So, You Want To Buy A New Car?

One of the worst parts of our day at Oakdale Collision is having to tell someone their insurance totaled out their vehicle. Purchasing a new car can be a big stressful ordeal. It puts a lot on the line like your credit score, financials, and long-term happiness if you purchase the wrong thing. Sometimes, it’s hard to know what vehicle is the right vehicle, until it’s in front of you. We suggest thinking long and hard about what you need, and what you want out of your next vehicle. 

The financial part is often the most worrisome step towards a new car. If your insurance is totaling out your current vehicle, make sure that you negotiate on your behalf, and that your payout is fair value. Before you set out to test drive your dream car, you need to identify what your budget is, and which type of sale you’d like to do, either private or through a dealership. You will need to identify how much you are willing to spend, and if you are planning on buying outright, or using a loan from either a bank or a dealership. If you go the loan route, decide how much money you are willing to allocate towards a monthly payment.

Paint a picture, albeit a broad one, of your ideal must haves and must nots in the next car you bring home. This can be little things, like auto start or heated seats, to the big items like being AWD or an included tow package. Create a list of your absolutes before you start searching online. This will help you cross potentials off the list, and preemptively thinking about what you absolutely need will allow you to quickly sort through the thousands of cars on the market. Then, once you know the type and trim package you desire, price check it! Look up what the industry norm is, and what people in your area are paying for the same type of vehicle. Keep that at the ready for when you visit the dealer or private party you intend to purchase though.


Absolutely always test drive the car. This is one of the most important parts of the car buying process. You need to know the depth of what you are getting yourself into, and test driving the car will allow you to experience what day to day life is going to be like. You’ll typically be driving the car, but how does the backseat feel? Can you properly use all the mirrors in the car and do you like your visibility? Is there road noise? How is the stereo? Do you feel too close to the steering wheel? Is there enough cargo space? Make sure your salesman has time to spare and take it for a thorough test. Drive on the freeway, find a hill, do a couple brake checks, cruise around and ensure you are positively in love with the vehicle before you entertain the idea of purchasing the vehicle. You also want to have a mechanic on call, for a checkup. It is always a good idea to make sure that the vehicle is mechanically sound.

A new car is an emotional and occasionally expensive venture, but you can save yourself a lot of stress by being proactive and getting your intention set before you start looking. By knowing what you want, you don’t have room for a salesman to upsell you, or to miss a great opportunity by overlooking an older model that has all your absolute must have items. Don’t let anybody push you into anything you aren’t interested in and know that you don’t have to buy anything you don’t love.

What Is PDR?

Fall is a wonderful time of the year, full of pretty colors, cooler temps, and lots of hail. Hail season lasts into the winter and gets us ready for our busy season. That being said, hail season can often be just as busy as the winter season, but offers an unpredictable flare to the year. When hail storms hit, all kinds of storm chasers come up from the south and set up shop in the cities. Those storm chasers perform a special kind of auto body repair called PDR, or paintless dent repair. Paintless dent repair is exactly as it sounds, these technicians, and some of our own, remove the dents in your vehicle without painting it. Sounds crazy, we know. 

PDR is a lot simpler than you’d imagine. Picture big bright lights, a disassembled vehicle, and little (sometimes large!) rubber mallets. Your PDR technician is actually using pressure from inside the panels of your vehicle to slowly pound them out, reforming the metal to its original shape. The transformation is incredible to watch, and we highly recommend checking YouTube for a severe hail repair! The reason you can perform PDR in hail dents is because the hail pieces leave ridgeless dents in the panels of your vehicle. Dents from things like backing into a pole or getting rear ended aren’t typically candidates for PDR as the paint has been pushed to the point of breaking. However, we can occasionally fix a dent via PDR even if it has a ridge, as long as the paint has not cracked at all! The beauty of having an auto body shop look over your vehicle and repair it is that we can work directly with your insurance on the damage caused by the storm!

We understand though, you may not have full coverage on your vehicle, may not have the time to drop off the vehicle, or you may just want to experiment yourself! There are certain things you can do at home to attempt to repair hail damage. Heat is one way to get the metal panels on your vehicle to flex and return to its preformed shape. By parking your vehicle in the sun, sometimes certain dents can pop out themselves. We’ve heard of people trying hot water methods and using their hair dryers as well. These are all great DIY techniques if you don’t mind some paint discoloration. The other option here would be to chill the dents, some people have been said to use dry ice. They circle the dent with a piece of dry ice, attempting to coax the dent out of the metal. All these techniques have seen varied results, and we do not recommend attempting to repair your vehicle untrained at home, unless you’re not worried about how the vehicle looks afterwards. Attempts to repair the vehicle yourself could result in voiding your warranty, or loss of insurance coverage for the hailstorm. 

Naturally, we suggest bringing your vehicle into your local body shop, which is hopefully ours! There is no way to guarantee that these home remedies will work for your vehicle, and we always have time to help! Whether you’re just coming in for an estimate, or coming in for repairs, we are here to try and solve your problems as best we can. 

How Serious Is That Check Engine Light

 Have you ever been in a rush, on your way to work and your dash suddenly lights up like Christmas? In today's vehicles, there are so many electronic pieces and sensors that we can’t always be prepared for whatever is flagging that check engine light. It’s hard to know if that light indicates a small problem, or a serious issue. Unless your car is smoking, it’s unlikely you’re in any extreme danger, but there could still be something wrong with your vehicle. The check engine light exists to keep you aware of engine irregularities and sensory malfunctions. The engine control unit in your car makes sure that the engine is running properly, but as that’s not always the case, what do you do when that frustrating light turns on?

It’s always best to bring your vehicle in to a professional. Best case scenario, the engine light is on due to a loose gas cap or something easily fixed on your own. If the engine light comes on and you haven’t noticed any extensive differences in how your car drives, you don’t need to seek immediate service. Ignoring the problem can further the issue and create a bigger backlash in the long run, so it’s best to get in to have the vehicle looked at upon your earliest convenience.

You likely don’t need to worry if your car is:

• Behaving normally
• Getting the same gas mileage
• No smoking, no strange smells and no noises

There could be a more serious problem if:

• You see smoke
• Experience a huge decline in gas mileage
• Strange smells or noises coming from the engine
• There’s a major loss of power

Regardless of how the vehicle is doing, if the sensor has been triggered and you’re unsure at all of why, bringing your car in can give you peace of mind and ensure your safety.