Northeast Columbia Auto Repair

  There are a multitude of fluids that keep your car running like a top. Still, these five essential fluids are integral to your vehicle's overall health. This list may be debatable, but here is a simple breakdown of five of the most important fluids for your car:   Engine Oil: All vehicles run on some kind of oil, which makes it so necessary for you to get your oil checked regularly, no matter the make or model of your car. Your engine oil lubricates your engine, ensuring that it runs smoothly and avoids overheating. To check your engine oil, go for a quick drive and let your engine cool. Pull out the dipstick, wipe it clean, insert it back in all the way, and pull out. The oil should be past the oil line, and be yellowish and clear in color. If it looks particularly dark or has particles in it, it might be time for an oil change. If not, you can top it off with your recommended oil brand listed in your owner's manual and call it a day!   Radiator Fluid: Ra ... read more

While your summer plans may have had a kink thrown into them due to the COVID-19 crisis, there’s no better time to start planning for some summer road trips for when things get back to normal! With all the downtime, why not get a head start on how to make the most of your summer while still being safe? Read on to learn more about how to prepare you and your family’s vehicle for your next summer road trip. Before you venture out on your summer adventures, you’ll want to check your vehicle over to ensure everything is in tip-top shape. This will include a few different checks to guarantee smooth sailing once you get on the road.  You’ll want to check over your tires, including the tire tread and tire pressure. Also, double-check that there is no abnormal wear and tear on your tires like gouges or chunks of rubber missing.  Checking fluid levels is also imperative! You’ll need to check your oil and see if it needs to be changed, and you may want t ... read more

Ever wonder what exactly a digital inspection report is when you bring in your car for maintenance or repair? While auto repair shops have been performing inspections for as long as cars have existed, traditionally, they’ve been written down on paper. With recent advances in automotive technology, however, many digital reports are now taken down on tablets digitally to streamline the inspection report process. Gone are the days of merely getting a filled-out form with your car’s issues and notes scribbled out in illegible handwriting. Digital inspections are changing the auto repair game using this new technology. At the touch of a button, inspections are fully customizable, meaning whether you’ve brought your car in to take care of a leaky hose or a full multi-point inspection, you’ll have all the information your auto mechanic has at your fingertips. Not only do digital reports give you all the information available about whatever repair or maintenance your te ... read more

When you think of Mercedes-Benz, you immediately think of luxury. That’s no wonder, as Mercedes-Benz has a reputation all around the world for being a leading luxury car manufacturer. Its name has become synonymous with quality, reliability, and security within the automotive world. But what about the hype is true; why should you own a Mercedes? Read on to find out! There are many reasons to purchase a Mercedes-Benz, and one of the biggest ones is how safe and secure they are. Since its inception, Mercedes-Benz has been a leader in automotive safety. Mercedes-Benz engineers were some of the first to design the pioneering car safety designs that we still see in cars today, like the crumple zone of the 1950s and a new generation of anti-lock braking systems in 1978. Mercedes-Benz is so committed to the safety of its passengers, that it has continued to be a leader in automotive safety systems, ensuring that all its vehicles meet consumer safety standards around the world. A close ... read more

With fuel prices soaring, the owner of the Morris Company, Sir Leonard, requested that his top engineer, Mr. Alec Issigonis, to design a small car capable of carrying four adults, that would be fuel-efficient and priced for the masses. Issigonis designed the Mini with the engine sideways, and engineered the wheels into the far edges of the car, offering more passenger space in the cockpit. In 1959 the first Mini had its public debut. Its queer design had people a bit puzzled, yet soon, they realized that this new Mini was agile and quick, fuel-efficient, fun, fast, and inexpensive to operate. The new Mini symbolized freedom and blurred status lines between the rich, rockstars to hipsters, and race car drivers. The improvements in modern automotive engineering Issigonis provided within the Mini delivers outstanding performance, handling corners like a dream with improved balance and traction to the road. Racing legend John Cooper got his hands on the Mini, improving the car by installi ... read more

When you buy a new-to-you vehicle, most people spend a lot of time researching what’s best for them as well as investing a lot of time hunting down the best price. What often gets overlooked is having a trusted auto mechanic perform a comprehensive pre-purchase inspection. It’s easy to forgo that extra step because it’s often not at the top of your mind. What it can do for you, though, is make it well worth your efforts.  A pre-purchase inspection helps to give you the upper hand in many ways. From negotiating the sale price to knowing what you’re getting yourself into as far as what repairs you need to make right away versus the ones that can wait awhile. When you have a pre-purchase inspection in hand and can show it to the seller, whether it’s off of a dealer lot or out of an individual’s garage, it can help you negotiate a price because you have proof of what the problems are with the individual vehicle.  Sometimes a pre-purchase insp ... read more

When it comes to New Year’s resolutions, any changes that will improve your safety should be at, or near, the top. Driving habits develop over time, which means that they can be difficult to change. That doesn’t mean you can’t change them, but it will require a firm commitment. We will get you started off with some of the most important driving habits to conquer. Slow down! Give yourself plenty of time to get to where you need to go. You think you’re saving yourself time, but think of how often you blow past someone at a stoplight only to find them catching up to you at the next one.  Come to a complete stop. Don’t run red lights or roll through stop signs. You never know what might be coming at you.  Watch out for your blind spots. Make sure you know your vehicle’s blind spots and make sure to account for the time and effort you’ll need to be able to safely change lanes. Leave your phone out of reach. Put it in the glove box or b ... read more

When many people think of winter, it often comes to mind tons of snow and ice, but that’s not necessarily the case for Columbia. More often than not, our weather is cool and wet. It’s important to be prepared for the climate you’re living in, and there are some specific ways to be best prepared for what Columbia weather provides. Making sure you’re taking the right precautions include good preventive maintenance and the right equipment to keep you and your car safe.  1. Tires Making sure your tires remain in working condition include checking your treads. If your tires are balding, you’re not going to be able to maintain proper traction on a good weather day, let alone when it’s raining or even on the rare days it’s icy and snowy. If the forecast for the winter is looking like it’s going to be more icy/snowy than usual, you may want to consider switching out your all-season tires for winter tires that are going to best prepare you fo ... read more

With winter weather looming ahead, it is important to make sure you and your car are prepared for whatever the cold may bring with it. Winterizing your car is going to be a sure way to help mitigate a lot of the risks that often come with driving in winter weather. Starting out by going through a maintenance checklist to ensure the peak performance of your car is the best way to prep for winter.  Seek Out the Professionals Going to your mechanic and getting your car serviced for winterization is going to give you a head start for the work you can be doing at home and day to day to keep you safe and prepared for winter driving. The systems you are going to want to get checked out include: your battery, cooling system, brakes, and the smaller, moving parts of your engine and electrical systems. Your battery’s life changes with the incoming cold weather due to its effects on the electrochemical make-up of a car battery. The power of your battery will drop as th ... read more

Being in and around our cars has become such a critical part of our (and our family’s) lives that it is more important than ever to make sure we are not skipping important steps when it comes to our vehicles. Whether it’s a maintenance step we overlook or downgrading our children’s safety seats too soon, there are some easy ways to help us to remember and to keep everyone safe in the car. Whether your car is on the road or in the garage, it is necessary to always treat it as a potential danger to your child. When not in use, in the driveway or the garage, make sure your emergency brake is engaged. This will help limit the chances of your vehicle rolling away. Locking your vehicle is another simple thing we can do to help keep the little ones safe. Kids like cars, it’s a part of their daily lives, and they’re cool, what’s not to like? So, making sure they can’t get into cars unsupervised is a way to help protect them. Before getting on the road ... read more