Pre-purchase inspection
In these days of fewer available vehicles you may see a vehicle that looks good both inside and outside. You ask if the seller would be willing to have a pre-purchase inspection and he is happy to do so.
The value of a pre-purchase inspection is good for the seller and the buyer. For the seller a pre-purchase inspection helps you value for your vehicle and for the buyer, you would not be buying a roach. It takes about 2 hours to do a pre-purchase inspection and is worth your time and money.
Types of Brake components utilized in brake repairs:
There are two main types of vehicle braking systems requiring brake repair components:
Disc brakes: Comprised of a rotor attached to the wheel hub directly. The hydraulic pressure from the master cylinder causes the caliper to squeeze the pads on either side of the rotor, and the resistance caused by this stops the vehicle.
Drum brakes: These brake repair components are brake shoes inside a drum that are mounted to the wheel hub. The hydraulic pressure in a drum system causes the shoes to press against the drum, stopping the vehicle.
In addition, vehicles have emergency brakes, which bypass your vehicle’s hydraulic system and use cables to compress the shoes or pads on your vehicle to ‘lock’ the rear wheels. Most vehicles also have ABS, or anti-lock braking systems. ABS works by ‘pumping’ your brakes repeatedly when the sensor detects wheel locking. This is extremely helpful in slippery conditions. Rather than holding the pedal down and locking the wheels, which will cause your vehicle to lose traction and steering ability, the ABS will ‘pump’ the brakes and improve traction, allowing you to retain control.
Marigold Service technicians have extensive experience in Victoria brake repair components including disc, drum, emergency and anti-lock.
Brakes are not like they were in the Flintstones cartoon where Fred used his feet to stop his car. When you think that brake maintenance and repairs can mean the difference between life and death, it makes sense to pay attention to your brake maintenance. At Marigold Service we provide brake inspections to make sure that your car has the brake maintenance it requires.
All brake maintenance work begins with some warning signs. This can include strange noises, a hard or low pedal feel on pushing your brake pedal or a squeal or vibration in your brakes. When we perform brake maintenance on your vehicle we start with a brake inspection to see how the various brake parts are working or worn. Brake maintenance is important. Waiting for that squealing sound can lead to tragic brake failure.
Properly maintained brakes are a number one priority. If brakes fail for any reason, stopping,
crashing and going over an edge are all a dire probability. For that reason, we check the brakes
and perform any brake maintenance when we do our major oil change. We also have a separate
brake inspection service to make sure that your brake maintenance is up to par.
A warm and dry rat nest inside the hood
of a car.
Even rats don’t like a lot of rain and seek shelter from the storm. It is always a surprise to look under the hood of a vehicle and find evidence of rats making a home in your engine bay. They chew wires, poop all over everything and bring food to their nest to feed their young.
With our Maintenance and Inspection service performed on a regular basis you are know what is going on with your vehicle because our motto is to perform inpsections for safety & maintenace so there are NO surprises. We alternate a in-depth inspection with a basic inspection every six months. We also do brake inspections, suspension inspections, diagnostics, tire rotations and XXX inspections so that you can stay on top of your maintenance and repairs.
See our list of maintenance services under:
Our Vehicle Maintenance Service Plan
Vintage GMC Truck before restoring
Ford Mustang after restoration
A collector by definition is someone who collects things. There are stamp collectors, book collectors and even stuffed animal collectors. As well, there is a breed of people out there who collect cars.
Victoria collector and antique vehicle owners are people who cherish certain types of vehicles. They could be old collector cars, fast cars, vintage cars, special brand cars and many more. The reasons for collecting cars are varied. Some Victoria collector and vintage vehicle owner collect a certain type of vehicle such as a Rolls Royce for its beauty and value. Other collector and vintage vehicle owners collect beat up vintage trucks, because their love is in the rebuilding the vehicle back to its former beauty. All Victoria collector and vintage vehicle owners care deeply about their vehicles and love the hunt for that special collector or vintage vehicle that is just around the corner.
