Automobile Retailers

For those owners of Buick used cars that live in some of the cold states, it’s about that time. That’s right – it’s time for some preventative fall maintenance before the winter hits. It’s important to take care of your Buick used cars before the first snowfall because you will not want to get out in the cold weather and do these things. Here are some things to keep in mind before Old Man Winter starts blowing.

Check your battery. Batteries tend to be less efficient during the colder months of the year. Some of them will even die on you at the most inconvenient times (I’ve learned this one the hard way). Get your battery checked for free at Autozone or another auto parts store and avoid the costly towing charges and getting stuck somewhere for hours.

Check your brakes. You should keep your brakes in tip-top condition throughout the year. However, it’s even more important to make sure they’re in good working order if you’re going to be driving through the slush and the snow. Getting them changed before signs of trouble will save you money in the long run anyways.

Check your wipers. These are usually forgotten parts of the car, but they are so important. Make sure they don’t have any cracks in them before winter hits. If they are leaving streaks or smears on your windshield, replace them. It’s easy and inexpensive.

These are just a few tips for preparing your Buick used cars for the cold months ahead. If you have any questions, you can take your car to the service center of your local Buick dealer and get a full checkup just to be safe.

As a representative of your local PA dealers, I don’t like to get political on this blog. This isn’t the time or place to try to sway somebody’s vote either way. But when important political events occur in or around the state, your PA dealers want to recognize them. This is one of those events.

On Monday night, remaining members of the legendary Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers Band came together at the Bryce Jordan Center to increase awareness of the importance of voting. I’ll give you two chances to guess who they are supporting.

The musicians from the 60s entertained played on the Penn State University stage for about 15,000 people. That makes me wonder how many people actually remember the names Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Phil Lesh and Bill Kreutzman. However, this was the first time the four musicians got together since 2004, although three of the four did a concert in support for one candidate in California early this year.

Mickey Hart, drawing from his drumming expertise as part of the Grateful Dead, supports his candidate’s views on global warming. “The Grateful Dead does not take this lightly,” he said.

Your PA dealers and your local Buick dealer want to encourage you to get out and vote, too. However, we want you to become an informed voter and vote the way you see fit rather than voting for someone a musician wants you to vote for. I like “The Dead,” but I don’t like when any musician tries to influence the way someone votes.

The “big day” is less than three weeks away. Mark it on your calendar and don’t forget!

It’s well-known that the media tends to dwell on the negative and even exaggerate the news at times. So when the news and media outlets say that local car dealerships are doing horrible, your local Buick auto dealers disagree.

It is true that car sales have fallen in recent month. As a result, the car companies are feeling the pinch. But your Buick auto dealers want you to know that it’s not as bad as it sounds. And even though times are tighter than usual, that’s not always a bad thing.

Rick Cole, the director of auto sales nationally, said that the media doesn’t accurately reflect what’s happening at the smaller car lots across the nation. “We’re not seeing what we’re hearing in the news media,” he stated. “If you’re out here in the marketplace…[local dealerships are] not seeing a lot of difference.” In fact, some local Buick auto dealers and other manufacturers are selling more cars than ever. Cole also said that you may notice several local dealerships closing in the months to come, but that’s only because the automakers want to streamline their business and consolidate their resources. As a result, they are buying many dealers out and closing up shop in smaller towns and cities.

Now is the perfect time to visit your local Buick dealer and get behind the wheel of a luxurious vehicle. Check one out now!

Buick used cars are some of the best cars on the road. I was just telling my wife the other day that Buick makes an awesome car and that’s why you see so many older Buick used cars on the road. But from time to time, you may need to visit your local mechanic with your Buick used cars for routine maintenance or other repairs. If so, here are some things you should know before talking to the mechanic.

Know your vehicle’s information. Before you talk to a mechanic, you need to know your car’s make, year, model and engine size. Mechanics can’t even give you an estimate or tell you what’s wrong if you don’t this basic information. If you’ve had an oil change recently, you can usually find this information on the receipt. Otherwise, there are stickers on the inside of the door and underneath the hood usually that will tell you.

Know what’s wrong with your car. I don’t mean that you should have your car diagnosed before visiting a mechanic. I do mean you should be able to describe the reason you’re coming to the mechanic. If you smell burning rubber, describe when this happens. If it’s because of a funny noise, be sure to listen so you can describe this accurately.

The service station at your local Buick dealer is more than happy to check out any problems you’re having with your car. Visit one today to make sure your Buick used cars are running in tip-top shape!

Your PA dealers are concerned about helping you get the most out of your car while staying safe on the road. That’s why we want to offer an important gas-saving tip that might also help prevent accidents when you’re on the highway.

Did you know that driving slower can help you save gas? If you’re like me, you always try to “hurry to the gas station” when the fuel light comes on. But apparently, this is counterproductive.

Hypermilers have made a point to tell people to “slow down” if they want to save gas. One hypermiler – Ramon Schmidt – has put this habit to the test. He has found that each of his vehicles get at least 40 miles to the gallon. “I prefer to invest my money, rather than spend it on (gas),” he said. “And if I don’t have to spend it, why do it?” He lives by the mantra that a “heavy foot makes your wallet lighter.”

By slowing down and keeping your car maintained (proper tire pressure, clean spark plugs and air filter), you can save two or three miles for ever gallon!

With these figures in mind, get a new or certified used car from your local Buick dealer and put these practices to the test. You’ll not only save gas, but you may also save a life!

