• Spend Your Tax Refund on One of Your Biggest Investments:
Whether it's an oil change, replacing brakes or new belts and hoses, that periodic repair bill is a drop in the bucket compared to monthly payments on a new car. The bottom line is that a properly maintained vehicle is safer, more dependable, more fuel efficient, less polluting and more valuable. The smartest way to get a solid return on investment is to keep your car through what we call the 'Cinderella Era'. It's that period of time after the payoff when your car is still in great shape and needs only modest repairs. It's estimated that more than $62 billion in vehicle maintenance and repair is not performed every year, evidence that there is considerably more that consumers should be doing to protect their automotive investment.

• Maintaining Present Vehicle May Make Financial Sense - Taking better care of your current set of wheels may make much more sense in the long run. Figures from Runzheimer International, a worldwide management consulting firm that measures travel/living costs, confirms this. Recent figures show that trading a vehicle every eight years instead of four, can save you more than $2,500 a year after the payoff. Includes repair, maintenance, license, registration, taxes and insurance.

• How to Shop For A Battery - If your car battery is dead or even weak, you're not going anywhere. It is the leading cause of starting trouble, whether because of lights left on, a charging system problem or other cause. Sometimes it is just that the battery has outlived its usefulness. But even at best, a healthy battery in 80-degree weather has only half of its output when the thermometer dips to zero. When shopping, remember that a battery is rated by cold cranking amps (CCA), indicating its power and the reserve capacity rating (RC), which indicates how long your car's accessories can run and still have enough power to start the engine.

Check your owner's manual for the original equipment manufacturer's (OEM) minimum requirements needed for your car and select the battery adequate for you needs. Buying one with an excessive CCA rating may be a waste of money. In every situation, more RC (reserve) is better, like a little extra in the checking account. The size and number of plates in a battery determine how many amps it can deliver.

• TURNER E-NEWSLETTER - To improve our service levels, we send our  e-newsletter, TURNER E-NEWS, quarterly. Turner e-newsletters are meant to be informative, educational and  help you better understand your car care.