The Auto Channel
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The Largest Independent Automotive Research Resource
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Car Repairs


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Ask any great chef. The meal is only as good as the ingredients in it. No matter how talented you are, you can’t turn out a great salad with limp lettuce and soft tomatoes. Well the same holds true when it comes to car repairs. No mechanic can produce a proper lasting repair using less than quality parts. Every mechanic knows there are a wide variety of parts which are available.. Everything from OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) to complete forgeries. Same country that knocked off that COACH bag, has been knocking off counterfeit car parts. Everything from sheet metal to spark plugs. The quality of the repair starts and ends with two things. Has the shop invested in technology and are they buying quality parts.
     Side stepping the forgers, there exists basically three categories of replacement parts. OEM, branded after market and white box. The majority of manufactures don’t build the parts that make up their cars. They design the piece, spec it out and sub-contract to a supplier. In fact most manufactures don’t even stock parts to build cars. They use the “just in time” system. Parts are continually dropped shipped at the factory door and used immediately. Suppliers will market the same parts they sell the manufacture to the aftermarket. The aftermarket is best described as,” any shop that’s not a franchised dealer. These parts are branded with the suppliers name. Raybestos, Fram, Champion, NKG. These are well know and reliable brands. These parts are supplied to your mechanic through a series of warehouses and jobbers. Don’t get the impression that these parts are of lesser quality than the OEM. If fact many of them are of higher quality.
     Suppliers will redesign parts as defects become aware. Continual testing insures these units will perform. There is one more product line available to the consumer. White Box. The part comes without any pedigree. Not even a name on the box. Almost no warranty. So why bother with a white box item? Price. White box parts are cheap. The idea is to service older vehicles a cheap as possible. Not that they are less safe than the other two. They just don’t last as long. So what have we learned? When shopping repairs, price should not be the only factor in your decision. Ask the hard questions. What’s your warranty policy? What quality of part am I receiving? Best of all, deal with the folks you feel most comfortable with.


Repair Cost


We try and cover all the bases when it comes to explaining repairs to a client. However; the repair shop, is not the one to blame, when the cost of your repair is more than you expected or budgeted for.
     Let me explain. We had a nurse in this week. A first time customer, she was in the process of selling her car. When informed as to the cost of making things right, she started to raise her voice. She implied we were to blame for the cost of bring her unsafe car up to ministry standards. I should comment that the ministry standard is really not that high. Somehow it was the tech’s fault that the car required work after years of neglect and abuse. Excuse me, the guy behind the counter didn’t buy it, use it, abuse it or drive it into the ground. The owner did all that. Arguing with the folks that are trying to help you, simply because you’re having personal issues, will just get you fired as a customer. Never heard of that before? Well it’s easy.
     Time is money. Why waste time and resources on customers that can’t afford and more importantly, appreciate your service. Go somewhere else and make some else happy! Today’s cars are “low maintenance”, not “no maintenance”. Low maintenance means a minimum amount of servicing is required to keep the vehicle running well. In these tough economic times don’t make the error of avoiding service on your car. Just because it feels good doesn’t mean it’s right. Wear on a vehicle is progressive. Every day it get’s just a little more worn, yet to the driver it feels “ok”. Take a page out of the FACTS OF LIFE MANUAL ……. CAR NO RUN – YOU RUN.