With car owners holding on to their vehicles longer and opting to take on some of their own repairs, Carolina Tire & Auto has released a list of tips — from recycling oil to using remanufactured parts — to help DIYers keep both their environment and their wallets green.
Carolina Tire & Auto's team of mechanics identified some common DIY repair and maintenance activities and applied a simple formula: Recycle, Repair, Re-use and be Resource-Friendly.
1. Recycle oil, antifreeze and parts
If all the oil from American do-it-yourself oil changers were recycled, it would be enough to supply more than 50 million cars a year. Oil, antifreeze and parts can usually be recycled at Carolina Tire & Auto.
2. Repair, don't replace
Extending the life of your car and its parts through proper repair and maintenance can help save environmental resources, prevent costly repairs and conserve consumer dollars.
3. Reuse parts and supplies
Rebuilt/remanufactured and used parts are easily available and can cost 50 percent less than buying new parts, while also reducing the amount of raw materials consumed and harmful emissions generated.
4. Be resource-friendly when you clean
Chances are that whatever you clean your vehicle with could end up in the storm drain and our streams, rivers, or oceans, so be conscious of the products you are using, or use a commercial car wash, which generally uses much less water.
5. Use resource-friendly parts, products
Look at options for greener or longer-life products, such as extended life antifreeze and organic brake pads.
"While many auto repair shops have instituted green practices in their shops and have been recycling parts and oil for years, there is little information available to help the average DIY car owner keep his/her maintenance and repair work environmentally friendly," said Carolina Tire & Auto president Jim Seidel. "At Carolina Tire & Auto we want to empower car owners with information to help them 'green' their auto repair, not only to help save valuable environmental resources and prevent a polluted water supply but, importantly in this economic climate, to help them save significant dollars."
Recycle your used oil at Carolina Tire & Auto
Auto Repair 101 is a reader friendly blog about auto repair by Carolina Tire and Auto, Charlotte's # 1 rated auto center. Use this free information and opinions to help the consumer better understand their car, truck or SUV.
Friday, November 5, 2010
New Cars and Their Warranties
Ask around and the oft-repeated consensus on the subject of automobile quality is: “They don’t build them like they used to.”
It’s true. They build them better.
The evidence is in the number of independent repair shops that are closing, fewer parts sales by jobbers, and new-car dealers that are having trouble keeping their service departments busy.
Mechanical issues reported by owners of three-year-old vehicles have plunged from an industry average of 273 problems per 100 vehicles in 2003 to 155 problems in the latest J.D. Power and Associates dependability survey.
Hand in hand with better cars are the improved warranties that come with them. New-car guarantees were just 90 days long in North America until the early 1960s, when the one-year comprehensive warranty was introduced.
The burgeoning import-car industry unveiled three-year, bumper-to-bumper coverage in the early 1980s, a new standard every manufacturer was compelled to adopt or perish.
Today, the three-year/60,000-km comprehensive warranty remains the basic standard warranty, but many automakers have gone further. Virtually every premium brand, from Acura to Volvo, has adopted four-year/80,000-km coverage as standard, while four brands have gone to five years: Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi and, most recently, Jaguar.
Experts agree no automaker can afford to offer such lengthy warranties without building high-quality products. But some buyers are unaware of the limitations of a comprehensive or bumper-to-bumper warranty.
Commonly not covered are “wear items”, such as brake pads, shoes, rotors and drums, the manual clutch assembly, tires, batteries and any aftermarket items installed once the vehicle leaves the factory. Also not covered are malfunctions resulting from misuse — for example, if the CD player stops working because there’s a cookie inside.
“The warranty addresses defects in material and workmanship,” says Jim Seidel,
president of Carolina Tire & Auto Repair in Charlotte, NC. Not only have comprehensive and powertrain warranties gotten longer, but there are other no-cost benefits that accrue to warranty holders these days — services such as roadside assistance, towing and courtesy transportation.
The added benefits, including no more deductibles or warranty transfer fees, help differentiate the automaker in a hotly contested marketplace.
