Is Your Car Ready for an Oregon Fall?

If you’ve lived in the Willamette Valley for any length of time, you know what’s coming. If you’re new to the area, get ready!

The mornings are getting cooler, the days are getting shorter, and before long we’ll be driving to work in the dark and the rain again.

Your car notices the change too.

Fall is one of the best times to take a good look at your vehicle and make sure it’s ready for the months ahead. A battery that seemed fine all summer, tires that are getting a little thin or wipers you haven’t thought about since last winter can suddenly become a much bigger deal on a cold, rainy morning.

At Scott’s Automotive, we’d much rather help you find those things before they become an unexpected problem.

Here are a few things we recommend paying attention to this fall.

1. Take a Good Look at Your Tires

Oregon rain and worn tires aren’t a great combination.

Your tires have to move water out from underneath them to maintain contact with the road. As the tread wears down, they become less effective at doing that.

And tread depth isn’t the only thing we look at. Uneven wear can tell us a lot about what’s happening with your alignment, steering or suspension.



If you’re wondering whether your tires will make it through another winter, don’t guess. Let us measure them and find out.

2. Don’t Wait Until Your Brakes Start Making Noise

We hear this one all the time:

“My brakes aren’t making any noise, so I figured they were okay.”

Unfortunately, brakes don’t always give you much warning.

During service, we can measure the remaining brake material and look at the condition of the rotors and other braking components. That gives you a much better idea of what you actually have left.

If your brakes are getting close, we’d rather tell you now so you can plan for the repair instead of discovering it when metal starts grinding against metal.

3. Your Battery Made It Through Summer. How About Winter?

A battery can start your car perfectly well all summer and then struggle when the first cold mornings arrive.

That’s why fall is a great time to pay attention to an aging battery, especially if you’ve noticed the engine cranking a little slower than it used to.

Nobody wants to walk out the door on a cold, rainy Monday morning, turn the key and hear…

click.



If there’s any question about your battery or charging system, let’s find out before that happens.

4. When Did You Last Think About Your Wiper Blades?

Probably the last time it rained.

Wiper blades spend all summer sitting in the sun and heat. The rubber gets hard, cracks and loses its ability to properly clear the windshield.

Then the first good Oregon rain arrives and suddenly you’re looking through streaks.

If your wipers chatter, streak or leave sections of the windshield untouched, don’t wait until you’re trying to see through a downpour at night to replace them.

5. Can You See — and Can Everyone Else See You?

Shorter days mean more driving in the dark.

This is a good time to make sure your headlights, brake lights, turn signals and other exterior lights are all doing their jobs.

And don’t forget about the headlight lenses themselves. If they’re badly cloudy or deteriorated, even perfectly good bulbs may not give you the visibility they should.

Seeing the road is important.

Being seen is just as important.

6. Don’t Forget About Your Heater and Defroster

Your heater isn’t just there to keep your toes warm.

On a cold, damp Oregon morning, your defroster is one of the most important visibility systems on the vehicle.

If the heater isn’t getting very warm, the blower isn’t working correctly or you’re having trouble keeping the windshield clear, now is the time to get it figured out — not when it’s 38 degrees and raining sideways.

7. What Maintenance Have You Been Putting Off?

We all do it.

Maybe the oil service is coming due. Maybe you were told six months ago that your brakes were getting close. Maybe there’s a fluid service, filter or other maintenance item you’ve been meaning to take care of.

Fall is a great time to catch up.

And that doesn’t mean you have to do everything at once.

One of the things we try hard to do at Scott’s Automotive is help our customers make a plan. We can help you understand what should be taken care of now, what can wait and what you’ll want to budget for down the road.

We Want You to Know What’s Going On With Your Car

We don’t think taking your car to the repair shop should feel like a mystery.

That’s one of the reasons we use Digital Vehicle Inspections when we’re servicing your vehicle.

Our technicians document what they’re seeing with photos, measurements and notes. Then we send that information directly to you so you can see what we’re talking about instead of simply taking our word for it.

Some things may need attention now.

Some things should be planned for later.

And plenty of things may be perfectly fine.

We want you to know the difference.

That’s how we’ve always believed auto repair should work.