Automotive Industry News & Information - Jim Van Dyke's Automotive Center

At Jim Van Dyke in Washington CH, we are quite familiar with the potential for easy maintenance and repair items to become much larger problems. One such issue is the infamous stuck lug nut. You go to change your tire, or a basic maintenance shop tries to take your wheel off, and you discover a lug nut that simply refuses to budge. Now what do you do?

Gas stations are an aspect of modern life that we take for granted. A major obstacle to the expansion of automobile usage at the beginning of the century was the lack of gas stations - people didn’t buy cars if they couldn’t fill them up, and nobody wanted to build a gas station if there were no car owners around to use it. Prior to service stations, gasoline had to be purchased at pharmacies, and later could be obtained at hardware stores and blacksmith shops. In 1913, in response to the mass production and widespread availability of the Model-T Ford, Gulf opened the first drive-in fuel service station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Soon after, another station opened in Seattle, and over the next several years gas stations became common across the nation. Over the course of the last century, gas stations have become part of the scenery; you probably never imagine a world without them. Fuel service stations are a huge aspect of modern life, immeasurably impacting billions of lives around the globe.

At Jim Van Dyke in Washington CH, we know that the difference between a car that runs for 80,000 miles and a car that makes it to 400,000 miles depends on one thing; maintenance. Here are a few tips to avoid some of the most notorious car killers out there.

Road trips are a lot of fun, and often unpredictable. With this checklist from Jim Van Dyke in Washington CH, you’ll be prepared for whatever comes your way.

Been using this place for a few years now, will not even consider going anywhere else. Honest, polite and extremely professional. - Tom S. (5 star review on Facebook)

At Jim Van Dyke in Washington CH, the history of cars is a huge topic of interest to us. Here’s an interesting piece of automotive trivia, from us to you.

While some keys or key fobs can only be obtained from dealerships, most cars can be programmed to accept a new key or key fob without expensive dealer intervention. At Jim Van Dyke in Washington CH, we often provide such services, at a fraction of the cost.

We had to be towed in off the freeway they were so good to make sure we were okay and said they would get to it right away. We were on our way to my and they let us know what was going on with the car. Would recommend them highly. - Sue M. (5 star review on Facebook)