Car Tire Maintenance
For most regular folks who own an automobile, regular scheduled maintenance of their vehicle’s tires doesn’t usually come to mind. However, keeping an eye on your tires is extremely important, not just for safety but also to save money. With regular monitoring and maintenance of your tires, you can increase their lifespan and purchase fewer tires over the life of your car.
In regard to automobile part longevity, your tires are one of the major components you want to monitor on a regular basis, and this is fairly easy to do once you know how. Unlike some other aspects of your vehicle that you may need to consult Budget Brakes on, you don’t have to search very far to find the pertinent information about your car’s tires. In fact, the government now mandates such information to be printed right on the tire itself, on their sides.
First and foremost, you’ll want to keep your tires inflated at the recommended pressure. It has been estimated that keeping your tires at their optimal inflation level can result in a 3.3 percent increase in fuel efficiency. Tire gauges are fairly inexpensive and can be found at Budget Brakes at reasonable prices. To find the optimal pressure, simply check the sides of the tires or check the owner’s manual. Remember to only measure tire pressure at times the tire is “cold,” meaning when you haven’t driven on them for a few hours.
Another aspect of maintenance for your tires that is easily forgotten is to routinely rotate your tires about every 5,000 to 8,000 miles. Rotating your tires allows the tread to wear evenly so that you can increase its efficiency as well as its lifespan. Rotating tires are simple enough but if you want to make sure it is done correctly, the people at Budget Brakes will happily assist you.
Doing simple maintenance checks like these will ensure that you get the most out of your vehicle, the least out of your wallet, and, most importantly, ensure the safety of you and your loved ones.

Budget Brakes: Car Engine Maintenance

According to experts at Budget Brakes, the most important factor in keeping your car in great running shape and avoiding costly repairs is following a good maintenance schedule. This can make the difference between having your engine run for hundreds of thousands of miles without any issues and having it break down after a relatively low number of miles.
If you are unsure of what maintenance schedule you must follow, experts at Budget Brakes strongly advise you to read your vehicle owner’s manual. This will inform you on the things that need to be serviced on a regular basis. Generally you need to keep all your fluids (e.g. oil, coolant, transmission fluid) clean and topped up.
As most of us already know, regular oil changes are the number one way of making sure your engine will be in good condition for a very long time. You also need to service or replace brakes, timing belt, spark plugs, etc. in a timely manner and check your tire pressure regularly.
Avoiding overheating the engine is also an extremely important way of making sure your engine stays in great shape. Preventing corrosion by not leaving the car in high humidity environments for long periods of time is also strongly recommended by Budget Brakes.
Another important suggestion is making sure to warm up the engine regularly by taking sufficiently long trips at intervals. Budget Brakes specialists strongly recommend dealing with small problems early, as they arise, in order to prevent them from getting worse, which may lead to serious engine issues and costly repairs in the future.

Budget Brakes: Car Brake Maintenance

Budget Brakes is concerned for the safety of your driving, helping you stay informed on properly maintaining and scheduling your brake maintenance. Budget Brakes reminds you that the age of your car and driving habits can play a major role in its performance. Temperature can affect how quickly our brake pads last, with cold weather causing them to wear out quickly.
Driving habits matter too. Some people tend to have a lead foot, and, depending on how hard and often a driver slams on the brakes, your brakes may wear out quickly or last a year or more.
Monitoring your brake fluid is a very important part of having your brakes last longer. It is wise to check your brake fluid once a month, noticing when the fluid is becoming darker in color. Dark brake fluids should be flushed and replaced. Budget Brakes would recommend that, on average, you should have your brakes, fluids, rotators, and calipers checked professionally.
Budget Brakes knows that feeling safe is of the utmost important while driving with friends or family. Keeping up with your brake maintenance schedule can help protect you and save you unwanted costs.

Budget Brakes: Car Transmission Maintenance

In today’s world of futuristic, well everything, transportation has evolved to a complicated, yet convenient, solution to travel. From cars, to planes, to motorcycles, automobiles have become a daily part of our lives. Cars are something that almost everyone uses (my condolences to the Amish), and while everyone may have a car, not everyone knows how to take care of one. No matter where you bought your car, or how long ago, learning to maintain your vehicle is important. And at Budget Brakes, you can keep your expensive and useful investment running well with the utmost high quality of care.
Budget Brakes cares about your car as much as you do, so show your investment that it deserves to be taken care of while saving yourself some money on the way. Most transmission failures result because of lack of care, not enough fluids, etc. People who haul heavy things and people who live in what Budget Brakes might refer to as “severe weather conditions” should change their fluids more often than those who don’t.
Replacing or repairing a transmission can be one of the costliest repairs on your car, so if you would like to keep that cash in your pocket and keep your car happy, just remember to replace your fluids regularly! To check when you should replace your transmission fluid, check with your vehicle manufacturer.

