Roadside Assistance Tips

The road can be a dangerous place.  We all take the necessary precautions to create a safe vessel for our daily commute, but in some cases, things are unavoidable.  If you have been the victim of a flat tire, or mechanical mishap, then you’ve experienced that lonely feeling.  You’re stuck on the side of the road, all of your contacts are either busy or too far away for contact, and you feel stranded. Alone.  Roadside assistance has created a safe haven for daily commuters.  It’s a great service that provides assistance to motorists whose vehicles have suffered a mechanical failure that is significant enough to leave them stranded.  In today’s blog, we provide some tips for getting through it.

The first thing you should do is call and establish with the operator what the problem is.  The call is then relayed to the tow driver or emergency officials.  By popping the hood to see what’s wrong or getting out and checking the damage, you can survey the problem.  This gives the officials a general idea of what to expect.  Please, take caution, if you feel as if you’re taking a chance, stay in your vehicle!!

The next thing to do is describe your location.  According to eHow: “Tell the operator where exactly you were driving and where you think you may be on the road. This will help the operator call the closest tow truck company or emergency medical services so that they can get to you as quickly as possible. Turning on your flashers or your headlights and, if you feel safe doing so, put out reflective triangles behind your car to help the tow truck driver find you in a shorter amount of time.”

Information!  Information!  Information! Always keep a copy of all the info you would need for roadside assistance.  One should be in your wallet or purse, while the other should be easily accessible in your vehicle.  This should include the numbers that you would need for the operator, expiration date, and other details.

These are just a few tips for you guys to check out…feel free to comment!

Keeping the Shine: Waxing Your Vehicle

Let your new car shine live on! Check out this video of how to wax your vehicle.

The Dangers of Eating While Driving

We all do it. Whether it’s on our way to work or home from a long day at the office, we all eat in our cars. From bagels to tacos, we’ll eat what we’re in the mood for. But are some foods more dangerous to eat while drive?

Here’s a list of the top foods which Audi Coral Springs finds to be the most danger to eat while driving. The messier, the more dangerous.

Chinese Food:

This cuisine speaks for itself. The combination of holding the white and red to go box between your legs, using chopsticks to shovel food into your mouth and the needed eye contact to make sure food doesn’t land on your clothing, is the perfect recipe for disaster.

Meatball Sub:

The fact that you have to hold a sub with two hands brings this lunchtime meal to our list.  We feel meatball subs are more so dangerous than other subs due to its temperature and the possibility of a hot, sauce-covered meatball falling out and staining your clothing. It doesn’t stop there! From your clothing, it leaves sauce stripes on your car’s carpet as it rolls around your floor.

Pizza:

With so many toppings and styles to choice from, who doesn’t enjoy a fresh, hot slice of pizza? This is one food you need to be carful with even when siting at the dinner table! You can burn the corner of your lips, the top of your mouth, pull the cheese off and burn your chin or simply burn yourself with the hot oil from the cheese. This is definitely a non-car friendly food.

Cereal:

Cereal is one of those foods you can eat anytime of the day – minus in the car. Eating cereal can be messy when you’re not seating at a table and the mess can grow if you add milk to your brand of choice. Worrying about Lucky Charms or Coco-Puffs decorating your car’s interior, or the thought of what spilt milk in a hot car would smell like, lands this food on our list.

Tacos:

Who doesn’t enjoy a tasty corn tortilla filled with your favorite meat and veggies? Although this is a food that most can eat with one hand, it’s a messy food which will makes you tilt your head to get the perfect bite. This change of perspective may lead to your car becoming infused with the one in front of you.

 Burgers:

“Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce” hold off on eating that burger until you’re home! You can never have too many napkins when eating a burger. Which many toppings available to make the perfect burger, the more you add, the more likely you are to feed your clothing lunch. 