“The consumer is buying a comprehensive package, designed to take the stress out of owning a vehicle,” says Seidel. Industry observer Mohamed Bouchama of CarHelpCanada.com agrees vehicle quality and warranties are getting better, and so are the dealers who ultimately deliver the warranty service.
“Dealer response is better now than it used to be; dealerships are making an effort to appease their customers,” Bouchama says. But what consumers may not know is that there’s a delicate dance that takes place behind the service counter, as the dealership weighs the costs of submitting each warranty claim to head office. “Manufacturers watch who has the highest claims, so it’s in the dealer’s interest to manage warranty issues,” says Bouchama. Submit too many head-gasket repairs, for example, and the dealer may be sanctioned by receiving fewer deliveries of a hot-selling model.
George Iny, president of the Automobile Protection Association (apa.ca), says some dealers have told him they are tied to a warranty-claims quota, which lets them submit only so many of each type of repair per month, effectively making the dealer a gatekeeper for the manufacturer.
Iny says not every manufacturer operates in this manner, but the prospect of a quota system may help explain why auto dealers don’t always seem keen to do warranty work. There are other reasons, as well.
Manufacturers generally don’t recognize the labor rates specified in shop-standard manuals, which are considered to have a lot of fat in the estimated repair times (to be fair, these rates take into account seized bolts, etc.). Head office pays for a 60-minute hour, which means the technician and dealer make less money from a warranty claim than from a consumer invoice.
In addition, Iny says, most manufacturers will not pay for diagnostic time, considered the hardest part of an automobile repair. The time invested in finding the problem is not compensated by the factory, which makes warranty repairs especially unappealing.
It helps explain why service writers give Academy Award-worthy performances when customers complain about slipping transmissions and leaky head gaskets. “Most of the time, you’re being lied to when the dealership service manager says they’ve never heard of that problem in your model before,” Iny suggests. A quick check on the Internet for common faults with that model can provide the corroborating evidence. Reluctant to submit another warranty claim, the service writer may defer the inevitable by providing a stop-gap repair or adjustment until the vehicle’s warranty period ends, at which point the consumer gets the brunt of the complete repair cost, usually amounting to thousands of dollars.
It’s enough to make an automobile owner lose sleep at night, which may be why the proportion of new-car buyers who opt for an extended warranty is climbing, despite all the good news about better-quality vehicles and longer warranties.
Chris Travell, vice-president of Maritz Research’s automotive group, says 29 per cent of new-vehicle buyers this year have sprung for an extended warranty beyond the already generous coverage manufacturers provide, compared to 26 per cent three years ago.
“Given the economic challenges presently, a lot of buyers may be expecting to keep their cars longer, so an extended warranty makes sense to them,” Travell reasons. “The peace of mind argument is valid.”
Maritz scrutinizes purchase reasons in its consumer surveys, and Travell says warranty coverage is a significant part of the picture. “Roughly 47 per cent of buyers said the warranty package was extremely important to their purchase decision.” Iny recommends extended warranties for European models and domestic luxury SUVs.
“The concern with modern vehicles is not the powertrain, but rather the electronics. A seat heater for a Porsche Cayenne costs $1,200 and they are prone to failure. A radio costs over $2,000 and is wired to a universal bus, which makes other solutions incompatible.”
But as many seasoned car owners will testify, what the warranty spells out on paper and how it actually performs in the harsh light of the service counter are two separate things.
Seidel adds that new car owners can bring their cars into Carolina Tire & Auto and preserve 100% of their new car warranty. The Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act passed by Congress in 1975 ensures to general public that they do not have to take their cars back to the new car dealer for general maintenance and scheduled service as long as that service is kept up per the owner's manual. So instead of paying through the nose for your scheduled maintenance of 30,000, to 60,000 to 90,000 mile service, you can with 100% confidence take it to Carolina Tire & Auto and know that your new car warranty is still intact.
Stop by or call Carolina Tire & Auto today at http://www.carolina-tire.com/ or 704-553-9800
It’s true. They build them better.
