Your Garage is For Your Car!

Posted on by Greenwood Collision Auto Body Shop Seattle

Our Seattle body shop sees it all the time these days: driveways and residential roadsides filled with cars. Our lives can so easily become overwhelmed with excess clutter that it can be easy to forget that a car is supposed to be parked in the garage. After all, it’s easier to park your car outside than to pile up stacks upon stacks of cardboard boxes on your front lawn.

However, you can do yourself a great favor by finding a way to squeeze that car of yours back into its rightful place. Your car may very well be one of your most valuable pieces of property, as well as one of the most prone to breakdown. Such an asset needs to be treated properly. Only by housing it in your garage every night can it be best shielded from nocturnal break-ins, harsh weather effects, and the odd bit of flying debris. Save yourself some trouble in the long run, and reclaim your garage for your car.

Can I Replace My Own Wipers?

Posted on by Greenwood Collision Auto Body Shop Seattle

Suppose your car is in perfect condition, but you develop a little crack in a windshield wiper.  You probably wouldn’t want to take such a small problem to your Seattle body shop, would you?

Fortunately, replacing the wiper by yourself is a surprisingly easy task for even the least gear-headed drivers among us.  Just take a look at your wipers; though different makes have different mechanisms, it should be fairly simple to determine how to remove the wiper from the arm that holds it against your windshield.  Simply pull this arm away from the windshield, detach the old wiper, and replace it with a new one.

The important trick to remember is that you’ll need to be sure to buy the right kind of wiper for your car.  Stores sometimes will have a machine or booklet that lets you know which wipers you need for your car depending on the year, model, maker, etc. Wipers come in different sizes, so you’ll want to identify your wiper’s size or even bring it with you to the store.  Also, the wipers on a single car are often different sizes, so don’t make the mistake of getting a matching pair. If you have trouble, you can always bring it to our Seattle body shop for a little assistance.

Car Colors and Accidents

Posted on by Greenwood Collision Auto Body Shop Seattle

Did you ever think that the color of your car might have an impact on your likelihood to get in an accident?  

In truth, there does seem to be a discrepancy in the colors of the cars that we service at our Seattle auto body shop.  Some of this can of course be linked to the greater popularity of some colors, but several scientific studies have shown that cars of certain colors are more likely to get into a wreck than others.

The good news is that the most popular car color, white, is one of the safer colors you can drive.  White is apparently among the more visible colors in all situations, with snowy conditions being the obvious exception.  In terms of visibility, it’s second only to lime yellow. (But who wants a lime yellow car…right?)

On the other end of the spectrum, a disproportionate number of accidents involve black, grey, or brown cars.  These tend to blend in with common driving conditions and are the most likely to end up on the other end of somebody’s “it came out of nowhere!” story.

With this in mind, consider your own situation and choose your car colors carefully. Check with your insurance company to see if colors matter.

https://www.carsdirect.com/car-safety/what-is-the-safest-car-color-for-avoiding-accidents
https://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-04-23/chennai/31386160_1_white-cars-colour-radms

Look Out for Rust!

Posted on by Greenwood Collision Auto Body Shop Seattle

Rust is a big problem for your car. Be it in the engine or the body, this is the slow and silent killer for an automobile. Our auto body shop in Seattle can check your vehicle for rust as part of your regular maintenance, but it also pays to periodically inspect your own vehicle for signs of this corrosive blight.

It can be easy enough to spot signs of rust on your car’s exterior. However, the biggest problems tend to occur out of sight, on the underside of the vehicle. This is where problems frequently go unnoticed for long enough such that it effectively destroys the car. Take the time every so often to look under your car, and schedule a visit to Greenwood Collision as soon as possible if you find any signs of rust.

Gasoline: Are the Costlier Brands Really Better?

Posted on by Greenwood Collision Auto Body Shop Seattle

The major gas companies spend a lot of money on their advertisements, many of them trying to convince you that their fuel is worth the extra pennies because of some elusive additives that the bargain brands don’t have. Some people come to our Seattle auto body shop and wonder: is this all marketing, or is there an actual benefit to buying costlier gas?

In truth, you’re not likely to see much of a difference between two different brands of regular gasoline. Though one may boast the power to clean out the gunk that the other one supposedly leaves behind, this represents a somewhat dated notion of the effects that gasoline has on your engine. There is still some debate on the issue, but there have been tests conducted wherein the long term effects of using cheaper gas have been shown to be apparently identical to those of gasolines with more specialized additives. If you need advice, simply buy from whatever pump is giving you the best deal and the most convenience.