Maumee Auto Repair

Buying a new car in Maumee is always a big financial decision. The allure of that new car smell is powerful, to be sure. But what if your current car is still in good shape? How do you decide?People in Maumee who've been used to driving a new car every three to five years may be having second thoughts in this economy. For many, the question is, how does the certainty of a new car payment stack up against uncertain repairs for a car that may be out of warranty?For purposes of our discussion, let's assume you live right here in Maumee and have a five year old vehicle. It's now paid off. If you keep it, you fear that there'll be some repairs over the next five years, but you really don't know what to expect. For help we turned to maintenance and repair information for cars and trucks. With this data, they project likely service and repair costs for a particular make and model. They're able to use manufacturer's maintenance sch ... read more

About 90% of our driving decisions in the Maumee area are based solely on what we see. So having a good pair of windshield wipers is extremely important.Most Maumee drivers have experienced the frustration and fear of not being able to see clearly during a storm, or when our vehicle windshield is just dirty. In fact, it's estimated that 46,000,000 drivers across the nation are driving with wipers that can't adequately clear their windshield in a storm.It seems like our wiper blades are always at their worst when we need them the most. If that sounds like you, you've got plenty of company in the Maumee area. 78% of drivers only change their wiper blades after the blades function so poorly that they become a safety hazard.Maumee drivers need to change their thinking. Instead of blades being something to replace when they fail, we need to consider wiper blades as vehicle safety component. Then we'll stay ahead of the storm.Maumee ve ... read more

People from Maumee OH love their cars. And nothing goes with cars better than a road trip. Freedom from daily schedules, new sights and the open road – it's great! But there's nothing like car trouble to bring the fun to a grinding halt. Now you can't always avoid problems, but you can take steps to reduce the probability of getting sidelined on your trip. Let's look at some of the auto maintenance related problems you might encounter on a road trip and what you might do to avoid them. It all starts with a thorough trip inspection by your service professionals at Lange's Auto Care, Inc.. Let's talk about some of the items on the trip inspection checklist. The most common vehicle component to fail is the tires. Of course, you can't always avoid a road hazard that leads to a flat, but you may be able to head off some maintenance-connected tire problems. A good ... read more

If you're a quart low in your vehicle, there isn't enough motor oil to lubricate your engine properly. The extra friction causes drag that reduces fuel economy while you're driving around the Maumee area.The same goes for dirty oil; it doesn't reduce friction properly. The result is you get to watch those numbers at your local Maumee gas pump rolling higher and higher.The transmission also needs the proper amount of clean fluid to do its work. When it's in need of service, the transmission drags your fuel economy down.So keep it clean at Lange`s Auto Care, Inc.  and give yourself a fighting chance. Lange`s Auto Care, Inc. 825 Ford St Suite A Maumee, OH 43537 419-897-9988 http://www.langesauto.com

There's a segment of the Maumee area population that's not committed to proper vehicle maintenance. Now, the ignition system in your vehicle is electronic and controlled by the engine management computer. Spark plugs rarely get fouled and will last for as much as 100,000 miles (160,000 kilometers). So tune-ups used to force you in to Lange`s Auto Care, Inc. for service, and while you were there you just took care of whatever else was on the list.Also, in recent years, a large percentage of new vehicles in Maumee have been leased. These folks plan on turning the vehicle in after two or three years, so they haven't focused on the maintenance that helps a vehicle last longer.Given all that, what's the benefit to keeping up with factory scheduled maintenance? Well, your vehicle will perform better and return better fuel economy.Those benefits pay for themselves as they go along. The big plus is that major repairs are prev ... read more

  Hey Maumee area drivers, are your tires worn out? What is the standard for our OH streets? How can you tell on your vehicle?While there may be legal requirements for the Maumee area, there are safety concerns that go beyond meeting minimum replacement mandates.Two-thirty-seconds of an inch is the depth of the tire tread wear indicator bars that US law has required to be molded across all tires since August 1, 1968. When tires are worn so that this bar is visible, there's just 2/32 of an inch – 1.6 millimeters – of tread left. It's that level of wear that's been called into question recently.We're referring to the tread depth on a tire, it can't move surface water out of the way and you start to hydroplane.In a safety study, a section of a test track was flooded with a thin layer of water. If you laid a dime on the track, the water would be deep enough to surround the coin, but not enough to cover it.A car and a full-sized pick-up accelerated to 70 mile ... read more

Maumee drivers may have an alignment problem if their car drifts or pulls to one side, the steering wheel's off center, they notice uneven tire wear or the car doesn't feel like it handles right as they drive down Maumee, OH, streets and roads.When all of a vehicle's wheels are lined up exactly with each other, your wheels are in alignment. Running into potholes, smacking a curb or other objects around Maumee are great ways to knock a car out of alignment. Then one or more of your wheels start pulling in a slightly different direction and the problems begin.The team at Lange`s Auto Care, Inc. in Maumee wants you to know that driving for an extended time when your car is out of alignment causes your tires to wear unevenly and excessively. Sometimes the tire can be worn so badly that it will fail.At the very least, those who drive with wheels out of alignment will have to replace their tires sooner. You could end up with premature wear to your suspension system, which can be expensi ... read more

Lease? Or buy? It's always a tough question for residents in the Maumee area. But here are a few ideas that'll make the choice more clear. Either option gives you a choice of how you might finance your car. If you buy, you'll pay the full cost of the car, with maybe an initial down payment, then monthly payments on the balance that pays down the loan principal, and the finance charge. If you lease, you're financing the portion of the cost of the car that's used up during the term of the lease. When the lease is up, you return the car to your local Maumee area dealership. You'll pay some money upfront; fees, security deposit, first month's payment and maybe a capital reduction. The month payments include a depreciation cost and a finance charge. So how do you decide? First, how big a down payment can you make? A lease would require a smaller down. How much monthly payment can you afford? Again, lease payments will be much ... read more

Your vehicle is important to you, and keeping it running properly is important to your lifestyle. That's why you're smart enough to have it serviced regularly at Lange`s Auto Care, Inc. in Maumee. And even though it may just be routine maintenance, you want it done right by automotive professionals.It's also very important to your Maumee service center to keep you happy and on the road. You might be surprised at the amount of money our Maumee auto service center spends annually to make sure our friendly and knowledgeable technicians are properly trained.Lange`s Auto Care, Inc. offers a variety of automotive services for many kinds of vehicles. We need to be current on the latest techniques and parts so that we can give you quality service. Our Maumee service centers subscribe to data services that list the high quality parts and fluids recommended by your manufacturer.And each service has a checklist of standard procedures. Lange`s Auto Care, Inc. technicians follow these procedu ... read more

Today's report from Lange`s Auto Care, Inc. is on vehicle batteries, why they die and what we can do to lengthen their life. Most of us have had a dead battery at one time or another. In fact, it would be very unusual if you hadn't. You may be surprised to learn that only 30 percent of Maumee vehicle batteries last for 48 months.Now that's an average. How long a battery lasts depends on many factors. You may not know that one of the biggest factors is the temperature where you live and drive around in OH. You might suppose that cold weather was harder on batteries because it takes more power to crank a cold engine, but the opposite is actually true. For more information on your battery, please visit us:Lange`s Auto Care, Inc.825 Ford St Suite AMaumee, OH 43537419-897-9988 Batteries in very cold climates have a life expectancy of 51 months as opposed to 30 months in very warm climates. The reason is simple: batteries are chemically ... read more