10 Top Tips for Spring Cleaning your Vehicle

What winter we had, is finally over and now it's time to think about sunnier days and April showers. Has your vehicle benefited from the same maintenance you're currently doing to your house? Spring is the beginning of long weekend getaways and vacation road trips, and taking the time to perform seasonal maintenance today can help avoid any problems later.

Here are our Top 10 tips for getting your car ready for the spring. Some will help your vehicle look (and smell) better, but most are designed to help it perform more efficiently and get better gas mileage.

1. Clean Your Undercarriage.

Winter road salt can be a real problem for the modern car by eating away at its undercarriage, not to mention the chunks of road debris that collects underneath your vehicle during the winter months. Head to the car wash and spring for the undercarriage cleaning option, alternatively you can get a detailer to do a thorough cleaning job if you prefer. Spring is also a good time to check your entire vehicle for rust, which can worsen during the winter months.

Getting those new tires just got easier!

Just in time to help with selecting those new tires, the Curry's website has a new tire selector and fitment guide to help you peruse your options online. All it takes is a few clicks and you can enter your vehicle information and you'll be able to see what your options are in an instant. Tell us where you are and your nearest Curry's location will either call or email you with an accurate quote for the tires you selected.

Now, the first question we always get asked is, "Why do I have to get a quote, can't I just order them online, then come in and have them fitted?"

More to share

I still can't believe we have a bright, beautiful mural on our wall. We've been talking of doing something like this since we moved in. I simply love how Aniekan brought in all the elements about the surrounding area. He added a flag and even some silk flowers for the girls hair (look closely on the figure on the far left) for a 3D effect! We have an image of a fish jumping out of Four Mile Run stream (that is behind the shop, silhouette of a biker and a walker on the W&OD path that is across the street, and of course, an Arlington Little League baseball player practicing at Barcroft Park!

At Curry's, we have some crazy, unique ideas to add to the mix of car maintenance, tires, and inspections that we do each day. Why not add a little fun to our surroundings and showcase our community?

So, tell me what you think!

Got Lead?

Are your wheel weights lead free?

When I realized that lead weights are still being used in our industry, I was shocked to say the least! I spoke to Bob Nightingale, a sales rep from Hennessy that supplies weights to auto repair shops. It seems that the majority of car dealers and auto shops still balance tires with lead weights! These weights can become loose over time and end up on the roadside, in our soil and eventually our streams and waterways. Add up all the cars out there and you can see why this has become an environmental and health issue.

The alternative material, steel, has been used most recently. Steel has only become the replacement of choice recently since they are finally affordable. The manufacturing process for these involved the investment of all new equipment which made the cost prohibitive for several years. Steel wheel weights are slowly and finally becoming a norm in our industry. They also are becoming more sleek with special coatings and options to either clip-on or stick-on.

You might want to check your weights to see if you've got lead. Curry's has been using steel for the last year, so we can help out if you're unsure.

Tire Pros Annual Meeting

Some Curry’s Associates are attending the Tire Pros Annual meeting in Miami, FL and are getting updates on how to better serve our customers with new technical advice on tires and industry trends.

Tire Pros is one of the biggest networks of independent tire dealers and is growing in both membership and services available to customers at the meeting they exclusively announced the upcoming launch of their all new website, which brings with it more intuitive navigation, an interactive tire fitment guide and a host of other exciting features.

For Curry's customers, look out for a Tire Pros exclusive tire deal with Continental tires that coming this May! (Details on this will be on our website and in an upcoming CurryLink newsletter). I’ve been told that it’s really muggy and hot in Miami right now since there have been several thunderstorms that have passed through the area = No sun!

And THIS was spotted on the beach:


Eeeeewwww!