How to Spot Flood Damage on a Used Car

Buying a used car is a very economical and sound choice when it comes to choosing your next vehicle. Most car dealerships make the process safe and sound by ensuring that each pre-owned vehicle parked on their lot has been thoroughly inspected for mechanical integrity and any present damage. But this isn't always the case and you could wind up with a lemon all the same. 

Knowing the history of your next vehicle can also help you when it comes to shopping smarter and doing a visual inspection before signing on the dotted line can go a long way. However, there's one notorious type of damage that can be difficult to spot. Flood damage. You've likely heard of it, but do you know how to spot it and protect yourself from purchasing a car affected by it? If not, Toyota of Orlando is here with a guide to help you out!

Flood Damage Can Make or Break Your Ride

Flood damage is one of the worst complications that can befall a used car. It affects just about every area of your Orlando Toyota car. Everything from the carpet to engine compartment becomes damaged when a vehicle is submerged or takes on too much water. This commonly happens due to natural disasters like hurricanes and flash floods. Water can also enter and travel up your tailpipe through your exhaust system to the engine and cause permanent damage even when traveling through smaller bodies of water. In most cases vehicles like these are deemed "flooded" or "salvaged" on their titles if there are ever to be resold, but that rule isn't standard for every state. Plus, many vehicle history reports can't accurately determine if an Orlando used car is flooded unless it's disclosed on the title. So, long story short, you could wind up purchasing a flooded lemon if you're not careful. 

Luckily, with a trained eye for what to look for, you can spot signs of flood damage easily. Here are a few things you should keep an eye out for: 

Visible Rust

For the most part your used car has been treated with paint and other substances to prevent rust from forming on the metal surfaces. But, areas like the underside of seats, under the pedals, and some areas of the engine compartment are not treated and can form rust if exposed to too much moisture for an extended period of time. In the case of flood damage, these areas will likely have rusted and are a dead giveaway. 

Moldy or Musty Smelling Interior

Your future Orlando car might have a nice smelling interior, or it could be moldy or musty smelling if it's been exposed to excessive moisture. Another obvious sign of flood damage on a used car is the use of an excessive amount of air freshener. If your future interior smells like it took an italian shower, start asking questions. 

Fogged Instrument Clusters, Gauges, and Exterior Lights

Water shouldn't enter parts like your head and tail lights or your interior gauges and instrument clusters. If these parts have been exposed to moisture from flood damage, you'll likely be able to spot the visible water line or water droplets in the cluster. 

New or Mismatched Interior Upholstery 

In most cases, no matter how many ketchup stains or soda spills our seats and carpets endure, you won't need to replace pieces of your interior throughout the life of your car. If you notice mismatched or interior upholstery or new carpet in an Orlando used car, it was likely flooded at one point in time. 

Mud in the Trunk or Engine Block

Obviously mud and dirt don't belong in the trunk and engine block and can only get there in the event of flooding. 

Shop for a Reliable and Quality Used Car with Toyota of Orlando

At Toyota of Orlando we have an amazing selection of used cars in our inventory that include great warranties and are checked before making it to the lot. Ready to shop? Check out our full inventory online or visit the dealership seven days a week at 13429 Statesville Road. 

How to repair minor car paint damage

Do you have minor car paint damage on your vehicle? It may not seem like a big deal - minor scratches happen over time as you own the car - but it can keep your vehicle from looking its best and if deep enough, this damage can actually let moisture in and over time allow rust to form. As rust is extremely tedious and costly to repair, it's best to repair car paint damage as quickly as possible to avoid the situation. Toyota of Orlando is here to help - we've got tips from the pros on how you can DIY this issue from the comfort of your own garage. 

Repair minor car paint damage with these Orlando Toyota tips 

Before you start working, you have to figure out just how deep the scratch is that you're trying to repair. When it comes to your car paint, there are multiple layers: the base panel coat, primer coat, body paint coat, and clear coat. 

• If the scratch disappears when your car is wet and reappears when it's dry, it's a clear coat scratch. 
• If the car paint damage looks white and doesn't disappear when the car is wet, it's a body paint coat scratch. 
• If the scratch looks gray or black, it's a primer or body panel coat scratch. 

Figure out which type of scratch you've got on your hands and then start gathering supplies - for this particular DIY auto repair, you'll need sandpaper, microfiber cloths, fine scratch polish, clay bar wax, and soapy water. 

