Written by Randy Gerdin in July, 2010
I have a good friend who purchased a brand new van in 1998 for his business. He has been extremely diligent about maintaining his vehicle when the need arises. He does haul heavy loads and has taken extra precautions and extra care to make sure that he is not caught unaware with an unexpected breakdown. Not to say that he has not had an unexpected problem, but they have been few. Especially considering the severe use that this vehicle has endured over its life. Well now, 12 years and 344,000 hard miles later, it may be time to “update” his van. It came in last week not running; we performed the needed testing to determine that its needs may be too great to consider repairing. It has served him well for these many years, but like an old friend, it is hard to let go.
This is a quandary that, at some point, you may find yourself in. Some say that if the cost of repair exceeds the value of the vehicle, the vehicle should be abandoned. We run into this issue many times each month as people are keeping their vehicles longer and longer. My perspective may be a bit different. Just because your vehicle may need an expensive repair, even if it exceeds its value, it still may be less expensive in the long run.
When considering this dilemma, there are a lot of things to think about:
- What shape is the body in, is it rusted badly?
- What about the other major components of the vehicle, like the engine and transmission, are they sound?
- How about the tires, brakes, exhaust system?
- Has the vehicle had other work done to it recently?
- What is the expected life and future costs if the vehicle is repaired and driven?
- What is the history of the type of vehicle that you drive, how long do they usually last?
Perhaps you may want to have a good solid discussion with your service adviser or technician. The experience these people have can be invaluable. Perhaps they will bring up something that you have not thought about?
With all these things to consider, only you can really make the final decision. Only you really know you own financial situation. Yes, a repair may be expensive, but if you buy a new or used vehicle and have to finance it, there is that nasty payment that is due every month. There usually is an increase in the cost of insurance, license tabs, etc. And remember that your new vehicle will still need periodic repairs and maintenance.
Vehicles do last a long time these days. 200,000 mile is not uncommon and they are still pretty nice cars and trucks. And of course you may just plain want a new vehicle, for whatever reason. I know from personal experience, I also know when enough is enough. I Hate When That Happens!
Written by Randy Gerdin in May, 2010
It seems that in the “Information Age”, we are flooded with statistics. Every time we turn on the TV or open the newspaper, someone or some group is citing some statistic, trying to get us to do or to stop doing something. A long time ago one of my automotive instructors made a comment that I have never forgotten. He said, “sometimes statistics are kind of like a lamppost to a drunk, it is something to lean upon rather than to shed light on.” I have thought of this often when looking and evaluating products and situations. Maybe I have become a bit skeptical over the years. I always wonder to myself what are the motivations behind the information given. I am not saying that all statistics should be challenged, but sometimes we need to do our own investigations.
That is one thing that I like about being in the automotive repair industry. Over the years our company has been exposed to lots of information and I especially like the times that manufactures invite us to test drive there products. They can say a lot of things, but they can’t fake a test drive. One of my most memorable experiences is a test drive given by a shock-and-strut company. They had identical year, make and model vehicles with about 40,000 miles on them. We drove a test track at various speeds. There were big pot holes and a few large speed bumps, there were even a few sharp hairpin turns. We drove fast and made panic stops (that was fun), had to make a high speed turn and stop at the same time (that was really fun). We first drove the vehicle with the new shocks on it. And then we drove the vehicle with the original equipment shocks on them. We drove two sets of different vehicles, one an SUV and the other a 4-door sedan. The differences were amazing. I don’t know what was more fun, driving or watching. After driving the vehicle with the new shocks, you developed confidence in the vehicles handling and stopping ability. Then when we drove the vehicle with the original shocks on it and we were all over the track, running into the barriers, squealing the tires and going up on two wheels. It really was surprising how much more control we had when we cornered, and how much sooner we could stop the vehicle with the new shocks versus the original ones.
