Category Archives: Tips and HInts

Help! My New Car Won’t Start Because it’s Too Hot Outside!

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It is usually a cold engine, which is exposed to extreme weather that is most often difficult to start. However, hot engines sometimes have problems too. Hot engines can be tough to start, and many people do not know how to deal with this situation when it occurs to their cars. I live in Texas, it is important to know exactly why it happens and what to do.

The most common reason why a hot engine will not start is because the problem is related to fuel. When your new car engine is too hot, fuel cannot circulate well, due to the way vapor obstructs its workings and therefore the engine just will not start, as it should. To keep your engine running at the correct temperature and to protect its alloys and metals, you need to use a properly designed coolant.

A new car’s engine temperature will rise until it has been turned off. During this time,the highest concentration of vapor is being circulated and chances are that it may obstruct the engine to a greater extent. Obviously, when and if you are driving in hot weather and have just turned off the car engine you may experience start problems. Here’s a novel idea; wait for a few minutes until trying to start it again. Then go and get a high quality engine coolant.

Now here’s the good news…Fuel injected engines do not experience this problem as much

Now THIS is a hot engine!

as other engines, because the fuel remains inside the injectors under high pressure. Therefore, the vehicle does not have the same issues when it comes to starting a hot engine. For most of us this is the case, but if you are having a hard time starting your car under extreme heat conditions, then it may be time to change over your old car to a newer car with fuel injection.

Just a point of note, many of the older models or the used automobiles from the 90’s don’t have fuel injected engines. Proper maintenance of its engine was the best solution for the engine temperature. It is always best to have a record of the old car’s past problems or issues to be able to get an expert inspect it properly.

Another reason why you may have an engine, which is hard to start while hot, is that it may be due to seasonal weather as refiners change from one fuel blend to another. Gas refiners often change a higher volatility fuel to a lower one when summer approaches. This is simply because hot weather causes fuel to evaporate more quickly. If refiners change back to a higher volatility fuel, while cars are still exposed to days of extreme temperatures, this may cause swift evaporation of the fuel which, in turn would create too much vapor within the engine.

…And for goodness’ sake people, check your radiator water, and keep it at its advisable volume, this will help absorb a lot of engine generated heat.

OK, that’s it. Strange topic, but it’s one that seems to be a daily occurrence for some folks under the hot Texas sun. If you are having an issue like this, you can always bring your car by for the experts to check it out.

Do your homework to avoid buying a lemon

Tips and HInts, Used Cars, , , , , , , ,

I know everyone’s fear of buying a use car is the potential of inheriting other peoples’ problems…buying the dreaded “LEMON”. It may look gorgeous on the outside, but it’s what’s under the hood that determines whether or not the car will be a money pit. Here are a few tips on what to look for when taking that potential used car for a test driving

1) Pull out the oil dipstick while the engine is running – DO NOT rev the engine! Watch the dipstick’s hole as the engine idles; if you hear or see any air, gas or oil escaping the dipstick holder it means the rings are worn. A slight escape of air from the dipstick is the first stage of ring failure which is not a serious problem but will get worse until gas and oil start escaping the dipstick holder. The result is less power and leaking oil in the sump. Look for white emulsification on the dipstick which would indicate a cracked cylinder head, which is a serious problem.

2) Look at the exhaust pipe while the car is running. White smoke from the exhaust indicates there’s engine oil remaining on the bore that the rings haven’t scraped off, which means oil could be leaking. Black smoke means the fuel injectors are dirty on a diesel engine.

3) Remove the radiator cap and check for oil. Oil in the water also means a cracked cylinder head.

4) Have a pre-purchase inspection performed! A compression test should also be done for failing rings on any used vehicle. This test requires a trained mechanic because of the equipment used and the test is complicated. The readings must be done ‘dry’ and ‘wet’, and it even depends on if you are above or below sea level.

The bottom line is, “Do your Homework!”

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to swing by and take a look at our great selection of pre-owned.

How Big is YOUR Blind Spot, Ft. Worth?

Safe Driving, Tips and HInts, , , , , , ,

Could you see 60 children behind your car? Of course you can! Right?

Watch the video below.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vfae-JBQ5tY

It’s OK, I’ll let you change your answer.

Please be 110% aware of all of your surroundings. It is your responsibility. It is your requirement. It is your duty to be as safe a driver as you can. Yes, accidents do happen, but they usually happen when we aren’t paying attention.

Now…watch the video again.

