride away. Do you love your vehicle so much that we wouldn’t even think of driving it in the snow let alone in the rain? Many people are storing their dream cars, do you know the proper way to store your vehicle. Doing it right will save you expenses and aggravation later. These 8 steps will assist your auto to sleep better through the winter.

“My customer asked me how much he’d have to spend for a pair of shocks,” said a repair shop owner. “I told him there are ‘good, better and best’ prices, but I install only the good and, preferably, the best. Labor is the same.”

His customer agreed that the minimal cost difference did not justify opting for less than the best. What price is peace of mind? It’s a factor that plays a big part when investing in auto repairs. Once a component is installed you’re likely never to see it unless it fails.

Worn out tires and windshield wiper blades are symptoms of neglected vehicle maintenance that put drivers and passengers at serious risk during the typically rainy months of spring.

Thin tire treads create hazardous driving conditions when water builds up on the roadway, according to the Car Care Council. Deep tread accommodates accumulated water; thin tread does not. Thin tread causes the tire to hydroplane – ride up on a film of water, losing contact with the pavement, similar to driving on ice.

In light of the higher gasoline prices, the Car Care Council is offering gas-saving maintenance and driving tips that really work.

“Millions of dollars worth of gasoline is wasted every day by motorists, and neglecting vehicle maintenance is the culprit,” said Rich White, executive director of the Car Care Council. “Loose or missing gas caps, under inflated tires, worn spark plugs and dirty air filters all contribute to poor fuel economy.”

The Car Care Council offers these fuel-saving tips:

Even if gas prices hit $5 a gallon, the traditional family vacation by vehicle costs less, is more convenient and not as stressful as flying, according to the Car Care Council.  A family of four traveling by car costs the same as one person traveling by air.  

Halloween is the time of year for squeals, squeaks, screeches and things that go bump in the night, but when these eerie and haunted sounds come from your car, it’s time for maintenance. Noise is to the vehicle what pain is to the body: a warning. According to the Car Care Council, the following strange and scary noises are clues that trouble is brewing within your car and that it should be checked out by an automotive repair technician.

We never think of our vehicles as having anything but clean air in the passenger compartment, but studies have proven that the air in the cabin, as it’s called, can be worse than the air outside due to mold, mildew and other contaminants. So what are we to do? Change your cabin air filter or have it changed for you, says the Women’s Board of the Car Care Council. Why?

There are now more vehicles in the United States than drivers. That’s good news and bad news, according to the Women’s Board of the Car Care Council.

Second cars are often kept for specialty needs, such as hunting trips, lawn and garden chores or even to leave at the airport during business trips. But a low mileage vehicle that makes lots of short runs then sits for days can have a set of problems all its own, according to the Women’s Board.