Buster Hope - back to blogging!

So, it's the middle of May and vacation season is fast approaching! That means it's time to do some preventative maintenance on your cars to prepare for the upcoming vacation travel.  Kids will be coming home from college as well, so make sure to call us at 865-483-0979 to schedule your appointments to get their cars serviced and in optimum condition for summer months.

Things to think about for summer maintenance:

• Check your tire pressure to ensure your tires are not overinflated, underinflated or worn in spots.  Tire pressure and worn down tire tread can affect your gas consumption, so this is a big one to stay on top of!
• Change your oil and oil filter.  Remember, oil is the life's blood of your car.  Most owner's manuals suggest changing your oil and oil filter every 7,500 miles, with Oil Change Specialists suggesting this change every 3,000 miles or every 3 months.
• Check ALL fluid levels - brake fluid, transmission fluid, coolant, differential, power steering and brake fluid.
• Check hoses and belts for cracks, wear and dry rot.
• Change your air filter

These are some of the top maintenance tips to take you safely into the summer months.  Make sure to check back at the blog for upcoming details about our various summer specials.  For now, I'm happy to be back and visiting with you on my blog.  Come see me at the Car Care Center soon!

Chuck's Car Care Center ~ Family Owned ~ Dedicated ~ Trustworthy

Photo: www.dreamstime.com

We're counting down the days left in 2011. Hard to believe another year is ticking down and a new one is set to begin, isn't it?!  Here at Chuck's Car Care Center, we're thankful for so much.  Family and friends who are happy and healthy.  Our business continuing to flourish in an admittedly tough economy.  Seeing many of your smiling faces on a daily basis here at the Car Care Center!

We know that many of you will be celebrating and welcoming the New Year in later this week.  Obviously, a lot of people will be drinking alcohol as they celebrate, so we want to encourage everyone to be smart, be safe and appoint someone in your group as the Designated Driver.  That might sound boring, or alarmist, but it's just plain old common sense.  One person volunteering to be your Designated Driver means that the whole group will be safe for that evening's celebration.

A Designated Driver is simply a person who agrees to abstain from alcohol and be responsible for driving others home. The others are free to drink or not as they choose. ₄ Many establishments provide free non-alcoholic beverages to designated drivers. http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/PreventingDrunkDriving.html

Here are some more facts about Designated Drivers:

• Designated drivers have probably saved nearly 50,000 lives and spared many more thousands of people from suffering injury from drunk driving.₁
• Over nine out of 10 Americans who attend social events where alcohol is served would like to see designated drivers used. And the proportion of people using or being a designated driver has increased dramatically over time. ₂
• Each year over 73,000,000 Americans either serve as a designated driver or are driven home by one. ₃

This is a very simple and effective decision that we all can make for New Year's Eve and for any other day or night of the year.  Life is precious and making a safe and logical choice to have a Designated Driver if anyone is going to drink alcohol means it will be a safe drive for everyone involved.  I'm a dog, so I'm not driving any vehicles.  I am riding in them, though, and so are other pets, children and friends and family members.  Chuck and I, and the rest of the crew here at Chuck's Car Care Center encourage all of you to make this smart decision if you're going to be out and about on New Year's Eve this year.

Finally, we want to remind everyone that our Holiday Post Card Coupon is still valid through January 31, 2012!  That's a $20 savings on any service at Chuck's Car Care Center, so don't let it go to waste!

Have a safe and Happy New Year, everyone!  We look forward to seeing all of you in 2012.

Chuck's Car Care Center ~ Family Owned ~ Dedicated ~ Trustworthy

Buster guarding the Christmas Tree

Happy Holidays, everyone!  As you can see from the photo here, I've been diligently performing my Public Relations Director duties here at Chuck's Car Care Center.  That includes decorating the lobby for the holidays. Isn't our tree beautiful this year?  Cari and Megan helped me with the decorating, as my paws only reach so high up the tree.  I did the lower branches, then got so tuckered I decided to take a bit of a rest on the cool lobby floor.  :)

This is the week leading up to Christmas, so we always like to take time to offer thanks and sincere appreciation for all of our wonderful customers.  We look forward to seeing all of your smiling faces during the year!

