City Driving Tips

Even if you don’t work in the city, chances are you may drive there from time to time. Navigating one-way streets and finding a place to park can be a nightmare, especially if you are unfamiliar with where you are going. Here are a few tips to help the next time you find yourself driving to a Vikings Game or checking out the latest Brewery that just popped up in St Paul:

1. Watch Out for People on Bicycles: You may not be used to seeing them as much in the suburbs, but a lot of people use bicycles in the city. Make sure you keep an eye out as they change lanes or you do!
2. Brush Up On Your Parallel Parking: We know you don’t have to parallel park at Hy-Vee or most places you may be use to going. Chances are if you’re downtown, you may have to parallel park. 
3. Find a Spot Your Car Fits In: If you’ve got a big SUV, make sure you find a spot that your vehicle fits in. You don’t want to anger your parking mates by trying to fit into a “compact” space.
4. ALWAYS CARRY CHANGE: Want to park on the street and save a few bucks? You may not be able to if you don’t have change. While many of the new parking meters are equipped to take credit cards, not all of them do. 
5. Map Out The One Way Streets: If you’re driving to a new area, do you know which streets are one-ways in Minneapolis? It can be important to figure out which major streets are one-ways prior to departing so you don't end up going the wrong way!

4 Reasons Referrals and Online Reviews are Important For Our Business

In the collision repair industry, taking your business from a frustrating stop in a customer’s day to a helpful experience in an unfortunate time is extremely important. Referrals can set you apart from the competition. When a customer gives you a referral they’ve taken the time out of their day to spread news that your shop has exceeded their needs to thousands of potential customers. For many shops this can mean a huge increase in door traffic and billed repair time.

Referrals are much more than word of mouth, these days you have to leave a review online which essentially gives your “seal of approval” to thousands of people in your area. More than 90% of consumers say that their buying decisions are influenced by online reviews! 90%! So if you’ve been given exceptional service, wouldn’t you want to tell the whole world about it?

Here’s why Reviews and Referrals matter so much:

1. About 88% of consumers read online reviews to determine if a local business is a “good” business or not. If the business doesn’t have any reviews, it can hurt. If a business has a lot of quality reviews, consumers feel it represents what type of business they are and are more likely to trust your company. 
2. A personal recommendation is the only other referral process that people trust more than online reviews. If a business has a proven track record, you may get several recommendations for the same business. 
3. Reviews have a dramatic effect on the businesses search engine position! Yup, that’s right. The more reviews you have, the better your ranking will be with Google, Yahoo!, Bing, Yelp and any of the other search engine directories out there. Now you’ve helped us in more ways than one!
4. With a referral or even sometimes a review, it builds the trust in to the job. Trust can be hard to come by with a cold call, but with a referral or a review, you’ve already got an established base of trust to work from. 

Preparing for Your Winter Road Trip

The key to having a safe and enjoyable winter road trip lies in the preparation. Being prepared for any situation will give you confidence that your family will be safe throughout the trip, allowing you and your loved ones to relax, kick back, and enjoy the ride.

Car maintenance is a critical step in preparation and safety. Things to check up on could be any of the following:

• Oil change
• Tire rotation (or tire change)
• Check antifreeze level and fill if necessary
• Test your car battery (especially if it’s older)
• Make sure your gas level remains above a half tank; the more gas there is, the less condensation in the tank, which leads to an easier start
• Have a spare tire on hand

You can become stressed if you don’t have your trip planned out ahead of time. Important things to have planned before the trip are:

• Have an updated, tangible map of your route (in case your phone dies)
• Let someone know where you should be and when
• Anticipate the weather conditions during your trip
• Book hotel rooms ahead of time if possible

Your phone is going to be your best friend on the trip (this does not mean distracted driving!), your phone could potentially be your lifeline if you get stranded or in a crash. Be sure to have a charging cable with you, two to be safe. Along with this, keep your phone at a high charge at all times.

Many people like to keep “survival kits” in their cars, in the event of an emergency. A few appropriate items to keep in your survival kit are:

• A First-Aid kit
• Non-perishable foods (nuts, granola bars, etc)
• Bottled water
• Blankets
• Warm clothes
• Flashlights with extra batteries
• An ice scraper

We hope you travel safe this winter and enjoy your road trip.

