How to Fix a Car

Everyone thinks an emergency won’t happen to them until it does.

An automobile is an incredible creation of science, and something most of us rely on every day. Unless you only use public transportation, of course. An automobile can also become a liability and even a weapon if precautions aren’t taken, and can cause catastrophic damage.

When an emergency occurs with your vehicle, do you have the right auto services prepared? Do you know the right steps to take? bizop.org regularly has interesting articles on the topic of business and can be useful in situations like this. Here are a few auto services you need to have ready to go in case of an automobile emergency.

Insurance

The most important reason why you need auto insurance is that, in a word, the law requires you to have it. If you are caught driving without auto insurance, you might face a hefty fine or perhaps time in jail depending on the severity of the offense.

Auto insurance laws in the United States safeguard people involved in accidents that were not their fault by making it mandatory in almost every state to have automobile insurance. These regulations make it mandatory for all drivers who have the potential to cause an accident to carry insurance that can pay for at least some of the costs associated with such an accident, including medical care and repairs. Car insurance requirements set by the state help ensure that drivers are able to take responsibility for the hazards that come with operating a motor vehicle.

Due to the financial stake that they have in the vehicle, auto lenders and lease companies will often require that you get auto insurance on a car that you buy or lease from them in order to safeguard their investment. Carefully read over your lending or leasing agreement, as the minimums that are required by the state do not necessarily align with the minimums that are mandated by the bank or dealer in a scenario involving lending or leasing. It is usual for these agreements to demand additional coverage on a car in order to properly protect the owner of the vehicle in the event that the vehicle is totally destroyed.

When you’re hit by someone else, you’ll be glad the government required them to have insurance.

If you’re hit by an uninsured driver, it may take you a long time to get the money you’re entitled to. In the meantime, you’re footing the bills for repairs, medical payments, and more — with both your credit score and your sanity on the line.

That’s why they call it liability coverage. The other driver is liable for damage to your car (property liability coverage) and your medical bills (bodily injury liability coverage).

Collision Repair

If your car has been in an accident requiring repair, not only do you need to get your car back to proper working order to live your life, but it’s usually against the law to drive with your vehicle in some form of disrepair. A car repair shop might have the tools and resources to fix small issues, but if you’ve been in a major accident, a collision repair center is what you’ll need.

It’s important to have a collision repair plan ready and in place, in case you find yourself in an accident. A collision repair facility will assess your damage and help you know whether it’s worth repairing the vehicle or simply declaring it totaled. This repair facility will triangulate with you and your insurance company, making sure that the right information is conveyed and everything is running smoothly from a financial standpoint.

In some cases, if you’re not found at fault for an accident, and your vehicle is totaled, the insurance company will pay you a claim while the collision repair company takes care of your vehicle. A collision repair company will have the tools and resources to repair everything from minor cosmetic damage to major body damage if they don’t declare your car to be totaled. Collision repairs can be expensive, but insurance and proper guidance from the facility can help guide you on what choices to make.

Towing and Road-Side Assistance

Emergency roadside assistance can be an invaluable help when you’ve been in an accident and have no way to transport yourself. Every city or town has at least one towing service that specializes in helping transport immobilized and stranded vehicles (and, usually, people!).

In the event that your car breaks down, roadside assistance can support you with a variety of issues, including changing a flat tire, jump-starting a dead battery, and changing a flat tire. In addition, the expense of emergency roadside services is covered, either in full or in part, by the plan.

The majority of auto insurance providers offer roadside assistance as an additional coverage option for an additional annual cost of $10 to $20. Drivers also have the option of obtaining coverage from their credit card company, the manufacturer of their vehicle, or an automobile club such as the AAA.

Brake Inspection

What’s the most important part of your vehicle? You might think it’s the ignition, the engine, or the wheels, and if you’re trying to get going, you’d definitely be right!

However, if your vehicle is already moving, there’s no part of your car more important than your brakes. If your car has trouble slowing down or can’t stop altogether due to bad brakes, this is a fatal issue, because you no longer are driving a car; you’re driving a weapon that weighs thousands of pounds!

The braking system is an essential component of any vehicle. Since they are in charge of maintaining our safety while we are driving, you have an obligation to maintain the brakes in a proper manner. Brakes that have not been inspected will not do their job as well, and driving a vehicle that has not been properly maintained regularly puts you and your family in danger.