A Great Way to Beat the Traffic

Hello, Fans! In today’s day and age, most commuters spend at least an hour daily sitting in traffic, waiting for a light to change, and agonizing every moment they’re at a standstill.  Traffic has always been a huge part of the daily drive and in most cases, has been an unwelcome addition to the daily routine.  Gone are the days of empty roads and long stretches, especially between the times of 9am and 6pm.  We’ve got news for you!

There’s a new smartphone app (available for iPhone, android and Blackberry devices) that provides real-time traffic information for mobile devices and it’s FREE.  Beat the Traffic allows commuters to instantly view real-time traffic conditions – including accidents; traffic congestion and roadway delays-and adjusts to travel plans if necessary.  This saves you time, fuel and frustration. .  Beat the Traffic has interactive maps and street details to assist you in finding the fastest and safest route to your destination!  Traffic also lets motorists retrieve travel times and live camera views. Even more tools, such as personalized traffic reports and saved routes, are available for a small subscription fee.

Check it out:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/beat-the-traffic/id339660839?mt=8

How Long Does an Electric Car Charge Last?

It’s electric! Boogie-oogie-oogie! We know the song, and on select occasions, we’ve performed the dance (though not well might I add).  Electric cars have seemed to always be an illusive dream, one that has only been seen in the imaginations of children, movies, and the Jetsons. 

In the last few years, the electric vehicle has become a popular mechanism as a catalyst of the future.  A future that replaces gas with a more efficient, long lasting substance that benefits the driver and the environment.  However, there are still skeptics who wonder how effective electrical cars are.  So, today, we’re telling you how long ONE electric car charge lasts.

One charge really depends on the vehicle. The average distance for an electric vehicle is “up to” 172.5 miles (based on 245 miles for the Tesla Motors vehicle, and the 100 miles that the Nissan Leaf reaches).  The key phrase is “up to”.  There are several factors that affect this amount.  Weather, speed and the use of accessories like air condition can decrease the range.  The Environmental Protection Agency, or the EPA, hasn’t resolved how to accurately measure range, so these numbers are not necessarily 100% correct.  This stems from what has been known as “range anxiety”-the fear of being stranded miles from a charging station with a dead battery. 

Electric car battery technology is constantly advancing, and in the future there are expected to be electric cars that can last even longer between charges.  How far would you go in your electric car? 

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Where to Compare and Find MPG

Getting great MPG is a perfect way to save money on a weekly basis.  With gas prices going down steadily, it’s still an effective way to save at the pump, keeping your money for something a tad more…fun.  MPG is an important factor in car buying.  Many of you come into our dealership looking for a vehicle that gets great MPG, but is still comfortable and fun to drive.  We get that.  So, in today’s blog, we’re providing some ways to find out and compare MPG to find the best fit for your budget, and your pockets.

Window Sticker

When you come into the dealerships, check out the EPA label with three combined numbers:

•  City
• Highway
• Combined MPG

City MPG factors traffic, stop and go, and city streets.  Highway reflects an open road number, and a certain speed. The combined mpg rating is the most realistic whether than highway or city, because it’s a more realistic driving standard.   As of 2013, a new label that makes the combined MPG more prominent will be displayed with more information regarding annual fuel costs. 

Fuel Economy.gov

The U.S. Department of Energy has one of the best tools for looking up and comparing MPG, allowing consumers to search all the way back to 1984.  The website also allows you to make comparisons between vehicles, as well as customized driving data for more accurate results. According to Edmunds:

“Clicking on the "Personalize" button takes you to a screen where you can input your annual mileage, the price of fuel in your area and the percentage of miles you drive in stop-and-go traffic. The "Fuel Economics" section of the page then shows you a variety of results, such as how much it will cost to fill the tank, the cost to drive 25 miles, fuel used to drive 25 miles, the average miles on a tank, the size of the tank and estimated annual fuel costs.”

What MPG do you look for?  


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The Life Cycle of a Car (INFOGRAPHIC)

Have you ever wondered what happens to all of the old cars on the road? Check out this cool infographic from drivesteady.com on the lifecycle of a vehicle:

Source:How Much of Your Car is Recyclable