Neglecting your engine could cost you big
By Rachael Van Cleave
So, it’s time to get your oil changed again and the service guy comes out and says your air filter looks pretty dirty. You think “Well, I just came here to get my oil changed, I don’t want to spend the extra few dollars to change that too,” so you say “No, thank you” and you are on your way. Several months later it’s time to change your oil again, and the guy comes out with a practically black filter and you are REALLY poor at that moment and don’t want to spend the extra money so you think “It can last a little longer right?” You say “No, thanks,” and go on your way yet again. The only thing is, those few dollars that you didn’t want to spend could cost you some BIG money in the long run. Just this small part (worth about $20 or $30 with labor) prevents a lot of damage to your engine. So, I wanted to show you how the cost of that little neglect can add up.
Courtesy of arthritic_old_man on Flickr
If you neglect to change your air filter you may need to buy these parts in the future:
Main Bearings – $80
Connecting Rod Bearings – $80
Piston Rings – $120
Full Gasket Set – $250
Machine Work – $800
Labor cost (for uninstalling and reinstalling parts and to disassemble and reassemble engine) -$2,160
All of that comes to a grand total of $3,490
Then if you need things like spark plugs, filters, hoses, belts, and motor mounts that pushes that amount to near $5,000.
So, when the choice is spend $30 a couple times a year or $5,000+ when my engine decides it’s had enough, it seems pretty easy.
A general guideline for changing your air filter is every 15,000 miles. Of course that differs depending on where and under what conditions you are driving.
Of course you could do it yourself, but you could just as easily pay a few extra bucks the next time you get your oil changed. What matters most is that you get it done.
How often do you replace your filter? Have you had issues because you didn’t change your filter?
My Car Buying Experience at Maita Subaru
By Rachael Van Cleave
That’s right, not only am I an employee of Maita Subaru, I’m a customer as well. I wanted to share a few things with those who are on the fence about dealerships, so they will feel as happy with their choice as I do!
Here are a few things I learned when I bought a car from Maita Subaru:
1) These guys know their stuff! Obviously, I know these guys, but I am not a sales associate. I didn’t realize how large their base of knowledge on cars is. I was buying a used commuter car (not even a Subie), and they had plenty of advice to give. Many of them have been in the car business for a long time because they love the company they work for, and in that time they’ve learned a lot useful info. So, don’t be afraid to ask as many questions as you can.
2) Customers get better deals than employees! I knew I would buy from my company (as a show of loyalty), but I didn’t realize that “show” could cost me money! In this case it didn’t, because the car was already listed for sale. Otherwise, they have a set discount for employees, an amount that they often go below when working with customers. I found out that half of the car business is “moving metal.” It helps them get the number of cars they sell up (which looks good in their stats) or if it’s a car that’s been on the lot for a while they like to move it out to make room for a car that might get more traction. So, that means that the dealership will actually LOSE MONEY to sell you a car! Wow! They give you a good deal to build loyalty and they hope that your loyalty will pay off, by you coming in for service.
3) The Service Department is worth it! Even if those top two reasons don’t convince you that Maita Subaru is a good choice, their service department is worth it in itself. I bought a car that had their 3-month “Maita Pro Certified” warranty on it. I had a little light flickering issue (the car was used), which wasn’t a big deal, but they treated it like any other issue–asked me tons of questions about it to make sure they could isolate the problem! And what do you know, they fixed it!
So, while I know that customers will get better deals than I will, this experience has made me like my company even more. It’s nice to know that I work for a company that is so willing to give customers discounts in hopeful exchange of loyalty. Well Maita Subaru, even though I know I won’t get the same discounts, it worked on me! You’ve made me not only a loyal employee, but a loyal customer as well!
Did this help you make up your mind? Do you have any car buying/service stories you want to share?
If you want to see what they have on the lot, check out their NEW and USED inventory!
What’s Your Trade-in Resolution?
By Rachael Van Cleave
Courtesy of digitizedchaos on Flickr
Is this the year you’ve finally decided to do something about that old, beat-up clunker? Are you finally ready to cash it in for whatever you can get, so in 2012 you can have a car to be proud of? If you’ve been holding off to trade-in your vehicle for whatever reason, and now you are ready to take the plunge, I can help. The trade-in process can be a bit intimidating if you don’t know what it’s all about, so here are some quick tips to prepare yourself:
1) Know what your vehicle is worth: Web sites like Kelley Blue Book and Edmunds.com will lead you through an appraisal of your car, so you know a ballpark figure of how much your trade would go for. However, you need to be completely honest about all the bumps and scratches on your car, or your offer from the dealership could be a rude awakening.
2) Have Reasonable Expecations: Most dealerships will offer you less than your car is worth. They aren’t trying to cheat you, it’s just good business. If the deal seems too good to be true, then they are probably making it up in the cost of your new car. Think of the difference as a “convenience fee” for not having to list and sell the car yourself.
