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. 

Dangers in Summer Driving

Summer is an exciting time of year. The sun is out, the cabin is open for the season, and hopefully the boat is out on the water. There’s a whole bustle of activity out there, and that’s not always a good thing. Everyone wants to be outside, which means there’s a much larger population of drivers on the road. That being said, it makes sense that summer is the most common time of the year for traffic accidents to occur. 

In the summer, we often see accidents due to construction zones. Especially in Minnesota, which should be renamed the Land of 10,000 Construction Projects, we spend most of our spring and summer avoiding construction. Presently, most of the metro is under construction. Before you take any trips, or have to drive somewhere unfamiliar, look up what construction is between you and your destination, and do your best to avoid it. Torn up concrete and debris can wreak havoc on your vehicle. Expensive havoc.

It’s in our best interests to remain vigilant while driving and pay attention to the road, which brings me to our next biggest cause of accidents; Distracted Driving. Set the right example for your family and keep your phone put away while you’re driving. Pay attention to the road, and make sure that whoever is in the car with you understands how seriously you take the safety of yourself, and theirs. In the world of apps and fancy smartphones, it’s almost inexcusable to be on your phone while driving. Applications now have safety features that include “drive mode” as well as most Apple updates for iPhones. 

Another thing to be conscious of as this summer heats up, is the condition of your tires. Tire blowouts are another one of the most common accidents we see in the summer. As the temperatures rise, bald tires are affected and their chances of blowing out under stress is much higher. This can cause damage to your vehicle, and others if uncareful. 

July and August hold the highest accident rate in our country, August taking the cake. Auto accidents kill more than 40,000 people in the United States a year! It is the leading cause of death in people under the age of 34. Every time you get into your vehicle, you’re risking your life, and the lives of those around you. We hope that you do so in the most informed manner possible. Accidents happen, and we are always here to assist you with any vehicle repairs or questions you may have. 

Does It Really Take That Long?

           It used to be that we drove around in giant metal machines, operating purely on fuel and combustion. Things always change, and in today’s world you’re driving around in a high-tech computer. People still view their vehicles as a machine, but a car hasn’t been “just a machine” for the last fifty years! In 1968 Volkswagen introduced the first computer controlled function in a vehicle; the electronic fuel injector. This advancement in the car industry was huge! The ECU is now a standard seen in all vehicles, emerging in the 1960’s and still used today. By 1986 we had our first auto-driven cars, in 2017 Tesla introduced self driving semi-trucks, and today we’re looking at vehicles that are almost completely self-sufficient.

                This loose timeline is just that, very loose. Imagine all the advancements between the 60’s and today. Now imagine the advancements technicians have seen, working on these vehicles day in and day out. The industry now requires certified technicians, who have undergone training through each manufacturer in order to understand the innermost workings of these computers and the machine themselves. This is all great, because we want our technicians to be the best at what they do. When you put it all together though, what does that mean for you, the customer?
                Time. The biggest thing all these computers have changed during our repair process is time. We no longer have the ability to do one day bumper jobs, because that Audi A6 you drive has three sensors in the front bumper that allow you to feel a little bit safer in your car, but also require us to calibrate them if we remove or have to adjust the bumper. Every vehicle newer than 2008 is equipped with sensors in the passenger seat that signal occupancy and when to deploy airbags in the event of a crash, and has to be reset each time you’re in any minor collision. These sensors are a wonderful safety feature, but in that effort to ensure safety we’re also looking at additional time in a simple repair.

                We do our best to get your vehicles returned to pre-accident condition as soon as we can, but we also want your vehicle to be safe, efficient, and in proper working order before we return the vehicle to you. So when you get frustrated at how long your repairs are taking, consider the type of vehicle you drive, and the computer systems you use each day. The more complicated and high tech your vehicle is, the longer the repairs will take. So, yes, it does take that long, but rest assured that we are doing everything in our power to get your vehicle repaired and back to you safe and sound.

Winter, All Season or Summer Tire?

There are three main categories of tires on the market for your daily driver, all season tires, winter tires, and summer tires. Each type of tire has its own pros and cons, but when compared collectively, the most important thing to consider is the climate you deal with on your day to day. You want to ensure that you’re purchasing the most effective tire for your time, efforts, and for expense! Lets face it, tires are expensive!

Winter tires are the extreme of the three tires, and the best for living in a place like Minnesota. While you will fair alright with all season tires, for a driver inexperienced in heavy snowfall, we highly suggest the purchase of a true winter tire. They feature tread rubber, heavier depth with heavier patterns, and strong edges to cut into the snow.

• Tread Rubber: in all season and summer tires, tread will stiffen in cold temperatures inhibiting the proper traction. Winter tires see tread that is designed to remain flexible regardless of temperature.
• Tread Depth and Patterns: in winter tires, you see a more unique tread pattern or deeper divets in the tread to channel snow and slush, while also expelling water. Summer tires and all season tires have shallow tread and fewer patterns as it’s not an essentially part of driving in warmer weather.
• Biting Edges: Winter tires also have higher sipe densities, which is tiny slits in the tread providing higher traction on ice. 

Typically when you purchase your vehicle and drive it off the lot, they’re outfitted with all season tires. All season tires were designed to provide year-round performance, making them an extremely popular choice. They are versatile and designed to function well on wet roads and in light winter driving. If you’re looking for tires that will allow you to drive year round without any extreme winters or storms, these are the ones you want.

All season tires are the compromise between winter and summer tires, meaning they have to compromise certain attributes. They don’t provide the same grip or handling of a summer tire, or the same ice capabilities of a true winter tire. Just like with your footwear, you’ll want the more extreme of the three based on what the conditions are outside. Nobody wants to wear flip-flops in a snowstorm or snow boots during a heat wave! The choice to purchase an all season tire should be made when you live in a moderate climate, free of extreme cold or ice, and free from extreme heat in the summer. In the event that your tires are ineffective in a storm, and you potentially ding up your vehicle, we’re here to help!

Perks of Detailing Your Vehicle

We all crave that new car smell and feel. When you pull a new one off the lot, and it’s pristine, no smells waft out of the seats when you plop down and there’s no ground in goldfish from your kids in the backseat… That new car feeling is desirable, so what if you can get that feeling with the car you already own? There are many benefits to having regular details done on your vehicle, from the mental benefit of feeling clean, to impressing your friends with your sweet ride. What if detailing your car could up the resale value? Guess what, it does. Regularly detailing your vehicle has tons of benefits, and so here’s a couple of reasons why:

• Having your vehicle professionally detailed will clean out any excess salt from your wheels, undercarriage, wheel wells, engine compartment, and all the other nooks and crannies in your car. This prevents potential corrosion. 
• Even small scratches in the paint can oxidize, and having those scratches buffed out and sealed protect your vehicle from rust. Professional detailing products contain UV protectant's that will help keep your paint from fading. 
• The interior of your vehicle will fade from the sun, as well as absorb all kinds of random odors that are faint to you, but evident to others. A professional detailer can eliminate those odors and restore your interior with various products. 
• They will clean out your engine compartment. You read that right, a lot of people will wash their vehicle and forget that the engine compartment also needs to be taken care of! When you’re selling or trading in your vehicle, a clean engine compartment will instill confidence in the potential buyer by showing them that you maintain your vehicle. 

Market experts say that detailing can up the value of your vehicle by 15%. That’s an incredible jump for any car, especially if you’re in the position to purchase a new vehicle. If you know that you’re going to be in the market for something new in the near future, or even if you’re planning on keeping your vehicle until the end of time, taking care of your belongings will make them last longer. Get your car professionally detailed today for the peace of mind, and to protect one of the larger investments in your life.