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05Jan

5 Top Tips on how to Prepare your Vehicle for Winter

It is easy to become distracted during this time of year, with the festive season looming. Yet the breakdown of your motor vehicle can become a more likely occurrence as the weather becomes colder. At Billcar Ltd, we are a family-owned and operated business with experience since 1981. We guarantee an affordable and reliable service, helping to keep your vehicle in top condition and provide the most rewarding drive possible. To avoid the car repair garage, we would like to share our expertise, so here are our 5 top tips on how to prepare your vehicle for winter. One of the main causes of car failure in the winter is a flat battery, the risk of failure is increased in cold, wet and icy weather. The chemical reactions within the battery reduce because of colder weather compromising performance. A battery should be changed every 3 years. If your battery has not been changed recently, it will be more likely to struggle during the colder season. Increased use of lights and heating will also place greater demand on the battery. If you struggle to start your car, it is possible that your battery is tired and needs replacing. We advise you to get your battery checked or replaced if you think it’s due. As the temperature drops, the condition of your vehicle’s tyres becomes increasingly important. Good grip for steering and braking is essential, but even more so with the greater chance of driving on icy and wet roads in this season. By law, tyres need to be a minimum of 1.6mm tread depth, but having more and best up to 3mm can make all the difference. Winter tyres can also be an excellent investment if you are a frequent driver. Another tip is to check your tyre pressure on a regular; pressure can change as temperatures drop. The engine cooling system in your car should be checked often. In the winter months, this should be a priority. If your antifreeze levels are low, the water in your cooling system can freeze. Make sure it is topped up to the ideal ratio of 50/50 water and antifreeze. It is important not to dilute the antifreeze too much. You can check this with an antifreeze tester. With fewer daylight hours, it is critical to check and clean the lights on a car. Luminosity can decrease as salt and dirt build up quickly when driving on winter roads. For the safety of yourself and others, it is important to keep your lights on during darker days and they need to be clear and bright. Lights, indicators and rear reflectors should be cleaned with a cloth regularly. And to be even more prepared, buy some spare bulbs and learn how to install them so you’re covered if one blows. Alongside wetter and frosty weather, your windscreen and the wiper blades need to be checked. Make sure they are in good working order, assess there are no tears or holes by running your finger down them. Check the windscreen for any minor cracks of chips, too. These can worsen in cold weather, leading to a full windscreen replacement. Give your windscreen a thorough clean inside and ensure you have screen wash fluid with antifreeze. Additional to our tips, we can carry out a vehicle winter check. Get in contact with us if this is something you require. At Billcar Ltd, we offer a car service Shrewsbury locals can rely on.
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About Billcar Limited
05Nov

All About Our Commercial Parts

There are currently more commercial vehicles on the roads of Britain than there ever have been.  Many professional drivers rely on their vans and trucks for their livelihood.  And for other tradespeople, their vehicle is a way to get them - along with all their tools and materials – from one job to the next quickly and reliably.

For the rest of us, imagine how difficult it would be to live in a society where we couldn't rely on the shops to have food on the shelves?  Where we couldn't order goods and have them delivered to our door?  Where we couldn't get professional builders, electricians, plumbers, decorators, or mobile mechanics to come and work on our home or car when we need them?  All such individuals frequently use commercial vehicles in the course of their work, and we would all struggle without them.

Keeping all these trucks and vans on the road is a huge task in itself.  A whole network of commercial vehicle parts suppliers has developed in order to service the vast number of workers on the roads.  Some suppliers specialize in one make or type of vehicle, while others endeavour to offer commercial truck parts and accessories which will be suitable for every customer.

For a repair garage like Billcar, it is important to know where we can turn for the commercial truck parts we need when our customers come to us for a repair.  This can be more difficult than finding car parts for a number of reasons.  For one thing, vans and trucks work very hard and must be able to carry substantial loads.  As a result, almost every component on a commercial vehicle – from the body panels, to the wheels, to the brakes – will be bigger than the same parts on a family car.  Another factor is that commercial vehicle repairs are almost always urgent.  When you earn your living driving up and down the road network, every hour that your vehicle is off the road is an hour you aren't earning.  At Billcar, we have developed a network of suppliers of high quality commercial vehicle parts who can deliver just about any item we might need to our Shrewsbury base in short order.  This means we can turn our customers’ commercial vehicles around and get them back on the road in double-quick time.

Often it is difficult to find the commercial vehicle parts we need in the local area.  In these cases, express couriers can be sent to retrieve a part from wherever it may be found.  This can be in the next city or county, or occasionally we even send drivers right across the country to find the spare parts we need.  For the vehicle owner, getting the van ready for work is usually the priority, and it is worth paying a premium to have repairs made quickly.

Another useful resource is knowing where to find high quality used commercial truck parts.  At Billcar, we know the best places to call.  Get in touch to book your vehicle in with us.