A recent article in The Washington Post is a review of the 2009 Buick Enclave. The title of the article – “Buick Enclave a luxury, comfort combo” – basically sums up this new compact SUV in just a few words. However, here are some other highlights from the review. When you’re doing reading, you might just want to take a trip to your local Buick auto dealers to see one for yourself!

• Tom Keane, the article’s author, calls the 2009 Enclave CXL a “combination of style and grace with elegance and precision.”
• The interior had a “sparkle [that] could be seen everywhere.” He described the inside of the Enclave as behind “upscale and very sophisticated.”
• Some of the reviewer’s favorite features on this vehicle included the heated sideview mirrors, the rear camera that is attached to a dash-mounted screen so the drive can see what’s behind the vehicle and the six-speed automatic transmission. He also mentioned that the V6 288 horsepower engine is capable of towing nearly 4,500 pounds.
• The base price of the 2009 Enclave is just a bit more than $38,400, but it can go up to about $47,000 if you choose all the “bells and whistles.”

Why not visit your local Buick dealer and see why the 2009 Enclave is getting so many good reviews? Take one for a test drive and you’ll undoubtedly agree.

The General Motors plant in Fairfax is going to start producing a new car for Buick auto dealers beginning next year. The new Buick passenger car is likely going to be the new LaCrosse and it will be a sure hit at Buick auto dealers across the nation.

In addition to the new Buick model, the Fairfax plant is also building the Saturn Aura and the new Chevrolet Malibu models. Production starts in February, according to UAW official John Melton.

“Building three different models on the same line is not new to us,” according to Melton. “We’ve done that before. We always like getting new products in here.”

The production of the new Buick adds about 100 hourly jobs at the Fairfax plant, bringing the workforce up to nearly 3,000 employees. These workers are going to be experienced employees that are coming from the “idled facilities” around the country.

General Motors isn’t releasing any details about the name or style of the new Buick model. However, auto publications and analysts are speculating that it’s going to be a redesigned 2010 Buick LaCrosse.

Keep your eyes peeled for these new vehicles at your local Buick dealer.

One of the largest groups of drivers on the roads today is senior citizens. Most of them are good drivers. They use their turn signals, they know where they are going and they are very cautious about their driving habits. However, some older drivers thing it’s acceptable to drive even when they can’t see very well.

That’s exactly the problem that some GM researchers are trying to fix. They are working on a “futuristic windshield” that combines infrared sensors, lasers and a camera to help drivers see “what’s happening on the road” more clearly.

This technology is still in the research stage. However, with the senior citizen population in the United States almost doubling in size over the next two decades, there’s no better time than the present to begin working on something like this.

The new windshields will do many things. When it’s foggy outside, for instance, a laser “projects a blue line onto the windshield that follows the edge of the road.” If something is in the path of the driver, sensors detect it and they project an outline of it onto the windshield. These are just a couple things these “futuristic windshields” can do.

Until these new windshields are available on the market, why not visit a local Buick dealer and find a car with the latest safety features and technologies available? You owe it to yourself and other drivers if you’re going to share the road with them.

On Friday, we provided a brief timeline of some of the important years in Buick’s early history. Today, your Buick auto dealers bring you some more important dates in the history of the Buick automotive company.

1926 – Buick began producing more than 260,000 cars each year.

1939 – Buick releases a car that uses the very first rear turn signal flashers. Unfortunately, people have forgotten how to use them in the last 50 years.

1942 – The “toothy grill” that has become synonymous with Buick cars was introduced, but it became even more popular during the postwar era.

1948 – The Buick Roadmaster becomes the first car to have a torque converter automatic transmission.

1951 – The Buick LeSabre makes its debut as a concept car.

1959 – The Buick logo, also known as the Trishield, was adopted in time to mount on the 1960 lineup. Each shield was supposed to represent each model of the lineup that year, including the Invicta, LeSabre and Electra.

1983 and 1984 – Buick breaks worldwide sales records with more than one million sales.

1985 – Buick-powered cars won the second qualifying spot for the Indianapolis 500.

2000 – The Buick LaCrosse makes its debut as a concept car. It goes into production soon after.

2004 – Buick lets go of the Oldsmobile brand.

And the rest, as they say, is history. Now that you may have a new appreciation for this automobile brand, why not visit your local Buick dealer and take one for a drive today?

You can find Buick used cars at nearly any GMC dealer in your area. Buick used cars are great investments because the automaker makes great products that last for a long time. But how did today’s Buick used cars get to be where they are today? Here is a brief timeline of the Flint-based automaker with some of the more important years of its development.

1902 – David Dunbar Buick began the Buick Motor Car Company in Detroit.

1904 – William Crapo Durant took over the company as David Buick was having financial troubles.

1908 – Durant incorporated the General Motors Corporation into the brand.

1911 – Buick offers the first car with a closed-body.

1926 – The Buick Master Six hits the market. It featured “four drum brakes, a three-sped transmission and a switch on the steering wheel to dim the lights at night.”

1929 – Buick launches the Marquette. This was designed to “bridge the price gap” between the Buick brand and the Oldsmobile brand. Production of the Marquette only lasted for a year.

1936 – The Buick Century hits the market as one of the automaker’s sportier models. It could reach speeds of 100 miles per hour. That was quite a feat back in those days.

1949 – The Riviera was introduced into the Buick lineup. This was a hardtop coupe.

Come back on Monday for some more important dates in the history of one of the nation’s most recognized brands. Until then, visit a local Buick dealer and check out what’s available for you!