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Tailgate The Right Way In Your Volkswagen!

Hello October! We are officially in full swing of fall and that means football season is in full force, and what’s a football game without a good old fashion tailgate? This week we have some tips and tricks to help you turn your vehicle into the ultimate tailgate hotspot and you will for sure dominate any and all tailgates for the rest of the season! It doesn’t matter if your vehicle is small or large turning your vehicle into tailgate central is easier than you think! Create a Tailgate Toolkit: The preparation starts before you even leave the house, get a picnic basket, toolbox, or really anything you can turn into your kit Make sure include the basics like food, drinks, tables and chairs, coolers and ice, napkins, plastic ware, and utensils. One more must-have is the grill – not only to get barbeque, but it also comes in handy for when the season turns cool. Keep everyone entertained: The best tailgating parties need more than food and good conversation. Install some gutsy stereo speakers so everyone can hear your party soundtrack or the pre-game highlights. If you’re really trying to take your tailgating up a few notches, you may consider bringing portable phone chargers, wireless speakers and a portable satellite TV so that you and your guests can watch the pre-game action at the same time. Talk about cool points! Decor: If your car is your pride and joy, you might reluctantly decorate it for your tailgating party. Fortunately, there are plenty of decorating ideas that won’t damage your precious paintwork. Erasable chalk ink markers, magnetic team decals, vanity team license plates, and don’t forget the team-themed napkins, plates, and cups! Location: To ensure you find the perfect spot for your tailgate, arrive early to get first dibs on parking spaces. Sheltered spots to keep the sun, wind, and rain away are generally a wise choice! Finally, tie a helium balloon in your team colors to your car with a long piece of string so your party guests can find you. Find the perfect vehicle for the tailgate here!

5 Must Ask Questions When Car Shopping

Are you looking to buy or lease a new vehicle? Maybe it is your first time or maybe you’re a little rusty and need some pointers to remind you. Whatever the reason may be I’ve got your back! Before you agree to anything and sign that dotted line you want to make sure you’ve asked all the right questions and have of the information you’ll need moving forward. I mean let’s be honest vehicles are not cheap and you don’t want to find yourself stuck in a contract you wish you never agreed to. So to save you from that nightmare I’m going to tell five important questions you should ask and understand before you say yes. What other fees will I be charged? Up to this point, you have probably ONLY been negotiating the price of the vehicle, but there is a lot more than just the vehicle you pay for. You will be required to pay additional fees but you want to make sure they are legit Legit fees will include sales tax, registry costs, tire recycling fees and a documentation fee. Some dealerships will tack on additional fees as a way to build profit. Make sure you find out about ALL of the fees and see if you can avoid any of them. Has the vehicle been damaged? Even though you might be buying a new vehicle they come a long way to end up on the dealerships lot. Shipping cars can lead to dings, scrapes/ scratches, etc. How many miles are on the vehicle? Yes, you might be buying a new vehicle so ideally there won’t be a lot of miles on the vehicle right? Well, we hope,  But in some cases, the car might have gone on a lot of test drives or is a "dealer trade," meaning the dealer traded another car for it and it's been driven in from another dealership. If there are more than about 300 miles on the car, you need to negotiate a lower price. If the car has been on the lot for a while or has a few hundred miles on it, you might want to ask for an “in-service date” of the vehicle.  The in-service date is when the warranty begins, and it is important to know how much coverage you have. How much is the documentation fee? This is a universal fee that dealers charge you for filling out the contract, basically. But what isn’t universal is the price they charge! Some states cap the doc fee, usually at a price below $100. Other states don't regulate the doc fee, so it can be as much as $600. Make sure you ask about the doc fee before getting to that step. Have any aftermarket features been added on? Along with optional equipment installed at the factory by the automaker, some dealers will add on extras like tinted windows or auto recovery systems. These may have been included in the price of the car without you knowing it, so ask about them and review your contract carefully. Add-on fees can be negotiated just like car prices can. See if you can get the original MSRP of the vehicle and use that to negotiate. Get Your New Volkswagen Here!

Reduce Your Fuel Consumption Easily!

One big concern that people have when looking for a vehicle is the fuel efficiency of any vehicle that might be on the list of options. Of course, it might not be time for your family to purchase a new vehicle yet - or you may have just purchased a vehicle with great gas mileage, but are looking to increase it just a little more. Why not! The more efficient your vehicle is, the more money you save at the pump. It’s a win/win scenario! So, here are our tips for maximizing your fuel efficiency without, you know, making the leap into buying a new vehicle just yet. Our first tip for getting those MPGs up is to not speed. Speeding is, first of all, illegal, and second of all it can bring your MPGs down drastically. When you are speeding, you’re accelerating (and decelerating) a lot more than you normally would be, which is a terrible waste of gas. To combat this, don’t speed! And use your cruise control when you are on the highway - it will keep you at a safe and consistent rate of speed. Combine trips when you leave the house to run errands. Carpooling is a great solution to not only lowering your emissions but helping everyone save on gas! When you’re out and about, don’t idle your vehicle. Idling for one minute uses as much gas as it takes to start your car in the first place, and it creates a lot more exhaust. When you’re out in the warmer months, try to park in the shade. Not only does this make your vehicle more comfortable for you to get into when you’re done with your errand, but it minimizes the evaporation of fuel in your tank from the heat and leaves you with more gas to use while driving. Finally, minimize the weight of your vehicle and the drag from vehicle storage. Clean out your vehicle and get rid of things in it that might be weighing you down. If you have roof storage, like a box, consider making room for those items in your vehicle or switching to a rear-mounted box to reduce drag. Keeping your vehicle in peak condition is also incredibly important. Your tires should be properly inflated and your alignment should be perfect at all times. Regular inspections, tire rotations, and alignment checks are essential in maintaining good fuel economy. When your tires are properly inflated, the amount of drag that your engine has to work through is reduced. When it’s time for you to get new tires, ask for low rolling resistance tires to help your engine even more. You won’t increase your MPGs from 20 to 70, but if you do these things then you’ll hopefully see an increase of a few miles per gallon through careful driving! And if after reading this you’ve been convinced that it might actually be time to get a new vehicle, consider something from Fiore Volkswagen! Our Most Fuel Efficient Vehicles

