Honest-1 Prior Lake Services 5,000

Honest-1 Prior Lake Services 5,000

Tom Watson’s Honest-1 in Prior Lake has just celebrated a milestone: servicing 5,000 cars. As a result, they celebrated by giving the 5,000^th customer (Lynn Watson) a gift certificate for a free oil change. This Honest-1 shop has worked its way to one of the top shops in the Honest-1 system for revenue and car counts. And they won’t celebrate their 1^st anniversary until November. Way to go Honest-1 Prior Lake, keep up the excellent work!

Enter to Win a Car Care Club Card & Get a Free Oil Change!

Well, we're not exactly giving away free money, but with our Car Care Club Card Sweepstakes, we might as well be.

As part of our effort to get to know our customers better, we're giving away a free oil change to everyone who participates in our Car Care Club Card Sweepstakes. The grand prize winner will receive a Car Care Club Card, a unique product Rob cooked up a few years back to reward dedicated car owners with a bundle of savings. The card contains free & discounted maintenance services worth over $435, and is perfect for the car owner who plans on keeping his or her vehicle for many years to come.

Second and third prize are nothing to sniff at, either. Check out all our auto repair prizes below, and don't forget that everyone who enters our contest gets a FREE oil change. Everyone.

Enter the Car Care Club Card Sweepstakes here.

The Club Card includes:

- 4 FREE Oil Changes + Maintenance Services ($180 value)
- FREE Air Conditioning Performance Test ($49.95 value)
- $35 off Transmission Flush & Fill
- $30 off Mile Service Packages
- $50 off Front or Rear Brake Service
- $20 off Radiator Flush
- $15 off Power Steering Flush Service
- 50% off Computerized Wheel Alignment
- Buy one Wiper Blade get one FREE ($19.95 value)

Even if you don’t use any of the discounts on the card, the 4 FREE oil changes and FREE air conditioning test are alone worth over $225!

2nd Prize

Wheel Alignment – FREE ($60 value)

3rd Prize

New Wiper Blades – FREE ($30 value)

All contestants:

Everyone who enters this contest will be given a FREE oil change!

Top 4 Reasons to Change the Oil in Your Car (Featuring Red Green)

by Marjorie, Cars for Keeps Social Media Marketing Consultant

Remember the Red Green Show? If Michigan's rednecks, bumpkins and "yoopers" had an icon (other than Ted Nugent), it would be Red, handyman extrodinaire.

Since Cars for Keeps is giving away a free oil change this month, today we'll focus on a few reasons why oil changes are important to your vehicle's health. Red Green will demonstrate a few of the many things NOT to do to keep your vehicle running.

Changing your oil at home to save money is a nice idea, but as Red so charmingly demonstrates, oil changes gone wrong can easily lead to far bigger expenses. Like Red says:

"If you get it done at a gas station or wherever, you're just not sure if they've done a bad job, where if you do it at home, you know."

We hate to gainsay Red Green, but you can be sure that an oil change performed by Cars for Keeps is done right.

To make sure I had my facts straight, I called our mechanics at the shop and had them list for me a few of the grittily-detailed benefits of regular oil changes. They listed the top 4 ways regular oil changes can prevent mechanical failure and increase your car's performance.

Regular oil changes:

1) Remove contaminants like dirt and metal shavings from the engine, removing risk of failure or part wearing

2) Prolong engine life by reducing friction and heat

3) Keep the engine cool which, if you remember my overheated engine confession from last Wednesday, is very important

4) Keep your car running efficiently. Old oil can bog down your vehicle's mileage.

Consult your owners manual to see how often the oil in your vehicle should be changed. If it's been more than a year, you can just assume it's time to change your oil now.

Quirky Clunkers Contest: Win a Free Oil Change & Full Diagnostic!

Cars for Keeps is offering a free oil change and diagnostic for the winner of this contest. It's fun. It's easy. It's a great opportunity to make sure your car is in tip-top shape.

Contest Details:

Prize: Free oil change & full diagnostic (There's also a secret prize for all contestants who enter. Find out what the prize is by entering the contest!)

Enter now!

Answer the following question:

If you could fix one thing about your vehicle, what would it be?

Tell us in 30 words or less using these steps:

1) Tweet, Facebook or email the URL to this page to your friends (http://tinyurl.com/yl6h2t4)

2) Post your answer as a comment here (so we can read it!)

3) Email us at cars4keeps@gmail.com

Thanks for stopping by, and good luck!