We didn’t really see a lot of collector cars until we met a friend and her cars. She has Rolls Royce, Bentley, Mercedes. Paige, Austin, Leyland and more.
My husband, Ray’s eyes lit up as he surveyed her collector and vintage vehicles and started talking about how much he had read about them. Since then we have worked on collector, classic and vintage vehicles and have learned to take care of them as though they were our own. Each one is a priceless example of good manufacturing, ingenuity and care.
What defines a collector car? Basically a classic car is a vehicle that is at least twenty years old and no older than forty years. It also needs to be kept in its original design and specifications.
A vintage vehicle is built between 1919 and 1930 and an antique vehicle needs to be at least forty-five years old.
Many people enjoy collecting older vehicles. They are driven in parades, at shows and even do the occasional errand. Driving a classic or antique vehicle feels like a walk through time. It helps you to connect with bygone eras and imagine what the original owners may have felt when they purchased their brand new innovative cars; just as we appreciate our new vehicles today.
From appearances walking by or driving by our Marigold Service station, we look like any other independent service garage anywhere. Yet, what is going on inside Marigold has some interesting and helpful differences.
First of all, we value our clients time and their money. We strive to reduce your stress and save you time and money by swiftly communicating the labour and parts required for your repairs or maintenance and if we need to add on anything, you are infomed and must give your consent to any further costs.
Second, we have years of experience. When you check out our team members, you will see that Ray Attfield, owner and creator of Marigold Service has worked on vehicles since his teens. He has decades of information that he uses at Marigold Service to teach our staff.
Third, our staff also have many years of combined experience. They have worked both in dealerships and independent garages. They bring their knowledge from a wide range of establishments so that when you bring your vehicle to Marigold Service, it is not unfamiliar to us.
Fourth, our front office staff have years of experience in both dealerships and indendent shops. We seek to provide the best care possible for all of our clients.
Last, our shop is run by the staff, for the staff and they benefit from the profits that come in for their work. We provide sick leave, family leave, emergency leave, professional leave and of course, vacation leave. We believe that if you flatten the hierarchy and teach people how to run a business, everyone thrives and benefits. We all work together to provide the best care for both you and your vehicle.
The old adage of not being able to satisfy all of the people all of the time is certainly true in the automotive industry. Cars are necessary in our country to get around. If you live in an urban environment, you can use alternative transportation but not if you want to travel vast distances. As well, cars are a status symbol and if you want to fit in, you own one. The problems arise though if you cannot afford to maintain it. Two things happen then: your car runs down and the costs of repair increases and you get mad because you cannot afford to fix it. To resolve the problem is very difficult.
Our cost of living has increased dramatically over the last few years and if you are like most people, costs have risen faster than income. Everything is less affordable and you slip into trying to maintain the same lifestyle with less. It is like being on a treadmill and no matter how fast you run, you cannot catch up.
Some people then blame us. We are at fault because we charge so much to repair and maintain their vehicles. That is true. It is expensive. It is expensive for us too. The same pressures are on us. The cost of living is increasing and the cost of doing business is increasing. The merry go round seems to never end.
We try to resolve this by working with our customers to prioritize their repairs and maintenance. We have created the 400,000 km club to increase this awareness. We have kept our prices lower than most other garages and we are constantly negotiating with our suppliers on price and quality.
None of this is easy and none of it really satisfies the main issue of affordability. There is no real answer except that if you drive, please maintain your car. Make sure you do your oil changes and flushes on time. Have your brakes checked as well as your tires on a regular basis. Work with your garage on some kind of maintenance schedule. In this way, there are no surprises and no anger.
If you cannot afford to maintain your car, then check on the alternatives: bicycling most of the time or take a bus if you can or even walking if you are close enough to your destination. Perhaps then you could save a little more for your vehicle’s maintenance and have your car when you really need it.