Blog

Air filters are designed to trap dust, pollen and other particles that enter your vehicle's engine or cabin area. When they are working properly, air filters ensure that you have clean air to breathe while going to work or school. They also ensure that debris doesn't clog vital engine parts or cause damage to exterior surfaces.

Generally speaking, a clean air filter will be white or beige while a dirty air filter will be a dark black or brown. In most cases, you can expect an air filter to last for about a year depending on the conditions…

Are you familiar with jump starting cars? Could you do it safely if a neighbor asked? Read today's blog post from Perkins Motor Plex to make sure.

Start with your battery close to the other car's battery, and turn off your car. Put each car in Park or Neutral, and engage each car's handbrake. Find your positive jumper cable, and clamp one end to the other car's positive battery terminal. Next, connect that cable to your positive terminal. Staying at your battery, connect your negative cable and terminal.

There's nothing worse than driving down the road one second, and the next second your vehicle has smoke coming out from under the hood. Your temperature gauge on your dashboard shows that your vehicle is overheating. A few seconds ago everything was fine. What could possible have gone wrong? There are a number of reasons why a vehicle might overheat.

If you have a leak in your cooling system, this will result in air being able to work itself into the system. An airlock occurs when the air rises to the top of the cooling system...

Brake pads are an important part of the braking system and the part that needs to be replaced most frequently.

What Are Brake Pads?

Brake pads are a metallic piece located on each side of the spinning brake discs. When the driver presses down on the brake pedal the brake pads are pressed into the discs by the brake calipers causing the vehicle to come to a complete stop.

At our dealership, we want you to make the most informed decision when it comes to your next vehicle purchase. So what's the difference between front-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive?

Rear-Wheel Drive

Rear-wheel drive cars use the rear wheels for power. This means that the rear wheels are what spin when you press your foot on the gas. The advantages of driving with rear-wheel power are that usually rear-wheel drive cars steer better and are generally more powerful.

Front-Wheel Drive

Front-wheel drive is when the front wheels power the vehicle.

Problems with a car's starter bring about several annoying hassles. Don't think the problem can't be fixed, though. Addressing starter issues won't begin until you realize there's a problem. Here are some of the common signs of a troubled ignition system that you may want to consider:

• Oil drips
• Smoke
• Grinding/whining noise
• ...and more 

Oil leaks present frightening problems by themselves. The dripping fluid can cause further woes if it pours onto the starter. That's one of the less obvious ignition system issues you might experience.  

When dealing with tires, there are actually many different types of tires that you can buy and that come standard with your vehicle. The type of tire that you have provides a lot of influence on many different factors of your car's maintenance schedule, such as how - and how often - you need to rotate your tires to preserve tread life.

For directional and high performance tires, you are going to have to use a special type of rotation to optimize tread wear. This rotational strategy is known as the side-to-side rotation.  

If you ask kids what their favorite holidays are, Halloween is almost certain to be on the list. A good number of kids celebrate Halloween by taking to their neighborhoods to trick-or-treat. As a result, if you will be driving on Halloween, there are some tips to employ to keep kids safe.

Above all else, when driving on Halloween when kids are trick-or-treating, slow down. Take extra care and drive at least five miles below the posted speed limit in a residential area. 

When is the best time to go on a leaf-peeping road trip? Experts say it depends on where you are looking to see the change in seasons with fall foliage. For those who want to go up north in New England, the best time is between late September and early October for northern Vermont, northern New Hampshire, and Maine. You can take a road trip down Route 100 to see leaves changing currently.

However, there’s a new app out by Yankee magazine that promises to tell you when the leaves are changing throughout New England.  

You often hear automotive terms mentioned, but most drivers don't really know what they are. An alternator is the real power behind the things you use in your car, like your radio, climate control system, or interior lights. When it fails, your car may not start at all.

Often confused with your battery, the alternator is actually what charges your battery. As your engine runs, spinning wheels generate electricity in your alternator, which can be used for a variety of things.