Repairing Your Car or Buying a New One

We are fortunate to have so many regular customs that are just plain awesome. One of our favorites Julie recently came recently needing close to $1800 in maintenance and repairs. The question so many customers have to decide is do I want to put this much money in a ten year old car or purchase new. Well there are several ways to look at this issue. 

In Julie’s case her car needed a timing belt, water pump, oil change, brake and transmission flushes. Her vehicle is a 10 year old Lexus with only 98,000 miles. Julie made the choice to have the maintenance done to her car. This car should last another 5 - 10 years with regular maintenance.

Vehicles made in the last 15 years are not made like they were years ago when your car’s odometer rolled over to 100,000 miles. It was time to get a new car. They just weren't made to last 200,000 - 300,000 miles. Any Toyota or Lexus made in the last 15 years should last 200,000 - 300,000 miles or more. (My 2011 Toyota made Scion XB has 317,500 miles on it and runs like a top)

Everybody loves a new car however perhaps not so much when it comes with a $500 - $600 a month car payment. That’s $6000 - $7000 a year that could go to so many other things such as bills, vacations or savings.

I have to say last year I went through a period of “new car fever” and started looking for a new vehicle. I liked this one and especially that one with all the new bells and whistles. Ahh the new car smell and look. No scratches, dents or dings. It was almost like a touch of insanity entered my mind. The thought I then remembered was how glad I was when I made that last payment and the previous months looking forward to not having a payment.

Well so far I have not purchased a new car and actually my car did breakdown last week. Fortunately it was an inexpensive repair. I have only spent $550 in repairs in the last 15 months and still feel very confident in my vehicle’s reliability. This is not to say I won’t buy a new car in the next few years, however I like the extra money in my bank account for now. 

This is all food for thought mostly about not being afraid when your car is getting a little older or around 100,000 miles. New cars are nice however so is money in the bank.

(And I do still have that new car itch, I’m just not willing to scratch that itch...yet)

Please Change the Air Filter

I know I just sent out an email a few weeks ago about cabin filters however a car came in yesterday that made me want to mention this again.

Please don’t let dirt, leaves and debris sit on the edge of the windshield. This will go into your vehicle's ventilation system and can cause serious harm to your vehicle. 

Your cabin air filter is typically behind the glove box in most late model vehicles. (my is behind the glove box) When the cabin air filter is unchanged for long periods of time, the dirt, dust and pollen builds up and is blown into the interior of the car when the heat or A/C is turned on. 

The cabin air filter also helps slow down the amount of road debris, leaves and much more from going further into your ventilation system. A dirty cabin air filter can result in allowing debris into the ventilation system and into the vehicle's evaporator core. This can and often does result in the evaporator core having to be replaced. Replacing an evaporator core is around $2500 to $4000 depending on your vehicle.

Keep in mind that in most cars the cabin filter is located behind the glove box. So if you keep your glove box as messy as mine please remember to unmess it before you come in for service. 

ToyoTechs Now Has A Truck and SUV Center

Due to our overwhelming amount of business we are making changes to how and where we will service our customers vehicles.

We are happy to announce that starting Monday August 31st we are opening our Toyotechs Truck and SUV Center located at 5630 Peachtree Boulevard in Chamblee.  (formerly the Atlanta Hybrid Repair building)

To help you be more comfortable Pat Garrett will be moving over to the Truck and SUV as the Service Manager. Bryan Johnson will move over to handle the parts department. Master Technicians Tyler Abbott, George McAuliffe, and Edwin Landrau will be the technicians at this location.

The Hybrid Repair shop is being relocated to ToyoTechs main location on Clairmont Road. Robbie Owings will be moving over to be a  Service Advisor and Master Technician Pat Tucker will also move over to the main shop to continue working on your hybrids. 

ToyoTechs is Atlanta’s premier independent Toyota and Lexus repair shop. We look forward to seeing you soon.

For appointments call 770-457-9991