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Have you ever had those terrible aches and pains in your knees and back that seem to have no cause whatsoever? (Stop it, you are not getting old!) Then you go to the doctor and he tells you to take better care of your feet.  What? My feet? Congrats! We just found yet another way that your car directly reflects you – its “feet” impacts an enormous amount of its performance.  Tires are the root of safety in your vehicle, the hidden crutch for your failing fuel economy, the terror behind your testy alignment.  Any automotive technician will tell you – having tires that fit your car, life, and environment is vital to keep your vehicle healthy and you safe. This is the part where I remind you of that documentary that popped up after Top Gear – that one with diagrams floating across the screen and some deep, throaty James Earl Jones wannabe saying words that sounded like English but had far too many syllables.  The components that go into the quality of tires are extensive, confusing, and far more complicated than we’d like.  This is why we hired professionals in our parts departments to help you.  And right now, we’re going to lay out the basics so it’s not all mumbo-jumbo the next time you purchase new “shoes” for your ride. Every brand likes to decorate their handiwork – and tires are no different.  On the side of your tires, manufacturers stamp their brand, the model of tire, and the specs of the tire in an alphanumerical code.  Here’s the breakdown of that code: Here’s an example of reading a portion of the metric sizing on your sidewall. This tire is fitted on a large truck. Another example of metic sizing code on the sidewall of a tire. This one also includes the Load Rate and Speed Rating. It’s fitted on a luxury sedan. Each portion of the code points to a different component of the tire that defines its size, performance, rating, etc. Tire manufacturers say there are 19-25 varying components that measure in to what frequently seems to simply be circles of rubber.  According to our tire experts, there are four components that really top the charts when you’re considering purchase: ride quality, tread life, weather conditions, and speed rating. 1. Ride Quality is how much of the bumps and divets of the road gets absorbed into the tires, providing you with a smoother ride 2. Tread Life is the longevity of the tire before it starts to crack or “bald.” See more about tread life gradings here. 3. Weather conditions define what kind of environment tires have to survive and perform in. 4. Speed Rating defines the amount of heat or friction a tire can endure. See a chart explaining speed rating here. Each of these factors impact the life, safety, and performance of how a tire interacts with your car, and breaking down the formula isn’t always easy.  This is why we are breaking it down for you in a series of posts – stay tuned for more of Feet First: The Basics of Buying Tires! Of course, if you’re not a math person, our Parts experts are always happy to crunch the numbers!

The month long Tire Savings Event has started at Milton Ruben Toyota! During the month of October, you can get your fourth tire for a dollar* when you buy the other three! Even if you don't have a Toyota or Scion, you can take advantage of this event! Hurry in to Milton Ruben Toyota of Augusta and get the right tire at the right price! To schedule an appointment, call (706) 868-0588, visit online at http://www.MiltonRubenToyota.com or visit us in person at 3510 Washington Road in Augusta, GA! ♦Restrictions apply. See participating Toyota dealer for details. OEM, OEA and WIN replacement tires only. Not valid on run-flat tires. Tires must be dealer-installed. Three tires at regular price, fourth tire one dollar. Fourth tire must be of equal or lesser value. Excludes mounting & balancing, sales tax, shop supplies, tire disposal, & other applicable taxes. Excludes previous purchases.  May not be combined with other coupons or offers. Offer only available at participating Toyota dealers 10/1/13 – 10/31/13. *Present coupon at purchase. Not valid with other coupons. No cash value. 1 coupon per customer. Fees, tax & shop supplies not included. **Toyota dealers will match any competitor’s price on tires. Must bring proof of competitor pricing at the time of purchase and the price must be current within the last 30 days. Competitor must be within 50 miles of dealership. Customer must present competitor’s written valid coupon, advertisement or repair estimate prior to vehicle repair. Excludes Internet sales and prices. May not be combined with other coupons or offers. See dealer for details. Expires 10/31/2013. ††Lifetime Tire Rotations for life of tires when you purchase 4 tires. Rotation every 5,000 miles at selling dealer and not transferable to another owner, vehicle, or dealer. Toyota models only. Life of the tire means more than 2/32 of an inch remaining tread groove depth or six (6) years from the date of original tire purchase, whichever comes first. See dealer for details. Offer expires 10/31/2013. †Coverage for 24 months from date of purchase OR when the tire’s remaining tread depth is 3/32 of an inch or less, whichever first occurs. See dealer for details. Offer expires 10/31/2013.

