[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":64},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fXQSOmKRGNgYhnPr_EGig8_bL5sN3DVssqK99TFpRm1k":3},[4,17,27,36,47,57],{"slug":5,"title":6,"excerpt":7,"category":8,"author":9,"publishedAt":10,"readMinutes":11,"tags":12},"winter-car-prep-rockford","The Rockford Winter Car Prep Checklist (From People Who Fix the Aftermath)","Every January we meet the cars that skipped this list. Here’s exactly what to check before the first single-digit morning — and what each item costs to ignore.","Seasonal","Grote Auto Repair","2025-10-15T09:00:00-05:00",7,[13,14,15,16],"winter","maintenance","battery","tires",{"slug":18,"title":19,"excerpt":20,"category":21,"author":9,"publishedAt":22,"readMinutes":23,"tags":24},"real-cost-skipping-oil-changes","The Real Cost of Skipping Oil Changes (With Actual Numbers)","A $69 oil change feels skippable right up until it isn’t. Here’s the honest math on what oil neglect actually costs, stage by stage.","Maintenance","2026-06-02T09:00:00-05:00",6,[25,14,26],"oil","engine",{"slug":28,"title":29,"excerpt":30,"category":8,"author":9,"publishedAt":31,"readMinutes":23,"tags":32},"pothole-season-suspension-rockford","Pothole Season: What a Rockford Spring Actually Does to Your Car","Freeze-thaw cycles turn our roads into a suspension test track every March. What that first big hit really damages, and which noises to take seriously.","2026-03-10T09:00:00-05:00",[33,34,16,35],"suspension","alignment","spring",{"slug":37,"title":38,"excerpt":39,"category":40,"author":9,"publishedAt":41,"readMinutes":42,"tags":43},"how-to-read-repair-quote","How to Read a Repair Quote (and Spot the Padding)","A fair quote has a shape: parts, labor, and a reason for every line. Here’s how to read one like a service advisor — including the questions that make padding evaporate.","Straight Talk","2026-06-20T09:00:00-05:00",8,[44,45,46],"pricing","trust","repairs",{"slug":48,"title":49,"excerpt":50,"category":40,"author":9,"publishedAt":51,"readMinutes":52,"tags":53},"illinois-emissions-test-guide","Illinois Emissions Testing: Pass the First Time","Check engine light on? That’s an automatic fail — and clearing the code the night before fails too. How the test works and how to walk in ready.","2026-05-12T09:00:00-05:00",5,[54,55,56],"emissions","check-engine-light","illinois",{"slug":58,"title":59,"excerpt":60,"category":8,"author":9,"publishedAt":61,"readMinutes":52,"tags":62},"why-car-batteries-die-in-winter","Why Car Batteries Die in Winter (and How to Never Be Surprised Again)","Batteries don’t die in January — they die in July and get discovered in January. The chemistry of cold-morning failure, and the free 5-minute test that prevents it.","2025-11-05T09:00:00-06:00",[15,13,63],"electrical",1784691254193]