Florissant auto repair

Planning a trip anytime soon? With summer here, it is the perfect time to hit the open road, traversing through Florissant and beyond. The team at Gary’s Auto Service has compiled a list of day trips that you and your family can take this summer:  Springfield, Illinois: The state capital of Illinois is within driving distance of Florissant and is perfect if you are looking for a change of scenery, complete with many attractions of Abraham Lincoln.  Hannibal: This was the boyhood home of Mark Twain, and you can relive Huck’s adventures by browsing the museum decided solely to Twain and his childhood home.  Meramec Caves: Missouri is known as the cave state, and these caverns are an excellent example of this state’s claim to fame.  Hermann: Dripping in German heritage, this area is filled with wineries, complete with live music and outdoor terraces.  The Katy Trail: This walking tracks is over 200 miles long, winding throughout Missouri and bey ... read more

April showers mean May flowers! We may find ourselves driving to work in an onslaught of heavy rain and wind very soon. Before you start to worry, the team at Gary’s Auto Service has put together a few tips and tricks designed to keep safe and secure in the April showers:  Take your time! We can’t emphasize this tip enough. The slow and steady wins the race in the rain.  Lights, camera, action! Turn your headlights on for extra visibility and safety.  Have you ever heard of a bubble of personal space? You have one, and so does the vehicle in front of you. Make sure you maintain it, especially in the rain, as your visibility is diminished, and a sudden stop could prove disastrous.  Watch out for hydroplaning! Hydroplaning happens when your tires lose traction on the road due to extra water. It is easy to hydroplane, as you can even hydroplane with 1/12 of an inch of water on the road and a speed of more than 35 mph. If you start to hydroplane, take yo ... read more

    Have you ever been driving with a loved one, maybe during a date or just a night out with your wife or husband, and were in desperate search of that perfect love song, but couldn’t think of one? The team at Gary’s Auto Service in Florissant is here to help. Here are the top ten love songs that will just melt your heart:   “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston“Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Queen"Silly Love Songs" by Paul McCartney and Wings"Perfect” by Ed Sheeran"Endless Love" by Diana Ross & Lionel Richie ... read more

We can’t believe how fast the year is going. Spring is almost coming to a close, as the grass is green, the flowers have bloomed, and the sky seems to be a permanent shade of brilliant blue. The temperatures are going to continue to rise, and the sun continues to shine, as spring turns into summer.   And summer means school is out, and most of us are already planning our summer vacations and road trips. Before you embark on your adventure, make sure your vehicle is ready to go. Get your car ready for summer vacation with these 10 tips:   Don’t forget your tires. Your tires are one of the most critical components of your vehicle that if damaged or worn can jeopardize your safety. Bring your car to Gary’s Auto Service, and our technicians can take a look. Your brakes are imperative to the safety of you, your family, and your vehicle, and during winter, your brakes suffer through a lot of abuse. Give your car a little extra TLC with a car wash. Get ... read more

In the merry month of May, when all the trees are in bloom, our thoughts turn to the wide open road. With the rough winds of winter behind us and summer upon us, there’s really no better time to plan for that great American tradition: The road trip! Read on to learn Gary’s Auto’s hot tips for planning an epic road trip that won’t get you stranded!   First of all, check your fluids! Make sure that your power steering and brake fluids are topped off--and clean. Nothing would be worse than getting stuck miles from civilization and realizing your power steering has gone the way of the dodo because of lack of fluid!   Secondly, take a look at climate control. We all remember those miserable trips in the family station wagon, going down some remote highway with all the windows down in 100-degree heat, because there was no AC. Well, 1985 called, and it wants its roadtrip back. But you can’t keep the family cool if you don’t keep your coolant l ... read more

Happy Holidays from everyone at Gary’s Auto Service!   We know the holidays are really about rejoicing with those you love and that holiday shopping really should be an afterthought. But the gift of giving can bring you great joy, especially when you know you’re getting the right gift for that special person.   Think about it. For a couple of hours, you’re actually thinking about making others happy. How cool is that?! You anticipate their smiling faces when they realize that, rather than buying a quick gift card (because, after all, they know what they really want), you took the time to consider who they are and what they might like. That’s the joy of gift giving.  The art of giving them something they would not ordinarily buy for themselves, perhaps something they never even heard of.     It is with that in mind, we wish you an imaginative, rewarding gift-shopping experience and offer these ideas for the car lov ... read more

October is one of our favorite months, thanks to Halloween. We love seeing the little ghosts and goblins visiting each family’s car at the annual Trunk or Treat events at our church and other churches in the Florissant area. Normally, we would write a blog on Halloween driver safety, but we thought we’d take a different approach:  The Top 10 Tips for Driving Safely at Night.   After Daylight Savings Time ends, we all have the extra hazard of driving in the dark when we get off work. Two of the biggest accident days of the year occurs when the time changes. So, let’s share some helpful safe driving tips:   Look around. Before backing out of your parking space, turning a corner, or crossing an intersection, be sure you take a good look around to avoid pedestrians, bicyclists, animals, and other distracted drivers.   Drive slowly. At night, it’s harder to see people who are wearing dark clothing, or animals that are crossing the street. Whe ... read more

One of the biggest decisions we make is purchasing a car. It’s a huge investment and a stressful process from start to finish. At Gary’s Based on car sales and pricing from the past several years, it looks like August is one of the best times of the year to purchase a new car.   Due to a combination of the seasons changing from summer to fall, so there is less interest in car buying among most drivers. On top of that, most dealerships are looking to clean out their inventory to make room for newer models during August. This cost difference is exaggerated for SUV purchases, which drops over $400 compared to the average annual cost. If you’ve been looking for the right time to buy, this is it!   Although many car shoppers have considered times like Black Friday, New Year’s, and Christmas sales to be the best time to purchase a new car, the advertised discounts don’t add up to nearly as many savings as you can get by purchasing in August. The ... read more

  Traveling with kids in the car can be a messy, stressful prospect, especially when it's a long road trip! At Gary’s Auto, we love to keep it organized, so we’ve applied some of that logic to road trips with our own families! Here are a few pointers from us on how to keep things fun, happy, and tidy the next time you travel with the kids!     1. Never underestimate the wonder of Ziploc baggies. You would be surprised how many uses you can find for these! Use them to pack each day’s outfit for the kids to keep things organized. You can also pack up snack ahead of time and use the baggies for resealable storage rather than having chips everywhere.     2. Bring car-friendly activities and fun! We suggest investing in an in-car organization system like ... read more