3) How much is your time worth?: If you are considering selling the car privately instead of trading it in, you will get more money for it, but you will also have to do the work. You will have to list your car, prepare it for sale, take phone calls day and night and deal with any number of strangers invading your personal space. If you trade in your vehicle, the dealerships take care of that for you–once again think of it as a “convenience fee.”
Now that you are ready to trade-in, what kind of car do you want? Try searching some inventory to see what works best for you!
Hitting the Road this Holiday?
By Rachael Van Cleave
Traveling during the holiday season can be stressful. But, there are some easy ways to make it a little easier on yourself. Being the altruistic person that I am, I’ll help you out with a few of those!
Courtesy of WordRidden on Flickr
1) Tune-up time: Make sure you prepare your vehicle by getting it tuned up and making sure things like the tires, windshield, and wipers are all in good shape.
2) Packing pressure: It is so easy to run out of time to get everything ready to go, so one easy way to make it less stressful the day of the big trip is to know how you are going to fit all of your people, presents, and baggage in the vehicle. Packing the day before would really help!
3) Are we there yet?: Now, having the perfect packing and placement plan isn’t enough, once you get everyone in the car, you need to entertain them, or you may get really tired of hearing “Are we there yet? How long, I’m tired, I’m hungry…” ect. Have snacks, books, games, DVDs, whatever it takes to keep them distracted and your eyes on the road!
4) Timing is everything: Give yourself plenty of time to get there. The earlier you leave, the less stressed you’ll be later when you hit that winter weather traffic jam!
5) Better safe than sorry: Be safe this holiday! If you are going where it is snowing be sure to have a winter weather emergency kit, which includes things like ice scraper, shovel, blankets, sand, warning flares and anything else you can think of that you would need if you get stranded. Also, drive slow and keep an eye out for impaired drivers.
Where are you going this holiday? Are you staying home or going somewhere?
Be Nice to Your Pet This Holiday!
By Rachael Van Cleave
The Holidays are rough for pets. There are strange people in and out, lots of new things in the house (i.e. decorations and presents) and they are either getting a lot more or less attention than they are used to. So, since Subaru customers are well-known as pet owners, I’ve decided to post some quick tips to keep your house pet friendly and safe this holiday season!
Courtesy of jpctalbot on Flickr
Decorations are dangerous!
You think the worst that could happen when it comes to your decorations is that your pet could tear something up, but what about the danger to your pet? A main culprit? Your Christmas tree decorations.
1) Tinsel this: If you have pets, avoid using tinsel. If your pet should decide they want to go “tree diving” they may think the tinsel is a toy, swallow it, and then the strings could choke them or get caught in their intestines.
2) Watch the water: If you can avoid it, don’t put chemicals in your tree’s water, inevitably your pet will think it’s an extra water bowl.
3) Holiday Sparkle: Glass ornaments add a really down-home touch to your tree, but if your pet can reach the tree, they can knock them down and if the glass breaks they could cut their paws.
Note: Many of these “tree” issues could be avoided by providing some sort of barrier between your tree and the rest of the house, but keep in mind, cats can climb!
4) Pretty Planting: While holiday plants can add a lovely feel to your home, many of them are poisonous to pets. If you purchase poinsettias, amaryllis, mistletoe, or holly, keep them out of reach for your pet.
5) Holiday Traffic: If you are having guests over this holiday season, make sure to set a room where your pets can rest quietly. All of the traffic and noise can make pets stressed. They need to rest just like you do! Also, make sure they have their proper identification tags, because some pets bolt when freaked out!
6) Christmas Fare: It may be tempting to slip a little holiday food to your pet, but just think– who else might be doing the same thing? Pets aren’t meant to eat human food, if they do, it could make them sick. Remember, chocolate is VERY dangerous for pets!
Do you have any more holiday pet safety tips? Share with us.
Maita Subaru is a proud sponsor of the Sacramento SPCA!
Subaru Advanced Tourer Concept is an awesome angry wagon! I want one!!
Subaru had provided early sketches of its Advanced Tourer Concept, and many of you in the comments weren’t confident that it would look as good in real life as it did in (digital) ink and paper. Dare we say it, but we think it looks better in the metal than it did in drawings. A mean, ground-hugging wagon with a 1.6-liter boxer-hybrid powertrain, its internals are close enough to production to make the jump in the not-too-distant.
Subarus and All-wheel-drive are like Peanut Butter and Jelly
Full-time All-Wheel-Drive
It’s true, AWD comes standard in all Subaru models and it’s on all the time. They wanted their cars to be the safest in unpredictable driving conditions, so they didn’t want you to have to think about it like 4-wheel-drive in some cars.
Also, it doesn’t hurt that a good portion of Subaru drivers are into outdoor activities from hiking to skiing to mountain biking, so they often get in tough spots that their Subarus rescue them from. Check out this video of a Subaru in crazy winter conditions:
Check out how what’s behind Subaru’s All-wheel-drive.
By Rachael Van Cleave
“Back to the Future” of Energy
Are fossil fuels really at an end?
