It is easy to forget unless you are looking under the hood, but the average car has thousands and thousands of moving parts, fluids transferring from place to place, and all kinds of other aspects vulnerable to regular wear and tear. That is why it is essential to stay up-to-date on your car’s regular preventative maintenance.
“Too often, people wait to come in until something breaks,” said Neil Seely, Service Advisor at Levin Tire & Service Center in Crown Point. “Then you get the chain effect, and more things start going totally wrong. It’ll save you money and time in the long run to do your maintenance from the beginning.”
Any time you bring your vehicle into Levin Tire & Service Center, be it for a simple oil change or a tire swap, they perform a free and comprehensive inspection.
“We check your belts, hoses, battery, brakes, and everything else,” he said. “We take what we see, we check what the manufacturer recommends, and let the customer know what their options are.”
Northwest Indiana is a unique environment where cars suffer through a hot summer and a harsh winter. With the season changing, Seely called attention to a few things that are especially important to check before the weather gets too cold.
“Around here, we see it go down below zero and driving in that weather does wear and tear a lot of stuff,” he said. “You need to check the coolants on your vehicle; sometimes people add water and if you’ve done that it could freeze the block up come winter. Same thing with the radiator or wiper fluid. Then you could be caught in the snow without even being able to clean your windows.”
Levin Tire & Service have a number of ways to help prepare your vehicle for the winter. One of the simplest ways they can protect you is with freeze-resistant fluids. They also check that your battery can stand the winter, as it is all too common for people to find themselves stranded after a battery dies in the cold.
“One day you might see that your battery seems fine while you’re going to the store, but you come out from the store, and it’s totally dead,” he said. “That battery isn’t going to say ‘I’m good or bad’ unless you have it checked. Winter is really rough on batteries, because once it’s cold, it takes a lot of cold crank amps to start your vehicle. That’s the worst--to be stranded out during the winter because your car won’t start.”
They can also equip your vehicle with Goodyear’s WeatherReady All Season Tires, which offer a strong grip on snowy roads without the need to swap them out like you would a snow tire once the season changes.
“You can drive on them all year round. You don’t need to swap them out in the spring,” he said. “They’re going to give you the best traction in the winter, summer, spring, and fall, even in our rough seasons.”
To learn more about Levin Tire & Service Center, visit https://levintirecenter.com/.