The evidence is in the number of independent repair shops that are closing, fewer parts sales by jobbers, and new-car dealers that are having trouble keeping their service departments busy.
Mechanical issues reported by owners of three-year-old vehicles have plunged from an industry average of 273 problems per 100 vehicles in 2003 to 155 problems in the latest J.D. Power and Associates dependability survey.
Hand in hand with better cars are the improved warranties that come with them. New-car guarantees were just 90 days long in North America until the early 1960s, when the one-year comprehensive warranty was introduced.
The burgeoning import-car industry unveiled three-year, bumper-to-bumper coverage in the early 1980s, a new standard every manufacturer was compelled to adopt or perish.
Today, the three-year/60,000-km comprehensive warranty remains the basic standard warranty, but many automakers have gone further. Virtually every premium brand, from Acura to Volvo, has adopted four-year/80,000-km coverage as standard, while four brands have gone to five years: Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi and, most recently, Jaguar.
Experts agree no automaker can afford to offer such lengthy warranties without building high-quality products. But some buyers are unaware of the limitations of a comprehensive or bumper-to-bumper warranty.
Commonly not covered are “wear items”, such as brake pads, shoes, rotors and drums, the manual clutch assembly, tires, batteries and any aftermarket items installed once the vehicle leaves the factory. Also not covered are malfunctions resulting from misuse — for example, if the CD player stops working because there’s a cookie inside.
“The warranty addresses defects in material and workmanship,” says Jim Seidel,
president of Carolina Tire & Auto Repair in Charlotte, NC. Not only have comprehensive and powertrain warranties gotten longer, but there are other no-cost benefits that accrue to warranty holders these days — services such as roadside assistance, towing and courtesy transportation.
The added benefits, including no more deductibles or warranty transfer fees, help differentiate the automaker in a hotly contested marketplace.
“The consumer is buying a comprehensive package, designed to take the stress out of owning a vehicle,” says Seidel. Industry observer Mohamed Bouchama of CarHelpCanada.com agrees vehicle quality and warranties are getting better, and so are the dealers who ultimately deliver the warranty service.
“Dealer response is better now than it used to be; dealerships are making an effort to appease their customers,” Bouchama says. But what consumers may not know is that there’s a delicate dance that takes place behind the service counter, as the dealership weighs the costs of submitting each warranty claim to head office. “Manufacturers watch who has the highest claims, so it’s in the dealer’s interest to manage warranty issues,” says Bouchama. Submit too many head-gasket repairs, for example, and the dealer may be sanctioned by receiving fewer deliveries of a hot-selling model.
George Iny, president of the Automobile Protection Association (apa.ca), says some dealers have told him they are tied to a warranty-claims quota, which lets them submit only so many of each type of repair per month, effectively making the dealer a gatekeeper for the manufacturer.
Iny says not every manufacturer operates in this manner, but the prospect of a quota system may help explain why auto dealers don’t always seem keen to do warranty work. There are other reasons, as well.
Manufacturers generally don’t recognize the labor rates specified in shop-standard manuals, which are considered to have a lot of fat in the estimated repair times (to be fair, these rates take into account seized bolts, etc.). Head office pays for a 60-minute hour, which means the technician and dealer make less money from a warranty claim than from a consumer invoice.
In addition, Iny says, most manufacturers will not pay for diagnostic time, considered the hardest part of an automobile repair. The time invested in finding the problem is not compensated by the factory, which makes warranty repairs especially unappealing.
It helps explain why service writers give Academy Award-worthy performances when customers complain about slipping transmissions and leaky head gaskets. “Most of the time, you’re being lied to when the dealership service manager says they’ve never heard of that problem in your model before,” Iny suggests. A quick check on the Internet for common faults with that model can provide the corroborating evidence. Reluctant to submit another warranty claim, the service writer may defer the inevitable by providing a stop-gap repair or adjustment until the vehicle’s warranty period ends, at which point the consumer gets the brunt of the complete repair cost, usually amounting to thousands of dollars.
It’s enough to make an automobile owner lose sleep at night, which may be why the proportion of new-car buyers who opt for an extended warranty is climbing, despite all the good news about better-quality vehicles and longer warranties.