3 steps to remove car paint damage

Next, get to work! Here are the steps you'll want to take to get your car paint looking like-new again. 

1. Clean the area. You'll want to thoroughly wash the area you're going to be working on; this will help prevent further scratches by getting rid of any dirt or grit that could damage the paint as you polish and sand. Dry it with a microfiber cloth and tape it off so you know exactly where you're working. 

2. Start the sanding process. For this particular project, you'll want to use 3000 fine grit sandpaper to get started. Apply soapy water to the car paint damage and start sanding, using medium pressure, until the area looks hazy. Here's a tip - wrap a sponge in the sandpaper to avoid any pressure point marks from your fingers. Once you no longer see the scratch, you're ready to move to the next step. 

3. Wax and polish. Now it's time to take some 5000 fine grit sandpaper and get to work adding some feathering to the aforementioned hazy area. Once that's done, put some polish on a microfiber rag and apply it to the area to restore the shine. Finally, use the clay bar wax to get the area looking like-new again! 

Have questions? Call our Orlando Toyota Collision Center today - we're open and waiting at (407) 298-0001. 

Improve Your Car Parking with these Tips from Toyota of Orlando

It's not often that a driver is willing to admit that they're not the best driver on the road. To ourselves, we're the best of the best behind the wheel. However, an objective look will have us rethinking that thought. We all make mistakes behind the wheel, it happens. But what matters is our willingness and ability, as drivers, to fix our mistakes and make sure we don't make them again. The same applies to one of the hardest tasks a driver must do, car parking. 

If you're someone who parks in two spots, dings other peoples' cars, or can't seem to get their car straight in the lines, this guide is for you! Check out Toyota of Orlando's tips for improving your parking right here. 

Tips to Fix Your Car Parking

1) Park in One Spot and One Spot Only!

This is a given and goes without saying. Your Orlando Toyota was designed to be the perfect size to fit into one parking spot. It's perfectly doable to park in one spot and have plenty of space on either side for you and your passengers to exit the vehicle comfortably. 

2) Avoid Fancy Maneuvers in a Busy Parking Lot

Believe it or not, traffic jams can happen just as easily in a parking lot as they do on a highway. This is all thanks to the parking lot being too crowded and people taking too much time when car parking their Orlando Toyota cars. When the parking lot draws a crowd it helps speed things along by parking as quickly and efficiently as possible. Don't try to back into a spot, especially if it takes you some time to do it, as you will waste a great deal of time doing so. 

3) Use Your Turn Signal

You should always use your turn signal on the roads AND in parking lots. While you're not traveling a far distance it's always good to let other drivers in the parking lot know which spot you plan on claiming. 

4) Park Near the Back of the Car Parking Lot

Parking toward the back of the lot isn't just a way to get some extra steps in, it's also a great way to find a spot faster. Finding a car parking spot is always a battle of convenience. The closer the spot the less walking and vice versa. While closer spots are highly coveted you often have to pay in time to get one whereas you can park quickly in the back and get some healthy steps in. 

5) Be Considerate

Let's be real, door dings happen. While they're not the funnest thing in the world to deal with, it's worse to cause one and not deal with it. If you're responsible for a door ding, leave your information on the other driver's car and offer to fix the damage. 

Need more tips on how to perfect your car parking? Chat with us online at Toyota of Orlando! 

Everything you should know about your car's serpentine belt

Do you think you have a good grasp of what's going on under the hood of your car? Not many drivers do, but that's OK; that's why we have our Orlando auto service experts at the ready to help you get the answers you need when something is going on. However, we also believe that having some basic knowledge of how things work when it comes to your car can help you feel more comfortable and make more knowledgeable decisions. That's why we're here to give you the ins and outs of the serpentine belt - find out what it does, why it's crucial to performance, what happens if it breaks, and how to troubleshoot it like a pro. 

What is the serpentine belt? 

The serpentine belt is pretty much what it sounds like - it's a long, winding belt that sends power to accessories in the engine bay, including the alternator, power steering pump, water pump, and air conditioning. However, cars haven't always had this belt. Believe it or not, these parts used to have their own individual belts, but this turned out to be extremely inefficient - the belts wore differently and had to be replaced at different times, which meant a lot more maintenance than was necessary. Luckily, the serpentine belt removed the need for all of these individual belts. 

