Preparing for a long vacation drive starts well before you actually get behind the wheel, and even if you’re not taking a driving vacation this year, you should take the same steps at the beginning of a new season to make sure your vehicle is truly road-worthy.
Any kind of breakdown or other issue while traveling is a much greater hassle to repair when you’re far from home, and don’t have access to your trusted repair shop. In fact, you might be held up for quite a while, waiting for a local mechanic to make needed repairs to your vehicle, depending on their workload for that day. That’s if you are lucky – and can have your car towed to a shop right away.
An Inspection is Easy. It’s Free. And It’s Smart.
If you make an appointment to bring your car in for an inspection, we won’t charge you a penny. We’ll check all of your fluids and some other key aspects of your vehicle’s maintenance requirements, including:
- Tire pressure
- Fluids
- Electrical and lighting components
When we check the tire pressure we will also check the basic overall condition of the tires, to ensure that there is no excessive wear, and that you have adequate tread for gripping the road – bald tires are an accident waiting to happen. The tire pressure will also be set to the manufacturer’s specifications, to ensure that you aren’t over or under-inflated. Next, all your lights will be inspected to make sure they’re performing as needed, and that none of the bulbs are burned out. We will check your high and low beam headlights, backup lights, parking lights, emergency flashers, brake lights, and license plate lights.
Then attention will turn to what’s under your hood. Hoses will be examined for signs of wear or cracking, and any leaks which might be present. The serpentine belt, which drives multiple devices under the hood, will be reviewed for cracking, looseness, or any other signs of wear. Then the fluid levels will be checked for a whole slew of mechanisms, including your brake fluid, transmission fluid, windshield wiper fluid, power steering fluid, coolant, and engine oil. All these fluids are critical for proper operation of your vehicle, and you won’t want to come up short of any one of them on a long drive.
Your vehicle’s wiper blades will also be inspected, to make sure they’re in good operating condition. You won’t want to find out while driving in a rainstorm that your wipers leave streaks across the windshield, which can make driving hazardous. They’ll be checked to make sure they’re securely fastened, and that they are in good condition to keep your windshield clear for safe driving. If there’s any damage to your windshield such as a crack, this will also be brought to your attention, because small cracks have a way of walking all the way across your windshield and interfering with good driving vision.
Brakes, Suspension, Exhaust Inspections, Tire Rotations
We can also check other car systems during this inspection as well. We can check brake systems, suspension, exhaust, and anything else on your vehicle. These components do not fall within our free inspection services, and there is a small fee for this. We do recommend it as long as you are getting the rest of your vehicle checked. In some cases, however, customers tend to have these components checked by a local tire shop so we do not include this in our default inspection list.
More benefits from vehicle inspections
Perhaps the biggest benefit of all which comes from having your vehicle inspected before a road trip, is the peace of mind you’ll get from having it done. When you have Prescott Import Car take a close look at your car’s most important operating systems, you’ll feel much safer being on the road for an extended drive, because you’ll know the car should be up to the task.
You’ll also know that there are no obvious shortcomings among the major systems on your vehicle. Of course, some kind of freak occurrence would still be possible, but you’ll feel good about having done all you could do to ensure that your vehicle is either ready for a new season of driving, or it’s ready to tackle that cross-country trip to see your relatives.
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We look forward to serving you.
