Borcherding to Supply Courtesy Cars to Assist Breast Cancer Patients

Borcherding to Supply Courtesy Cars to Assist Breast Cancer Patients

We’re pleased to announce Borcherding’s sponsorship of Pink Ribbon Girls, an organization that provides direct services, education and support to women with breast cancer to help ease life’s daily worries so they can concentrate on healing.

PRG’s motto, “No one travels this road alone,” is much more than lip service; in fact, we’re proud to be able to supply their courtesy vehicles, which allow volunteers to drive patients to doctor’s appointments.

Pink Ribbon Girls is a volunteer organization that seeks to balance the fear and uncertainty that breast cancer brings to individuals and families by providing direct services, education, and support. They provide patients and their families with services to ease the workload of daily life while providing access to peer support so they may be informed and comforted from wisdom of others who have traveled this road before them. www.pinkribbongirls.org

On September 24, Kings and Loveland high schools will be selling Pink Ribbon Girls t-shirts during a televised football game; the person who sells the most shirts will get to compete for $5,000 when they take a shot at kicking a football into a goal in the back of a Borcherding GMC truck! Pink Ribbon Girls also stands to win $5,000.

Crayons to Computers’ Push for Pencils Campaign was a Big Success!

Crayons to Computers’ Push for Pencils Campaign was a Big Success!

We loved being part of Crayons to Computers’ Push for Pencils program in July! Generous Borcherding customers and employees contributed school supplies to help needy Cincinnati kids get the basics so that they could concentrate on learning.  

Crayons to Computers serves nearly 600 preschool through grade 12 schools in 16 counties throughout Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and Indiana. They offer school supplies, educational tools and incentive items to approximately 10,000 teachers and 130,000 students in our region.

Thanks again to all who gave!

Your Back-to-School Car Maintenance Checklist From Borcherding

Your Back-to-School Car Maintenance Checklist

With parents and kids gearing up to go back to school this month, it’s a perfect time to go over some basics of car maintenance with teen drivers—especially those who will be taking cars with them to college this year. Even if you don’t have a young driver in the house, chances are the beginning of the school year means more driving around for you. Take a look at these precautions and score an A+ in car maintenance—and a longer, happier life for your car.

Basic maintenance checklist:

1.     Fluids: Check levels of engine oil, coolant and transmission, and brake and power steering fluid. Your owner’s manual will let you know where to look for these and what levels are best for your car. Also, make sure you’re changing the oil—and using the right type of oil—based on the manufacturer’s recommendation. Click here for a great deal on an oil change, tire rotation and multi-point vehicle inspection at Borcherding.

2.     Battery: While you’re under the hood, check your battery’s production date (located on top). Consumer Reports recommends that you get your battery checked once a year if it’s more than two or three years old. Borcherding offers free battery tests and inspections; get the details here.

3.     Tires: Take a good look at your tires: Using an air pressure gauge, make sure they’re properly inflated (again, your owner’s manual will let you know what measurement to shoot for) and check your tires for wear. If you place a penny, with Lincoln’s head facing down, in your tires’ ribs (the grooves that go all the way around the circumference of your tires) and part of Lincoln’s head is inside the groove, your tires are within the legal requirement for wear—but consider replacing your tires sooner if you will be dealing with snowy or very wet conditions. If you do end up needing new tires, check out Borcherding’s 30-day tire price guarantee.

4.     Maintenance schedule: Check your owner’s manual and make sure you’re keeping up with the recommended maintenance schedule. You can prevent—or at least forestall—most major repairs by having a trusted mechanic give it a good once-over on a regular basis.

5.     Safety equipment: Keep safety equipment organized and easy to find in case of an emergency. Suggested items include: jumper cables, an ice scraper, a first-aid kit, a flashlight with extra batteries, gloves, a blanket, a small shovel, granola bars and bottled water. Make sure all drivers know how to safely jumpstart a car battery.

6.     Rules of the road: If you’ve got a teen or young-adult driver, now’s a good time to review your expectations of how they’ll behave behind the wheel. Start by reminding them not to text and drive (a habit that can make them 23 times more likely to get into an accident). Other topics to cover might include courtesy on the road, drinking and driving, speeding, and any house rules about curfews or driving with passengers.

Thinking of Trading In Your Car This Summer? Here are some tips

Tips for Trading In Your Car

Thinking of trading in your car? It’s a great way to save on a new (or new-to-you) car purchase or avoid the hassle of selling your car privately. Taking these steps before setting foot on the lot can help you get a better deal on your car.

1. Assess your car.

Be realistic. How well have you maintained your car? What’s the mileage? Are there repairs that need to be done? Are there dings, dents and scratches outside, or stains inside? All of these factors will influence your car’s trade-in value.

2. Do your research.

Once you have a good idea of your car’s condition, find out what other cars in similar condition are selling for in your area.

3. Understand the market.

Regardless of the numbers you discover during your research, there are several variables that will affect the offer you receive:

·      The time of year (Are you selling a convertible in wintertime? You may get a better deal if you wait until springtime.)

·      Current gas prices (A small, gas-efficient car may fetch a better price than a big SUV when gas is expensive.)

·      The dealer’s current inventory (Do they have similar cars sitting unsold on the lot?)

The typical dealer wants to make about 2 – 4% profit on a resale transaction. They may also need to do repairs to get your car up to snuff, so once you come up with the amount similar cars are retailing for, take these two variables into account to determine a fair trade-in price.

A great place to start is Borcherding’s Trade-In Estimator, powered by PureCars. Just enter details about your car and you’ll get a free estimate of what you can expect to get for your car from a dealer in about 30 seconds!