Tag Archives: AUTOMOTIVE

The Importance of Having Properly Inflated Tires

The Importance of Having Properly Inflated Tires

It can be easy to overlook the amount of air in your tires. There are no warning lights and the difference between a properly inflated tire and one that needs more air can be subtle.  You may figure that you’ll get your tires checked the next time you get your oil changed. If you get your oil changed regularly, that is probably fine. Still, you don’t want to not ever think about your tires. After all, if your tires aren’t inflated properly, you could have some problems. The operative word here is “could.” You may not have any issues whatsoever. But when your tires’ pressure gets low, more of the surface of the tires touches the road, the flatter your tire becomes. As you can imagine, the flatter the tire, the more friction is being developed where the rubber meets the road. That can make the tire overheat, and that’s when anything can start happening. Maybe your tire just gets worn down faster. Maybe the tread gets more ragged. And maybe ... read more

Franchisee Spotlight – Jason Shastri

Franchisee Spotlight – Jason Shastri

Sometimes, franchises will be referred to as turn-key businesses.  An established system is already in place and all you need to do is turn the key and open the door, and you can start work. Most franchise owners know that that’s hardly true and kind of an insult to the process. There’s a lot involved in buying a franchise, and often, you’re looking for a location and then going through the process of getting a building constructed. Then you hire and train a quality staff. It isn’t as if somebody just hands you keys to a business. The exception to this is when you buy an existing franchise, particularly when it has been around for some time and been very successful.  Jason Shastri did exactly that late last year, when he bought the Mr. Transmission/Milex franchise in Stafford, Texas, which had been in business for about 30 years. “One of the things I liked about the store is that it had a good reputation with its customers.  It didn&rsquo ... read more

Filters – Their Importance and why They Need to be Replaced

Filters – Their Importance and why They Need to be Replaced

Many times when a car’s oil needs to be changed, or it is taken in for a repair, a filter may need to be replaced.  There are several different kinds of filters on cars, with each serving different functions.  Here is an overview of what they do to protect your car and why they need to be replaced on a regular basis to help keep your vehicle running properly. Oil filter This automatically gets replaced whenever you come in for an oil change. The oil filter keeps little metal shavings from landing in the oil pan, which is at the bottom of the engine. If those shavings would get in there, they could hurt your engine. Why? Because the oil in that pan is pumped throughout the engine to lubricate, clean and cool the moving parts. It would be a problem if you have metal shavings being pumped along with your oil.  By getting your oil changed on a regular basis, you shouldn’t have oil filter issues. Air filter The most simple ex ... read more

How Cold Temperatures Affect Your Car

How Cold Temperatures Affect Your Car

This winter has been dangerously cold at times, with the recent polar vortex and its subzero temperatures. So naturally, we at Moran Family of Brands have been thinking about how the elements affect your car. Over the course of a typical winter, the elements can take a toll on your car.  If we have any more bitterly cold days ahead of us, you’ll want to pay close attention for these potential problems with your car. Your battery is at risk of dying. If your car gets extremely cold, the battery could freeze. Now, the good news is that it must get extremely cold before that happens. Some experts suggest as cold as negative 76 degrees.  That said, even at 32 degrees, your battery can start having problems. Your best bet is to keep your battery connections clean and free of corrosion, and if you’re ever stuck in the house because there’s snow outside, or it’s extremely cold, you might want t ... read more

Four Ways Co-Branding Can Grow Your Business

Four Ways Co-Branding Can Grow Your Business

Most business owners want to grow a business. The question is – how to grow it? After all, there are a lot of ways to grow a business in the wrong way. You can expand your business to the point that you’re spending more on the infrastructure or inventory than you’re receiving in revenue. You can spread yourself too thin, where your business is doing too many different things and none of them very well. There’s a reason the term growing pains is often thrown around. Growing can involve a fair amount of agony. That’s why we’re big fans of co-branding, the concept of having a business that has two or three or more brands under one roof. In other words, if you run a Milex Complete Auto Care, a full-service auto repair shop, you might also be the owner of a Mr. Transmission, which does transmission and clutch repair. It’s a way of growing and avoiding growing ... read more