An important thing to remember - these final days of December tend to be busy for most families with kids coming home from college for winter break. That means you'll probably have some car maintenance issues to tend to for those vehicles.  Areas of maintenance to give attention to are:

• Check tire pressure
• Check monitor lights
• Check anti-freeze
• Get oil changed

These are most common maintenance needs, but we always make sure to check the whole car and let you know if anything else needs attention.  Remember also that you can still take advantage of the $20 savings on our holiday post card coupon mailing that went out the week after Thanksgiving! Twenty dollars saved is nothing to sneeze at, right?!  And peace of mind about the vehicles your children will be driving back to school can't be stressed enough.

Chuck's Car Care Center will be closed the Monday after Christmas for all of us to celebrate the holiday and spend time with our loved ones.  We wish each and every one of you an equally happy, blessed, safe and Merry Christmas!

Chuck's Car Care Center ~ Family Owned ~ Dedicated ~ Trustworthy

December 2011 Holiday Post Card Coupon Mailing

Happy Holidays, everyone! Chuck and I hope that you've all had a wonderful beginning to the winter holiday season with Thanksgiving just past.  With Thanksgiving weekend gone by, most of you know that this is our kick-off to our final post card coupon mailing of the year. This year, my Dad and I decided to put a different twist on the post card offer.  As you can see above, I enlarged the post card image so you can read the details easily.

Christmas is about family and a sense of community, giving back and counting blessings.  As we feel we're imminently blessed on so many levels here at Chuck's Car Care Center, this year we wanted to offer an easy way for many of you to give back in a charitable manner, if you so choose.  You see, we often hear that many of you keep our quarterly post card coupons and then get busy and forget to take advantage of the savings. With that in mind, we thought, why not make it easy to either use the $20 savings for regular car care maintenance, or to let each of you choose one of three worthy Oak Ridge organizations to donate that same $20? We loved the idea and we hope you will too!  These are the three organizations we chose:

• Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge, providing free medical services to families without insurance - www.fmcor.org
• Emory Valley Center, serving individuals with developmental disabilities - www.emoryvalleycenter.com
• Oak Ridge Playhouse, community theatre serving Oak Ridge since 1943 - www.orplayhouse.com

We think you'll agree with us that these are three wonderful organizations serving our local Oak Ridge community!  Another great thing we always do with these quarterly post card coupons is that we let you transfer them to a family or friend.  We're not overly picky about that - we just hope that you'll share the savings with someone who can benefit from that $20, whether that is redeemed as a car maintenance service, or donated to one of the organizations listed above.  Finally, this coupon is good through January 11, 2011, so this gives you a full six weeks to take advantage of these great savings however best suits you!

So, keep an eye on your mailbox this week, folks!  We'll be sending these post cards out tomorrow and they should be hitting your mailbox in a couple days.  Chuck and I look forward to seeing your smiling faces at the Car Care Center in the coming weeks!

Chuck's Car Care Center ~ Family Owned ~ Dedicated ~ Trustworthy

Buster Hope - taking a brief break

Happy November, folks!  We're starting to feel cooler weather setting in.  You know, even though I wear this fur coat daily, I have to admit, my doggy heart is just not that big a fan of cold weather.  I'm much happier to be inside where it's nice and warm during winter months, hence this great photo my pals, Cari and Megan snapped of me at the shop!  Never fear, though - I promise that was just me taking a short break.  I got right back to my duties at Chuck's Car Care Center as Public Relations Director!

So, November brings a couple of changes.  This weekend, we have Daylight Savings Time changes - remember to set your clocks back one hour on Saturday evening, November 5th! It means we get an extra hour of sleep, so I am a fan!

The other important thing to remember is that November is the busiest travel month of the year. Thanksgiving kicks off the holiday season and people are on the roads to travel to family events.  That means a lot more traffic congestion, possible long delays on the road, much more frequent stops and starts as you drive.  This is why it is very important to make an appointment to winterize your vehicle, before all this activity ensues.  You will want to make sure your cooling system, heat and defrost features and tire suspension are all in optimum condition.

You'll be driving with family members in the car with you a great deal of the time during the holidays.  We all know that this is the most precious cargo you can carry, so Chuck and I encourage everyone to put attention into vehicle maintenance and upkeep.  We know that car repairs and maintenance visits can be expensive, so remember, the Monday after Thanksgiving, we'll be mailing out our quarterly post card coupon with great savings for you to take advantage of! I'll be writing the second blog of the month about the specific details, along with a photo image of the actual post card so you'll know what to look for.

