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Eighty percent of car buyers are using the Internet to research cars and used car prices. For vehicle research, the Internet’s great! For vehicle prices, the Internet sucks! It sucks because the prices do not reflect reality for the buyer or the seller. Web sites that place values on vehicles have created more confusion than ever.
“My car’s worth $25,800.” “I looked up used car prices on the web and my vehicle’s worth twenty grand.” I hear quotes like these everyday. I wish, for the...
•Car Warning Lights: Is My Car Going To Blow Up? Myths & Facts
Today’s vehicles are equipped with an array of warning lights. Of course we’re all familiar will the seat belt warning and the door ajar indicator; however, with the automotive industry’s technological advancements there are a number of warning lights that can be quite alarming.
Following is a Question and Answer Guide on some of the more common Warning Light concerns. Note: due to the frequency of the Check Engine Warning Light, it has a section all its own. Visit...
•Auto Repair: How Can They Screw Up An Oil Change?
“It’s all about beating the clock.” This quote comes from a wise old service manager, advising me on how to maximize my income as a flat-rate technician. If you have ever wondered why your car doesn’t get fixed correctly, or all your concerns weren’t addressed, you can blame, in part, the flat-rate pay structure.
Flat-rate simply means that your mechanic is paid a flat fee for a particular repair, regardless of how long the repair actually takes. In other words, if your car needs a water...
•Auto Repair: The Top Ten Mistakes Made By Your Mechanic
Number One: Not confirming the concern. Confirming a repair concern is a basic diagnostic principle frequently overlooked. To fix a problem, the first thing one must do is recognize it.
Number Two: Insufficient Road Testing. The importance of a thorough road test (even for an oil change) is well documented in automotive training manuals. Yet, many technicians consider driving the vehicle into the shop good enough.
Number Three: Misdiagnosing. For the above reasons and a multitude of...
•Tire Insurance: Myths And Facts About Road Hazard Policies
Insurance—it’s everywhere. One can insure just about anything. Are tires an investment one needs to insure? Tire insurance, also called a road hazard policy, road hazard warranty, or tire reimbursement plan, is a rapidly growing industry in the automotive world.
Tire warranty plans pay in full or in part for the replacement or repair of damaged tires and/or rims from “road hazards.” Road hazards are defined as pot holes, debris, nails, wood, and other hazards found in the road. Curbs,...
•Auto Repair Insurance: Extended Warranties — Myths And Facts
How much insurance does one need? You have the big four: home, health, life, and car insurance. Then there’s a second category, which starts getting a little hazy with credit card insurance, purchase protection plans, fraud insurance and more. Extended warranties, also called extended service contracts, or extended service policies fall into the mist of this second category.
Extended warranties are supposed to pay (in full or in part) for specified repairs for a specific period of time after...
•Car Repair Scams: Why Traditional Scam Prevention Tips Will Cost You A Fortune
The advice is all the same for auto repair scam prevention. You’ll be told to find an ASE certified shop. Ask around. Check out several different repair facilities first. Are they clean and neat? Do they provide written estimates? Check with the BBB. Is it AAA certified? Some will even advise to “ask for the parts back.”
Traditional tips and suggestions merely put a band-aid over an infected, gaping sore. Strong antibiotics are required to address the root source of the problems in the repair...
•Auto Sales And Auto Service: Who Rips You Off More?
Everybody hates car salesman. They talk too fast, use too many clichés, and are generally exasperating. There’s nothing worse than being verbally romanced only to find out you were ripped-off—or is there?
How about getting ripped-off repeatedly? How about getting ripped-off repeatedly for years? How about never even knowing you were ripped-off, repeatedly, and for years?
Welcome to service! When it comes to swindling, automotive service representatives are the real experts. They have more...
•Car Repair Prices: Fuel Injection Services, Are They Worth It?
Fuel injection services are growing in popularity for the following reasons in the order of motive.
1) Increases service center's profit 2) It's an easy sell with today’s gas prices 3) Offsets manufacturers' maintenance reductions 4) Poor gas quality 5) Poor adherence to vehicle maintenance
Notice that "It's required" did not make the list. That's because fuel injection services are not required the majority of the time.
However, injector services are at times beneficial, even...
•Car Repair Prices: Why Your Oil Change Is Never “Just An Oil Change”
For a repair shop, there is little profit in the $29.95 oil change. By the time a shop pays its technician, pays for the oil, the filter, and the hazardous waste disposal fees, there’s no money left.
This low profit margin is worsened by the extremely competitive “Quick Lube” business, which forces local repair shops to refrain from raising prices, despite rising costs.
This all begs the question: If oil change specials, which range from $15.95 to $29.95, clearly produce very low profits,...
•Car Repair Prices: The Dim Underworld Of Automotive Service
Most know the most glaring auto repair pricing abuses: Service centers overcharging $100’s even $1000’s for repairs, or charging for repairs that were never done at all.
To be sure, this still happens every day. However, there are many other techniques which involve flying just low enough to avoid detection.
The savvy service centers increase the price so as not to set off any alarms. It has become so common that it’s not just an accepted industry practice, but even service customers have...
•Car Repair Prices: Who Charges More, Dealerships Or Local Shops?
Many argue that dealership prices are 4 to 6 times higher than local shops. This is farfetched. That would mean that $100 at a local shop would be $400 to $600 at a dealership. Dealerships aren’t run by the sharpest businessmen, but this kind of pricing discrepancy would put dealers out of business, fast. The sources calculating such pricing gaps are never quoted, so I am not sure from where such data comes, but let’s look at what’s really going on.
First, 98 % of ALL service centers are...
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