Wilmington and Millsboro Auto Repair

If you’re driving down the road and all of sudden hear a rattle (sort of like a tin can) coming from one of the rear wheels, you may have a situation with the rear parking brake shoes.    Take a moment to watch our Mercedes video. The parking brake is designed to safely and securely hold the vehicle in position while parked. Parking brakes come in two different types; brake shoes that are under the rear disc rotors, or a system that compresses the rear disc pads (hydraulically or manually) By applying the parking brake you also place the weight of the vehicle onto the rear wheels, saving stress on the transmission parking pawl.  We have a case with this Mercedes Benz was giving us a bit of hard time when asked to give up the rattle that was persistently hiding from us.   After checking all of the usual suspects, exhaust, loose sheet metal, wheel areas, trunk, etc., it turns out that the rattle was hiding under the left rear brake rotor.&nb ... read more

Why Do I Feel A Clunk In My Hyundai Steering Wheel?    If you are experiencing a clunking type feel in your Hyundai steering wheel, there’s a good chance that you have a broken flex coupler. Now, what’s a flex coupler?  The flex coupler is similar to a universal joint that connects the steering column to the electronic steering motor. It’s purpose is to allow smooth turning when placing the wheels at the extremes - left or right. It also reduces stress on the rest of the steering components.  As you can see in the video, the flex coupler is a small, rubber type bushing that looks like a snow flake or asterisk. The points of the coupler are designed to match the column and electronic steering motor precisely so it can reduce the vibration.  The cost of repair is primarily due to the labor for replacing the coupler as the coupler itself is negligible in the context of the repair. Average time to replace the coupler i ... read more

  Henry's Car Care Center Closes I was kind of shocked to hear that another long time, family automotive repair center had closed its doors. Henry DiDonato had operated his repair shop for decades. Henry also operated the Exxon station on the corner of Kirkwood and St. James as well. If memory serves me, his brother Joe operated the old ARCO (then Shell Station) right in Greenville. Joe’s location now boasts a Bank Of America branch. I’ve always considered Henry’s one of the best service center’s in the area because I knew his team always looked out for their customers. They will be missed, I’m sure. With the changes in automotive technology today, I am seeing more and more longtime stalwarts in the automotive service fields, close or simply retire. Automotive repair and operating an automotive center is not easy. It takes a tremendous amount of tools, equipment and skilled technicians to make sure vehicles can operate safely, eff ... read more

CarMax Of Newark Temporarily Closes Sales & ServiceApril 2020. Newark, Delaware. CarMax located at Stafford Way and Route 273 in Newark, Delaware, has temporarily closed operations due to the "Stay At Home" orders issued by Governor Carney. Without a doubt this has left many CarMax clients without a trusted resource to take care of their vehicle service needs. CarMax is the nations largest retailer of used cars and any gap in their operations certainly can cause concerns for all of their customers.  At Buckley's, we are very familiar with CarMax as three of our very own have purchased vehicles from CarMax along with a robust&n ... read more

When you need to swap out engines on a Mini Cooper, you might be surprised to learn that the whole front of the car needs to be removed. The front clip as it's called, is removed to gain favorable access to the engine and all accessories such as the air conditioning compressor, power steering pump, alternator and other pulleys. This gives you a clear view of the entire engine bay.  Once the front clip is off, we remove the belts, hoses, and all fuel lines, a/c lines and air box. The engine will be pulled out straight away from the body. Once we have it out and rested on our movable bench, we begin to dissect it. That means, we're taking off all of the parts that get swapped over to the new (used in this case) one. MINI Parts like spark plug wires, manifolds, pumps, alternators and other pieces necessary to get the engine back in running condition.  After its finally set up, it's re-installed just about the ... read more