Plain answers for real car problems.
WCCO's Car Care is a practical, question-led car maintenance program built around calls, texts, and shop-floor judgment. Nick Stoffel explains symptoms, likely causes, service timing, and when a repair should not be postponed.
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WCCO's Car Care is a plainspoken vehicle maintenance program centered on real driver problems rather than automotive spectacle. It starts with the kind of questions people save up for a mechanic. A battery is five years old. A tire has taken a pothole hit. A transmission shop recommends a fluid service, or a warning light will not go away. Nick Stoffel from Lloyd's Automotive listens for the symptom, restates the concern, and works toward a practical next step. The show is technical, but not exclusionary. It gives enough mechanism to explain why a coolant interval has stretched, why an airbag warning should not be bypassed, or why the cheapest battery may be the wrong kind of savings. Then it brings the answer back to service timing, safety, and cost. The pacing is brisk. Calls and texts keep the topics moving from CVT trouble to cabin filters, rear cameras, squeaky brakes, catalytic converter theft, used-car inspections, oil intervals, and suspicious sounds. The recurring strength is translation. Modern cars are more reliable and more complicated, and the show is comfortable saying both things at once. It encourages basic awareness without pretending every repair belongs in a home garage. Do-it-yourselfers get respect. So do drivers who just want to understand what a shop is likely to find. Seasonal road life gives the conversations texture, especially potholes, snow cleanup, tire damage, and spring maintenance. The tone stays reassuring without becoming casual about risk. Safety systems, fluids, filters, and worn parts are treated as things to understand before they become expensive or dangerous. For a listener choosing between waiting, testing, replacing, or getting a second look, WCCO's Car Care offers measured advice from someone who spends the week around actual vehicles. It is useful radio in the form of a shop conversation.
Made for: For everyday drivers, used-car shoppers, and cautious do-it-yourselfers who want to understand symptoms before approving repairs. It especially suits people who find modern vehicle maintenance intimidating but still want clear, practical judgment.
What sets it apart: The show stands out by using live listener problems as the starting point, then turning each one into a grounded maintenance rule. Nick Stoffel keeps the advice local, specific, and safety-minded without burying non-experts in shop jargon.
WCCO's Car Care
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Clear mechanical reasoning helps car owners interpret symptoms, judge maintenance choices, and approach the repair shop better informed.
WCCO's Car Care turns vehicle trouble into a practical call-in conversation. Denny Long fields questions by phone and text, while ASC certified technician Nick Stoffel explains what a symptom might mean, what information is still missing, and when a repair belongs in a shop.
The tire-pressure light stays on after you fill up; Nick Stoffel starts with the reset procedure.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A calm shop conversation turns everyday car questions into sensible next steps before the repair visit.
Everyday car questions give this single episode a practical spine, especially when the conversation settles into battery life and transmission-fluid service.
A calm, practical guide to coolant timing, pothole damage, safety warnings, and everyday maintenance rules.
A Saturday car-care segment turns common vehicle worries into a clear maintenance checklist, from pothole damage and coolant timing to a service-airbag warning and the shop's 5,000-mile oil-filter rule. Nick Stoffel, an ASC certified technician at Lloyd's Automotive in St.
A calm car-care discussion turns spark plugs, manuals, and repair costs into practical next steps.
Car Care takes a practical route through a focused maintenance question: whether a driver can change spark plugs at home, and what needs to be in place before trying it.
A measured car-care episode on battery demand and used-car inspection basics.
The episode uses one premature battery failure as a way into a broader, careful look at why replacement batteries can disappoint drivers. Denny Long brings in Nick Stoffel, an ASC certified technician from Lloyd's Automotive in St. Paul, and Nick avoids an easy answer.
A practical filter clinic for drivers weighing small maintenance choices before a service visit.
A Valentine's Day call-in turns routine filter care into a practical question of judgment: when can a filter be cleaned, when is it used up, and when does a replacement fit well enough to trust?
A steady call-in review of spark-plug choices, exact replacement parts, and when driveway repair has limits.
Car care is framed as a chain of judgment calls, not a test of nerve. Denny Long and ASC certified technician Nick Stoffel focus on what a driver should weigh before getting under the hood, with the strongest section landing on spark plugs.
A humming wheel bearing and two tire-pressure questions make routine maintenance feel timely and useful.
A faint hum can be the first sign of a wheel bearing problem, even when the car is not shaking. This episode gives that symptom the right amount of attention, as ASC certified technician Nick Stoffel explains why a new noise deserves a closer look.
Car reviews with the fine print left in.
Real car testing, plain-spoken buyer advice.
Fast car talk with lived-in opinions.
Car reviews with garage-floor honesty.
Denny Long hosts ASC-certified technician Nick Stoffel from Lloyd's Automotive in St.
Host Denny Long and ASC-certified technician Nick Stoffel from Lloyd's Automotive answer listener car care questions on a Saturday morning radio show.
WCCO's Car Care with Denny Long and Nick Stoffel spends the hour on listener questions about a 2014 Ford F-150 with no power steering, a 2015 Chevrolet Equinox turbo repair, and a Ram 2500 with exhaust brakes.
["WCCO's Car Care spends this Saturday on CVT transmissions, shocks and struts, coolant loss, airbag warnings, and other listener repair questions.", "Nick Stoffel, an ASC-certified technician at Lloyd's Automotive in St.
Denny Long and Nick Stoffel of Lloyd's Automotive spend the hour on brake squeaks, oil-change timing for a brand-new SUV, and why Nick still likes a 5,000-mile oil-change schedule.
Nick Stoffel from Lloyd's Automotive discusses his background and introduces topics like cabin filter facts, rear camera repair, and maintenance after mouse damage.
A radio host and mechanic discuss car care, tire tread, pothole problems, and squeaky brakes, emphasizing the complexity of modern repairs.
Nick Stoffel discusses catalytic converter theft, oil types, and gasoline mixing while sharing snow removal tips for an auto shop.
Nick Stoffel from Lloyd's Automotive discusses basic car maintenance tips for those intimidated by car care, including monitoring tire pressure, check engine lights, belts, hoses, and fluids.
A car care segment where host Denny and mechanic Nick Stoffel discuss advice for buying a used car, common vehicle issues, and signs of low fluids.
Nick Stoffel says engine oil tolerances are "very, very specific" and warns against changing viscosity casually.
WCCO's Car Care with Denny All and Nick Stoffel of Lloyd's Automotive focuses on potholes, batteries, tires, filters, and oil on a Valentine's Day call-in show.
A mechanic discusses wheel bearing issues, tire pressure checks, and seasonal tire choices with a host.
Nick Stoffel, an ASC-certified technician, discusses typical AC repair seasonality and answers car care questions on the CCU Car Care Show.