Asked and Answered: What to Look for When Buying a New Car

This month, we're posting a little differently. We wanted to talk about what people might think about when looking to buy a new car, specifically young people.  We enlisted the help of a young woman who's name is Catey C. and we were pleased with the well thought out questions she came up: 

Hi, I’m Catey, your friendly Millennial who’s in the market for a new car, and I have a few questions, besides which shade of pink should I pick. I’ve put my Venti Pumpkin Spice Latte down long enough to research them, so here’s my three top questions about cars from a Millennial.

• What’s the best feature(s) should I be looking for in a car? This is going to vary from person to person, obviously. I don’t really like taking selfies and posting them on Instagram all that much, therefore interior wifi isn’t a huge concern for me. However heated seats and backup cameras are a must for me. I live in Minnesota (I don’t think that needs any further explanation). Also, I have the wonderful skill of managing to hit either a tree or the only car in the parking lot. I completely joking, I’m not that bad of a driver. Overall, the features that are going to keep you safe and not bumping into trees are going to be your best bet. If you can afford the leather seats and the massage feature, go for it. Otherwise focus on what's going to be more practical and what’s going to pay off in the long run. 
• Which car is more fuel-efficient? Bankrate.com has a list of the most fuel-efficient cars in their category. Once again, it depends on what you’re in the market. For me, I’m leaning towards a compact SUV, because I like bigger cars, but I don’t want to become an Uber for my sister and her friends. Bankrate.com suggests the Toyota RAV4, it 23 MPG in the city and 30 MPG on the highway. It also has 176 hp and it’s starting price is $24,350. Just because the RAV4 was suggested by one website, doesn’t mean that is the car I’m going to chose. I probably pick which ever car is going to get me to Canada the fastest after the election. 
• Should I Lease or Buy? Here’s the thing for me. It would be more cost effective for me to lease a car, however I can’t surpass the set mileage. I mentioned before that I have a younger sister who has a tendency to make spontaneous plans that usually involves quite a bit of mileage, and guess who my parents are going to send to drive her all over the place. However, I really don’t have the funds to purchase a car, and I would like to avoid taking out a loan. It would be easier to buy a car since I have the tendency to bump into things (Once again, I’m joking). Overall, I will be leasing a car, because it’s more cost effective for my situation at the moment. Yes, the limited miles is going to be a pain, but I would rather be able to drive a newer car every few years than being stuck in the same car. Because what may have been cool seven years ago, will be outdated and impractical. 

You made it through all my jabber! If I could give you a cookie, I would! I don’t speak for everybody, especially for Millennials. I’m just a kid in the market for with a couple of questions. I hope you all can take something away from this, or at the very least, enjoyed my ramblings. Thank you for reading.

If you were in the market for a new car, what are some of the questions you would want answered? 

Newly Installed- Jollift In Ground Car Lift

It's finally arrived...our brand new Jollift from FI.TIM. 

What is a Jollfit exactly? It's an in-floor lift system to help our technicians work more efficiently and the lift doesn't take up extra room in the shop because it's installed into the floor. 

We are one of only a few people in the Midwest to try out the new lift system. We hope you enjoy the pictures of the delivery, installation, and us trying out the lift. 

The new lift being delivered

We had to cut holes in the concrete of the shop. 

Installing the lift into the floor. 

So shiny and new! 

Making sure it rises and lowers properly.

We had to put a vehicle on it to see how well it works. 

Another picture testing it out. 

OK, last one testing it out...we promise!

Car Recalls: Are They That Important?

Yes, the recalls you receive about your car are very important, don’t ignore them. Recalls can vary from a minor thing to something catching on fire. The reason those recalls are in place are not only for your safety, but of those around you as well.

If any of you have flown or watched the news in the last few weeks, you’ve probably heard about the recall on Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 with the battery that has a tendency to burst into flames. Bursting into flames is a pretty safety concern, which is why they are being recalled.

Here’s the question to ask yourself, “What could happen if I don’t address the recall properly?” The main concern is that you could be potentially putting people in danger. Vehicles are safer today than they have ever been, but that doesn't mean they're perfect.

You should always be mindful of recalls, you may or may not receive a letter detailing of a recall, but there are various online sources to see if your vehicle has a pending recall.

What should you do if your car has a recall? Simple- get it fixed. Don’t panic, and run around like a chicken with it’s head cut off. Just take it to the dealership for the repair. Even if it’s a minor recall that doesn’t impose any immediate danger, it’s still important to have it looked at. The cost is also covered by the dealership, so it shouldn’t cost you anything.

Here’s the bottom line; pay attention to the recalls, even if it’s a minor thing, just get it fixed. It will pay off in the long run, especially when everyone’s safety is at risk.