Welcome to O'Brien's Auto Repair!
Now two locations to better serve you!
4414 Douglas Ave. in Beaverdale Call us at 515-276-7327 or Request an appointment online |
8305 Hickman Rd. in Urbandale Call us at 515-276-0137 or Request an appointment online |
Winterize your car…like, now!
Old man winter is knocking at our doorstep. Literally…50 degrees today, snow tomorrow!
My personal, number one objective for the next 6 months, is getting through winter and coming-out
the other side with my sanity. I hate winter, I mean really hate it…so it is no easy task. But I live in
Iowa, and to distract me from the coming reality I’ll also take some time this month to check over all
my vehicles. Here are a few tips for getting your car ready for winter:
- Check your battery. A seemingly good battery can expose its weakness quickly in cold temperatures.
There is nothing worse than a car that won’t start suddenly in sub freezing temps. If your battery is
more than 3 years old it may not quite be up to the task of starting your vehicle in the cold winter months ahead.
A battery rarely gives an indication that it is going bad. Typically, you'll be in the mall parkling lot
on a cold Sunday evening and when you turn the ignitian key, nothing happens. Do you know how many
cold cranking amps (CCA) your cars battery is designed to produce? You should have your battery tested
to ensure that you won’t get stranded somewhere this winter season.
You can always stop by OBrien's Auto Repair and load test your battery for FREE!
- Check your belts & hoses. Worn, cracked belts and old hoses will suddenly go "boom" in cold weather.
Checking them is easy, replacing them is inexpensive.
- Check your coolant mixture. Stop by OBrien's and we’ll check it for free!
- Get a new set of wiper blades. Don’t skimp on these, get the best branded winter blade you can
buy, and make surre your washer fluid resivor is full and the mixture is correct for winter condidions.There
is nothing worse (I feel like I’ve said that before?) than running out of fluid in freezing rain on the drive
home from work.
- Check your tires. If there a chance of driving in snow (a 100% certainty in Iowa), a minimum of 6/32 tread
depth is required. In many states, tread depth of 2/32 is ILLEGAL. That’s right you’ll be breaking the
law! And don’t be suckered into under inflating your tires to get more “grip”….you won’t, it’s dangerous
and you’ll burn through more gas. Consider getting snow tires, the difference is amazing and often they
can be used for several years before wearing out.
We have a great tire guy and I know he’s got a deal going on right now on snow tires.
Come on over to O’Brien’s Auto Repair and let our “Under The Hood Guys" perform a winter maintenance inspection.
You’ll be glad you did and you’ll have peace of mind this winter season.
