Wilmington Auto Repair

Pop quiz: What is a cabin air filter? A. A filter for your Wilmington house?B. A fresh, piney scent?C. A filter for the passenger compartment of your car? Clever you, it's C.A cabin air filter cleans the outside air before it comes into the passenger compartment of your vehicle. It filters out common Delaware air particles like dust, pollen, spores, bacteria, pollutants, exhaust gas, odors and even sparrows.These high tech filters can block particles larger than 3 microns. By contrast, a grain of sand is about 200 microns.Not all Wilmington vehicles have cabin air filters. They are fairly new on the scene in Delaware. Last check, about 40 percent of new vehicles sold in Wilmington come with cabin air filters, but the number is growing every year. Cabin air filters make driving a lot more pleasant for people in Wilmington. Your vehicle can be a haven during our Delaware allergy season with very little dust and pollen getting into the cabin. Of course, like all filters, the ca ... read more

Nowadays, Wilmington drivers are paying more at Delaware gas pumps. For some families it adds up to several hundred dollars every month. That's got to come out of the budget somewhere. This is one of the reasons many Delaware drivers are putting off buying a new car. They plan on keeping their old vehicle for a year or two longer than before.Even now, 2/3 of the personal vehicles on our local Wilmington, Delaware, roads have over 75,000 miles (120,000 kilometers) on them. The average age of vehicles is over nine years. And most people in the Wilmington area can't afford to be stranded or inconvenienced by a breakdown. So following a regular maintenance schedule, like personal diet and exercise plans, is actually critical to preserving your investment.Determining what to do for a higher-mileage vehicle can be challenging because many owner's manuals don't publish service intervals after 60,000 miles (100,000 kilometers). Thus, Wilmington drivers need to be better at keeping records ... read more

If you've ever been in a vehicle accident around Wilmington, Delaware, even a minor one, you know how upsetting it can be. It's hard to think straight and know what to do.Let's review what you should do in case of an accident in Wilmington, Delaware:When an accident occurs, you should always stop. Leaving the scene of an accident is considered a crime in Delaware, even if it's not your fault. And hit-and-run penalties are fairly severe, possibly resulting in steep fines, loss of your driver's license or even jail time in our local Wilmington lockup.Most places, including Delaware, require that you try to help someone who is injured by calling for help or performing first aid if you are able.Warn other Wilmington motorists by putting out flares, using your flashers or lifting your hood.Call 911 as soon as possible. Tell the operator if medical or fire help is needed.Always file a police report ... read more

We find that a lot of Wilmington drivers are a little tentative when they talk with their automotive advisors. They want to ask questions but don't want to be embarrassed or seem pushy. Vehicles are very complicated and there's more to know about them than most of us have the time to learn. Maybe it's because vehicles have become so much more reliable that the average person just doesn't need to know as much to keep their vehicle on the road.You know, your local hospital has a Patient's Bill of Rights that they post throughout the hospital. We think our Wilmington automotive service customers also have a right to ask any question they need to understand what is wrong with their car and what it will take to fix it. They need to feel free to ask the cost and benefits of recommended services. And they certainly have a right to understand the financial end of the transaction.It's all about the communication. It's a little harder when you're trying to find the rig ... read more

Wilmington drivers rely on their vehicle's coolant system to keep their engine cool. Coolant (also called antifreeze) mixed with water flows through your vehicle engine and absorbs heat. The mixture then flows out to the radiator where it's cooled by air flowing over the radiator. From there the coolant/water mix circulates back through the engine to absorb more heat.There's a reason we mix coolant and water. Water alone actually does a good job transferring heat from the engine. The problem is that water boils at a temperature that's easily reached inside your vehicle's engine, so it can turn to steam which does not conduct heat as well and is harder to contain.Also, if it's freezing outside in Wilmington, the water in your engine could freeze while your vehicle is sitting out in the Delaware cold.So, if you remember your high school chemistry, you'll know that a mixture has both a higher boiling point and a lower freezing point ... read more