Don’t Warm Up Your Car Before Driving – and Other Things to Avoid in the Winter

Don’t Warm Up Your Car Before Driving – and Other Things to Avoid in the Winter

It is a common practice in winter and maybe you’ve done several times. There is snow covering your car and ice has settled over your windshield. And it is very cold. So, you trudge outside, start up your car and go back in your house and wait for the car to defrost. Contrary to popular opinion, that isn’t what you should be doing. In fact, there are several mistakes people make with their cars during the winter. Here are a few. Letting your car idle while it warms up. Several minutes isn’t going to kill your car, obviously, but letting it run while you finish breakfast inside is can be bad for your engine – unless your model is one that was built before 1995. Most cars built before 1995 had a carburetor, which combines air and fuel. With those cars, it was a good idea to let the car warm up for a while, as it helped your odds of the engine running properly once you started driving. But when car dealers began making engines with a fuel injectio ... read more

How to Prepare Your Car for Winter

How to Prepare Your Car for Winter

Winter is now here, which can be an enemy for cars across many parts of the country.  Cold temperatures, snow, sleet and ice can cause problems on how a car operates and drives on the road. Not having your car prepared for the winter can be potentially harmful to you, as well as others on the road.  So if your car isn’t winterized yet, it’s time to get your car prepared. Think about your battery. Freezing temperatures can reduce a battery’s power by up to 50 percent – and during the winter, when you have the heat on, the defroster going and maybe the windshield wipers, you’ll want your car to be operating as well as possible. You’ll also want to keep track of your battery’s age, so that you don’t wind up stuck somewhere in the cold.  Car batteries often last three to five years. Monitor your fluids. You probably know that keeping your antifreeze and coolant mix at the appropriate levels ... read more

Growing Your Business with Multiple Franchise Brands and Locations

Growing Your Business with Multiple Franchise Brands and Locations

Some people think that if you’re a franchise owner, that’s it. You own one franchise, and you’re almost a glorified employee who works for the franchisor. You aren’t really a business owner. You can never grow your business. You just have one stand-alone store in the franchise network, and that’s it. But that simply isn’t the case, as you may already know. Some franchise owners end up running businesses that operate and manage several different franchises. You could own a corporation that has five gas stations in a region, six restaurants and three clothing stores. No, it wouldn’t happen overnight, but the point is that some people do take that approach. Those people are often called master franchisees or area developers, and obviously, it takes a long time to get to that stage in one’s career, if you go that route. But the point is, being a franchise owner never means that you can’t grow and expand your business – and we tak ... read more

Your Check Engine Light is Talking To You. Are You Listening?

Your Check Engine Light is Talking To You. Are You Listening?

You would think that most drivers, if a check engine light came on, would take their car into be serviced – right away. Because it says check engine. But as you know, if you’ve been driving awhile and owned a few cars in your lifetime, that doesn’t always happen. People are busy. Sometimes money is tight. And if the car is still driving and seems okay, it’s easy to justify not taking your vehicle in. And the more days, weeks or even months that go by, the easier it becomes to rationalize. “The car is running fine,” you may be thinking, “and I have this money in the bank, and I don’t want to complicate my life with a big car repair bill. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” But the problem with that thinking is -- it probably is broken! So, yes, fix it. And taking your car in now may save you from a far, far bigger car repair bill in the future. At Milex Complete Auto Care ... read more

Four Bad Car Habits to Break

Four Bad Car Habits to Break

We all have bad habits, and some of them are worse than others. And sometimes our bad habits can really hurt us, literally and financially. We see that sometimes at Milex Complete Auto Care. That’s why we thought we’d spotlight some bad car habits that a lot of people do – that can sometimes cause you to bring their car in to be looked at, far more than they had planned. What sort of bad habits are we talking about? Well, see if you ever do any of these. You ignore a potentially troubling sound coming from your car. Maybe it’s the brakes. A screeching sound. Perhaps it’s a banging sound. None of those sounds are good, but maybe you downplay their significance if your car is still running without a problem. If you’re hearing screeching when you’re braking, you probably need brake pads, and if you’re not careful, and the screeching continues, you may need to replace the brak ... read more

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