Car Insurance

1. Never accept Ball Park Estimates. Be on alert when you’re told: “About $800 and your car will be perfect.” Or, “It should run around $200 bucks.” If you went to a hotel and asked how much a room was for the night and the clerk said “Oh…I’d say around $200 bucks.” Would you accept that? Of course not!
2. When service centers suggest additional work, ask them to prioritize the suggestions in terms of immediacy and safety. Have them fax or e-mail an itemized estimate for your review.
3. When in doubt—WAIT! If you are feeling pressured by a service representative to authorize work or charges of which you are unsure, wait until you have all the information you need. Get a second opinion if necessary. Service representatives are great at phrasing automotive concerns in a very ominous light.
4. Get all estimates in writing, and itemized. This will allow you to scrutinize the charges. It will also let your service representative know that you mean business—fair business. Just asking for the break down will cause service representatives to think twice about price-gouging you. If a service center can’t provide a complete and professional estimate quickly, go somewhere else.
5. Be nice, sincere, and shrewd. Seriously, service representatives will go to bat for you if you treat them with courtesy and respect…

If one wonders why car repair prices are so high, or if they just feel as if he or she is being ripped off, an easy target to focus on in the automotive industry is the leadership. If a business or industry has an issue, always look to its leadership. Automotive service managers are an especially interesting study given that most are incompetent.

What’s strange is that there are no licensing or training requirements for service managers. There are no schools or college courses for automotive service management. Anyone is eligible, regardless of ability, experience, or ethical practices. This is particularly remarkable given a service manager’s power and influence in a very lucrative industry.

What’s frightening is that this leaves the service customer at the mercy of a service manager who lacks even the fundamentals of management.

A McDonald’s manager is likely to have significantly more management credentials than an automotive service manager!

Most service managers rose through the ranks of the service industry. They learned a lot of insider tricks, but not how to set guidelines, protocols, and accountability structures to produce an honest, well-run service center.

Now how are we all feeling about the prices of fuel today? I personally am not impressed so I sought out a few fuel saving techniques and would like to share them with you.

Do you know what kind of gas mileage your vehicle is getting? Calculating this is extremely simple. Start by filling up your tank. Write down the odometer reading or reset your trip gauge to zero. The next time you get gas, fill the tank again. Divide the miles you traveled between fill ups by the amount of gas you bought on the 2nd fill. This is your miles per gallon, or mpg.

First of all when filling up the tank never top it off. Most new vehicles have electronic gauges which work by a piece of metal attached to the float arm that slides across metal contacts this is called a sending unit to indicate how much fuel is in the tank. Topping it off can push this contact beyond its limits and damage the sending unit leading to inaccurate readings of the fuel gauge.

Try to buy your gas from a gas station that is consistently busy and therefore has its underground tanks filled on a regular basis. Gas stations that are slow will have gas that has been sitting in underground tanks for longer periods of time, leading to gas contamination. This contamination can mean that the gas you are purchasing is less powerful than fresh gas and will decrease your fuel economy.

A few tips we have used in saving gas are fairly simple and easy for anyone to use.

1. Never let your car run to a completely empty tank I generally fill up when my gas gage reads around half or no less then a quarter tank.

2. Gassing up in the mornings is typically the best time because the temperature outside is usually much cooler.

3. While driving always maintain a steady acceleration try to refrain from jackrabbit starts. Always keep your speed at moderate levels.

4. Do not use air conditioning or heat unless necessary.

5.Avoid idling the engine when it could be turned off, never leave car idling for more then 10 seconds unless it is an absolute need.

6. Try not to take short trips where the engine does not have the opportunity to fully warm up, and in cold weather always make sure you warm the engine up first.

7. It is very important to always have the right air pressure in your tires.

8. Having your car in the best running condition is always going to guaranty you the best mileage and performance.

I enjoy reading the tips and suggestions on finding an honest or good mechanic. These can be found on various government and consumer websites. I think the same guy wrote all the suggestions for all 50 states.