I have heard all the statistics before regarding the value of new shocks and struts, but this test drive really put the statistics to the test for me. This winter was again hard on our roads, which is hard on our vehicles, especially our suspension systems. Already we have seen a lot of worn ball joints, tie-rod ends, as well as struts and shocks. Many of these items wear gradually and you may not notice that they are loose or worn. Spring is a good time to have a good comprehensive inspection to identify the wear and tear brought on by winter driving. You may or may not notice that your vehicle doesn’t handle like it once did. You may notice a vibration or a noise not previously noted. In some cases these are definite safety concerns. In some cases they will cause the tires to wear rapidly. In any case, when you need the best performance of your vehicle, usually in an unexpected situation, your vehicle may surprise you, and not pleasantly. I Hate When That Happens!
Written by Randy Gerdin in April, 2010
I don’t know if you have noticed this or not, but it seems that things happen in threes. It seems that if something breaks in the house, three things break. Anyway, the other day I was talking to one of our service advisers about a certain topic, a couple hours later a great long time customer came in and asked a question about this same topic, then a couple hours after that, another guy was in and ask about the same topic. Kinda funny so I thought maybe I should address it.
The question was why, when you bring your vehicle into some shops, they seem to regularly have other recommendations for you. And some shops never have other recommendations for the driver. Yesterday, I found out that this is not unique to the automotive world. Another long time customer came in who happens to be a medical doctor. He was annoyed that some of his colleagues are not always upfront with their patients. He said that he recently had to tell an elderly lady that her husband of many years was going to die. He told her that all of us some day are going to die, but for now, the plan is to face the facts. He then laid out a plan so her husband could have the best quality of life in the remaining time he has. He conveyed that the wife expected this was coming but was extremely grateful that he leveled with her and laid out the options and the plan. This way she knew the decisions she needed to make and could now prepare herself for the near future. He said some doctors (who are just people by the way) have trouble giving bad news. His feeling was to be upfront with people and let them be a part of the decision making process.
The same thing happens in the car world. There are those who would rather be up front with people and let them know of any potential problems they find. Then there are those who just don’t say anything in fear that the customer may think that they are just trying to get more business. It is a sticky situation. My personal feeling is to properly inspect a vehicle and inform the driver of any problems seen, as well as any items that are on the vehicles manufactures regular maintenance schedule. I feel it is always better to know than to be caught unaware. If a technician is doing their job properly and taking the necessary time with each vehicle, then most likely there should be some recommendations made. If nothing else, the owner’s manual has things in the maintenance schedule that should be mentioned. Just like your doctor, if they are taking the necessary time with you, they most likely will have recommendations for you.
I know my doctor is always after me to exercise and watch my salt intake. It was a hassle for me and costly as well, but last time my doctor wanted me to see a specialist because some of my blood work was slightly out of limits. It still was up to me to take action and make the appointment, take the time off work and pay the charges for additional appointment and tests needed. But in the long run, I am the one to benefit from the expertise of the specialist. The same is true with your vehicle. If a technician makes a recommendation to you, it is generally in your best interest to get it taken care of. One of the issues, of course, with every service is trust. If you don’t trust your doctor, you probably will find a new one. If you don’t trust your mechanic, you probably will do the same. But if you do trust them, then realize they are trying to look out for you, just like when your doctor tells you that you need to lose a little weight. I Hate When That Happens!
Written by Randy Gerdin in March, 2010
Have you ever noticed that things come in sperts? I have wondered about this for years. When I was in the gasoline business over 20 years ago, we would go for an hour and have no customers and then all at once we would have 5 people show up at the same time. It seems that if the phone rings once, it will ring 3 or 4 times in a row. I have noted that car repairs happen that way. All of a sudden everyone needs a brake job or so it seems.
Lately, we have had a run into vehicles with head gasket problems. I suppose this could be explained by a number of factors. For instance, more and more people are keeping their cars longer; manufactures are extending cooling system maintenance out longer and longer. One unique factor to us is our climate. We have hot humid summers and we also have long bitter cold winters. This combination is really hard on a lot of things on our vehicles. Engines have aluminum heads and aluminum or cast iron blocks (for the most part). With the extreme temperature swings we have, this can cause the heads to warp and leak. Most vehicles have long life coolant in them these days and people forget to have it checked and serviced. Sometimes it is needed before the manufactures schedule recommends.
