High gas prices in Wayne have hit most of our budgets. You’ve probably budgeted a certain amount for vehicle related stuff. Increased fuel costs are now consuming a bigger portion of that budget and you may be tempted to skimp in some other areas – like scheduled maintenance.
According to news reports and industry studies, you’re not alone. Nine out of ten personal vehicles on the road have at least one maintenance or repair item that hasn’t been done. Some of these items are serious safety concerns. Others are just more likely to affect the cost of operating your vehicle.
In this area, we can take a lesson from professional Wayne vehicle owners. I’m talking about fleet owners and operators. You know, Wayne folks like the trucking companies and delivery services. Because their livelihood depends on it, they have gotten scheduled maintenance down to a science. And the last thing they skimp on is regular maintenance.
Why is that? Well, for one thing they know that routine maintenance prevents expensive repairs and costly breakdowns. They also know that a well-maintained vehicle uses less fuel. For them, even a small decrease in fuel economy may mean not being profitable.
So what does this mean to Wayne drivers? Well, there’s a ninety percent chance that you’re missing some service that would improve your fuel economy. Here’s a quick reminder list:
Fuel system cleaning, transmission service, differential service, engine air filter, wheel alignment, oil change, tune up. Ring any bells? Can you honestly say that there isn’t at least one thing on the list that hasn’t been done?
Let’s suppose you chose to spend one hundred and fifty dollars and get caught up on some of these services at Bob Crevaux's Wayne Auto Works. Figure that they combine to improve your fuel economy by fifteen percent. What would that mean to your pocketbook?
Well, the average personal vehicle in Wayne is driven about twelve thousand miles a year. If you get twenty miles per gallon in your sedan, over the course of one year you would pay for the hundred and fifty dollars worth of service and save an additional hundred and sixty five dollars if gas is at three dollars and fifty cents. If gas is four fifty, you would save two hundred and fifty-five dollars. And you’d rack up savings of three hundred and forty five dollars with gas at five and a half bucks.
GAS PRICE
$3.50
$4.50
$5.50
20 MPG
$165
$255
$345
From this you can see that the more fuel costs, the more it pays to take care of your sedan. Some of us drive trucks in Wayne for work or recreation – or want a large SUV for family needs. A fifteen percent improvement in fuel economy can generate huge savings – six hundred and sixty dollars a year if gas is four fifty a gallon in Wayne. Take a look at this table to see where your savings could lie.
GAS PRICE
$3.50
$4.50
$5.50
10 MPG
$480
$660
$840
20 MPG
$165
$255
$345
30 MPG
$60
$120
$180
So catch up on those services you’ve been neglecting at Bob Crevaux's Wayne Auto Works. Get a couple done now and a couple next time. Chances are you’ll save a lot of money at Wayne gas pumps this year – and a lot more on repairs in years to come.
Posted in the Maintenance category
Bob Crevaux's Wayne Auto Works And The Maintenance Mindset
Posted April 19, 2012 10:58 AM
When it comes to their vehicles, some Pequannock people don’t have a maintenance mindset. They know they need to take care of their cars, but it just seems really hard to get them to remember to do it. Pequannock drivers generally accept that many things in life require regular maintenance, but just may have not applied it to their sedans.
For example: the lawn. You water it and mow it every week. And weed the flower beds and rake the leaves. There are other things that Pequannock people are good about maintaining. Going to the dentist twice a year. Clothes to the dry cleaner. Flu shots. Taking the kids to your Pequannock doctor for a checkup before school starts.
So Pequannock people really are maintenance minded. They just have to learn to apply that mindset to cars. I mean, if you never brush your teeth or go to the dentist, you’ll become painfully aware of your neglect when you get a big cavity. Once the damage is done, we learn our lesson and start to take better care of things.
Unfortunately, Pequannock sedan owners too often learn the hard automotive lesson when they bring their vehicle to Bob Crevaux's Wayne Auto Works on a tow truck. So many times a little routine maintenance would have prevented a breakdown.
So how can Pequannock drivers get into the habit of taking care of their sedan? It’s so easy to forget. If you skip cutting the grass, you see it every time you pull in the driveway.
