If the check engine light pops on in your car is it time to panic? Definitely not. The yellow light on your dashboard has many meanings that range from serious problems like extreme engine trouble to simple issues like a loose gas cap. Most of the time drivers won’t have to immediately stop their car or call a tow truck if the light turns on, but ignoring the warning isn’t a good idea and could lead to serious damage to your engine. A simple solution for drivers with a check engine light is to take their car into a local...

Deposits from fuel can accumulate on your car's engine intake valves, injectors, ports, fuel injectors, and combustion chambers. Dirty fuel injectors, one of the most common problems, can cause clogging, which leads to a wide variety of engine problems such as loss of power, rough idle, hesitation, misfire, pinging, knocking and hard starting. However, one of the biggest problems, which can affect your wallet without you even noticing very easily, includes a drop in fuel economy, inferior performance or even dirty emissions. However, there is a simple way to clean fuel injectors that can result...

Starting 6/13/2010 through 7/3/2010 It's June 16th and Summer vacations are in full effect.  We're halfway through this summer month and this means you only have a few weeks to take advantage of this special offer from Michelin at your local Belle Tire stores: Between June 13th, 2010 and July 3rd, 2010, receive a $70 Mail-in Rebate when you purchase select sets of four Michelin tires Qualifications and Restrictions:     * A set of four(4) qualifying Michelin tires of the same model must be purchased at the same time.     * The set can only be for one vehicle.     * All offers expire at...

No one looks forward to having to replace the tires on their car, especially when times are tough.  That is why Belle Tire is happy to offer great tire coupons and auto care coupons, so your dollars go farther.   To add to the savings, manufacturers such as Goodyear are now offering rebates.  Here is a look at some of the rebate offers available right now from Goodyear on select eligible tires. Offer expires 7/10/2010. Between May 1st, 2010 and July 10th, 2010, receive great Mail-in Rebates when you purchase select sets of four Goodyear tires.  And….If you use your Goodyear Credit card...

Your local tire stores can help with more than just getting you a new set of tires. They have experts at recharging car air conditioning systems and can gauge check the system, recycle used Freon, check belts and evacuate the A/C system.  Regular air conditioning check-ups won’t just keep you comfortable; they could head off major repair bills.  Car Air Conditioning - Quite Possibly the Best Invention Ever Air Conditioning is often cited as one of man’s ten best inventions – instant comfort in hot weather at the touch of a button. When coupled with another of his ten best inventions,...

Building loyalty is important in any business. When it comes to buying tires, tire stores are faced with the fact that the average consumer doesn’t really want to buy tires and it is very low frequency purchase for many car owners.  Even so, a tire store wants customers to come back and become fans of the business vs. becoming fans of the competition. Providing the best customer service is really the main way to accomplish this strong relationship with all customers to keep them coming back but there are many ways to incentivize consumers to choose your business over competitors. Recent...

Airplanes, railway locomotives and even space shuttles have them. The earliest ones designed for automobiles where hand-cranked, then later vacuum-powered. Today they can be heated, set to operate at a variety of fixed speeds or only intermittently. Some even use optical sensors that activate them automatically and regulate their speed based on the amount of water on your windshield. No other feature of today’s automobiles, other than the headlamps and brake system, is credited with helping drivers avoid more accidents than your car’s windshield wiper system. That’s why experts recommend you clean your wiper blades every time you fill your...

These days, you can shop for just about anything online including wheels and tires. But like any other online purchase, you need to be sure just what that online price includes.  Online-only as well as traditional tire stores have websites that make it fairly easy to choose the type of tires and wheels you want (all you really need to know is the make and model of your vehicle), but they vary wildly in what they include with the price you see listed. Online-Only Stores Online-only stores have some of the lowest list prices you are liable to come across.  But keep...

By now everyone knows that you can save fuel and minimize tire wear by keeping them properly inflated and rotating them regularly. But to make the next big leap in fuel efficiency, drivers can take advantage of next-generation energy efficient tires being rolled out by several industry leaders including Michelin, Goodyear, Continental and Toyo. How much can you save? Goodyear advertises their Assurance FuelMax tires will provide up to 4 percent more fuel efficiency than standard tires. This could very well be a conservative estimate when you consider a story on iStockAnalyst.com. It chronicled how economy driving champions, Helen and John...

Tire store coupons can add up to big savings, especially in today’s tight economy. In fact, with just a click of a mouse, online coupons can help you save up to 50% compared to what you might pay at a domestic or import auto dealership. Add the“$20 Off Any Purchase” coupons some tire stores are now offering and you can save nearly 75%. In a recent mystery shop, a brand name replacement tire for a domestic SUV was $155 at a dealership but only $115 at a local tire store. With a “20 Off Any” coupon the price dropped to...