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Month: September 2018

MINI Concept Cars

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Mini Cooper is known for making amazing concept cars. If only they were real. We’d buy one of these in a heartbeat.

In 1997, the Mini Concept Monte Carlo Raylle was brought to life. This concept was created to remember the victory that was the classic Mini in the 1967 Monte Carlo Rally. The vehicle includes Mini’s iconic hexagonal radiator grille, paired with the circle headlights.

In 2010 Came the Mini Beachcomber Concept. Doesn’t this remind you of a Barbie Jeep? It was brought to life as a kid’s car, but adults can only dream it would be brought into the auto market for real.

In 2011 the Mini Rocketman Concept was introduced. This small, yet mighty vehicle can technically seat 4 people. Though the 4-person limit is recommended for a short journey. Coming in at just 11ft 3in long, and 4ft 7in high, we would recommend leaving the 4th person at home unless they’re the size of a baby monkey.

In 2019, this pure-electric concept car is expected to be put into production. Meaning, you can actually buy one of these someday in the near future. As of July 2018, there’s no word on the specs. We think it is pretty cool looking, though (photo from engadget.com).

Back in 2017, Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research, developed this Mini concept. It designed for ample space out of a Mini, storage in front and back of vehicle, and a scalable powertrain. It reminds us of the BMW I3 Design.

The MINI Superleggra vision concept is equipped with high speed performance, light weight, and is intended to provide that movie-star look. James Bond, anyone? *photo from BMWBLOG.com

Minis are gorgeous vehicles that take specialized training to understand the inside and out when it comes to maintenance and repair. EuroCar provides full service, maintenance, and repair for MINI Cooper. Our shop provides an industry leading warranty at 2 years/24,000 miles. When you are looking for the best European Car repair in Seattle, give EuroCar a call. Contact us today to schedule your next service or repair. Some services and repairs can even be scheduled for same day completion. Our team will build you a maintenance plan so that surprise repairs are few and far in between, if they even happen at all. We inform you which services need to be taken care of now and which can wait, saving you time and money.

*Picture is from TopGear.com

How the VW pedestrian monitoring works

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The Pedestrian Monitoring System is the newest feature of the VW Front Assist technology. The Front Assist also has a 3-part traffic monitoring system it runs through. Front Assist uses the same radar technology from the Pedestrian Monitoring System to go through the traffic monitoring procedure.

3-Part System

Part 1 of this procedure is to send audio chimes to the driver to catch their attention, as well as provide visual alerts to the driver on the dash if Front Assist detects them to be too close to the vehicle in front of them. If the driver is unresponsive, part 2 of the traffic monitoring system is implemented where the VW computer quickly hits the brakes for the driver as another warning. If the driver does not hit the brakes after that, or hit them hard enough, the vehicle will apply the amount of brake pressure necessary to avoid a collision. This is referred to as Autonomous Emergency Braking. The Front Assist detecting a vehicle is the same way that it detects a person. It uses the same system to apply the brakes and avoid hitting the pedestrian as it does to avoid hitting another vehicle.

If the Front Assist system detects an inevitable accident, it will trigger the emergency brake on the vehicle in hopes to minimize the extent of the damage. The system essentially acts as third eye for the driver.

Front Assist Vehicles

The following vehicles currently provide Driver Assistance in its 2018 models: Volkswagen Golf, Passat Sedan, Volkswagen Arteon, Volkwagen Tiguan, Volkswagen Golf Alltrack, Volkswagen Passat Alltrack, Volkswagen Caddy, Volkswagen Multivan, Volkswagen Crafter. Volkswagen also provides roadside assist with its vehicles, which can offer you additional piece of mind while on the road.

Our Team Specializes in Volkswagen

EuroCar specializes in working on Volkswagen and other European vehicles. We stay up to date on the latest technical updates and changes. This means we understand the technology that goes into the Pedestrian Monitoring System as well as Front Assist as a whole. We provide our customers with an excellent warranty at 2 years/24,000 miles. Give EuroCar a call today to schedule your Volkswagen service. We will provide you with a maintenance plan to ensure your beloved VW stays in tip top running shape. If you have any questions about the Front Assist technology or would like to schedule a pre-purchase buyers inspection just give us a call and we are happy to help.

*Driver Assistance features are not substitutes for attentive driving. See Owner’s Manual for further details and important limitations. Unfortunately, we are not living life as the Jetsons just yet.

Are Audi’s expensive to fix?

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Maintenance

Audis are both a gorgeous and high-end luxury vehicle to own. When deciding whether to purchase an Audi, it is important to consider the costs of maintaining and repairing the vehicle, though the cost of maintaining an Audi or any high-performance automobile varies dramatically based on the condition, age and specific vehicle model. No two vehicles are alike, but Audis do not cost more than other comparable luxury vehicles to maintain such as BMW or Mercedes. Subarus are known for being reliable, but here’s an interesting statistic: The Subaru Forester costs about $12,200 to maintain over 10 years, while an Audi A4 Quattro costs $12,800 over 10 years to maintain. So, the Audi is very similar to your average vehicle maintenance. When considering repair costs, you have a few options. All repairs are differently priced, and everyone’s definition of expensive is different. It is tough to say whether it will be expensive to you. What does apply to every car owner is instructions on keeping your Audi repair cost as low as possible. Follow the recommended maintenance schedule!

Audi has specific maintenance requirements which you can learn about by reading your owner’s manual or visiting audiusa.com. The good news is, EuroCar is certified to repair all Audis and we use the same tools and genuine Audi parts as the dealership. Choosing our shop over the dealer will also save you on average 20% and we have an amazing warranty on all our parts and labor of 2 years/24,000 miles. If you want to avoid expensive genuine Audi parts, we offer our customers another option. We can often install parts that are not made by Audi but still work the same way and come with the same warranty.

Pre-purchase Buyers Inspection

A very important measure to take before purchasing an Audi is a pre-purchase buyers inspection. Why is this necessary? If purchasing a used Audi, there can be hidden problems that the seller or dealer has not told you about. We see so many customers that have just purchased a vehicle, only to be broken down on the side of the highway the next week or a few days later. As I am writing this, there is a customer at the front desk who just decided to not purchase a vehicle due to excessive rust that was hidden. A pre-purchase buyers inspection will cost you around $100 plus tax. This is way better than buying a $5,000 vehicle with $4,000 in hidden problems.

Choose EuroCar

We hope when you think “EuroCar,” these three words come to mind: dependability, integrity, and accuracy. As an independent auto repair shop specializing in European vehicles, we provide our Seattle customers with only the highest-quality Audi service. At EuroCar we only work on European vehicles and have Audi specialists on staff. This means we understand Audis inside and out and will get the job done right the first time. Call us today to make your appointment for Audi service!