December will fast be upon us, and we'll be joining in the Oak Ridge community Christmas Parade.  We hope to see lots of familiar faces in the crowds - I'll post the specific date for that in the next blog post as well.  One more thing - we currently are running a great special on our website homepage: FREE Nitrogen with purchase of new tires, $30 value. Call us at 865-483-0979!

Chuck's Car Care Center - Family Owned - Dedicated - Trustworthy

Photo: www.rhyscandles.co.uk

I hear a rumor that lots of little goblins and ghosties are going to be out and about tomorrow evening!  Happy Halloween, everyone! Chuck and I want to wish everyone a safe, festive celebration.  Make sure to abide by all the common sense rules of safety:

Parents:

• Keep your young ones safely on the sidewalks and make sure they're aware of traffic safety rules, such as how to cross an active road safely.
• Make sure all costumes have reflective tape or decals if kids are walking through dark neighborhoods - carrying a small flashlight works well too, if you can't find reflective tape or decals
• Visit neighborhoods and homes that you're familiar with for trick or treating.
• Parents, please go through the candy and treats that your kids bring home to ensure that everything is safe for them to consume.
• As bad as it sounds, this is just a fact of life now. Get on the internet and check your local state website for sex offenders. Almost every state has such a website; just do a search for your state sex offender site. Look up your zip code and it should have a list of registered offenders in your area that includes street addresses. Make sure that your kids stay away from these houses!
• Know the route your kids will be taking if you aren't going with them. Let them know that they are to check in with you every hour, by phone or by stopping back at home. Make sure that they know not to deviate from the planned route so that you always know where they will be.
• Trick or treating isn't what it used to be. In most cities it's not safe to let kids walk the streets by themselves.  Your best bet is to make sure that an adult is going with them.  If you can't take them yourself, make sure another parent can.
• It's a good idea to get a meal into the kids prior to trick or treating, so that they won't be tempted to snack on treats before you're able to get home and check everything for safety.

Halloween is a happy time for everyone - we at Chuck's Car Care Center just want to make sure safety is a primary focus for the evening.

So, we're moving into November soon.  Hard to believe there are only two months left in 2011, hmm?  We will be sending out our last quarterly post card coupon mailing the Monday after Thanksgiving with great savings for our friends and customers! We know that all of you look for those quarterly post cards and we love that you take advantage of the savings we offer.

Remember, we're in the midst of a great new program for our Hunter's Hawk-eye digital imagining technology.  From now through the end of December, we will offer 50 Lifetime Alignments for the price of $169.95. This price gives you yearly alignment service at no extra charge for the lifetime that you own that vehicle. This is a great savings and smart preventative maintenance purchase for your vehicle and will ensure safe driving for the whole family.  Call us at 865-483-0979 to schedule your appointment!

Chuck's Car Care Center - Family Owned - Dedicated - Trustworthy

]]> http://www.chuckscarcare.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=267 0 http://www.chuckscarcare.com/blog/?p=254 http://www.chuckscarcare.com/blog/?p=254#comments Mon, 10 Oct 2011 18:14:24 +0000 Buster http://www.chuckscarcare.com/blog/?p=254 Continue reading →]]>

Hunter's Hawkeye Alignment Machine, photo - www.hunter.com

We're happy to announce that we just implemented a new wheel alignment system at Chuck's Car Care Center - the Hunter's Hawk-eye high definition digital imaging alignment technology system! Wow, that's a mouthful, isn't it?  Try typing it into blog format with doggy paws....it takes a couple of minutes, let me tell you!

So, what's all the hoopla about? It's pretty cool stuff.  The Hunter's Hawk-eye digital imagining technology uses four precision cameras to measure the position and orientation of targets mounted on each wheel of your car.  The aligner computer uses this information to calculate your car's current alignment measurements and then compares these measurements to the car manufacturer's (OEM) alignment specifications.  If the computer determines your car's wheel alignment is outside factory specifications, the aligner provides the technician with exact information needed to make proper adjustments and return the alignment angles to the manufacturer's specifications.