There are a number of different tests that can be done to evaluate the coolant (antifreeze). One is the freeze point. This will tell at what temperature the coolant will began to freeze. There are combination test stripes that can measure the PH of the coolant and other chemicals that can be harmful to the system. Our cooling systems are made up of numerous dissimilar metals. As time and miles occur, the coolant in the system can break down. This can change the PH in the system. It will generally get acidic, and before long our cooling systems can act as a battery. A recent trade journal article I read recommends using a DC Voltmeter to test and see if the system is producing voltage like a battery does. The test has you take the positive probe and put it into the coolant and touch the negative probe to battery ground. If voltage is present, then they recommend flushing out the coolant.
The job of the coolant is not only to protect against freeze ups or boil over, but to protect the internal components from deterioration. If the coolant becomes compromised, it will begin to damage many internal components from the inside out. Some of which are the head gaskets, water pump seals, intake manifolds and gaskets, radiators and heater cores to name a few. The best response of course is to have your system tested and flushed as needed.
Vehicle maintenance schedules are made for the average driver in the average climate driving the average number of miles in average driving conditions. In Minnesota, we face a lot of things that the rest of the county does not experience. (That’s what makes us special!) All these conditions, don’t forget road salt and potholes, really take its toll. Again, prevention is the key. Change the needed fluids on a regular basis, have your vehicle inspected periodically, and notice when something just does not feel, smell or sound right. Usually there is a problem waiting to strand you. And of course, our vehicles are mechanical devices and they do periodically break down. Even new vehicles can fail and some even get recalled. I Hate When That Happens!
Written by Randy Gerdin in January, 2010
They say that knowledge is power. This is certainly true in the car repair business. We have and use various sources of technical information each day. I remember a customer brought in an old rusty Subaru one day a few years ago. Their complaint was each time they stepped on the brake pedal, the car stalled. We drove the car and verified the condition, did some basic checking and ended up going to one of our online resource. We found a bulletin describing the symptoms we were encountering. The article said to raise the vehicle in the air and inspect for damaged wiring back by the gas tank. We did what was recommended and low and behold there it was. The wires for the rear brake lights had short to the wires that feed the electric fuel pump in the fuel tank, so every time you stepped on the brake pedal it shorted out the fuel pump, shutting it down and causing the vehicle to stall. This was invaluable and really very technical.
There is another kind of information that is also invaluable to an automotive service tech. This is the information that you the driver can relay to the shop that is working on your vehicle. Often a vehicle is brought in and a is symptom given. The tech now drives the vehicle, but does not experience the problem. So now what? Usually a call has to be made and further probing of the driver needs to be done. This does waste a lot of time, especially if the driver is unavailable or does not call back. So the tip is: before you bring in your vehicle for repair, stop and think about it a while and write down exactly what the problems are. When does it happen, is the vehicle warm or cold, does it act up turning or going over a bump. What is the recent repair history? Is there anything else unusual going on, even if you think it is unrelated. The more info the better.
A case in point. We recently had a car dropped off that had a problem with the battery going dead over night. The customer really could not tell us anything else. We entered in to our procedure for locating a drain on the system. It brought us to a circuit with 3 computer modules on it, and the dash needed to be removed to access these modules. The customer was called to update them on our progress and we were told to keep going, “it needed to be fixed”. Anyway, we happened to notice that a light would stay on by the drivers feet even with the door closed. And we found that the light would go out when we unplugged a certain modules. We again called the customer to update them, this time they mention that the center top dome light was staying on all the time, so they took the bulb out. Now it was all clear. We hooked up a special tester to monitor the door switches and found the drivers door ajar switch in the open position. We cleaned and lubed this switch and now everything worked fine. The point is, if we would have known from the beginning about the dome light being on and the bulb being removed it would have saved us considerable time and the customer money. So in this case, knowledge is power and also lack of information can be costly. So next time your in for service, please be ready with all the info you can think of. It may save you some cash! I Hate When That Happens!