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25Sep

All About Our Car Remapping

Here at Billcar, we are pleased to offer car remapping services from our base in Shrewsbury. Today we are going to look at what ECU remapping services consist of and what your options are if you are considering car remapping. Read on to find out more. ECU Remapping Explained ECU remapping consists of remapping a vehicle’s Electric Control Unit, which is the software used within your vehicle that controls one or more of the electrical systems or subsystems inside it. The reason why you may want to modify these systems is in order to add more functionality. This means that we can fine tune the maps to improve the engine’s power and performance. In addition to producing more torque and power, it may solve some possible driveability issues, for example, if you have low rev ranges with flat spots and hesitation issues. Here, we can give the engine more torque, resulting in a more responsive system, improving your overall driving experience. Remapping works by overwriting the default settings with new software, programming your vehicle’s overall performance. It can take between as little as 30 minutes to an hour to complete, thanks to our state-of-the-art technology. Your Options for Remapping We offer both power ECU remapping and economy remapping, as well as a mixture of the two to our customers. The software that we supply you with is tuned especially for you and your vehicle, so it will remain untraceable to the main dealer when you receive your annual servicing. Economy remapping has a focus on saving you money by obtaining fuel savings, for example, inserting rpm and maximum speed limiters. You can then utilise the low down torque that the engine produces, and change gear at a more sensible rpm, for better economy gains. Vehicles We Can Remap We are able to offer our remapping services as part of our software provision for all vehicles including bikes, cars, vans, trucks, tractors, boats and even some forklift trucks. Currently, we now have the capabilities to remap a wide range of Nissan Navara vehicles, which are fully listed on our website. Each of our MAPS are custom tuned to individual vehicles, so we don’t use any generic maps for these services. So, if you want to improve your vehicle’s power, or enhance its overall performance, consider our remapping services at Billar. Contact Us If you require our car remapping services, feel free to get in contact with us by completing our web contact form, or by emailing us at engineering@billcar.co.uk. Based in Shrewsbury, you can also speak to a member of our team directly by giving us a call on either 01743291740 or 07971063469. A member of our team will be happy to advise you and answer any questions you may have about car remapping.
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06Sep

Why Car Repairs Are So Important

Whether you’re driving to work, or your vehicle is your work, at times it is all too easy to put off a repair job. Alternatively, you may not realise that there is a problem with your vehicle until it is discovered by a professional. As routine, at Billcar, we believe it is important to regularly service your vehicle so you are able to get any required repairs done as soon as possible. Such important vehicle repairs will help to prolong its life, and save you money in the long run. One Small Problem You may believe a small repair can wait and so you put it off and prioritise other things in your life. However, small problems can escalate and develop into bigger issues. There are a variety of ways such small things can have an impact on your vehicle. As an example, you may need an oil change, as this can have an impact on how much petrol is needed to keep your vehicle running smoothly. As long as you keep an eye on any small issues that may arise, then you may be able to avoid repairs, so always make sure to manage and check the condition of your tyres, the levels of engine oil, screen wash, and so on. Service and Repair It is important to get your vehicle serviced regularly, to bring your attention to any potential problems, and help you to understand if your car requires any replacements, and even look at repairs that may be needed in the future. Regular servicing and repairs will save you money in the long run, as any issues can be seen before they become overly problematic. By coming to Billcar for your servicing, repairs and/or MOT, your vehicle will be able to run much more efficiently. MOT tests are a legal requirement, and offer peace of mind to yourself and any customers or clients associated with your vehicle. Commercial Vehicle Repairs Whilst a vehicle is important for any driver that needs to get from A to B each day, for some it is part of their livelihood. Whether you’re carrying goods or fare-paying passengers, when driving a commercial vehicle, it is vital that it is in tip-top condition. Commercial vehicle repairs require as much efficiency as possible when your vehicle is also your business, as time is money. Spare Parts and Accessories At Billcar, we have a great variety of spare parts and accessories for any necessary vehicle repair jobs.  If a problem is found, at our repair centre we can help you get your vehicle back in working condition. No matter how big or small the problem, whether you have one or two malfunctioning or broken parts, or whether you need a whole engine replacing, we have the tools to help. With our great knowledge and experience, we can help to get you back on the road in no time. Don’t Ignore the Signs The key to the smooth running of your vehicle is to pay attention to anything unusual, whether something big or small. There’s never any harm in getting something checked out by the experts, if only for your peace of mind. If you hear a knocking or rattling sound that concerns you, don’t ignore it just because you are still physically able to drive your vehicle, but instead get it looked into. When it comes to vehicle repairs and servicing, remember that safety always comes first, including your safety, any passengers, and those in other vehicles on the road. It is always better to be safe than sorry. Contact Us If you’re in need of any commercial vehicle servicing or vehicle repairs, come to our local vehicle repair garage. To get in touch, you can speak to us directly by calling us on either 01743291740 or 07971063469, or please complete our online contact form, or email us at engineering@billcar.co.uk. A member of our staff will be happy to help you with any questions you may have.
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