In my last blog post, Let's Talk about Rotating Tires!, I listed many reasons for this maintenance service.  One of the most important reasons to make sure your tires are properly aligned is that "drag" on your tires can cost you money in several ways.  Research indicates that the average vehicle is driven about 12,000 miles per year.  A car with a toe angle misadjustment of 0.34 degrees (only 0.17 inches) out of specification will drag the tires sideways for more than 68 miles by the end of the year!  Think of how that much "drag" will drain your gas tank that much more quickly! Think of the physical wear and tear on your tires, AND on your car's engine, both fighting that extra friction over time.  See why keeping your tires rotated and properly aligned is so important?

To kick off our great new Hunter's Hawk-eye system, Chuck and I decided to do a cool new offer.  For the rest of the year, through the end of December, we will offer 50 Lifetime Alignments for the price of $169.95. This price gives you yearly alignment service at no extra charge for the lifetime that you own that vehicle.  When you consider that a four wheel drive alignment is normally $80 and a two wheel drive alignment is normally $65, the value of this Lifetime Alignment is clear.  We suggest that you get your car's alignment checked every 30,000 miles or at least once every other year.

Call us now at 865-483-0979 to schedule your Lifetime Alignment at the great price of $169.95 - remember, we're only offering 50 of these at this price each month through the end of December.

Chuck's Car Care Center - Family Owned - Dedicated - Trustworthy

With fall and winter weather approaching, we're going to get more rainy days, possibly some snow and ice.  Driving conditions with rain, snow and ice all present different challenges.  Precipitation of any kind makes roads more slippery and that, in turn, makes it important to have good traction.  Traction happens when you have good tires on your car with strong tread depth.

So, what we want to talk about is this: is it necessary to rotate tires regularly? There are two schools of thought on this subject. Rotating the tires, which is recommended by all tire manufacturers, involves changing their position on the vehicle from one wheel location to another. This helps to even out tire wear between all the tires so the tires last longer and do not develop abnormal wear patterns.  Here at Chuck's Car Care Center, we recommend rotating your tires with every other oil change or every 6000 - 8000 miles.

On front-wheel drive cars and minivans, the front wheels tend to wear at a much faster rate than those on the rear. After 50,000 or 60,000 miles of driving, the front tires may be worn out while the ones on the back may still have half or more of their tread life remaining. By rotating the tires front to rear and side to side, differences in wear patterns between the wheel locations spreads the wear out and more or less wears the tires evenly -- or so the theory goes. Consequently, tires that would have lasted only 50,000 or 60,000 miles on the front of a front-wheel drive car may last 70,000 or 80,000 miles. But on the other hand, the tires on the rear that may well have gone 100,000 miles only last 70,000 or 80,000 miles.

Whew, that's a lot to read and absorb, right?!  Well, stick with me, because there's more and it's all important information. Those who say rotating tires is a waste of time argue that it makes more sense to replace the front tires on a front-wheel drive car or minivan when they wear out, but to leave the back tires alone - especially if you're putting a lot of miles on the vehicle or plan to keep it a long time. The back tires will probably last as long as two sets of front tires, so in the long run you end up buying the same number or possibly even fewer tires by not rotating. Plus, you've saved the time and money that would have been spent on rotating the tires. This argument doesn't fly in the case of certain low profile performance tires that have a tendency to develop a heel-and-toe wear pattern if left in the same wheel position too long.

For rear-wheel drive cars and trucks, the recommended tire rotation pattern is to rotate the front wheels to the opposite side on the rear, and move the rear wheels to the same side on the front.  As you can see, I included a handy tire rotation chart photo image above - it addresses front- and rear-wheel, as well as directional tire drive.

For front-wheel drive cars and minivans, the recommended tire rotation pattern is to rotate the rear wheels to the front on the opposite side, and move the front wheels to the rear on the same side.

If your vehicle has "directional" tires (small arrows or triangles indicating the direction of travel), the wheels must not be switched side to side. They can, however, be rotated front to rear on the same side.

If all of this is still confusing to you, and you're unsure what type of rotation is appropriate for your vehicle, give us a call at 865-483-0979 and we'll be happy to help you figure it out!  It's a simple, efficient service that will give you the best value and use of your tires.  And let's face it, new tires are an investment - you want to get your money's worth, and you want to make sure that your car drives and reacts safely in all weather conditions.  Chuck and I say this a lot - you're hauling precious cargo in your car, whether it's just you alone, or you have family and/or friends with you.  Safety is the Number One Priority and keeping your tires in good shape falls in that category.