Please re-post this as many places as you can. At Freeman Grapevine, we’re committed to protecting our children

Dallas Fort Worth Vehicles Killing Your Back

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“OW!!! My aching back!” A lot of us experience lower back pain while driving our cars. A number of researches have investigated the relationship between driving and Back Pain, which some interesting results. One finding is a comparison of drivers in the USA and in Sweden found that 50% of people questioned in both countries reported low back pain.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HVoF4QeWo0

So what is the connection of driving and back pain?

So far, research has found three factors for low back pain whilst driving: vibration from the engine (something that you can not change), sitting position and  the length of time that we drive.

Here are some ways to make your driving experience more comfortable.

The Seat

Make sure that your bottom sits all the way in the back of the seat – where the base and the back of the seat meet. This will help to make you sit more upright and maintain the natural curvature of the spine, minimizing the stress on the spinal ligaments. If your seat has a lumbar roll built-in have this all the way out.

The Base length and Height of the Seat

The base of the seat should never touch the back of your knees and the front of the base should be slightly higher than the back, helping to provide more support and allowing you press the pedals without changing your spinal posture.

The Backrest

First relax back into your seat, place the seat at about a 10-15 degrees incline from the vertical position. If this feels unnatural to you then it probably means that the backrest is not upright enough for you. This can result into neck strain and / or coccyx (sitting bone) pain.

The Headrest

The position of your headrest will not only help to lower the injuries in an accident, but also to help to allow a better posture. The bony bit at the back of your head is a good guiding point, the headrest should be level with this. There should be about 1 inch between the back of your head and the headrest. This allows for the ligaments and the muscles of your neck to control the posture of your head better and giving better support in case of an accident.

Seat – Pedal distance

Make sure you have the distance between seat and the pedals so that when operating the pedals this does not cause you to over stretch your legs or twist your body in any way. Your legs should not be straight when pushing the throttle or clutch all the way down. Obviously your knees should not be bend to the point you cannot easily move from one pedal to another. It is normal to have your knees bent about 45 degrees.

The Arm position

Your arms should be as relaxed as possible, elbows bend around 20-30 degrees. If your steering wheel is adjustable have it in the mid to lower position, this will help to reduce the stress on your shoulders. Your hands should be positioned at ’10 past10′ and not as is suggested left hand at 9 o’clock and right hand at 3 o’clock.

Take breaks

We all have seen the “Rest Stop” signs along the roads…do it! Taking a break helps your back as well, so when you need to take a rest you can have a stretch at the same time to help your back.

As someone who experiences back pain from time to time, I know how much more it may be amplified while driving. The driving position isn’t always the best as it puts some irregular curves to your back and thus may require more lumbar support.

If you have any tips or hints for us at Freeman Grapevine on how to alleviate back pain while driving, let us know in the comments section below!

Figure Out Your budget for a New GMC Dallas

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GMC Dallas, Buick Dallas, Used Cars Dallas, Texas GMC, Used Cars Fort Worth, Used Car Dealers Dallas, Texas Buick, Texas GMC Dealer, Used Cars DFW, GMC Dealer Dallas
Set a realistic new car budget.

No matter how much you believe your new car budget is, it is still best to figure out a true budget friendly car payment when you are planning to buy a new car. This will enable you to stretch your budget more effectively. Here are the common tips to figure it out.

First Tip: Take Note of the loan’s Length The monthly payment is dependent on the length of the loan. Long term loans are appropriate to those who have a tight budget. The longevity of the period will allow them to raise funds for the payment. The short term loan on the other hand is favorable to those with sufficient money. They are able to pay the loan even in shorter period. Short term loans has lower interests. With long-term loans, however, you’ll encounter higher high interest rates.

Second Tip: Be Sure to Pay a Down Payment No matter how tight your budget is, make sure that you pay the car’s down payment. The down reduces your car’s monthly charge. It also lowers down the interest of the original loan since a large part of this was already paid.

It is also important to pay the necessary down payment because it protects the car from annual depreciation. Most dealers demand a down payment equals to the 20% of the car’s loan value. This rate is also equal to the vehicle’s annual depreciation rate.

Third Tip: Be Aware of the Annual Percentage Rate The Annual Percentage Rate affects your car’s installment payments. Paying the car’s bills with a lower Annual Percentage Rate is beneficial on your part. This could mean that you will be paying the car with lower interest.

Reliable Annual Percentage Rates are obtained from banks. It is helpful if you will conduct good research with several banks. Low APR however are only granted to creditors with good credit records. Those who have bad credit records are left with no choice but to bear the burden of high interest payments.

The three useful tips described above can help you figure out a budget friendly new car payment. It would be better to look for other useful tips to add up to these three. Car payment should as much as possible be budget friendly.