Chris Travell, vice-president of Maritz Research’s automotive group, says 29 per cent of new-vehicle buyers this year have sprung for an extended warranty beyond the already generous coverage manufacturers provide, compared to 26 per cent three years ago.
“Given the economic challenges presently, a lot of buyers may be expecting to keep their cars longer, so an extended warranty makes sense to them,” Travell reasons. “The peace of mind argument is valid.”
Maritz scrutinizes purchase reasons in its consumer surveys, and Travell says warranty coverage is a significant part of the picture. “Roughly 47 per cent of buyers said the warranty package was extremely important to their purchase decision.” Iny recommends extended warranties for European models and domestic luxury SUVs.
“The concern with modern vehicles is not the powertrain, but rather the electronics. A seat heater for a Porsche Cayenne costs $1,200 and they are prone to failure. A radio costs over $2,000 and is wired to a universal bus, which makes other solutions incompatible.”
But as many seasoned car owners will testify, what the warranty spells out on paper and how it actually performs in the harsh light of the service counter are two separate things.
Seidel adds that new car owners can bring their cars into Carolina Tire & Auto and preserve 100% of their new car warranty. The Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act passed by Congress in 1975 ensures to general public that they do not have to take their cars back to the new car dealer for general maintenance and scheduled service as long as that service is kept up per the owner's manual. So instead of paying through the nose for your scheduled maintenance of 30,000, to 60,000 to 90,000 mile service, you can with 100% confidence take it to Carolina Tire & Auto and know that your new car warranty is still intact.
Stop by or call Carolina Tire & Auto today at http://www.carolina-tire.com/ or 704-553-9800
Carolina Tire & Auto Ranks # 1 Online
Any business owner will tell that word of mouth is king when it comes to referrals to their business. Your neighbor tells their neighbor and so on. The world wide web has changed our lives and changed the way we receive those coveted referrals. Just ask any of the one million registered users of Angie's List, a web based community providing feedback and ratings on service companies in their local area.
Carolina Tire & Auto Repair in Pineville, North Carolina has surpassed the 100 mark in positive reviews of its business. "We took the internet by the horns and turned it into a positive experience from our customers" says Jim Seidel, president of Carolina Tire & Auto. " We actively ask our customers to go out and tell the world about their experiences at Carolina Tire & Auto". "Please tell your friends about us, but go tell your friend Mr. Google or Mrs. Yahoo", added Seidel.
Websites and search engines are recognizing that reviews drive people to their websites in search of a reputable and local florist, painter, doctor or auto mechanic. To date Carolina Tire & Auto adds up its 100 plus reviews from the powers of the internet review system like Angie's List, Google Local, Google Maps, Yahoo Local, Bing Local, City Search, Facebook, Insider Pages, Judy's Book, the Yellow Pages, Yellow Book, Yelp, Super Pages, Kudzu and more.
Carolina Tire & Auto is obviously proud of their major accomplishment of achieving so many high honors. But if you read the reviews you'll see a theme that is being repeated by their customers. Carolina Tire & Auto is the new South Charlotte Dealership Alternative.
People are fed up with the high cost of maintaining their vehicles at car dealerships. Drivers are still maintaining and repairing their cars, just not at their new car dealership. "People want to save money on their auto repairs and preventive maintenance but they don't want to give up that new car dealership feel or professionalism", stated Jim Seidel. "Carolina Tire & Auto Repair gives customers that new car dealership appeal people want with their giant showroom that is loaded with customer perks". "But more importantly, Carolina Tire & Auto provides that professionalism in auto mechanics by employing the likes of a master technician. A master mechanic is like having your very own doctor onsite to diagnose and repair serious mechanical problems. "Everything you expect out out of a new car dealership, except the price", noted Seidel.
To celebrate this milestone, Carolina Tire & Auto is offering special discounts, customer cook out days and various specials on auto repair, preventive maintenance and tires throughout the month of July and August. As you would expect, the only way to find out about these "special perks" for customers is to go out and easily find them on Angie's List or Facebook (key word Carolina Tire), or Twitter (key word Tire King), or Google Local and Google Maps.
