Steven Helmer Publications

I'm burning off some of my vacation time by taking Wednesday afternoons off (it helps reduce some of my wife's stress because I can get our oldest daughter after school). I had a "check engine" light on in my 2017 Chevy Cruze and decided to make an appointment to get that checked out right after work yesterday. I figured the appointment would take, at most, an hour, with them diagnosing the problem and, if they couldn't fix it easily, having me make another appointment. I was definitely wrong about that one. I was there 3 1/2 hours as they took half the engine apart trying to figure out what was causing that light to come on only to have them not really knowing what the problem was but essentially making an educated guess and suggesting I change where I get my gas. My biggest concern, of course, was I wasn't going to be able to get my daughter. Fortunately, I did get out of there just in time. But, I'm still a bit irritated considering I have only had...

One of the main reasons I choose to lease a new car rather than buy a pre-owned (more affordable) one is I simply do not trust cars enough to feel comfortable having one without a warranty. Today, that decision paid off for me because the 2017 Chevy Cruze I leased just a few months ago had its first mechanical problem. To tell you the truth, I was a bit surprised by this. My "check engine" light came on while my wife and I were at Costco on Saturday and I just figured I didn't get the gas cap tight enough the last time I filled it. The fact the car seemed to be running just fine supported that theory. However, the light stayed on and I ended up taking it to the dealer today. Two hours later, the check engine light is off and the car has a new oxygen sensor. The fact that sensor already needed to be replaced (the car only has 3500 miles on it) is something I'm definitely going to be taking note of. It might just be a fluke. But, it might also be a sign of mo...

I've now had my 2017 Cruze for a couple weeks and have had an opportunity to drive it both in town (normal errands) as well as take it on a couple road trips with the family. As a result, I now have enough of a feel for the car to feel comfortable writing my first review of it. Overall, I have to say I'm still happy with my decision to go with this automobile. I originally was looking for something a little bit bigger but, because of budget limitations, this was pretty much the only size sedan I could afford. However, as I've been driving it, I am discovering the car is exceeding my expectations. One of the things that has really impressed me about this car is the way it has given us more space than what we had with my 2014 Cruze. The cars themselves really aren't any different in size. But, the newer version seems to have made better use of the space. My wife and daughters, for example, think it has more leg room than the other car did. This actually surprised m...