Tuesday, May 11, 2021
The value of a thorough vehicle inspection
I got a phone call and the callers asked me to quote on a set of 4 tires and rear brakes. I asked "what is wrong with the ones you have on the car now?"
The client was traveling through town when she heard a loud noise while applying the brakes on her car. Turns out, she had it at another shop and wanted another quote on the suggested repairs. I offered to give her my opinion and then, upon inspection, I'd provide a quote.
She came in for the inspection and she did need both suggested items. This is were things went in different directions between us and the repair shop that had the before. One side of the rear brakes pads were metal to metal.
Tires were down to the steel belts on the inside but had about 60 to 75 % left on the center and on the outside.
The difference was that the other shop did not to look any further beyond her original complaint. We did. The rear brakes were metal to metal because one of the rear calipers had stuck in the locked position. The tires were down to metal on the inside due to worn struts causing the suspension to sag. Without extra repairs, the replaced components would have failed soon, once again . After we showed proof to our claims, she approved the work. Our client is glad we noticed the underlaying cause of the failed components. Soon after that, she approved the work.
When something fails on your vehicle, ask yourself and your mechanic this question ... "What caused this component to fail?"
Thursday, March 18, 2021
A few years ago, I was having a conversation with an expert in the field, an old front end and alignment man. So Lee, he said, when is the best time to suggest an alignment to a client?
I said for me, it was after I inspected the tires for abnormal wear, and it indicated the need for an alignment. To which he replied, “why would you want the tires to get damaged first before you recommend the alignment? Would not be better if you suggested an alignment before damage took place to those tires and thus allowing them to go their full-service life?
I had to agree as it does make sense. Whether you do it before or after tire damage, the client is still paying for an alignment. Then why not do it before the tire is damaged?
Today, my business suggests the suspension be inspected for alignment once a year. For those who think that may be too frequent, Tesla recommends their vehicles be inspected for alignment every 6 months.
Again, if you had asked me some time back, if an Asian* car (Honda, Acura, Toyota, Lexus, Nissan, Infinity, Subaru, Mazda, Kia and Hyundai to name a few) would need to have the engine valves adjusted when they are not noisy, I would have said NO!
Today I know better, a lot of Asian car engines, when the valves fall out of adjustment, they tighten rather than loosen up. That is why they do not become noisy when they need adjustment. Once they tighten up, the car develops stalling problems, erratic idle, no power, poor fuel economy and a check engine light with P0300 misfire codes. All of which are difficult to accurately diagnose. Ultimately, the engine will develop burned valves and then the repair becomes very expensive.
Finally, I suppose the oil change does the same thing. You do it before the engine fails and cost you a lot more.
The old saying about you cannot teach an old dog new tricks may not be entirely accurate. I have learned new tricks!
*Whereas I enumerated all the Asian brands, the ones with the valve issue are Honda and Acura.