Come visit http://www.carolina-tire.com today and see for yourself why they are the highest rated auto repair and tire center in all of Charlotte. Visit Carolina Tire & Auto Repair or call 704-553-9800 for an appointment or just walk in today at 10822 Pineville Rd in Pineville, NC near I-485 & South Blvd on the Pineville side.
# # #
Carolina Tire & Auto Repair is the dealership alternative in South Charlotte and are conveniently located in beautiful Pineville, NC. Featuring a giant showroom loaded with a coach, leather furniture, free Wi-Fi, free popcorn, free customer computer, Monkey Joe's themed kid's playroom, ASE Certified Tech, including a master technician. Carolina Tire & Auto is partnered with Napa, Michelin, Continental tire and BG Products which allows Carolina Tire & Auto Repair to carry nationwide warranties on all repairs, preventive maintenance and all the tires and auto repairs that it services and sells.
Carolina Tire & Auto Repair in Pineville, North Carolina has surpassed the 100 mark in positive reviews of its business. "We took the internet by the horns and turned it into a positive experience from our customers" says Jim Seidel, president of Carolina Tire & Auto. " We actively ask our customers to go out and tell the world about their experiences at Carolina Tire & Auto". "Please tell your friends about us, but go tell your friend Mr. Google or Mrs. Yahoo", added Seidel.
Websites and search engines are recognizing that reviews drive people to their websites in search of a reputable and local florist, painter, doctor or auto mechanic. To date Carolina Tire & Auto adds up its 100 plus reviews from the powers of the internet review system like Angie's List, Google Local, Google Maps, Yahoo Local, Bing Local, City Search, Facebook, Insider Pages, Judy's Book, the Yellow Pages, Yellow Book, Yelp, Super Pages, Kudzu and more.
Carolina Tire & Auto is obviously proud of their major accomplishment of achieving so many high honors. But if you read the reviews you'll see a theme that is being repeated by their customers. Carolina Tire & Auto is the new South Charlotte Dealership Alternative.
People are fed up with the high cost of maintaining their vehicles at car dealerships. Drivers are still maintaining and repairing their cars, just not at their new car dealership. "People want to save money on their auto repairs and preventive maintenance but they don't want to give up that new car dealership feel or professionalism", stated Jim Seidel. "Carolina Tire & Auto Repair gives customers that new car dealership appeal people want with their giant showroom that is loaded with customer perks". "But more importantly, Carolina Tire & Auto provides that professionalism in auto mechanics by employing the likes of a master technician. A master mechanic is like having your very own doctor onsite to diagnose and repair serious mechanical problems. "Everything you expect out out of a new car dealership, except the price", noted Seidel.
To celebrate this milestone, Carolina Tire & Auto is offering special discounts, customer cook out days and various specials on auto repair, preventive maintenance and tires throughout the month of July and August. As you would expect, the only way to find out about these "special perks" for customers is to go out and easily find them on Angie's List or Facebook (key word Carolina Tire), or Twitter (key word Tire King), or Google Local and Google Maps.
Come visit http://www.carolina-tire.com today and see for yourself why they are the highest rated auto repair and tire center in all of Charlotte. Visit Carolina Tire & Auto Repair or call 704-553-9800 for an appointment or just walk in today at 10822 Pineville Rd in Pineville, NC near I-485 & South Blvd on the Pineville side.
# # #
Carolina Tire & Auto Repair is the dealership alternative in South Charlotte and are conveniently located in beautiful Pineville, NC. Featuring a giant showroom loaded with a coach, leather furniture, free Wi-Fi, free popcorn, free customer computer, Monkey Joe's themed kid's playroom, ASE Certified Tech, including a master technician. Carolina Tire & Auto is partnered with Napa, Michelin, Continental tire and BG Products which allows Carolina Tire & Auto Repair to carry nationwide warranties on all repairs, preventive maintenance and all the tires and auto repairs that it services and sells.
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