Everyone knows you have to have them. Most know that they need air. But have you ever stopped to think of what we expect from them and how they deliver? We think of these four big, round rubber things that we ride on. Actually, there are four very-small patches of tread that contact the road surface. And they have to do EVERYTHING.

What you must know:

1) What the recommended tire pressure is for your car.

• The owners manual should say where there is a sticker which has that specification. You must take responsibility to monitor and maintain it. Low tire pressure increases rolling resistance, causes extra heat which could lead to premature wear and tire failure.

2) The depth of remaining tread.

• This is critical! It is the “ribs” of your tires’ tread pattern that cut through water to give you traction in wet weather. If the water is deeper than the tread on your tires you may experience the terrifying experience of hydroplaning. Your tires begin water skiing – you lose control.

3) The age of your tires.

• Yes, each tire is marked with its age on the sidewall. It’s encoded “4511″ means it was manufactured in week 45 of 2011. Your tires should not be over five years old. (Be aware of this when you are buying tires. Be particularly wary of super-low sale prices. You could unknowingly be purchasing tires that shouldn’t be on the road due to age. The rubber compounds deteriorate with age whether they are on a car or not.

5) Rotate, Balance and Alignment – all potential tire wear factors.

• Rotation refers to changing the position of the tires on your car. How they must be rotated varies with make and model. The reason we do it is so that wear patterns that are exaggerated in one position will be offset when moved to another position. Rotation should be done at least every 5,000 miles.
• Balance refers to checking each tire for proper weight distribution. This is accomplished by high-tech equipment. It is designed to give you the smoothest-possible ride and to keep the tires from pounding on the road due to harmonic imbalance. Clue: if you have a vibration in the steering wheel at particular speeds, you most-likely have a wheel imbalance. A good time to have the balance checked is when you have the tires rotated.
• Alignment refers to adjusting the suspension and steering components of your car so that the wheel / tire assemblies hit the road squarely. Alignment can be affected by potholes or worn components. Most cars must have four-wheel alignments about once per year. Having your alignment checked might also expose other problems before they damage your tires.

Import Specialty is your tire expert. We are equipped with state of the art alignment and roadforce balancing.

At Import Specialty we are always looking for ways to make service on your European vehicles more convenient.  Our latest addition is a Courtesy Shuttle Vehicle serving the Nashville area.

Contact us to schedule your nextvehicle service and request a shuttle ride to your home or work.  We provide this service at no cost to our customers.

We look forward to providing you Specialized Service by our Factory Trained Technicians. Schedule service on you Volvo, Volkswagen, Audi, MINI or BMW today.

At Import Specialty Service we have an on-going commitment to environmental responsibility.  We recently completed a solar electrical project on our European car repair facility that is engineered to produce enough electricity to offset our actual usage.  Additionally, we offset our resource using Green Light Fixtures, Heating and recycling.  We are proud to offer Green Car European Car Repair to Nashville, TN.

We have replaced the light fixtures in our garage with units that use less than 50% of the energy of our existing fixtures, while providing much better light.  Our technicians are working in optimally lighted conditions to service your vehicle.  Another advantage is that they generate much less heat.   That resulted in a 20% increase in the shop’s air conditioning system’s efficiency.

During cold weather we heat our garage with waste oil.  This EPA-approved system burns totally clean and allows us to capture and recycle an energy source that would otherwise be a stream of hazardous waste.  With every oil change service at Import Specialty Service you are recycling more than just oil.

This means the boxes the parts came in, the old parts themselves and the waste fluids.  We recycle engine antifreeze, metal and cardboard.  We install a lot of parts and change a lot of vehicle fluids to keep your European vehicle running optimally.  These things smatter to environmentally-conscious citizens and they matter to us.

Lastly, we also care for you vehicle which can have a pretty big footprint as well.  Import Specialty Service can help you be green with cost effective service and repair.

Demandforce allows us to offer:

• Online scheduling
• Customer appointment reminders
• Online service experience reviews
  

Oil change or maintenance. Aren’t they one and the same?

Ok. Let’s say you don’t have an all-electric car – yet. And you plunked down a chunk of change to buy the car you have. It’s bad enough that you have to put gas in the thing but much more of a pain to think about taking care of it. So if I just go to the cheapest place I can find to get the oil changed I’ll be cool, right? The short answer is probably not. While engine oil is a critical part of a car’s required maintenance it is only a very small part of how all of the systems in your car need to be cared for.

What if you could sit down with the engineering team that designed your car and ask them to give you an outline of a plan whereby youcould maximize your car’s longevity while minimizing your cash outlay in the process? While that isn’t going to happen, there is such a plan provided by that team for every car on the market. It’s called the maintenance schedule. That plan outlines preventive steps that, when followed, are designed to inspect and maintain items at specific mileage and / or time intervals before they become a bigger problem with larger associated costs. It is very important to read the fine print of that schedule, both for warranty consideration and for longevity. They have mileage and time parameters. And it uses terms like normal driving or severe driving. Sometimes they include entire states in their severe category. And if that applies to you, it is possible to follow the schedule according to miles but
still be at risk because it is taking too much time to accrue the miles.

A common misconception is that this schedule only applies while the car is under warranty. It is true that a manufacturer’s warranty has maintenance requirements and it’s reasonable for a manufacturer to stand behind its product only when it is maintained within the parameters set forth by those who designed it. It is also reasonable that a vehicle should last the longest when it has been maintained according to those same parameters.

So back to the idea of just changing the oil to save money. First I must inform you of this fact: every “cheap” oil change is a loss-leader. That means it is costing that business more to change your oil than you are paying. Why would they do that? Because it costs every business real money to get customers in their door (ours included). So spending money to subsidize your oil change is getting you in their door. But they must up-sell you on other services to be profitable. Now consider what level of training is required to get someone to be a “oil change specialist”. Furthermore, you will be relying on that person for the rest of the maintenance recommendations they present to you. I can’t fault the quick oil change industry as a business model. They have collectively done a real job on the general public, programming that all you need for your car’s maintenance needs is what they provide.

Why a specialist? For the very same reason you would go to a medical specialist. Because focused experience and training results in product familiarity and accurate diagnosis. When you take your car to a general shop, frequently they have to spend more time diagnosing and finding parts that fit your car. That can end-up costing you more both in dollars and frustration. And, face it. Ineffective repairs, regardless of price, are not cheap.

So here’s the bottom line. Unless you are imminently qualified to make judgement calls on what your car needs, follow your car’s schedule of maintenance. It will save you money in the long run. And call us. We’ll be glad to keep your Volvo, BMW, Mini, VW or Audi reliably on the road.

Import Specialty Service has serviced Nashville since 1994.  We strive to exceed our customers expectations with every service visit.  Our technicians and service advisors participate in ongoing training.  Our investment in the latest tools and equipment allows Import Specialty Service to stay on the forefront of vehicle repair and maintenance.

We look forward to sharing our expertise with our customers.  Our approach is preventative towards preventative maintenance and repair allows you to truly enjoy your vehicles.  Customers also enjoy our personal approach to business as we are passionate about customer service.