Obviously, if it breaks you're going to have issues. Not only will it not be able to deliver power to key components of performance (like the alternator - if it's not working, you won't be able to even start your car), when the belt actually breaks, it can damage other parts inside the engine and cause a need for a lot of costly and time-consuming repairs. Luckily, it doesn't wear out too quickly - usually, you won't need to replace it more often than every 60,000 - 100,000 miles as it's made of super thick and durable rubber. And to make things easy, our Orlando auto service techs can inspect your serpentine belt with a quick visual check every time you visit our Toyota Service Center. 

Signs you need to schedule Orlando auto repairs for this essential part 

However, you should be able to troubleshoot your car's serpentine belt so you know when it's time to schedule Orlando auto repairs or a replacement. Check out these surefire signs you need to pay us a visit: 

• You hear chirping or squeaking noises from under the hood - this is caused by the belt slipping due to wear and tear, a stretched-out belt, a broken pulley, or a leak inside of the engine. 
• You're having issues with your alternator and getting your car started. 
• Your power steering goes out. 
• You experience problems with your car's air conditioning or water pump. 
• You can actually see cracks or tears in the belt, or chunks of rubber start to flake off 
• The belt has a glazed or shiny look to it 

Have questions or think you may need a serpentine belt replacement? Call us! Toyota of Orlando is open seven days a week at (407) 298-0001, and we're conveniently located at 3575 Vineland Road, just off I-4 near the Millenia Mall. 

How Do Self-Driving Vehicles Work?

We've said it before and we'll say it again, the automotive industry is one that has an ever-changing technological landscape. Each year there are a slew of new advancements that take vehicles to a new place for drivers everywhere. Different engineering choices, more fuel-efficient engines, and convenience feature packages are just a few of the things that we've seen coming out of the automotive industry year after year. With vehicles so technologically advanced now, where are we going to go from here? 

While we can't predict the future, we at Toyota of Orlando have an idea for the answer to that question. One of the hottest topics when it comes to the automotive industry is the introduction and future use of self-driving vehicle technology. Cars, throughout their history, have needed input from people to function but automation could change all that as the technology continues to develop. If you're interested in this new and rapidly advancing vehicle technology or you feel like your time behind the wheel could be better spent, Toyota of Orlando is here with the facts on how self-driving vehicles work! 

The Ins and Outs of Self-Driving Vehicles

Vehicle automation has been a hot topic of the industry for several years now, especially considering the rapid advancements and pursuit of the technology by vehicle manufacturers like Tesla. But, vehicle automation and self driving has a fairly long history beginning in the 1920s. While most of those efforts were research and hypothetical based, the first landmark self-driving Orlando Toyota vehicle was developed in 1977 in Japan by Tsukuba Mechanical Engineering Laboratory. Even companies like Google have invested in the creation of software that can automatically pilot vehicles without the need for input from a human driver. 

The interest in self-piloting Orlando Toyota vehicles is palpable, but you might be wondering how exactly a driving system like that works. Here are the details: 

• Self-driving vehicles use a combination of external sensory cameras and GPS navigation to map roads they drive on. They also use this technology to visualize and map nearby environments in three-dimensionally. 
• After the Orlando vehicle has mapped its environment, the images are then filtered to reduce noise and then augmented. The resulting images are then processed using a control system. 
• Control systems for self-driving vehicles use a deliberative architecture that allows them to make machine-learned and intelligent decisions based on the images being processed. 
• This happens through the maintenance of an internal map and using that map to determine the optimal path that avoids obstacles. 
• Once a path is determined, the vehicle then sends the information to actuators (devices that control steering, braking, and acceleration) via commands. 
• This Orlando self-driving vehicle process is done several times a second over the course of the commute to then drive the vehicle to the destination. 

Obviously, the process of using self-driving vehicle technology is pretty complicated. It gets even more fun when diving into how your ride is able to distinguish objects in the environment using algorithms and how fine tuned sensors and cameras. must be to be effective in avoiding obstacles and planning paths. 

The technology to create a self-driving vehicle is definitely complicated, but there's still much work to be done when it comes to putting one on the road for consumers to use on a larger scale. For now, many vehicles are equipped with advanced safety features that can anticipate accidents and correct driver error to create safer commutes. In fact, the new Toyotas on our lot here at Toyota of Orlando are equipped with this technology! If you're interested in getting behind the wheel, swing by our dealership at 3575 Vineland Road today!