Budget Brakes Safe Driving: Driving in Heavy Rain

Budget Brakes has put together some tips to help you drive safely in heavy rain. Heavy rain can both reduce your visibility and make your car harder to control.
• Slowing down enhances your visibility, makes it easier to brake, and encourages other motorists around you to slow down.
• Use your headlights so that other drivers can see you.
• Maintain at least three seconds of space between you and the car ahead of you by tracking when they pass a point on the road and counting to three before passing it yourself.
• Replace old wiper blades at least once a year.
• Never drive through water if you can’t see the ground through it. You can easily flood your engine, ruin your electrical system, or be swept off the road by driving through water that is deeper than the bottom of your car’s frame.
• Get your brakes checked at least once a year at Budget Brakes.
Driving in wet weather requires a gentle application of accelerator, brakes, clutch, and steering. Budget Brakes hopes these driving tips will keep you and your family safe during inclement weather.

Budget Brakes Safe Driving: Driving in the Snow

Driving in the snow is common for customers in the northern part of the United States, but many people from the South or coasts have never driven in snow. Driving in snow requires more stable acceleration and turning, as your car is prone to sliding across the road due to reduced friction. Budget Brakes has put together a list of tips that will help you drive safely in the snow.
• Driving after the snow plows have cleared the streets is far safer than driving before the plows and rock salt.
• Brake and accelerate gently to avoid skidding and sliding.
• Do not use the accelerator or brake while you are turning.
Correcting from skidding wheels or hydroplaning is instinctual. If possible, practice winter driving in a snowy open parking lot to learn how your car handles. It’s a lot of fun to practice sliding and correcting from slides and it can keep you safe if you ever encounter an icy patch on the road.

Budget Brakes Safe Driving: Driving During Dust Storms

Parts of the world, including the Southwest United States, frequently experience long droughts which create the perfect conditions for dust storms. Dust storms can significantly reduce visibility and create a driving hazard. Budget Brakes has prepared several tips for driving during dust storms to help keep you and your family safe.
• Just park your car. Dust storms usually only last a couple of minutes, so you can afford to wait it out. The denser the dust storm, the more important it is that you pull as far off the road as possible.
• Turn OFF your lights and hazard lights while you are pulled over. Cars approaching from the rear might expect you to be traveling on the road and veer off the road and into your rear end.
• If you can’t pull off the road to park, occasionally use your horn to announce your presence to other cars around you. Use the painted lines on the right or center of the road to help guide you at a suitable speed until you can find a place to park.
Budget Brakes hopes your family stays safe while traveling in areas where dust storms are prone to strike.

Budget Brakes Safe Driving: Driving in Foggy Weather

Fog is a cloud that formed at ground level due to the temperature dropping to the dew point. Fog can significantly reduce visibility and create hazardous driving conditions. Budget Brakes has a few tips for drivers who often drive in the early morning, when fog is heaviest.
• Turn on your lights, but do not use your high beams, which will be reflected off the fog and reduce your visibility.
• Reduce your speed and keep an eye on the speedometer. Fog creates an illusion of traveling slower than you actually are.
• Open your windows to hear traffic that you cannot see.
• Use the markings on the right edge of the road as a guideline, as the white line is easier to see in foggy conditions than the yellow line.
• Pay attention to brake lights of vehicles around you, which are easier to see during heavy fog.
Following Budge Brakes’ driving tips during heavy fog can keep you and your family safe.

Budget Brakes Safety Reminder: Passenger Safety

Budget Brakes knows that traveling with passengers can be a lot of fun. Listening to the radio, joking around, or chatting can be mildly distracting at best and dangerous and risky at worst.

Budget Brakes wants to remind all customers that the only safe way to socialize in the car is calmly, with both eyes on the roar. Talking to passengers by facing them can endanger your life and your passenger's life. Blaring music on the radio and yelling can cause drivers to miss valuable auditory signals like car horns and emergency sirens.

Passengers can also be an ongoing distraction, even when behaving. They may ask you to change the radio (tell them to change it themselves), look at something on the wide of the road, or encourage you to make quick stops or turns ("Pull in here!"). Try to remember that you're in control of the car and responsible for their safety, and don't let passenger influence the way that you drive.

Budget Brakes cares for the safety of your family. Budget Brakes encourages drivers to be mindful of road safety, even when passengers might serve as a distraction. Budget Brakes also hopes that parents teach safe driving rules to teens, who are at a higher risk of erratic driving due to peer influence.

Budget Brakes Safety Reminder: Dealing with In-Car Distractions

Budget Brakes knows that some driving distractions are unavoidable. A spilled drink, rowdy children, or digging in a purse or bag for entry keycards can distract even safe drivers.