Science 2.0
We’ve all heard it, by 2050 we will have exhausted our fossil fuels, making the need to change over to alternative fuels even more dire. Well, in my interest to discover if that date was really true or just some media hype I did a little research and I found this article. It says it’s hard to pin-point a date, but even so the range the writer gives for the depletion of our oil reserves (allowing for growth in production as well as a growth in reserves) is 2033-2146. The writer (trying to cover his hide) makes sure to say that there is no perfect way to predict this. Either way, the numbers say it could happen within my children’s lifetime if not my own. So, I decided to see what options there are for alternative fuels– and I discovered that many seem more science fiction than science.
“Back to the Future” of Energy
1) Hydrogen: It’s probably one of the most promising alternative fuels in that it can be created from water and gives off low emissions. In fact there is a hydrogen-powered 2012 B-class F Cell available in Southern California right now. It has 134 horse power with a range of 190 miles and it only takes as long to refuel it as it does at a gas station! Pretty cool, huh?
2) Plutonium?: Like Doc Brown in Back to the Future buying illegal plutonium to fuel his time-traveling DeLorean, some think nuclear energy is the next step in fueling transportation. NASA uses decaying plutonium to propel its research spacecraft, why not a car? One company is looking at thorium because it’s easily handled, mined, and can’t be weaponized. But, getting past the public perception of nuclear energy may be the toughest hurdle for this type of energy. This one could just end up being an idea millions of people enjoy in the theater, rather than when they hit the road.
3) Not so WASTEful: Again Doc Brown is ahead of the game in Back to the Future II (<–video link) stuffing trash into his flying car to refuel. Some real life scientists have the same idea, researching using waste materials like wood chips, grass clippings and even garbage to fuel the world. Maybe the Doc had it right this time?
4) Ammonia: Ready to clean up the fuel-crisis? Okay, I couldn’t help myself, but ammonia may be used for more than keeping your house spick-and-span in the future. It would significantly cheaper than gasoline and the emissions would be less. The hurdles here are the size of the engine needed to convert the fuel is not practical, and the damage a spill would cause could be catastrophic.
Looks like the future isn’t so far away after all, and Doc Brown was light years ahead of his time. Hopefully, the real-life scientists are too, because the crisis isn’t in an all-that-distant future.
Here are some links I used for this article! Check them out! When will we run out? And Alternative Fuels.
Any Hollywood fuel ideas you would like to see put to the test?
By Rachael Van Cleave
Be Wary of Winter Weather Driving
Winter weather means slippery slopes
I remember giving my friend a ride home to her apartment when I lived in South Dakota and it was obviously the beginning to an epic blizzard. We made it alright to her street, but she lived at the bottom of a steep hill. On our way down I almost missed the entrance, braked too quickly, and we started sliding into on-coming traffic. It was a terrifying close call, but I was able to correct and get her home. I try to remind myself of that incident every time winter comes around again because whether it’s rain, ice, or snow, winter weather means dangerous road conditions. So, here are some quick reminders for how to drive when father winter comes to town.
Winter driving tips
1) First rain: If you live in a place that typically rains more than it snows, be aware–it can still be dangerous. Especially, when it hasn’t rained in a while–the oil has built up on the road and that rain brings it to the surface, making it treacherous.
2) Pothole patrol: Keep a close eye on puddles, they could be hiding potholes, which could damage your car or cause you to veer the wrong way.
3) Slow down!: Winter driving can mean poor visibility and slippery roads. When combined with impatient drivers it means accidents. So, give yourself extra time to get to and from places. Also, be sure to brake gently to avoid sliding.
4) Light your way: When it’s foggy, rainy, or snowy, it’s time to turn on your lights. It not only lights your way, but makes your car visible to other drivers.
5) Snowy troubles: Before you head out, make sure you clear all the snow off your head and tail lights, the hood, and the top of the car. This will make sure that you can see clearly and that you don’t have huge chunks of ice and snow coming off your car as you drive.
6) Foggy View: If fog is compacting all these winter weather woes, you’ll want to turn on your defroster and wipers, and open your windows so you can at least hear traffic. If it’s so bad you can only see a few feet in front of your car, you may want to pull over and wait it out. If you ever do pull over turn on your flashing emergency lights.
Any tips you want to add? Have you fallen victim to winter weather road conditions?
By Rachael Van Cleave
Back to school, apple picking, and snowfalls!
For a lot of families, this fall has been about back to school, apple picking, even unexpected snowfalls. For our work ” family”, it’s been about learning. Even one of our sales persons is busy studying for her final exams. Makes me think of all the families gearing up for their sons and daughters to start looking at colleges.
You know that Subaru commercial where one minute the dad’s looking at his little girl in the car and the next, his little girl is all grown up and driving off in their Subaru? That commercial gets me every time - especially because they’re a real family – the two girls are sisters and the father is their actual father. One minute my little girl is getting on the school bus for the first day of kindergarten and the next she’s trying to figure out what college is best for her – how did it happen so fast?
While there are many Northern California college’s less than a few hours away, you will still want them driving a reliable vehicle. Subaru’s family of vehicles – Forester, Impreza, Legacy, Outback and Tribecca offers a range of choices, each with a consistent standard of quality and reliability.