Here’s something that will help: The key to good vehicle maintenance starts with the oil change. Think about it – when you go in for a full-service oil change, your Bob Crevaux's Wayne Auto Works tech will check all your fluids. If one of them is low, he can look for the reason why. If your serpentine belt is cracked, he’ll see it and let you know. Corroded battery cable – they’ve got you covered. And at Bob Crevaux's Wayne Auto Works, we check to see if your sedan manufacturer has recommended any services at your current mileage. The oil change becomes kind of a focal point, a way to check in to see what needs to be done. The fact is that vehicle inspection surveys consistently reveal that over 80% of vehicles have one or more unperformed repair or maintenance service. Vehicles are generally very reliable and can take a lot of abuse and neglect. But, you’ve got to remember that sedans are complicated machines. There are parts and fluids that are critical to their function. Without them, the sedan won’t run at all.
So when you come in to Bob Crevaux's Wayne Auto Works for an oil change, you get a visual inspection from your friendly service advisor and a reminder for recommended services so you can avoid a total failure. And remember that your Bob Crevaux's Wayne Auto Works service advisor can help you work out a maintenance and repair plan, prioritizing and scheduling the work to make sure you and your family are safe, and avoid expensive breakdowns.
Posted in the Maintenance category
Bob Crevaux's Wayne Auto Works: Good Service And Good Fuel Economy
Posted April 10, 2012 12:52 PM
Most of our Maywood clients want to save on gas and seek our advice on improving fuel economy. At Bob Crevaux's Wayne Auto Works, we are frequently asked, however, just how much money Maywood motorists can actually save.
Well the US government has a website dedicated to helping us use less fuel. It presents the cost savings in a way Maywood car owners can relate to and is relevant for all vehicles. Let me give you an example: Having your sedan engine properly tuned, can save up to 4%. If you’re paying three-fifty for a gallon of gas, you could save fourteen cents a gallon.
In today's Bob Crevaux's Wayne Auto Works post, we’re going to talk about several things you can do to improve your sedanfuel economy driving around Maywood. We’ll tell you the potential savings per gallon of gas at three dollars and fifty cents, and we’ll show a graphic that also shows the savings at three and four dollars.
DOLLARS PER GALLON
$3.00
$3.50
$4.00
TUNE UP 4%
.12
.14
.16
The next item is replacing a clogged engine air filter. Your engine needs enough air to burn fuel efficiently for the best economy. A clean air filter means you get plenty of air. The fact that the air’s clean protects your engine. That can save you up to ten percent or thirty-five cents a gallon.
DOLLARS PER GALLON
$3.OO
$3.50
$4.00
AIR FILTER 10%
.30
.35
.40
Fixing a faulty oxygen sensor can improve economy by up to forty percent. That’s a whopping dollar forty in savings per gallon. Bring your car to Bob Crevaux's Wayne Auto Works and we'll check your oxygen sensor.
DOLLARS PER GALLON
$3.00
$3.50
$4.00
FAULTY O2 SENSOR 40%
1.20
1.40
1.60
Chances are that if your oxygen sensor is kaput your check engine light will come on. Now, there’s any number of things that could cause your check engine light to come on besides oxygen sensor problems. But if it’s on, get it checked out as soon as you can at Bob Crevaux's Wayne Auto Works.
Here’s an easy one. Inflate your tires to the recommended pressure. That could save you three percent or eleven cents a gallon. Even a little drop in pressure will cost you at the pump so check your tires every week.
DOLLARS PER GALLON
$3.00
$3.50
$4.00
TIRE INFLATION 3%
.09
.11
.12
Your sedan manufacturer has recommended a specific weight of motor oil. The recommendation is based on engine design and will give you the best protection. Using a heavier weight could cost one to two percent in reduced fuel economy, or up to seven cents a gallon.
DOLLARS PER GALLON
$3.00
$3.50
$4.00
RIGHT GRADE MOTOR OIL 2%
.06
.07
.08
Here’s one that’s free: Take it easy when you drive. Aggressive driving (we've all seen this on Maywood roads), rocketing away from stop lights, standing on the brakes, punching it for lane changes - really takes a toll on your fuel economy.
Cutting out aggressive driving around Maywood can save five percent or eighteen cents a gallon. Now on the highway it gets really costly: thirty three percent or a buck sixteen a gallon. Think about that.
DOLLARS PER GALLON
$3.00
$3.50
$4.00
DRIVE AGRESSIVELY - MIN. 5%
.15
.18
.20
DRIVE AGGRESSIVELY - MAX. 33$
.99
1.16
1.32
A related item is exceeding the speed limit. For example, if the speed limit is sixty miles per hour an additional five miles will cost seven percent or twenty-five cents a gallon. Fifteen miles per hour will cost you upwards of eighty cents a gallon.
