AFS Service

Here’s a WI travel tip that I’ll bet you didn’t know, and, it might keep you safer:

The average American commuter spends two and a half hours daily in their car.

The government says a hundred thousand auto accidents yearly are caused by drivers who fall asleep at the wheel. Aggressive driving is the number-one traffic safety concern.

So what does this have to do with how your WI car smells?

Well, which scent did you think makes drivers more alert?

Is it:

A. Strawberry
B. New Car
C. Pine
D. Warm Vanilla Breeze

It’s C. Drivers in Hortonville are more alert and have less fatigue with pine scent in the car, according to AroMetrics.

And, WI drivers were less angry with overall improved driving performance with strawberry and pine scents.

And you thought they just smelled nice.

At AFS Service we install quality NAPA replacement parts. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

Sometimes the unthinkable happens here in Appleton… A terrible accident and those involved aren’t able to provide our local Appleton rescuers with emergency contact information. There are people who must be contacted to arrange help, give consent to treatment, inform paramedics of medical conditions, allergies or medications.

Too often, Appleton police and rescue workers must sift through pockets, glove compartments, wallets, purses and cell phone directories for clues – often wasting precious time.

A brilliantly simple solution is now spreading around the globe: ICE. ICE – standing for ‘In Case of Emergency’, is a way of identifying emergency contacts in your cell phone directory.

Simply put ‘ICE’ before a contact name, like ‘ICE – Dad’, ‘ICE – Nancy’, or ‘ICE – Doctor Roberts’. Rescuers will be able to quickly identify your emergency contacts, saving valuable time.

It’s easy and just takes a few minutes to designate some ICE contacts in your cell phone. Remember to keep the listings current.

From your friends at AFS Service in Hortonville WI, we’d like you to be as safe as possible while out on the road. Give us a call any time for great automotive advice:

AFS Service
330 E Main St
Hortonville, WI 54944
920.779.4199

At AFS Service we install quality NAPA replacement parts. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

We’re going to be talking about the ethics of automotive repair in Appleton. Unfortunately, every profession has some bad actors that hurt the reputation of everyone else. It’s no different in the Appleton area.

In the automotive world, Appleton industry associations and WI professional licensing organizations are very committed to high ethical standards.

Yet some people are still uncomfortable with automotive service and repair in Appleton.

If we understand what’s recommended and the benefits of taking care of the work – and the pitfalls of putting it off – we’ll have more trust in the recommendation. So communication is key. It’s like going to the doctor. If she’s using medical jargon and takes a lot of basic medical knowledge for granted, we have a hard time following her train of thought. We understand It can be like that with your service advisor at AFS Service, too. He’s so familiar with all things automotive, he may forget you don’t know a PCV from an EGT.

If you don’t understand what your doctor’s talking about: ask some questions. If you don’t understand what your Appleton automotive advisor at AFS Service is talking about: ask some questions.

Let’s go back to those ethical standards. When we hear a repair recommendation, we always ask ourselves, “Is this really necessary?” Well, here’s the industry standard:

If a Appleton auto technician tells you that a repair or replacement is required, it must meet one of the following criteria:

1. The part no longer performs its intended purpose;
2. The part does not meet a design specification;
3. The part is missing.

For example, it you take your car in for a grinding noise when you step on the brakes, you may just think you need new brake pads. After the inspection, the technician says that you have a cracked rotor and need to replace it. If you tried to get him to just put new pads on, he would say that if you didn’t want to replace the rotor, he would ethically have to refuse the repair. To just put pads on a cracked rotor would have been very wrong. The brakes could’ve failed at anytime: they needed to be repaired – not just have a band-aid slapped on them.

Now, looking at something not so serious, AFS Service may suggest repair or replacement if:

1. The part is close to the end of its useful life – just above discard specifications or likely to fail soon;
2. To address a customer need or request – like for better ride or increased performance;
3. To comply with maintenance recommended by the vehicle’s manufacturer;
4. Based on the technician’s informed experience.

Of course, AFS Service has the burden of making ethical recommendations and properly educating their customers. For the customer, if you are uncomfortable with a recommendation, ask some questions. More information is always a good thing.

Give us a call
AFS Service
330 E Main St
Hortonville, WI 54944

At AFS Service we install quality NAPA replacement parts. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

When we drive on our Hortonville WI streets, we encounter blind spots. We can greatly reduce our blind spots by properly adjusting our mirrors to give the widest coverage possible. Make the adjustments to your midside sedan before you start to drive.

First, adjust your rear view mirror to give the best possible view directly to the rear of your midside sedan or other vehicle type. You don’t need it to get a better view of either side of the car, the kids in the back seat or your dazzling smile. The rear view mirror should look to the rear.

Next, lean your head until it almost touches the driver’s side window. Adjust your side mirror so that you can just barely see the side of your car.

Now, lean your head to the middle of the car and adjust the outside mirror so that you can barely see the right side of the car.

With your midside sedan mirrors adjusted this way, you’ll have maximum coverage. Of course driving in Hortonville is a dynamic process – things change every second. So it’s wise to take a quick look to the side when passing to make sure that another vehicle hasn’t moved into an area you couldn’t see in your mirrors.

As you drive in the Appleton area, avoid staying in other diver’s blind spots. You can’t count on them to be watching their mirrors and looking out for you. Pass large trucks and buses on the left whenever possible. A trucks’ blind spot is much larger on the right.

Be attentive and wear your seat belts, and thank you for reading!

AFS Service
330 E Main St
Hortonville, WI 54944
920.779.4199

At AFS Service we install quality NAPA replacement parts. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.