San Diego doesn’t see rain that often, which makes it all the more dangerous when trekking out in this sort of weather. While many will claim ‘San Diegans don’t know how to drive in the rain’ that is only partially true. Practice does make perfect, so we have a disadvantage there, but what most don’t realize is that rain naturally cleans roads and freeways and that doesn’t happen often for us. Throughout the year there are a lot of oils and fluids that leak from under-maintained cars that will sit on our roads and freeways until the rain finally comes. Once we do get rain, this leads to extremely slippery conditions. Here are a few things you can do both before and during your rainy trip to keep you and your passengers at the good end of the safety bell curve. (more…)
If I look at my restoration career, I have, in some ways, felt very alone. Like I was the only one who ever cared about the car. It can be hard to explain to people what you actually do, and what it actually takes. Until, I stumbled upon Adam Cramer.
He owns and operates Liberty Vintage Motorcycles in Philadelphia, PA. I first learned of Adam from an unlikely source. My best friend sent me this video and simply said “Show your passion” Honestly, there are two types of guys that restore old cars and bikes. There are guys that rant and rave about how incredible they are (they really aren’t) and how great their work is (it really isn’t) and there are guys like Adam.
This is Adam, he kind of explains a lot of what I’ve encountered, as well as everyone who has spent late nights and early mornings trying to re-create the beauty of the past with half the resources and quadruple the effort. Watch this video, it is worth the 4 minutes:
My hope is that as you read this, you are still holding on to the fancy brochure for ‘Audi Care’ or ‘Audi Care Plus’ and haven’t pulled the trigger to purchase it just yet. Audi Care is your local dealership’s service or maintenance warranty package that covers your Audi service needs for up to 45,000 miles for the basic plan and 75,000 miles for the ‘Plus’ plan.
To be clear, You do not have to have your new Audi Serviced by the dealership to maintain your Audi’s manufacturer warranty, and don’t let them make you feel that way.
I get a lot of articles sent my way from friends and family members and last night my inbox didn’t disappoint. This is an article recently published on the car mega-site jalopnik that outlines 4 reasons why you should buy a used e39 540i Right Now!
I wholeheartedly agree, the 540i is a wonderful machine. However, there are a few things to know if you are in the market for such a car. So allow me to give you 4 reasons to think before you do anything Right Now! (more…)
With the holidays fast approaching, Independent Motorcars has come up with a Stocking–Stuffer Give–Awayfor our BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz owners in San Diego. We will be giving away 2 Micro-start XP-1 PPS jumper packs. These things are incredible and have completely replaced the big yellow jumper packs we’ve used in the past. Details at the following link: (more…)
When it comes to cars, my jaw doesn’t drop that often, but this 1974 2002 turbo will make the jaw drop and the drool flow. I’ve seen a fair amount of turbos, but I’ve never worked on one nor driven one — I got to do both, thanks to this immaculate car that had been impressively restored by Casey Motorsports in Petaluma, CA. The turbo rolled into the shop for the usual stuff 2002’s need – new spark plugs, a valve adjust, some fluid changes and you’re pretty square for another few years. But when an example like this is in the service bay, the cameras come out and the car stays a bit longer. This car has everything going for it. Looks great, mechanicals are even better, and a few special touches in the right places. I took over 300 pictures in super high resolution, so here’s a few shots: (more…)