Still, the key to safe driving is keeping your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel. Having a passenger who is capable of handling distractions and allowing them to do so is the safest way to keep driving safely. If that's not possible, though, simply pull over and handle your distractions off the road.

Budget Brakes wants all of its customers to be safe while driving, but unavoidable driving distractions are common. Instead of trying to remedy the situation while driving, simply pull over. This advice applies equally well to handling emergency phone calls, food or drink spills, unruly children, and applying makeup. No arrival time is worth risking your life, your family's lives, and the lives of other drivers on the road in order to save a few minutes.

Budget Brakes Safety Reminder: Vanity Mirror Usage

Budget Brakes knows that getting ready in the morning often means rushing out the door without makeup or with other personal hygiene issues. At times, individuals are concerned with minor issues and choose to apply or fix makeup while driving. Budget Brakes does not encourage this distracting practice.

Not only is it dangerous, but its not effective. It is better to quickly apply makeup at home and be five minutes late than to risk your life and the life of others on the road. The amount of makeup that can be applied with one hand while driving is limited. Lipstick can be applied in seconds after parking; eyeliner in under a minute.

The use of the vanity mirror while parked at a stop light is the only safe in-car time to correct personal hygiene issues. Budget Brakes hopes that you and your family take driving distractions seriously in order to improve road safety for all road users.

Budget Brakes Safety Reminder: Texting While Driving

Budget Brakes cares about your safety. For this week's article, we are covering driving distractions like texting or talking on the phone while driving.

Budget Brakes strongly recommends that all cellular phones are put away while driving. Texting while driving is the fastest-growing cause of both fatalities and fender benders. Even sending short texts requires taking both your eyes and your hands off the wheel, delaying normal reaction time by up to half a second on average. It can also be a distraction that results in missed road signs or stoplights.

Even talking while driving can be dangerous. Holding a phone can lead to loss of control, and using earbuds while driving can block important aural information like the sound of a car engine from a passing car, emergency siren, or horn. The safest way to use a phone in the car is with a hands-free system, but in a pinch, use the speakerphone and keep the phone in the console.

Budget Brakes hopes that you and your family are serious about enforcing driving rules, especially with teens, the demographic at the greatest risk of accidents while texting.

Leaving Children Behind in Cars

Budget Brakes is here to protect your family. That's why we want to remind you of the "zero second" rule for leaving children unattended in cars. Budget Brakes firmly believes that, for their safety, children should never be left alone, unattended, for any reason.
In 2009, non-profit organization Harrison's Hope documented 789 children left unattended in or around cars and 146 children who lost their lives in these incidents. Budget Brakes encourages parents to realize that these deaths are not accidental, they are neglectful. If every parent put forth the effort required to unbuckle a car seat and carry his or her child inside for a two-minute trip to the ATM or convenience store, hundreds of children's lives would be saved every year.
KidsAndCars.org, an advocacy organization, also recommends two crucial car habits to avoid accidentally leaving a child behind.
• Keep something you'll need for work in the back seat of the car, like a cell phone or employee badge.
• Keep a large teddy bear in the child's car seat when it is not occupied and in the passenger's seat of the car when the child is occupying the car seat. This serves as a visual reminder that the child is in the back.
The next time you consider leaving your child in the car, Budget Brakes hopes that you remember the zero second rule: a child should never spend time alone in a car for any reason.

Car Seat Safety

Budget Brakes wants to remind every parent of the value of car seats from the time a child is born until they are eight or nine years old. Car seats are vital to protecting your loved ones in the event of an accident.
The most important thing you can check on a car seat is whether or not your child is securely seated in the car seat. The key is to make the seat belts as tight as they can be so that the child stays secure in an accident. Car seat manufacturers make optional ratchet-style adjustments to be fixed to the car seat belts to tighten the belts to the optimum level.
Older children should have booster car seats, as well. As an adult, riding in a car places the edge of the seat in line with the knee. Children, however, with shorter legs, often find that their legs stick straight out. Without a booster seat, an accident that causes the car to compact would also crush a child's legs. A booster seat also prevents the seatbelt from crossing the neck, instead, placing it firmly across the shoulder as it was designed.
Budget Brakes hopes every parent realizes the value of proper car seat use.

How to Keep Your Family Safe on Road Trips

Budget Brakes cares about your family's continued safety. Before leaving on your next road trip, be sure to stop by and have your brakes inspected at Budget Brakes. Here are some other things to remember before starting a road trip.

Check your windshield wipers and wiper fluid. New wipers are a small investment and they can make driving in inclement weather much safer.

Check the oil in the car for both color and depth. Oil should come up to the “Full” line on the dipstick and be clear or tan. If you are within 1000 miles of a scheduled oil change, or if the oil is dark brown or black, change the oil.