How good are you at keeping up your car’s records

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Hey guess what? As much as we are changing and rolling into the electronic age, I’ll bet your glove box is filled with receipts from oil changes, tune-ups, tire rotations and who else knows what. Or even better, you cram them in a cardboard box in your garage. Let’s face it, it’s probably about time to get rid of your maintenance receipt receptacle in lieu of something a little more organized and up to date.

I’ll be the first to admit that keeping records of automotive repair and maintenance is a chore few of us relish, but keeping organized files can save you and your mechanic time and grief down the road. Essentially, these records are your car’s medical records; it’s important to be able to present these to your auto technician, so they know how to diagnose and “treat” your vehicle! Especially if you are changing workshops. Whether they’re oil change records or transmission repair receipts, it’s a good idea to keep all these records together. Things like having a record of the last timing belt replacement can save you unnecessary maintenance costs, but they can also save you from breakdowns due to overdue maintenance.

Of course, this is a modern age and you’ll probably find it easier to have everything at hand on your computer. In fact, there are many software programs you can get to keep track of your car’s maintenance and repair schedules. Lonewolf Software is one good option, and so is MTCPro. Even working off of a simple Excel spreadsheet will be a lot easier than pulling your latest maintenance reports apart because of the gum you left in your glove box.

Want to keep all your papers together in the glove box? Take a look at the video:

The bottom line is, the better the records you keep the better your car can be serviced whereby making you a much happier driver…and giving Freeman Grapevine the chance to follow the paper trail of service which will help us nail down any repairs you might need.

 

North Texas Weather and Driving: What you Need to Know

Safe Driving, Tips and HInts, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Living in Texas and specifically, the DFW area, we are prone to violent and often times destructive weather. This can happen almost any month during the year, but when Fall rolls around the mixture of warmer rising air colliding with colder air is a prime atmosphere for generating torrential downpours and the ever dreaded…TORNADO!

There are a few things to know when stuck out in these conditions. I’ve been caught in 3 tornado conditions when driving and each was more terrifying than the rest. Kind of like this guy. This video was taken the weekend of October 24th, 2010.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5gzVE5wlkA

According to cnn: Authorities in northeast Texas were assessing damage Monday morning after a tornado destroyed homes, knocked train cars off their tracks and injured at least four people.

Five homes in Rice, Texas, were destroyed as 125 mph winds whipped through a seven-mile swath of Navarro County Sunday evening, said Eric Meyers, the county’s emergency management coordinator.

Meyers rode out the tornado inside a vehicle and videotaped the twister as it tore the roof off a school about a block away.



“The sheer power was just amazing,” Meyers said in an interview Monday on CNN’s “American Morning” program.
If you are in your car, find shelter immediately.
Here are some of the things that people describe when they tell about a tornado experience:

  • A sickly greenish or greenish black color to the sky.
  • If there is a watch or warning posted, then the fall of hail should be considered as a real danger sign. Hail can be common in some areas, however, and usually has no tornadic activity along with it.
  • A strange quiet that occurs within or shortly after the thunderstorm.
  • Clouds moving by very fast, especially in a rotating pattern or converging toward one area of the sky.
  • A sound a little like a waterfall or rushing air at first, but turning into a roar as it comes closer. The sound of a tornado has been likened to that of both railroad trains and jets.
  • Debris dropping from the sky.
  • An obvious “funnel-shaped” cloud that is rotating, or debris such as branches or leaves being pulled upwards, even if no funnel cloud is visible.
If you see a tornado and it is not moving to the right or to the left relative to trees or power poles in the distance, it may be moving towards you! Remember that although tornadoes usually move from southwest to northeast, they also move towards the east, the southeast, the north, and even northwest.
Finally, if you are in a car, and you can see a tornado forming or approaching, you should leave the car and take shelter as above. You may think you can escape from the tornado by driving away from it, butyou can’t know what you may be driving into! A tornado can blow a car off a road, pick a car up and hurl it, or tumble a car over and over. Many people have been killed in cars while they were trying to outrun the tornado, and although it is sometimes possible to escape, it is generally not a good idea.
An underpass may seem like a safe place, but may not be. While videos show people surviving under an underpass, those tornadoes have been weak. No one knows how survivable an underpass is in a strong or violent tornado. The debris flying under the underpass could be very deadly… head for a ditch.
Also, if you have encountered any hail damage from a recent storm, bring it by and Freeman Grapevine will  help get those dings out.

How To Keep Your Kids Entertained and Keep Your Sanity

Just for Fun, Tips and HInts, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The summer is upon us and so are road trips.  While vacations are fun, getting to your destination may not always be enjoyable.  Whether you are going near or far  you will most likely hear, “Are we there yet?”  Luckily, I know a few ways to keep the kids entertained.

