May 21, 2012
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- It's a 1989 BMW with nearly 200,000 miles. And i wanted to find out if it's worthy of safe holiday travel. And if you're like me, thinking everything's ok, you'll be as surprised as I am.
"Every vehicle that comes to us we always look at the breaks. We check the condition and we're going to check the pad depth. How much break pad you've got left," said Fisher Tire mechanic Phillip Yoder.
On my rear breaks, about 60-percent. Not bad, but the rear tires have issues.
"right there's your wear bar and that's as far as you're supposed to run your tire. Once the tire's to that point it's time to replace the tires. Your tires have worn out. There's a screw in here and we can internally fix tires."
Yoder had more. "Safety issue with the headlights, of course the light does not shine out that bright. "We're going to check air filter quality, which is definitely a gas mileage concern and this one is rather dirty and I would recommend replacement of the air filter here."
"We check your coolant, the condition of the coolant and the coolant is starting to get a little dirty."
All the belts look good, but clearly my BMW needs some minor fixes so I don't end up a driving turkey this Thanksgiving.
"Who knows where you might be when a break down happens and the expense of that repair," said Fisher Tire manager Jim Pendergrass. "There may not be readily accessible parts for that vehicle depending on the age so that's something you've got to look out for."
My older car is typical of what your may need before you head out on the holiday weekend. And experts say it's not too late to bring your vehicle in and get it checked out before you hit the roadways.
