Pennsylvania Auto Dealers

With all of the dangers and things that teen drivers can get into when behind the wheel of a car, your PA auto dealers want to know what you think about installing black boxes in the cars they drive.

In a recent study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), a black box was placed in vehicles driving by more than 80 teen drivers in suburban Washington, D.C. The devices used global positioning technology to monitor their driving for 24 weeks. The black boxes tracked driving habits like rapid accelerations, braking sharply, speeding and much more. The data was then posted on a website where their parents could see how their teen drivers were behaving behind the wheel.

Teens also heard beeps and noises when driving if they did not buckle their seatbelts or if they exceeded speed limits. With one group of teens, they had a chance to correct the behavior before the data was sent to the website. For the other group, the data was sent immediately.

We’ll write about some of the results of the study on Monday. Until then, your Media area Pontiac dealer wants to know what you think about this type of technology. Would you want to install one of these devices in the car your teen drives or would it rattle your nerves to know what your teen driver is doing behind the wheel at all times?

Your PA auto dealers like to bring attention to people and organizations that do good things for others. This story from Abingdon, Virginia is one of those stories that deserve recognition.

The Woodland Hills Church of Christ has an outreach ministry that involves skilled mechanics checking and fixing problems for area drivers. The outreach program is a periodic offering that occurs in the parking lot of the church and is geared toward single mothers, widows and orphans. Neal Kilgore organized the project which is based on James 1:23 which charges us to take care of orphans and widows when they are in distress. And few things are more stressful than needing work done on a car when a person is on a fixed income.

At the event, there was no shortage of stories from women who went to their local service station and were told they needed hundreds of dollars of work done on their vehicle. When they decided against the work and went to the church for the free service, the certified mechanics there told her she had nothing to worry about and the repairs other mechanics wanted to do were excessive and unnecessary.

This is such a great story. We’re going to discuss it further on Wednesday. Until then, your Newtown Square area Pontiac dealer encourages you to do something nice for someone. It helps make the world go around.

You probably do not think much about potholes until you hit one and it does damage to your car. Here are some facts about potholes and similar road hazards that can ruin your day and what you can do to help solve the problem.

• Potholes are “bowl-shaped openings that usually have raveled edges and can be up to 10 inches deep.” They are caused by a wearing away of the top layer of asphalt.
• Potholes tend to be worst in areas of the country where the weather freezes often. Moisture leaks into the pavement and freezes in the cold weather. The moisture then expands and thaws, weakening the pavement. Traffic loosens the pavement after that and it begins to crumble.
• If you notice a pothole on your street, you can report it at your local department of public works. They will schedule a crew to come out and fix it.
• Most potholes are repaired by putting some hot asphalt into the hole and smoothing it out. This is the least expensive and quickest way to do it. During colder months, crews also use cold patch asphalt.
• Bridges and ramps are more prone to potholes than most other streets.

It is not always possible to avoid a pothole. That’s why your Springfield area Pontiac dealer is ready to fix your pot hole-related problem when they occur. Visit us today to get your car back in proper working order.

If you ever need to take your cars to a mechanic other than your Springfield area Pontiac dealer, take extra precautions so you can avoid getting scammed. Most mechanics are honest, hard-working professionals that take their job seriously and treat their customers right. However, as with any business, there are some that give the job a bad name. Either way, here are the three most common mechanic scams and how to prevent being a victim of either one.

1. Overcharging – Some mechanics may try to overcharge you for parts. Before letting the mechanic do the repairs, call around and see if the price for the parts seems right. One time the mechanic wanted to charge me $160 for a part so I went outside and called the parts department at the same facility and they had the exact same part in stock for less than $30. So it pays to shop around.
2. Misdiagnosis – One thing some dishonest mechanics will do is fix one problem before realizing it was something else that was wrong. They then try to charge the customer for both repairs. A reputable mechanic will not charge for the first repair if it was truly their mistake.
3. Miscellaneous Services – Do not let a mechanic tell you to perform preventative maintenance procedures before the car’s manufacturer recommends them. This is a waste of money on your part and it is often just another way for a dishonest mechanic to drive up the bill.

Now that you know what to look for, make sure you keep your Pontiac cars maintained so you may not even need to take it to a mechanic.

If you are a fan of the Pontiac brand of General Motors products, now is the best time to visit your Newtown Square area Pontiac dealer. Earlier today, GM announced it would be phasing out the brand by the close of 2010.

Earlier this year, GM began a restructuring program to help with the financial aspect of the company. GM planned to focus on the GMC, Cadillac, Chevrolet and Buick brands. As for Pontiac, GM wanted to continue it as a niche brand. However, they “weren’t able to come up with a marketing plan for a smaller Pontiac,” said one GM dealer.

Many will be sad to see the Pontiac brand go away. Will Schafer is a GM dealer in Augusta that will miss the brand, but understands why this is happening. In recent years, the Pontiac brand has “become less and less a percentage of the business,” said Mr. Schafer. “Financially the elimination of the Pontiac brand isn’t going to mean a whole lot to our company. Buick and GMC are the stronger franchises, especially here in town with the demographics that we’ve got here,” he explained.

Are you a fan of the Pontiac brand? Are you going to miss these cars at your local GM dealer? Let us know your thoughts about Pontiac and the recent announcement below.

