Can You Afford to Not Get the Highest MPG Possible?
by Staff Writer
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"Depending on which vehicle I am driving, I pay between $60 and $85 to fill my gas tank. Then I go spend $150 for groceries, which only last three days for my family. I have started to worry where is all this money going to come from! I am not alone in this feeling, I hear it everyday from my customers. All of us are concerned about how to deal with the new realities of higher fuel costs," states Clarke Otten, owner of Professional Automotive Repair.

The cost of fuel is never going to be as cheap as it was a year ago. It is the "new reality" and we are going to need to change to live with it. Today all of us find ourselves with less spending money in our pocket, so spending wisely becomes more important.

Unfortunately many of us are often afraid to spend money on much of anything now, unless it is a necessity. I see it in my business everyday. Many of my customers are putting off service and only doing repairs that are absolutely necessary. While this hurts my business today, I also see bigger problems downstream for my customers.

Keeping your car serviced has never been more important. Many people are postponing car services due to tighter budgets. This only costs you more money in the long run through lower fuel economy. Here are just a few things that will decrease your fuel economy: a dirty air filter, worn out spark plugs, a slipping transmission, low tire pressure, wheels out of alignment, even a bent tailpipe or an improperly charged A/C system. A "check engine" light almost always indicates your car is not running at top efficiency! A poorly serviced car costs you money in lost fuel economy.

Deferred services are also the biggest cause for many expensive repair jobs that we perform. These are usually the jobs that the customer ends up having to make regardless of the cost, or their car will not run at all until they do.

Besides keeping our customer’s cars well-tuned, here are few of the tips we at Professional Automotive Repair share with our customers to help them save money on fuel. Some are reminders of things you have heard before, but there are a few other tips you might never have known, all of which will save you gas money by delivering more MPG to your existing vehicles.

Buy the right grade of gasoline. Many of the newer small, but high-powered engines require high-octane fuel. Because of sophisticated computer engine-management systems, these cars will run on lower octane fuel but the vehicles are essentially de-tuned to work with the lower quality fuel. This de-tuning is subtle. Most drivers don’t realize they are flooring the gas pedal more often to get the same acceleration they are used to. The net result is that your gas mileage goes down because you are opening your accelerator further and holding it down longer than you would be if you were burning the right octane fuel.

The time you buy your gas can often be an opportunity to save. Many gas stations increase their prices during the weekends. Some even change their prices higher during rush hour and then drop them once again during the off peak hours. Take notice of the posted prices near you and watch for price fluctuations. Try to time your fuel purchase during off-peak hours when prices are lower.

What you drive. Higher fuel prices will eventually result in more fuel-efficient cars being built as well as expanding the market of alternative fueled and hybrid cars. But buying the latest technology can be expensive. Consider buying a smaller used car for running errands and commuting. Keep your larger fuel-hungry cars in the drive to use when you are taking the whole family out, or are carpooling. A second smaller car, particularly a used one, can end up saving you more than trying to dump the bigger car on a market already flooded with other gas guzzlers and then paying top dollar to buy the latest technology.

Combine multiple trips into single trips whenever possible. Every time you start your car with a cold engine it uses extra gas until it reaches operating temperature. By combining trips, you have fewer fuel consuming warm-up cycles and you backtrack less often over the same few roads that you drive every time you leave home.

Look ahead! If you see a light turning red or brake lights coming on, take your foot OFF the gas pedal immediately. Why burn gas rushing up to the bottleneck, only to have to use up more of your brake pads to slow down when you get there? Most modern cars are designed to not burn ANY gas while you are decelerating, as long as your gas pedal is completely released. If you rush on up to the point where you have to slow way down or even stop, you then have to "pour on the gas" to get going again. I have often taken my foot off the gas when I see a red light two blocks away and started coasting my way to the intersection. While I am coasting down to a lower speed (and not using any gas) the light often turns green again before I get there. I thereby have saved gas and brake wear by not rushing up to the tie-up and then slamming on my brakes.

Another law of physics remains unbroken. It takes more energy to start a mass into motion than it does to keep it in motion. If you coast up to a traffic light and it turns green before you stop, even if you have slowed down to 5 MPH, you are still in motion and it takes less gas to speed back up than it would to start from a complete stop.

Then there are the standard driving tips that will always apply — slow down, don’t make "jack-rabbit" starts, and never drive with your foot resting on the brake pedal.

Clarke and his team invite you to visit them at any of their three locations. The Alpharetta—Roswell location is conveniently located at 421 South Main Street. The other two stores are in Marietta and Midtown Atlanta. For more information, please contact Professional Automotive Repair at (770) 442-9451 or online at www.atlprorepair.com.