Briarcliff Classic and Imported

People often ask us how to winterize their cars. Sounds like an easy question, but it really isn’t.

All you really want to know is: will my car start on cold winter mornings, or when I come home on the train at night?

Winter is tough on cars. Cold winter weather stresses just about every part, from roof to engine to brakes to door handles! Especially vulnerable are rubber parts…belts, hoses, wipers, weatherstripping, and tires. And since your tires are your first line of defense against winter slippage and skidding, it’s really important that they be in tip-top shape, and properly inflated and balanced.

Your cooling system also gets particularly stressed with cold winter weather. You need to make sure the engine coolant is new, and rated properly for your area. Frozen coolant in your engine is a disaster.

Make sure your engine is tuned and ready, and take the opportunity to replace the oil, even if you haven’t quite gone the requisite 3000 miles. Your battery, which needs to have enough juice to turn over your cold engine, should be checked.

In short, we recommend seasonal maintenance to insure the longevity and servicability of all these items. Do it now! When you get your furnace checked…put it on the list to also get your car prepped. We can handle all of this for you…so do come see us. And come away with the peace of mind that our expertise will get you and your car through this winter, and winters to come.

When I’m asked about a car’s maintenance schedule, I often hear, “But I get my oil changed every 3,000 miles…” My comeback: ”We do NOT recommend an oil change for your car.”

Why?

Truthfully, most people are pretty good about getting their cars an oil change. Facilities that do oil changes often put a sticker within the driver’s view saying when they should come in for the next one – it’s hard to miss.

Now don’t get me wrong: it is good to get the oil changed. The problem is that with the proliferation of “while-you-wait” oil change places, car owners have been lulled into thinking that changing the oil periodically is enough. It’s not. It’s just one of a plethora of other items that need to be checked, replaced or repaired at similar intervals. Because, let’s face it, today’s cars are chock full of mechanisms, electronics, fluids, belts, components, any of which can fail at any time – often unnoticed.

That’s why we recommend our “minor service”. Sure, as part of it we change the oil! But we also check all the fluids, hoses, inspect brake wear, really too many things to mention here – and we fix anything that can’t wait. But then, together with you, we come up with a schedule of maintenance based on what we uncover in our inspection. This schedule is designed to help avoid breakdowns later on, while taking it easy on your wallet by spreading maintenance items over time. Our philosophy: we SAVE you money with good preventive maintenance, by avoiding costly problems on the road.