Everybody knows that it is dangerous to drink and drive. Unfortunately, however, many drivers still do this and end up injuring or killing themselves or others. While you may not be able to avoid drunken drivers altogether, your PA auto dealers would like to offer these tips that will help you avoid them as much as possible.

Stay off the roads late at night. In many states, bars have last call between 1:30 a.m. and 2:00 a.m. As a result, drivers who have been drinking are more likely to be on the roads around 2:30 a.m. or so. Try to avoid the roads between 1:30 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. if possible to reduce your chances of encountering a drunken driver.

Plan your route away from bars. If you know the bars in the area in which you are driving, try to avoid those roads as much as possible.

Know the signals of a drunken driver. When you know how to spot a drunken driver, you can stay as far away from them as possible and increase your chances of staying safe. Erratic driving, slow speeds, no headlights at night and other cues should be a good tip-off.

Your Newtown Square Pontiac dealer wants you to stay safe when you’re on the roads. Avoiding drunken drivers is one of the best ways to avoid a tragedy behind the wheel of your car.

Do you have a teenager that is getting ready to drive in the next few weeks or months? For some parents, this can be a stressful and agonizing time. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Here are some tips from your used car dealer Pennsylvania about how to reduce the stress and worry while allowing your teen to learn the rules of the road.

Be a good role model behind the wheel. Believe it or not, teens learn a lot of their habits and actions by watching their parents. In this case, they will learn many of their driving habits from watching you over the years. Try to be a good driver and a good role model when you’re behind the wheel and your teen will be more likely to do the same.

Choose a car that fits your teen driver. Your used car dealer Pennsylvania has several cars that are ideal for teen drivers because they have the latest safety innovations. If you are buying your teen a car, take them with you when you do the shopping so they can pick one that fits them well.

Hold the keys. The most difficult thing to remember as the parent of a teen driver is that you still hold the keys. Your teen should live up to your rules in order to have the privilege of having those keys. Do not be afraid to take the keys away if your teen violates any rules that you set forth in your household.

Your Media area Pontiac dealer is ready to help you find the right car for you teen. Visit us today and start feeling less anxious about your new teen driver right away!

In today’s world, everybody is looking for ways to save a few pennies anywhere they can. That’s why your GMC-Pontiac-Buick dealers want to offer a few tips to make your Pontiac more efficient and help you save money on gas.

Change the air filter. You may not think the air filter has a big role in your fuel economy, but a clogged air filter can decrease your mileage by as much as 10 percent! When putting a new air filter in your car, use one that has white fibers so it’s easier to tell when it is dirty. This is such an easy and inexpensive way to increase your gas mileage that you really do not have an excuse not to do it.

Put a fuel additive in your gas tank. Fuel additives help improve your acceleration by cleaning the fuel and unclogging the fuel injectors, combustion chambers and intake valves. Most gas stations sell a fuel additive for a couple bucks and all you have to do is pour a bottle of it into your gas tank every few thousand miles and you’re good to go.

Change you spark plugs. Some spark plugs ignite the air mixture and gas more efficiently than others. This makes your car more efficient and cleaner for the environment.

Visit your Springfield area Pontiac dealer for more tips on how you can save fuel and make your car better for the environment.

When college students take an initiative to curb drinking among their student body, your GMC-Pontiac-Buick dealers think they deserve recognition.

At Clemson University in South Carolina, some students are doing just that with a campaign entitled “Think Ahead.” The Think Ahead campaign addresses the issue of about 2,000 students nationwide are victims of fatal injuries resulting from alcohol. The campaign addresses drinking and driving specifically and aims to let students know of other alternatives for getting home if they have had too much to drink.

The campaign started earlier this week when students passed out cards that offer safe options for transportation if they cannot safely drive. The cards are small enough to fit in a wallet and they provide information about the Clemson Area Transit system as well as contact information for local cab companies. They also have route information and cab fares so students have no excuse to avoid these forms of transportation if they need to get home after a night of drinking.

“This campaign will allow all students and community members the ability to effectively use all the resources that Clemson has to offer and ensure that students know that there is always an alternative to drinking and driving,” explained a sophomore at the school.

Your Glenside area Pontiac dealer encourages you to stay safe when you’ve been out drinking. Always have a plan before you go out for the night so you never end up driving home drunk. It’s the right thing to do and it could just save your life.

In parts of Massachusetts, you will soon be able to look up your driving record online. The Registry of Motor Vehicles announced that it will soon be easier for drivers to “go online and view and print their driving record or request a certified copy.”

Last year, more than 57,000 drivers requested records from the department. This kept the employees very busy doing something that the drivers could have done themselves if they had access to the records. In addition to being convenient for drivers, the new system will also relieve a huge burden on the taxpayers and the department in general.

Knowing what information is on your driver’s record is important for several reasons. Many employers want to know what is in your record before they hire you. Landlords and other types of creditors may also want a copy of your record as an indication of how responsible you are. The service will cost driver $6 to view their driving record and download it. For $20, they can request a certified copy by mail.

Hopefully, services like this will move to places like Philadelphia and other major cities in the nation. It’s a convenient way to find your record and save a bunch of hassle. If you can get your record online, you can retrieve it for your insurance company after leaving your Springfield area Pontiac dealer with your new car!