Maintenance Tips to Keep Your Used Car Running Smoothly

If you don’t already, you should make sure to grab a simple tire pressure gauge and throw it in your center console or glove compartment so that you always have it. While there are advanced air pumps out there that do things automatically or display the pressure for you, you never know when that kind of technology won’t be available so it’s good to have a gauge just in case. With that PSA out of the way, are you unsure of what the recommended tire pressure for your vehicle is? We can give you a general rule of thumb in addition to advice on where to find the actual recommended pressure, so read on to learn more! more Where do I find my recommended air pressure? It’s incredibly important to make sure your tires are always operating at the correct air pressure. If your tires become too low, it can not only reduce the performance and longevity of your tires but it can reduce fuel economy and even be dangerous to drive on them. If your vehicle is telling you that your tire pressure is low or you can tell on your own, but you’re unsure of what air pressure your tires should be at, there are a few places you can look to find the recommended air pressure value. First and foremost, you’re looking for a figure in PSI, which is pounds per square inch. This number represents the air pressure your tires should be at, and there are three different locations you can check. The first place you should check is the owner’s manual if you have access, it will definitely list the recommended pressure. If you don’t have that, your vehicle should have a tire placard placed somewhere in the door jamb of your driver side door. Finally, though this isn’t always the case, some tires will have the PSI listed on the actual sidewall of the tire, so you can check there too if you can read the tiny black-on-black print. If all else fails, most regular vehicles have a recommended PSI of 30-35, so as long as you're in that you should be okay until you can find the real answer. Hopefully this information has helped you out. You can feel free to give us a call with any questions and we’ll do our best to answer them!

If you’ve ever pumped gas, then you’ve probably seen all of the different buttons you can press when it prompts you to select your fuel grade. If you’re like many of us, you learned how to pump gas when you were a kid and your parents simply told you to press unleaded so that’s the way you’ve been doing things ever since. For the most part, that’s probably just fine. The vast majority of mainstream vehicles run on unleaded gasoline. But does it really matter which gas you use in your vehicle? And if it does, what are those other options for? Let’s dive into it today here on the blog. more Which type of fuel should I use in my car? Chances are, if your vehicle requires gasoline other than unleaded, you’re probably already aware of it. It’s typically specialty vehicles that require other kinds of fuel, such as sports cars or luxury models. And naturally, diesel vehicles will require diesel fuel and diesel fuel cannot be used in any other types of vehicles. The easiest and best way to determine which kind of fuel your vehicle needs is to look inside the owner’s manual – or you can check inside the fuel filler door as there is typically a sticker or some sort of indication of what fuel it requires. What if I accidentally put the wrong fuel in my car? There are some vehicles that require premium fuel and others that recommend it, then there are regular vehicles that don’t require or recommend it. If you put premium fuel in a regular vehicle, the only problem you’ll have is a waste of money. Premium fuel is obviously a bit more expensive than regular fuel, but it won’t hurt your vehicle by having it in there. If premium fuel is recommended, then obviously you’ll be fine either way, but since it’s the recommendation you should try to use premium fuel as much as you can. Even if premium fuel is required, you’ll be fine if you accidentally put a little regular fuel in it, just make sure not to do it too often as it can lead to bigger problems if you do. Where you’ll really run into problems, however, is by putting diesel in a regular vehicle or regular gas in a diesel vehicle. Avoid this mistake at all costs! If you have any questions, feel free to give one of our many service departments a call at any of the other Briggs Automotive dealerships.

Shopping for a vehicle can be a stressful and confusing process, but here at Briggs Automotive we want to make everything about car buying and owning easier if we’re able. So, if you’re trying to figure out how to choose the right used vehicle to suit your needs, we’ve got a few easy steps you should consider before deciding on which vehicles you’re going to purchase. We assume you’ve already determined your budget, but it’s definitely a good idea to start there if you haven’t already. Once you’ve got that done, dive into the steps below to move through the process. more What are your needs? First and foremost, you should probably determine what exactly your needs are when it comes to your vehicle. You should have an idea of what exactly you’re looking for in a vehicle before you start researching models. Don’t be afraid to get out a sheet of paper and pencil and jot down the things that are important to you in an automobile. How many passengers are you going to need to cart around on a semi-regular basis? How much space do you need for cargo? Do you need your vehicle to be able to tow or go off-road? Would it be better for your amount of driving and the distance you travel to get an electric vehicle or hybrid? And so on. Determine what’s important to you and what you absolutely need, and then you can make sure any vehicle you look at has those and if they don’t, move on! It makes the whole process much easier. Reliability Reputation You always want to make sure to get a vehicle that has a good reputation for reliability. We would never sell a vehicle that’s completely unreliable, but there are certainly makes and models out there that are known to be more reliable than the rest of the crop – they’re the cream that rises to the top. Check automotive resources like Kelley Blue Book and J.D. Power to get an idea of a brand or model’s reliability. Maintenance & Other Long-term Costs You should also look into the costs of maintenance and other long-term factors, such as insurance rates and repairs. You can typically do some quick google research to find out average costs for things like this on a given vehicle, and it’ll help you with your long-term budget in addition to your up-front budget. Resale Value Finally, resale value is always something you should have in the back of your mind. There’s a good chance you won’t want to have this vehicle forever, but rather trade it in for something new in a few years. While this is certainly more important for new vehicles, it’s something you can research for used models as well, especially if they’re only a year or two old. If you have any questions about this process or anything else having to do with used vehicles, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us right here at Briggs Supercenter.