A brake system inspection is an absolute must to ensure safe driving conditions and make the brake repair process easier. During a brake inspection the entire brake system is checked; this includes the following: the brake pedal, brake fluid, brake lines and hoses, and the brake assemblies (whether they are disc brakes or drum brakes). Parking brakes should also be checked at this time. Checking how your brake system is working starts with your brake pedal. There are three things to check when it comes to your brake pedal. The brake pedal’s height should be checked along with measuring free play and the brake pedal reserve distance. All of these measurements should be compared with the vehicle manufacturer’s specifications.

Windshield Repair

Your windshield is like your eyesight. If something isn’t working, you can’t see! Your windshield might be the most important part of your vehicle outside of your brakes, because it allows you to see the road. If your windshield is cracked and spreading, or covered in dirt, you can’t drive. It’s simple!

You might think that a simple crack in your windshield isn’t anything to worry about. Here’s why you’d be wrong.

Certain chips and cracks in the windshield can warrant a traffic ticket. This will end up being an additional cost on top of what you’ll need to pay for windshield repair or replacement.

While chip or crack repair is often inexpensive, this often isn’t the case when it comes to more intensive repair or replacement. The fact of the matter is, small and seemingly harmless chips and cracks often spread over time. The longer you wait to repair it, the more expensive it may end up being. You’ll want to repair versus replace whenever possible. Your wallet will thank you!

Safety starts with awareness on the road. And it’s hard to be fully aware of your surroundings when a chip or crack is impeding your line of vision. Even if the damage seems small, it can possibly lead to a dangerous blind spot. Don’t put your passengers in danger by ignoring easily avoidable risks.

Windshields are essential to absorb the impact of an auto accident. This directly affects the front seat airbags. Without the windshield properly absorbing the impact on the passenger airbags, the airbags may not work properly or effectively.

Windshields help protect passengers from outside forces, and this is especially true in severe car accident cases. A compromised buffer can lead to passengers being ejected from the vehicle through the windshield. This could potentially turn car crash injuries into car crash fatalities. Auto windshield repairs are essential!

Transmission Repair

Your local transmission repair shop is absolutely crucial for making sure your vehicles are in great shape. Some car owners learn the benefits of transmission service the “hard way.” They skip this essential care and end up with costly repairs or problems that could have so easily been avoided.

Whether you are an automatic or manual fan, there is no argument that transmission fluid degrades over time. This is due to one thing alone – heat. It heats up during your time behind the wheel and this causes it to begin to degrade and lose its viscosity. Since lubrication is its sole function, it is essential that you have regular auto maintenance that includes tracking the age of the fluid. We use different standards based on our knowledge, so ask us what amount of mileage you should change your fluid.

It prevents the system from being bogged down. Go ahead and skip just one transmission service and you will see the difference in performance. As the viscosity degrades, the fluid thickens and begins to take on a sludge-like texture that clogs the gears. The entire system will begin to deteriorate, which can have a negative impact on the engine and other components.

It lengthens the life of the car. One of the key benefits of transmission service is that it can often prolong the life of the vehicle. This is because the service does not just drain the fluid, but it can also track the condition of the seals and find if there are small leaks.

Check Engine Light

A check engine light diagnostic is a standard service at almost any car repair shop. This uses computer codes to interact with your engine to understand where in your vehicle an issue is occurring. There are some computers like this that can be privately bought as well.

No matter the issue, if your check engine light is on, your vehicle is trying to tell you something. It’s best not to ignore it.

How your check engine light comes on is important. If it comes on and stays on, this is an issue to look at right away, but not necessarily a fatal issue. If it comes on and blinks occasionally, this is cause for concern. If it comes on and is blinking fast, it’s time to pull your vehicle into the nearest parking lot and call Roadside Assistance. Never ignore your check engine light.

Attorney

It’s easy to think that you don’t need an auto accident attorney… until you do. If you’ve been in an accident and are dealing with an injury, negotiating with an insurance company and with the other party or parties can be an absolute nightmare. This is why it’s important to have the services of an auto accident attorney readily available.

Unlike you, an auto accident attorney spends each working hour of their week understanding the ins and outs of case law, vehicle issues, insurance companies, personal rights, medical issues, and so on. Having a great accident attorney retained and ready to go in case you find yourself in an unfortunate situation can be an absolute lifesaver.

An auto accident attorney will have the correct knowledge to help you navigate through the process of an accident and recovery. For example, any good auto accident attorney will tell you to never admit fault if you’ve been in an auto accident, especially if you don’t know all the facts.

When you’re in the heat of a difficult situation, it can be confusing to know which actions to take. This is why an auto accident attorney is vital to have at the ready.