Winter driving season is nearly here and drivers will soon be taking their cars to the shop. That can be a hassle, but a Blair County garage is offering free, do-it-yourself tips that could save you hundreds of dollars down the road.

One of the simplest tricks is checking your tire tread and that can easily be done with a depth gauge. All you do is push the gauge into the tread and check the measurement. As long as it's more than 2/32, there is enough tire hitting the road to safely drive.

The staff at Professional's Auto Body and Car Pro said they want to make sure that their customers buy only what they need.

"We don't want people to get an inspection and be told they needed a set of tires, when it doesn't," said Ron Perretta, owner of Professional's Auto Body and Car Pro.

Getting that new set of tires could cost you hundreds of dollars that you didn't necessarily need to spend. But weigh that cost against using a depth gauge, which will only run you about $6.

Professional's Auto Body has more than 60 years combined experience in the car repair industry. At a free training session, they passed along simple, but effective tips.

While we're on the topic of tires, checking the pressure could also save you big bucks as long as you know the right number.

"Some people say put more in, some people say put less in. But when you do that, you're going to have tire wear that shouldn't be there," said Perretta. "They're going to lose 5 to 10 thousand miles on the set of tires. They're going to replace tires much sooner than they should."

So how do you know what the right pressure is for your tires? The professionals said if it's a manufacturers tire, the number will be on the inside of your door. If you've replaced the tires, the number will be on the side wall. If you end up needing new tires, keep a wary eye out.

"There's that valve, it's a computer that sends a signal to another computer that's in your dash that monitors what the air pressure is. They're pulling out the computer and putting a traditional one in," said Perretta. "What we showed you was $80. They're putting a traditional one in that's $1.80. What that does is you're taking the computer chip out of that wheel, that's not going to send a signal to the dash computer. That's going to put a light on that won't go out."

Checking your fluids is also important. Let's start with anti-freeze. The professionals say it's not the universal green liquid we're all accustomed to.

Service manager Tom McMullen said, "There's green, orange, pink, yellow. Ford had their own. Toyota has their own, Nissan, Volkswagon. All manufacturers are going to their own types of anti-freeze."

Also, check the transmission fluid and keep up with oil changes.

"I would say 3,000 to 5,000. I wouldn't let it go to 5,000 on regular oil. Synthetic oil, you can get away with 7,500 or so," said McMullen.

One last tip: If the battery keeps dying, it might not be the battery at all. It could be the alternator, the equipment that charges the battery.


So why are "The Professionals" so willing to "pay it forward" with this free advice?

"We know how difficult it is out there. Businesses having a difficult time, consumers having a difficult time," said Perretta.

Because of that, "The Professionals" said many car shops are taking advantage of their customers.