Third Coast Auto Group Official Blog

Many cars come with what are called “nuisance alarms”. As the name implies, these are loud, obnoxious shrieking sounds that are meant to frighten off car thieves (though they are often more useful for scaring car owners and irritating neighbors). The easiest way to shut off your vehicle’s alarm is to hit the lock or alarm button on your keyfob. However, what do you do if your keyfob is broken, low on battery, or you are unfortunate enough to have a car with an alarm but not a keyfob? Here are a few ways to stop a car alarm without a keyfob. Hopefully one will work! (more…)

What are the best infotainment systems on used cars?

One of the things that you may be looking for in your next pre-owned vehicle is an advanced technology system. What are the best infotainment systems on used cars? Honestly, the best technology systems are those that work the best for you. But what should you be looking for when you shop? Whether you are moving into a vehicle with a tape deck or the latest streaming radio technology, here are some things to keep in mind on the test drive. (more…)

Even though the inventory we carry here at Third Coat Auto Group is all used vehicles (the better to offer Austin drivers affordable financing no matter their credit situation) we thought it would be fun to talk about one of the steps of getting a new car. No, not enjoying that new car smell! We wanted to write about how to break-in that new, shiny, and expensive piece of powerful equipment. But how do you break in a new car engine? Whether you have a compact or midsize car perfect for that daily commute, or are raring to get out on the track (or, you know, gun it on one of the 85 mph highways here in Texas) you should take it a little easy while your car is getting used to its job. (more…)

More and more modern vehicles are coming with cool locking, unlocking, and starting technology. While almost all new models come with keyfobs you can use to lock or unlock your car from across the parking lot, some designs now come with features like push button start, and keyfobs that will automatically unlock your vehicle when you get close to it. But what happens when human error meets advanced auto technology? We found three cool videos that address some common questions. (more…)

Different automakers have different terms for a variety of features, and the industry and consumers don’t always have a consistent name for things. Which brings us to the classic sunroof. Or does your vehicle have a moonroof? And how big is a panoramic sunroof? We are going to explore “What’s the difference between a moonroof and a sunroof?” below as well as a few more of these questions. (more…)

In the past we’ve talked about the differences between a manual and an automatic transmission. For the manual, you get that visceral feeling of changing gears, and the effort to find the perfect one for every driving situation. Automatic transmissions take that challenge away. But that begs the question why we have more than drive, park, reverse and neutral on an automatic transmission. When do you use gear two or three when driving an automatic? We’re going to look at a few of the answers to these questions below. (more…)