  • Movies!  If your Buick/GMC didn’t come with an in-car entertainment system, invest in a portable DVD player and few pairs of headphones.  The kids will love watching their favorite movie for a few hours and you will love the silence from the backseat!
  • Hit the library up before you go.  For a free mode of entertainment take your kids to the library the day before you leave and let them pick out a few books to bring on the trip.
  • Have an in-car scavenger hunt.  Make the kids a list of things to look for as you drive.  Examples: a red car, a license plate from another state, a horse, a pink flower, anything you might see as you drive.
  • Pack trivia cards. Each kid can take turns reading a card and guessing the answer.
  • Always pack music.  Even though the Barney sing-a-long may not be your favorite music, let the kids have 20 or 30 minutes of their favorite music.
  • Zitch-dog!  Every time someone sees a dog they yell zitch-dog! The person who sees the most dogs first wins a prize at the end of the trip.

Do you have any other suggestions for keeping kids entertained?

Driving In Snow And On Ice In Texas

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Driving in snow and on ice in Texas isn’t necessarily an experience we get every year, but when we do, we generally react the same>>>SNOW!!! PANIC!!! When we only have the opportunity to test your driving skills in this type of inclimate weather, if we’re lucky, just a few times a year, so it’s always a bit of a shock when you have to drive in it again.

Your best bet for surviving our sporadic winter weather and snowfall is just stay home, but if that isn’t an option, you are going to need a refresher course on what you should and should not do when driving on snow and ice.

Here’s a refresher course for the southerner driving on the unfamiliar snow and ice packed roads of Texas:

What are some of the paramount things you should do when confronted with driving in snow?

  1. watch your speed
  2. don’t make any sudden movements (over-braking, over-steering, over-acceleration)
  3. wear your seat belt
  4. stay home if at all possible

This week we had our first snow of the year. It very well could be our only snow of the year, but if it isn’t, at least now you’ve had a quick little refresher course. Just remember to keep your speed down and your braking light. The ice and snow tend to amplify any moves you make and can make a mistake even worse. Also, be aware that not all ice is necessarily visible, so be very careful, the time for guessing about road conditions certainly isn’t when you are trying to navigate treacherous interstates, highways, streets and roads.

If you have any questions or comments about driving in the snow in Texas, don’t hesitate to post them or call your local Buick GMC dealer, Freeman Grapevine, for advice or service.

 

Your Tires Are Sucking Your Bank Account Dry

Tips and HInts, , , , , , , ,

Alright, maybe not “dry”, but they could really be affecting your MPG. It’s no secret. The tires you choose to put on your Dallas GMC could be affecting your fuel economy. Larger rims, low pressure tires, it doesn’t matter, if your tires aren’t inflated to the proper PSI, you’re just burning fuel and ruining your tires.

If you choose to spend big bucks on your tires, you should take as good of care of them as your can, right? I ran across a story in Consumer Reports that I thought I should share with you.

Your car’s tires can play an important role in helping you get the best gas mileage and save money at the pump. Checking tire pressure regularly is one step toward optimum fuel economy, but your choice of tires can also help.

Automakers often specify low-rolling-resistance tires as original equipment to enhance vehicle performance in government fuel-economy tests. But replacement tires are not limited by any vehicle manufacturer’s requirements, and attributes such as all-season grip and tread life are big selling points. In the past, consumers often had to weigh a trade-off between low rolling resistance and other performance capabilities, such as wet braking. But in recent years, tire manufacturers have been achieving a better balance of rolling resistance and all-weather grip.

Consumer Reports recently tested a few all-season tire models with low rolling resistance and found that those tires can improve fuel economy by an additional one or two mpg. The reward for replacing a less-optimum tire can be a payback covering most of the cost of the new tires over their lifetime in fuel savings. Moreover, you generally don’t have to pay more to get a tire with better rolling resistance.

Here are some additional tips for getting the most fuel economy from your tires:

  • Keep your tires properly inflated. (A label on the driver’s doorjamb tells you the correct pressures to use.)
  • Check inflation pressure at least monthly; do this when the tires are cool.
  • If you were happy with the tires that came with the car when it was new, consider replacing them with an identical set. Low rolling resistance is a common trait of original-equipment tires.
  • Before buying replacement tires, check Consumer Reports’ Ratings for tires that excel in overall performance and use rolling resistance as tie-breaker

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YneL_hECRo0&feature=player_embedded

If you ever have any questions regarding your tires, or more importantly, “the feel” of your car, call us at Freeman Grapevine, and we’ll be happy to assist you.