You’ll be advised to check around by word of mouth (WOM), and make sure that you see ASE or AAA posted somewhere. Check out the facility—makes sure it’s clean. Check with the BBB. You’ll be acronymed and common sense suggested to death. None of it will really help.

I know AAA certified shops that can barely change oil. I have worked with ASE certified technicians that frightened me with their diagnostic theories. I know shops that are consider great that have serious BBB scars. And WOM is actually the worst method. I have heard clients rave about how wonderful a particular shop is when I KNOW it’s run by a thief!

Tips and suggestions only scratch at the surface of the automotive underworld. Sure, some tips might help. What’s really needed is experienced insider information. The consumer needs to know what really goes on, and how to identify what’s really going on in order to make sense of auto repair costs. With the right guidance, automotive customers can estimate car repair costs on their own.

Relying on tips and suggestions is like relying on a blind man to lead you across a major interstate. You might make it, but wouldn’t you rather follow a traffic cop.

The automotive industry is slowly expanding its vocabulary. For decades service customers were accustomed to such greetings as “Yeah, wudda ya want?” Or such in-depth diagnostic explanations as “It’s all set!” The industry is learning that it can’t get away with this “Joe’s Garage mentality” of service. What the industry has learned is to pack its vocabulary with value—real or fabricated.

Most service facilities get the repair description from the technician. A typical technician’s description of a repair is quite brief. He may write: “Changed oil.” If one is lucky, he may add, “and filter” too. For an oil change this may be a good enough description to justify the $29.95.

However, what if there was a serious diagnostic problem such as a car not shifting gears properly? What if the technician determines the vehicle needs a new transmission for $3700. A description stating: “Replaced trans,” for a whopping $3700 does not justify the expense—it doesn’t show the value.

To be sure, most shops still practice abbreviated descriptions; however, the sharper ones have discovered the value of jive talk. Jive talk is technical jargon used to embellish the repair or service description to inflate the price.

Some jive talk is justifiable, as today’s cars are very technical. Here’s a description that shows the value for transmission diagnostics and replacement:

Customers Complaint: Vehicle consistently hesitates when shifting between first and second gears.

Cause/Description: (Technician notes)

Step One: Road tested vehicle. Mileage documentation 5 miles: 37,455 to 37,460. Confirmed customer’s concern. Vehicle is not shifting properly between first and second gears. Performed basic and visual inspections: no signs of exterior damage, transmission fluid clean and full, external conditions normal.

Step Two: Set up diagnostic equipment and performed full diagnostic scan. Retrieved multiple transmission fault codes” 0032—shift solenoid malfunction, 0098—park indicator malfunction, 0098—torque converter error, 0987—transmission control module fault.

Step Three: Per manufacturer guidelines, began diagnostic tests to pinpoint error. Cleared all trouble codes, recalibrated transmission, shift points, and road tested vehicle. Mileage documentation 4 miles: 37460 to 37464. No change in shifting concern. Rescanned vehicle, all codes returned.

Step Four: Continued tests per factory guides: Removed all necessary parts and hardware in order lower transmission pan to inspect valve body. Valve body intact, but found particles of metal at the bottom of the transmission pan.

Step Five: Continuing diagnostic evaluation, removed valve body to inspect. Found damaged retaining pin on top off valve body. Suspect major internal transmission fault.

Step Six: Dismantled transmission and found multiple broken and/or fractured transmission components.

Technician Recommendation: Vehicle needs a new or rebuilt transmission. (Estimate with parts and labor break down attached)

I won’t continue with a complete parts and labor outline, but the idea here is that this description (which would continue with the actual step-by-step removal and replacement procedure of the transmission) shows the value. In other words, you’ll be leaving the service facility with documentation longer than a paragraph, which in many ways is comforting—you got what you paid for.

Here’s the twist, the detailed description above was a total fabrication. It was a “real-life” car repair scam. While the vehicle did have a transmission problem, it was fixed with the replacement of a new control module and recalibration. This particular repair costs about $876, parts, tax, labor, and diagnostics.