Dethaw Your Car Fast

We all know it’s winter, right? If you don’t know, well, then I am concerned about where you spend your time and how you are alive right now. Anyway, it’s winter! And with winter comes frozen windshield season, which is my least favorite time of the year because I hate scraping my windshield with a burning passion. That is why I am sharing these tips on de-icing your windshield quickly without scratching your glass, so that if you are like me, you will not hate the mornings quite as much. So, the easiest thing to do is go out and turn on your defrosters a little before you know you need to leave. Get up, get dressed, go outside and turn on the defrosters, and then come back in and get your breakfast and your bag together and by the time you’re back outside, it should be a bit more thawed. If you are not that good at time management (I am so horrible at it, don’t feel bad) then make sure you have a good plastic scraper on hand. Never never ever scrape with something metal! Get that defroster going full blast and, yes, scrape. Finally, you can make a spray-on solution of one part rubbing alcohol and two parts water to spray on an icy windshield. Keep the solution in a spray bottle in your house, and bring it out on chilly mornings. Spray it on, wait a minute or two, and then run your wipers. No more ice! If your locks and doors are frozen, don’t use a flame (i.e. a lighter) or hot water to try and melt the ice. Cold water is what works best (it’s warmer than ice, obviously, but not so hot it’ll break your lock mechanism). You can also use the alcohol solution for this. Best of luck - is it summer yet?? Find A New VW For Less!

How Often Do You Really Need To Change Your Oil?

You might think, like a lot of drivers do, that you need to get your vehicle’s oil changed every six months or 3,000 miles. Now, I am sorry to tell you this, but that’s just not true (in every situation). Depending on several factors, your oil change interval could be shorter than that or even longer. Those factors are: The age of your car The type of oil you use How many miles are on your car What conditions you usually drive in How hard you drive your car The person who can assess your vehicle and tell you accurately how frequently you should get your oil changed is your dealer, so when you go for your next oil change make sure to ask how frequently you need that service done. Who knows, maybe you could get away with going longer - or you need to get your oil changes done more frequently. Ask us today! Schedule Your Next Oil Change Today!

Garage Organization, Quick And Dirty Style

When someone asks if you’re thinking about the future, you probably think they mean things like your life’s path, your love life, your kids… but in this case, I just mean the winter. Are you thinking about the winter? It is, after all, coming our way sooner rather than later. How’s your garage looking? Think about that for a second. If you have a garage, you should probably also be thinking about cleaning it. If your garage is already clean then you’re ahead of the game, but if it’s not, well. Read on. So, you’re reading on, which means that your garage is a black hole nightmare of leftover summer detritus, junk, and trash. Same, honestly. But since winter is on its way whether we like it or not, we should be working on making sure we can actually fit our cars into our garages so that we won’t have to scrape them off or even leave the indoors to get into them. I hope you feel me on this. First thing you should do is haul everything out of your garage and onto your driveway or lawn or other flat open area. Sweep or vacuum or wash your garage floor. Separate what you like and want to keep from the actual junk, and then throw the junk away (or if it’s paint or similar, dispose of it safely). Take this opportunity to assess your storage. Maybe invest in some shelves if you don’t have any. Then, get everything back in there. Hopefully you’ve weeded out a lot of it. You should be able to fit your car in! And that’s really all you need to do to be able to take advantage of your garage the way it was intended to be used. Seriously. While You’re Organizing, Check Out These Specials

Registration Renewal Basics

Updating your car’s registration is never something any of us look forward to. However, it’s a lot easier than it seems at first and it saves a lot of headache in the end! Through the Pennsylvania Department of Motor Vehicles, you can renew your registration online or by snail mail. There are different rules for both, but it’s simple and puts you at less risk of getting a ticket! If you want to re-register your vehicle online, you can do so if the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (DOT) has your current name and address on file, and if your current registration will expire in six months or less. You will need to have the first eight digits of your title number, your PA license plate number, your insurance information, and the odometer reading of the vehicle you are re-registering. Then it’s just a matter of printing your temporary registration card and paying the renewal fee. Easy peasy! Now, you can only do this online if you are re-registering your vehicle - if you need to register a vehicle for the first time, your best bet is to do it in person. To re-register by mail, you should first have received a renewal notice. Find that and follow the instructions on it - simple! If you want to complete the process in person, you’ll have to go to a Pennsylvania DMV office. You should make sure you have your renewal notice or registration application, or a completed request for registration (aka the form MV-140) if you don’t have your renewal notice. You should also have enough money to pay the fee to get your vehicle registered. In Pennsylvania, the fee for a passenger vehicle to get re-registered is $37, and for a motorcycle, it’s $19. If you’re retired, it’s only $10 a year! If you’ve lost any of your registration documents, you can also request new copies of those for a small fee. A new license plate is $11, and that’s the most expensive replacement fee. As always, things are different from state to state. Check out your state’s DMV website if you’re outside of Pennsylvania for instructions on renewing your registration. No matter where you are, though, this is an easy process that you’ll be glad you took care of in a timely fashion! But make sure you stay on top of the registration deadlines (i.e. your expiration date), because if you let it lapse you might get pulled over and a ticket! Get Into A New VW From Fiore

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