Did someone say coupons?  Why yes, yes we did! We know that once you purchase your vehicle, that's only the beginning of your investment.  There are simple maintenances that must be performed as well as more in depth maintenances.  To help with some of the costs, Milton Ruben Toyota Scion releases different coupons at the beginning of each month! So enjoy the savings and great customer service!  For all your vehicle needs come see us at 3510 Washington Road in beautiful Augusta, GA.  To visit us online, http://www.MiltonRubenToyota.com

Milton Ruben Toyota of Augusta is having a tire sale! Right now until May 31, you can buy 3 tires and get 1 free. Don't believe us? Check out Toyota Tony in this video! So find your way to our doors and come get your new tires! For more information call 706 -868-5454, visit us online at https://www.miltonrubentoyota.com or visit us in person at Milton Ruben Toyota of Augusta!

Everyone loves a great deal!  At Milton Ruben Toyota, we're making our everyday deals even sweeter with coupons! We always have great deals at http://www.MiltonRubenToyota.com or http://www.DriveBaby.com!

Now that you've bought your vehicle, what are you suppose to do? Well first of all, enjoy it! But when the time comes, you'll have to have routine maintenance done. When bringing your vehicle back for service at Milton Ruben Toyota, you'll pull around the building to the service department. You'll enter the first lane on the far right and from there you will pull your vehicle as far down as possible, to make room for other customers and to stay out of the elements. A service rider will then come and greet you at your vehicle and assist you with whatever needs you have. For more information, you can call our service department at 706-396-3551 or visit us online at http://www.MiltonRubenToyota.com

Everyone wants to be happy.  At Milton Ruben Toyota, we want to make sure you are!  We want to delight everyone with quality products and above and beyond service.  Everyday, we have customers that want to share just how happy they are with how they were treated.  These customers usually tell whomever was helping them how pleased they were.  Sometimes they want to see the manager and sing praises for the employee.  Sometimes they'll even fill out paperwork and put to paper just how they feel. Meet Jim Masterson.  He was so happy with his service, he did a video testimony!     So if you want to be just as happy as Jim Masterson, come to Milton Ruben Toyota.  You can find us online at https://www.miltonrubentoyota.com or talk to us at 1-888-516-3798.

This week, we have gone over the factory and extended warranties for your new Toyotas. You already know that once we get you into your new Toyota, you can customize your extended warranty to fit all of your personalized needs. Today, we will explain just what a Toyota Certified Preowned Car is, and what warranty coverage you should expect to have with that. The best new cars make the best used cars. If a new vehicle is not what you are in the market for, our Toyota Certified Preowned Program is the place to begin your used car search. With a 12 month and 12,000 mile comprehensive warranty, a 7 year, 100,000 mile limited powertrain warranty, and a full year of roadside assistance, Milton Ruben’s Certified Toyotas are the leaders of the pack. Our certification process keeps you in mind every step of the way. The TCUV standards apply from the time a Toyota dealer acquires the vehicle through to the final sale. Each candidate for certification can be a current model year vehicle, up to and including six year old models, with 85,000 miles or less on the odometer. Prior to the rigorous 160-point inspection every certified Toyota goes through, a CARFAX vehicle history report is reviewed to ensure that only the best of the best vehicles receive the Toyota Certified Seal of approval. With over 30 years of experience, the sales team at Milton Ruben Toyota will make sure your request gets immediate attention and that we provide you with our best customer service while helping you find the Toyota you need!

We have discussed the basic Toyota warranty coverage, and we have touched upon extended warranties that we offer at Milton Ruben Toyota. Today, we will go into much more detail about the choices you have when designing your extended vehicle warranty. Your powertrain warranty covers the major components of your new Toyota. The engine consists of the engine block and cylinder heads and all internally lubricated parts, seals, and gaskets. In your transmission, the transmission/transaxle case and all lubricated parts, seal, and gaskets are covered. This does not include clutch assemblies in manual transmissions. Your new vehicle’s drive axle is also covered under the powertrain warranty. This includes the differential/axle housings, all internally lubricated parts, seals, and gaskets. The platinum coverage is easier described by explaining what it does not cover. Under the platinum plan, only the following will not be covered: Brake linings, brake drums and rotors, disc brake pads, standard transmission clutch components, air bags, solar powered devices, hinges, glass, lenses, sealed beams, body parts and/or panels, trim, moldings, door handles, door lock cylinders, tires, wheels, batteries, light bulbs, upholstery, paint, bright metal, freeze plugs, heater and radiator hoses, exhaust system, shock absorbers, audio, security or other systems not factory installed, work such as front-end alignment or wheel balancing, constant velocity joint boots, safety restraint systems, cellular phones, electronic transmitting devices (except for those specifically listed under silver, gold, or gold plus coverage), radar detectors, appliances, near object avoidance systems and all laser radar cruise control components, vinyl and convertible tops. You can customize your new Toyota’s extended warranty plan to cover anything from the basics, outlined in the powertrain warranty to everything not mentioned in the platinum coverage. This being said, we invite you to contact any of our business managers at Milton Ruben Toyota, as they can tailor fit you with the extended warranty plan that will fit your needs. This is Andy O'Harrow, one of our business managers at Milton Ruben Toyota of Augusta. He can answer any of your warranty questions. 706-868-0588