Check the other fluids, like transmission fluid, radiator fluid, and freon. Most new cars do not leak these fluids, but older cars have issues and should be checked regularly.

Check your tires for air pressure and tread. If necessary rotate, or even change, your tires before traveling. If you are headed to a snowy region, change into snow tires.

Finally, be sure to come by Budget Brakes for a brake inspection to ensure that your brakes are operating at peak efficiency for your safety.

What Your Teen Needs To Know About Driving

Budget Brakes cares about the safety of you and your family, that's why this series of Budget Brakes articles is devoted to keeping your family safe while driving. This article discusses things your older teen going off to college needs to know.

Stay off the phone while driving. Any distraction that takes your mind off driving increases the risk of having an accident. This includes eating, talking on the phone, or rubbernecking at accidents.
Learn the new state laws. If your child is going out of state, new laws may apply with regard to road rules, vehicle inspection, or parking. Make sure your teen has reviewed the new state's drivers handbook.
Keep your car maintained. Car maintenance is often overlooked by young drivers or busy individuals. College students fall into both categories, so take extra care to remind them of scheduled maintenance.
No drinking and driving. Drinking often makes smart people do dumb things like drive. Even your college student may make bad decisions. Be sure to remind them that cabs and designated drivers are always available, and are only a phone call away.

Budget Brakes hopes these tips helps your teen stay safe while they are at college.

Budget Brakes Used Car Tips: Check the Suspension

Budget Brakes' encourages customers to thoroughly check a used car's suspension and not overlook bumpiness, even in older cars.

First, visually inspect the car to see if it is sitting higher in the front or back. If so, the springs could be worn. Next, check the shocks by pressing down on the bumper in both the front and back. The car should bounce up and down only once. If the car bounces easily or multiple times, have a mechanic inspect the shocks and struts for wear.

When test driving the vehicle, pay particular attention to stability, traction, alignment, and comfort. A vehicle that pulls either to the right or left is either out of alignment or has uneven tires. The vehicle should feel tight, responsive, and not shake.

Budget Brakes wants to remind used car buyers that the suspension, shocks, and struts are often overlooked parts of a purchase, but they can be as costly as an engine or transmission repair. If you have any doubts about the car, Budget Brakes recommends that you see a mechanic before purchasing.

Budget Brakes Used Car Tips: Check the Engine

Budget Brakes encourages its customers to do a full examination of a used car before purchase, including checking the engine for frequent problems on high-mileage cars.

First, Budget Brakes reminds customers to check the oil before starting a test drive. Oil should be tan or brown, but not black. Additionally, check the date of the oil change on the inside window of the car. If the oil was changed recently, be sure to check the oil again after a test drive as well, as there could be serious engine problems that are being covered up by the owner.

During your test drive, listen for knocking or ticking sounds. Additionally, after the test drive is over and the car is parked, race the engine a couple of times and listen again. Knocking and ticking sounds inside the engine mean costly repairs.

Budget Brakes' technicians are savvy mechanics, and they hope these tips will help used car buyers avoid finding themselves stuck with a lemon.

Budget Brakes Used Car Tips: Check The Interior

Budget Brakes' friendly technicians have another tip for purchasing a used car. Check for interior wear to see how often, and how hard, a used car was driven.

First, Budget Brakes recommends inspecting the interior of the car for any signs of leaks, particularly along windows, doors, and sunroofs. Spraying the car with a water hose can help avoid costly new seals.

Next, examine the brake pedal pad for signs that the pad has worn through to the metal underneath. Stop-and-go driving or heavy braking can age a car faster than cruising along at highway speeds.

Finally, take a look at the dashboard to find signs of tampering. Odometer readings can be reset by removing the instrument panel. Fingerprints or scratches inside the plastic cover and misaligned numbers are two common errors made by amateur mechanics.
We hope all of our customers are now aware of common used car problems. This is just another example of Budget Brakes' commitment to customer service.

Budget Brakes Used Car Tips: Check the Transmission

As a part of Budget Brakes' commitment to its customers' automotive health and safety, this series of tips will teach Budget Brakes customers what to look for when considering whether or not to buy a used automobile.

Transmission repair or replacement is one of the most expensive automotive maladies. Doing a full check on the transmission can ensure that any obvious problems will become apparent before the purchase is made. First, Budget Brakes recommends referring to the owner's manual for directions on checking the transmission fluid. The fluid should be a shade of pink or red.

If the fluid is brown, black, or smells burnt, this can indicate internal transmission damage. Next, Budget Brakes recommends taking the car for a test drive. Pay particular attention to any whining noises during shifting as well as any delays or a sliding feel when shifting between gears. The transmission should firmly and noticeably engage each gear including park, reverse, and the first couple of gears.

Budget Brakes hopes every customer considering purchasing a used car follows these free tips from your helpful auto technicians at Budget Brakes.