24 Hour Mechanic

Absolutely - carrying our a car remap will improve what your car is able to achieve both in terms of fuel economy and in power BHP output. So you'll have the best of both worlds in terms of improved car performance.

If you still have your vehicle's manual it will normally provide some indicative mileage of when to change your timing belt. Often this will range between 60,000 to 100,000 miles.  Will many things car relating there can be a temptation to try and eke out a replacement for as long as possible. However, if the timing belt brakes whilst driving it is likely to cause your engine some serious damage which will be much more costly than a timing belt replacement. The following list could be indicators that your timing belt is nearing its end and you should not delay in getting it replaced: vibrations of the vehicle, a loss of engine power, issues starting, noises coming from the engine area near the belt, engine light warnings - including overheating

Contact us to arrange a check or replacement of your timing belt to ensure you can continue to drive your vehicle safely.

Clearly, it doesn't really matter where you live to how often you need to get your car serviced. Historically the rule of thumb was every 12,000 miles or every 12 months whichever came first. For vehicles, over 10 years this is still a good guide and will help ensure your car stays in good running order and importantly will help keep a more costly car repair from occurring - prevention rather than cure approach. 

However, for more modern cars with improvements in components, materials and lubricants you should be fine following manufacturers guidelines. If you've not got your manual this information should be relatively easy to find online. For many vehicles now guidelines of 20,000 miles are becoming more common but don't be tempted to stretch things further as there will be certain procedures and replacements of parts are certain service intervals which are important to follow to ensure you get the best performance from your vehicle.

Lists compiled from motoring organisations often have the main car issue being related to the gearbox.  Whilst not easy to detect - poor gear changes can cause extra stress and strain on a gearbox which can cause costly damage to repair.

Close behind gearbox problems is electrical issues., which isn't that surprising when you see how many more items of a vehicle are being monitored by a computer. Hardly any new car will have a manual front window, gone are the oil checks with dipsticks and an oily cloth. Even tyre pressure monitoring is now under the watchful eye of the car computer. However, clearly, this is not without its problems as quite often a warning light will be displayed when no fault exists. Fortunately, the reverse of this is a much rarer occurrence but some electronic systems will prevent the driving of the vehicle if a certain fault is detected - which can clearly be infuriating if there is no fault. 

In closely behind electrical issues in the third position are clutch problems. For older vehicles this is a more common occurrence as simply more driving will lead to wear of the clutch causing slipping and eventual burnout.

If you suspect any of these problems why not bring your vehicle by and we can run some diagnostics along with some old fashioned visual checks to see if you have an issue, or potential issues, looming...

If you start to feel your vehicle pulling to one side or notice that while you are driving in a straight line that your steering wheel isn't perfectly straight these are the two main indicators that your tracking is out. The most common cause of wheel misalignment are potholes - especially the deep ones which will give your car a jolt. Similarly, harsh driving across speed bumps can also start to cause misalignment.

If you don't get this repaired this will impact your tyres as they will wear unevenly, which will also have some effect on your fuel efficiency - both of which will end up costing you money. More importantly though it can negatively impact braking performance especially on ABS brakes so it is advisable to get your wheel aligned as soon as you notice one of the above signs

It's quite simple to have an idea of when your car's air conditioning may need a regas: if you notice that your air conditioning is just not as effective at cooling as normal then a recharge is most likely the reason. Of course, we will check that this is the reason and if so, simply topping up your aircon system with additional recharge of refrigerant should get your air conditioning working back to normal along with any air or pollen filters, which may also need cleaning.

There are a number of signs to indicate your exhaust system needs repair or replacement - some will be more obvious than others.

One of the trickier symptoms to spot is a reduction in fuel economy. A poor performing exhaust burns more fuel in order to provide you with the same power output. However, If you notice your acceleration is slower than usual this will make this aspect a little more obvious.

The next set of indicators are much more noticeable: if you can hear noises from your exhaust or bottom of your car whether it is a knocking, growling, rattling or banging sound each is a hint that something is wrong with some aspect of your exhaust. If you then have a look and upon visual inspection see that your exhaust is hanging lower than usual there is definitely a problem. Another clear sign is a strong smell of gas or a burning smell each signalling a failure of gases to pass through your catalytic converter properly. 

If you notice any of these symptoms be sure to get in touch to get the root problem identified and fixed before further damage to your vehicle occurs. 

We are Reading Mechanics who specialise in mechanical and electrical car repair work and ongoing maintenance and improvement through car servicing, MOTs and car remapping. If you have been involved in an accident and require bodywork repairs we would suggest a specialist car body repair workshop. Clearly we can help repair the workings of your car to enable you to drive your vehicle there.

Currently, we do not - although this may be something w look at in the future as many of our customers would like to use us for all aspects of car repairs, maintenance and replacements. Keep watching this space...