DOLLARS PER GALLON
$3.00
$3.50
$4.00
SPEED LIMIT - MIN. 7%
.21
.25
.28
SPEED LIMIT - MAX. 23%
.69
.81
.92
The last thing we’ll talk about is excess weight. Our sedans tend to accumulate a lot of things and the weight adds up. Clear out the trunk and only haul stuff when you really need it. For every one hundred pounds you can save two percent or seven cents a gallon.
Sorry honey, your brother can’t come with. It’d cost an extra thirty cents a gallon.
Posted in the Fuel System category
How to Know When to Change Your Oil At Bob Crevaux's Wayne Auto Works
Posted April 4, 2012 12:52 PM
Today in the Bob Crevaux's Wayne Auto Works auto care blog, we’re going to talk about oil change intervals. It seems that as engine technology advances, recommended oil change intervals have gotten longer for Bob Crevaux's Wayne Auto Works customers. High quality oil in a well-engineered sedan engine has lead to extended intervals. But it’s also lead to some confusion among Wayne drivers.
The old mantra “change your oil every three months or three thousand miles, whichever comes first” once applied to every vehicle in your garage. Time and miles take their toll on motor oil. But now, you could have a different oil change recommendation for every car or truck you own.
Wayne people are like everybody else, they have a tendency to put off all the oil changes to the schedule of the vehicle with the longest interval. Of course, that can lead to problems. For example, recently four of the world’s largest auto manufacturers shortened the published intervals for several of their engines. They originally published intervals that extended out to a much as 8,000 miles.
In real world Wayne driving, the oil started to sludge up before the recommended change interval. Oil sludge is a thick jelly-like substance. Quite literally petroleum jelly – like Vaseline. This goop was clogging sedan small engine passages so the oil wouldn’t flow to some parts of the engine. This resulted in engine damage. We see it from time to time at Bob Crevaux's Wayne Auto Works.
The manufacturers began to offer an extended warranty to cover sludge damage. But there was a catch: the vehicle owner had to follow a new, lower service interval, and provide proof of oil changes in order to make a warranty claim.
So here’s the problem. With longer oil change intervals, it’s extremely important to follow them closely. Back in the day of 3 months or 3,000 miles, if you went an extra month or an extra thousand miles, your oil was still fresh enough that it didn’t have time to build up much sludge.
But if your recommended interval is 6,500 miles and you go over another thousand, you’re getting into heavy sludge territory. You absolutely need to follow mileage intervals very closely. And don’t forget your severe service schedule. If you do a lot of stop and go driving in NJ, short trips, drive in dusty or polluted Wayne conditions, hot or cold weather, or haul heavy loads, you’re driving in severe service conditions. Your Bob Crevaux's Wayne Auto Works advisor can help you evaluate which schedule to follow.
So check your sedan owner’s manual or talk with your Wayne service advisor about where and how you drive. Should you be changing your oil closer to the regular schedule, or the severe service schedule? You need to make the call.
Let me give you an example of this. Some newer sedans have an oil change indicator. It has a sophisticated computer algorithm that tracks number of cold starts, engine temperature, RPMs, mileage, and many more variables to come up with a recommendation for when to change the oil.
Depending on driving conditions, the indicator in one test vehicle came on at anywhere from 2,500 miles to almost 7,000 miles. It’s typically just over 4,000 miles. What this tells us is that sometimes, we’re driving easy miles that are easy on the sedan – like a long road trip. Sometimes, we’re driving hard NJ miles – like towing a trailer or a lot of around town driving. But, usually, it’s a combination of both.
Once again, it’s up to you to make the call as to when to change your oil at Bob Crevaux's Wayne Auto Works to protect your sedan engine. Another place where NJ drivers can go wrong is with the type of oil they use. More and more new cars are coming to Wayne owners filled with synthetic oil. Without going into a lot of detail right now, let’s just say that synthetic oil lasts longer and is very resistant to oil sludge.
But it also costs quite a bit more, so some Wayne people are tempted to use conventional oil for their oil changes. Now, it’s always best to use the oil recommended by your manufacturer. Check your owner’s manual see if a conventional oil alternative is allowed.
But getting back to the problem, if your sedan came from the factory with synthetic oil, the recommended oil change interval is for synthetic oil. If you use conventional oil, you can’t use the synthetic interval. You need to shorten it.