The original manufacturer’s service contract, or ToyotaCare, in our case, is the initial service contract provided for a new vehicle. The ToyotaCare package includes your basic maintenance, such as oil change, tire rotation, and multipoint inspection for 24 months or 25,000 miles, whichever comes first. Today, we will go over the extended vehicle warranty. There are five extended warranty plans that you can choose from to protect your new vehicle and yourself from unwanted costs. Length and extent of these five plans can be altered to suit your needs. The powertrain, silver, gold, gold plus, and platinum plans cover you car against major breakdowns. You can choose basic options, covering your engine, transmission, and drive axle, you can opt for complete coverage of almost all assemblies of your vehicle, or you can custom design the plan to fit your specific needs. Milton Ruben Toyota even offers roadside assistance, car rental reimbursement, and a guaranteed price refund for your warranty plan. The purpose of these warranties is to guarantee that your new Toyota has no manufacturer defects. With any of our extended warranty plans, you can be sure to keep your vehicle on the road years longer, and avoid unexpected high repair costs for the length of your plan. Tomorrow, we will be back to break down the five different plans, so that you can choose the extended warranty that is right for you.

Yesterday, we discussed the coverage that the Toyota warranty has, including ToyotaCare. The Toyota warranty covers your powertrain, basic components, rust-through, emissions, and your hybrid parts. ToyotaCare is your basic maintenance (oil change, tire rotation, and multipoint inspection). Today, we will focus on the practicality of extended vehicle warranties, also known as a vehicle service agreement.  A vehicle service agreement is designed to offer peace of mind, in that it extends the length of time a customer can receive this all encompassing coverage of your vehicle service. Many people believe that you should wait to purchase an extended warranty, thinking that it is counterproductive to have two warranties simultaneously. On the contrary, extended warranties are based upon the vehicle’s age and mileage. In fact, the newer the vehicle, the lower the cost of the service agreement, so buying the extended vehicle warranty along with your new car locks in the rates at a lower price.  The cost of waiting is much higher than the cost of an extended vehicle warranty. You may believe that the little things that may go wrong with your vehicle will not cost as much as the vehicle service contract. In reality, one major system could fail, and make the contract worthwhile in just one visit to Milton Ruben Toyota. The longer you wait, the higher the cost, so now is the time to cover your vehicle and your wallet with any of our extended warranty plans.  Stay tuned over the next few days, as we will go into detail about the extended vehicle warranty levels, and what each one covers. The information we post will be sure to make your choice easier when purchasing the extended warranty that is right for you.

Widely conceived is the notion that once you drive a new car off of your local dealership’s lot, the value of the car drastically decreases. This is an immense misconception when applied to Toyota, yet this is the main reason most of us opt for a used car when it comes time to make a vehicle purchase. When deciding which direction to go when buying a vehicle, the factor often ignored is the difference in warranty coverage. In most cases, used cars come with no warranty at all, but your financial institution takes the warranty coverage into great consideration. This week, we are going to take a few moments to outline just how far the factory warranty goes, and what options you, as a buyer, have for extended warranties. Later in the week, we will touch on Toyota Certified Used Vehicles, a new addition to Milton Ruben Toyota. This is an incredible alternative when you find yourself wanting more warranty at a lower purchase price. At Milton Ruben Toyota, every new car comes with basic, powertrain, and rust-through coverage. In addition, every Toyota comes with ToyotaCare. For 2 years or 25,000 miles, Toyota changes your oil, rotates your tires, and performs a multi-point inspection. Your basic coverage warranties all components other than normal wear and routine maintenance for 36 months or 36,000 miles, whichever comes first. The powertrain coverage includes the engine, transmission/transaxle, front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, seatbelts, and airbags for 60 months or 60,000 miles. Rust-through covers the corrosion perforation of sheet metal for 5 years, with unlimited mileage. Every Hybrid vehicle on the lot also has coverage for the related components. For 8 years or 100,000 miles, the HV battery, battery control module, hybrid control module and inverter with converter will be replaced. You are one step closer to fully understanding the fine print on the car commercials we see every day. For complete details about Toyota’s warranties, please refer to the applicable Owner’s Warranty Information booklet, or see Milton Ruben Toyota. Tomorrow, we will focus on the practical reasons to buy an extended vehicle warranty, and compare the cost to the benefits of having one.