What has the cold done to my car?

We’ve been feeling a bit of spring in the air lately and it’s most welcome! It seems to have been a long winter and most definitely a cold one.  And while we know that the winter months can take a toll on the human body, we often forget that our cars can suffer too!

These pictures show some of the weather we've put up with this winter.

If you’re not lucky enough to have a nice warm bedroom (garage) for your car, just think about all the cold nights and weather extremities it’s had to endure!

With temperatures on the rise and fine driving days just around the corner, it’s an opportune time to take stock and check on some bits of your car that might be a little worse for wear.

Winter is tough on batteries. Firstly the battery cannot produce its normal amount of power because of the cold, and secondly the chemical reactions that generate electricity can be slower at lower temperatures. We often talk about the importance of checking your battery, but just because it’s made it through the colder weeks doesn’t mean it hasn’t been influenced. So check your battery cables and clamps for fraying or corrosion and also make sure that your battery contains enough of the liquid electrolyte. Come and ask us if you’re not sure.

Wiper blades can crack in the cold, so becoming much less effective. Even as spring approaches we may still have foggy mornings, and low visibility hindered by damaged wipers will be dangerous. So make sure your wiper blades are in good shape.

Poor visibility can be due to worn wiper blade    

Extreme shifts in temperature can affect your tyre pressure and driving with inadequate pressure in your tyres can be dangerous. Be wary though of checking your tyres first thing on a cold morning – it’s better to check them when they’re warmed up a little.

Overall your car has to work harder during the winter, which means it’s had to use more energy.   If you’ve been in consistently cold temperatures fluids like oil and transmission fluid may have thickened up too.  Not only does working harder affect the fuel efficiency at the time but it also means that in an older car especially your whole engine may be a little exhausted.

Winter can wreak havoc on just about every part of your vehicle, so if you haven’t had a service for a while, or just want a check up call into a service centre soon.

The low-down on capped price servicing!

Capped-price servicing is one of the buzz phrases doing the rounds in the new car market in Australia. But what does it mean and is it all it’s cracked up to be?

The basic idea of capped-price servicing is to offer buyers peace of mind when buying a new car. Dealerships will give new car owners an idea of how much their car servicing costs will be over a set period, so that they know in advance how much they’ll have to fork out.

Most of the big brands offer capped-price servicing, but the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has recently investigated the program offered by Kia, and is set to investigate further into what other manufacturers are offering.

The ACCC issued a statement about Kia and its capped-price servicing offer, stating that a provision in its terms and conditions that allowed the price of scheduled services to be increased over time was “misleading”, given the scheme supposedly implied the price of a scheduled service was fixed for the entire term.

In other words, Kia’s conditions said it could scale up the price of a capped service, likely by either linking it to the CPI or passing on increased parts of labour costs, at any time after purchase, couched with the fact that a ceiling — albeit a higher one — would remain in place.

This, according to the ACCC, contravened statements on Kia’s

website starting in 2012 which, in its words, represented to consumers that its scheduled service prices were capped at a maximum price set upon purchase.

Kia has since amended its terms and conditions to ensure that its service prices were “genuinely capped”; written to affected consumers confirming the applicable capped service prices for their vehicle; and offered to refund any amounts paid by consumers above the capped service prices that applied to their vehicle when it was purchased.

Due to the ACCC’s investigation, several car companies have reviewed their capped-price servicing plans and more importantly the terms and conditions. The corporate watchdog has re-iterated that it is “reviewing other offers made by other manufacturers”.

The point is here that a buyer can be influenced by promises of capped, or fixed, price servicing, but that reading through the small print is important. Since the ACCC investigation many car manufacturers posted on their websites that they where reviewing their policies.

Consumers still need to be careful with capped price servicing, just because it’s capped price servicing doesn’t mean it’s the best price.

At Cooper Automotive, we also offer fixed price servicing which in most cases is cheaper than the dealers capped price service plan and without the need to read the small print. 

We also promise that ‘the price we quote is the price you pay…guaranteed’. 

And coming to us for peace of mind has no effect on your dealership warranty…at all.