“How often should I have my oil changed? How much will an oil change cost me?”

 

It is our recommendation that your oil be changed every 3,000 miles for traditional oil, and every 5,000 miles for synthetic oil. If you frequently take short trips through city traffic, travel in dusty conditions, or drive on highways during hot weather, you are considered a “severe driver” and should have your oil changed more often. 

 

Did you know that when we pour a fresh container of oil into your vehicle, it is actually golden in color and fragrant-free? By the time we change your oil, it h
as turned black and does NOT have a pleasant smell. The oil is used to rid your car’s engine of contaminants… small particles of dirt, pieces of metal, etc. are all picked up while driving, and the oil carries these impurities to the filter in order to drain them from the engine. (The filter works very hard to separate these foreign particles, but some still travel an infiltrate engine bearings and cylinder walls).

 

Here at European Auto Solutions, we have unique way of performing oil changes; we tilt your car! The oil pan plug (the screw on the bottom of the pan containing the oil) is angled to the side of the pan (which rests below the engine). We tilt the car in order to pour more oil out of the pan and clear more of the contaminants. It may take a few minutes longer to complete, but the benefits of this technique are undeniable. 

 

The oil works to protect your engine, which saves you the cost of engine repairs/replacements, increases your fuel economy, and reduces emissions. 

 

For a Mercedes-Benz vehicle, oil changes (using Mobil One Syntehtic Oil and factory fitlers) are included in an “A-Service,” which also involves a 50-point checkover, and a complimentary alignment check (with a printout that makes all information available for youto take home). On later BMW’s, it includes changing the oil with a BMW-specific oil and factory filter, a 50-point checkover, and a complimentary alignment (and a printout). 

 

To schedule your oil change, give us a call today! 

“Why does my vehicle shake when I’m braking?”

A car shaking as you brake (aka pulsation) usually indicates a problem with brake rotors.

What is a brake rotor? When you depress the brake pedal, your vehicle’s master cylinder sends brake fluid into the brake lines and calipers. These calipers are lined with brake pads and encircle your brake rotors. Brake pads squeeze the surface of the rotors, which slows the vehicle and prevents the wheel from turning.

Rotors are exposed metal and often become warped or rusted. This happens most often when a car is left unused for extended periods of time. While driving, the friction of use will generally keep the rotors clean.

If your car has been sitting for a short while, sometimes driving the vehicle will clean off the rotors. However, if you experience pulsation, it is important to have it checked by a technician. Your technician will pull the wheels off, measure for wear, and check for corrosion. Worn rotors are not necessarily dangerous, but you should still have your vehicle checked to confirm the diagnosis.

What is your automotive goal? Are you using an advisor?

 

According to dictionary.com, the definition of adviser is: One that advises, such as a person or firm that offers official or professional advice to clients. Working with an advisor to define your goal or expectation is essential for quality service. When we need financial advice we turn to a financial advisor, when we need health advice we seek out a health professional advisor, and it is no different in the automotive business especially with the costs related to today’s high-tech vehicles. The professional service advisors here at EAS understand that automotive goals can be very diverse: are you leasing the vehicle, putting on 30k miles a year, want to just keep it safe, interested in retaining the original factory performance throughout your ownership, or planning on handing it down to your kids? Situations and interests vary and so should the advice, which is why we call it personalized service. Each time the vehicle is in for service it receives a complimentary 50-point check to keep you informed and to help the advisor give you the professional advice that best suits your needs.

Late Model Service Intervals

The most frequent questions we get asked is in regards to recommended synthetic oil service intervals. “Should I be changing my oil more often?” “Is it ok to stick to the factory recommended 10,000 to 13,000 intervals?

The simple answer to both is yes. The question we have for you is this: “What is your plan for ownership of the vehicle?” If you are leasing or planning on owning the vehicle only up to 50,000 to 60,000 miles then stick to the factory recommendations and no one can fault you for that on resale or trade in. If you plan on ownership of 80,000 to 100,000 or more (much more in many cases), we believe it is in your best interest to increase the frequency of your oil service intervals to 5,000 to 6,000 or every 6 months as we believe viscosity deteriorates significantly after 6000 miles. We have more then 3 dozen customers with vehicles ranging from 1999 to 2005 with mileage between 80,000 and 110,000 that are consistently using up to 2 qts. of oil every 2500 miles that could have been prevented by more frequent oil service intervals earlier in the vehicles life.