Posted on 4/5/2016
Professional tips for do-it-yourselfers! Part I Caution: please spot test all products used on exterior and interior of your car. These days, many products are imported and you may be tempted to use them because of price factors and company claims. However, a spot test (use a spot that is hidden somewhere and not the middle of your hood or truck, the back of seats, somewhere that is not noticeable, please?) prevents ruining your paint job and surfaces.Does you car have perforated areas? Is there stitching in your upholstery? Use great caution about NOT getting water, cleanser or conditioner into the holes left by stitches in your leather, sewing puts holes in whatever is stitched. Always check with your owner's manual for manufacturer's suggestions before you clean or apply any products. Usually, there is specific advice on how to properly care for the leather upholstery, as well as products to avoid. Google your make, model and year along with the w ... read more
Posted on 4/4/2016
Ouch!!! You hit a curb or one of Queens infamous potholes and blew a tire. You get a new tire and get it balanced but something doesn't feel right...a slight shimmy, a vibration or maybe even a more-pronounced wobble. Sounds like there is a good chance you have a damaged the rim. If you've been pricing wheels recently, you know they can be pricy ranging from between $400 and $1000 for a replacement. Come to 106 St Tire & Wheel as we offer a full range of comprehensive wheel and rim repair services and the good news? Most rims are repairable! Here's what we can do to help you: Re-true a warped, cracked or bent wheel with a specialized straightening machine, bringing it back to balance and trueness again quickly Repair the damage that comes from being scuffed along the curb too many times which is commonly know in NYC as curb rash. A ding along the rim from a hard impact isn't really a problem – you'd be amazed to see what kind of dent and ding damage is actually repairable ... read more
Posted on 3/31/2016
NYC, we got them and we got them bad! Severe road conditions that is. We all know when the National Weather Service says there is a severe weather warning, we need to take precautions. Our blog has pointed out many times during this last year the fact that in the NYC area we always drive under "severe road and traffic conditions" and we have spoken about many factors contributing to dangerous, over used, never maintained roads, traffic, stop and go driving, sudden breaking due to highways seemingly converging traffic and drivers going from doing 55 mph to 10 mph for miles and miles, etc. Nowhere in the USA except other major metropolises like Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, etc, do we find the scope and dimension of what we all know is dangerous roads, extensive drive time and gas consuming, etc which place tremendous burdens on our vehicles and on our nerves. Of course, weather always factors in making severe driving conditions and severe road factors nearly impossible and ... read more
Posted on 3/29/2016
You may not think about your brakes often however there's a stiff penalty for that: BRAKE FAILURE!...and NYers, you more than any other city, need to remember you have special conditions that wear out brakesmush sooner than any city in Idaho, Nebraska, Albany, Tuscany...think "severe driving conditions." While other systems in your vehicle can be forgiving in that they will continue to work and it won't keep your car from starting, the really scary thing to keep in mind is once your brakes go, you may not be able to stop which will certainly hurt someone, something or perhaps kill pedestrians, kids, yourself or your own family, etc. There's no point in saying "brakes last 1-2 years" or the wear out in 10,000 miles. That's not the way it is, at least, not here in the Big Apple, NY, USA. Here are some factors that make that kind of advice dumb and dangerous for we NYers: 1) do you ride your brakes rather than adjust your speed for road and traffic conditions? 2) you live in NYC and, as ... read more
Posted on 3/26/2016
Okay, so it's the day after Easter and you had a great dinner of roast leg of lamb, maybe, or perhaps, a slow roasted baked ham....great sides, desserts and, of course, those wonderful colored Easter eggs. So, on with life as the Monday after Easter takes us all back to work. All of a sudden, you smell rotten eggs. Quick, check your pockets and see if you grabbed a few before you left your hosts house. If you don't have the eggs but you got the smell, you got a catalytic converter issue. Bad news, too, because this replacement is expensive...your car will not pass inspections because of emissions so you will have no choice. This is not a regular maintenance issue although your check engine light should go on. The biggest concern is emissions and you may have a car that can't get out of its own way because of a very sluggish engine and that could pose a threat in traffic. Here's what catalytic converters do: they change harmful emissions into harmless gas. And if they go bad, they need ... read more