Chuck’s Car Care Center – Family Owned – Dedicated – Trustworthy

Penny testing tire tread photo courtesy of www.thetruthaboutcars.com

Happy September, folks! We're all settling into the first couple weeks of fall and we're finally starting to enjoy some cooler weather. For those of us who wear a permanent fur coat, those cooler temperatures are welcome! Don't get me wrong, I'm not a big fan of winter weather, but we won't even dwell on that right now. My doggy bones can wait indefinitely for that type of weather to set in!

What I want to chat about today is Tire Maintenance Tips. We're heading into holiday months, so there will be more travel and drive time put into your vehicle. Tire Maintenance is something we at Chuck's Car Care Center take very seriously. Did you know that you get better gas mileage if your tires are in good shape? Yep, the more wear and tear on the tires, the more sluggish your car is to respond, so the more energy and fuel required to keep a steady pace or speed.  Also, the better shape your tires are in, the better response time you'll have as a driver, in any weather conditions.  Peace of mind is important, as you're transporting the most precious cargo imaginable in your car on a regular basis - your family and friends.

Here's a great video I found on youtube that gives some good, solid, easy to understand tips to check the "health" of your tires:

Basic Car Care & Maintenance : Checking Car Tire Tread Wear

This video is just 2:24 minutes long - click the hyperlink above to go directly to the youtube page - and shows you how to use a U.S. penny to test the tread depth on your tires. It's a commonly used marker that most have heard of, but you might not know the specific details. This video runs through it and gives an actual visual demonstration that Chuck and I thought might come in handy.

Another handy bit of info for you all to be aware of is that we carry most name brand tires - Michelin, Goodyear, Bridgestone, Kumho Tires, Pirelli, BFGoodrich, Continental - as well as hard to find brands. If you have any questions about our services, feel free to call us at 865-483-9979. We love talking with our customers and we're always here to answer questions you might have.

Stay tuned for my next blog where I'll be talking more about tire maintenance and the important facts about rotating your tires.  Riveting stuff, right?!  I know, it might sound a bit dull and dry, but Chuck and I feel strongly that giving some good, basic educational information on car maintenance helps you, our customers, to make equally educated choices and decisions about regular vehicle upkeep.  Tires are one of those things we all tend to let slip our immediate focus in regard to maintenance.  I hope you'll visit my blog later this month for the next installment on Tire Maintenance!  Also, don't forget that our quarterly post card coupon is still valid through September 30, 2011 - bring your post card in and use the valuable savings this month!

We all made it through the summer, through bad storms, and through a really grinding heat wave that felt like it would last forever.  My Dad, Chuck, and I were chatting about all the interesting stuff that goes on behind the scenes here at Chuck's Car Care, so we thought it would be fun if I shared some of these details with you.

• One very cool thing - my Dad, Chuck Hope, recently was elected as the new Oak Ridge City Councilman!  He isn't the type of guy to brag about these things, but I'm the type of dog to literally woof my head off about this!  My Dad is going to continue to stay committed to offering the same strong work ethic and great service here at Chuck's Car Care Center.  The City Councilman appointment is just another way he gets to help our local community.  We're all really proud of him - congratulations, Dad!
• Fall soccer is now in session!  Chuck is coaching two boys teams this year - U10 and U12.  They're in practice now, and Chuck is going to have a lot of fun throughout the soccer season with this year's group of bright kids.
• We are happy to announce the birth of Miss Breanna McKenlee Watkins!  Breanna is the brand new baby girl of our own Cari Queener and her partner, Brandi Watkins.  Miss Breanna was born on July 22nd, 2011 and she's a beauty, folks! When she gets older, I plan to teach her how to reach the treat jar here in lobby where my favorite Milk Bones are stored.
• We want to thank everyone who participated in the Enrichment Federal Credit Union's Dog Days of Summer Shelter Supply Drive.  My Dad and I were able to donate a truckbed full of pet food to this worthy program and we were really proud of all the hard work that was done to help with this cause.
• Don't forget to use your Chuck's Car Care Post Card Coupon!  We mailed those out in August and they have that great offer of a $20 propane tank refill (normal grill sized tank) or $20 off any service!  This post card coupon is valid through September, so don't lose out on the great savings!

We have a lot of really fun, valuable promotions planned for the fall and winter months, so don't forget to visit my blog page regularly.