Servassist Blog

Bathroom Body Shop continued...

Another cool video has been circulating on the popular video-sharing sites on how to employ household (fairly) items to fix door dents. This method ranks right up there with toilet plunger and dry ice in terms of ease, and requires only a hairdryer and bottle of compressed air to work. Of course, none of the techniques will be able to do anything about actual paint and finish damage, though there are plenty of products out there for that as well.

Also, it seems that this will work on those nice softball-sized craters, but we still need to try it out on the ever-annoying door dings, that make only a small crease. Who comes up with these ideas anyway? This one is clearly from a thinktank abroad judging by their grammer. To see the technique is action, click here. And keep an eye out for our upcoming post on using acetone to stretch your mileage.

Fuel Economy: The roll/role of your tires

One of the first suggestions most people hear about when trying to improve the fuel economy of their vehicles is to regularly check and adjust tire pressure. This simple tip can not only improve mileage by up to an estimated 3%, but it also has additional safety and economic (wear) benefits as well. Some people might even convince you not to stop at simply adding air, but to spring for Nitrogen as well.

Another tire-related fuel economy tip has consumers considering their choice of tires altogether, which has taken on new meaning with the rising popularity of LRR or Low Rolling Resistant tires.

The concept is not new. As a matter of fact, rolling resistance is one of the fundamental characteristics of tire design and has been weighed and studied for decades. With the extreme attention to energy costs of late, however, tire manufacturers have taken another look and started to offer more purpose-built "energy" tires.

Originally, selecting a tire that placed more emphasis on fuel economy meant that you were making a sacrifice somewhere else in the tire design, and continues to be the case with some models out there today. However, as technology has improved, it is possible to find tires that perform in other functions as well as competitors and go the extra mile on the same amount of fuel without thin sidewalls, useless tread pattern, lost grip or short usefull life.

If you are interested in wringing the last drops of energy out of every tankful, a good place to start may be with your overall tire strategy including how often and when you check pressure, how long you expect your tires to last, what performance features are important, etc...as well as what type of tire to buy. There is a lot to consider and many brands/models to choose from, so having a plan makes more sense than ever.

As a general rule, lower resistance tires have a less aggressive tread pattern than other tires, which might be an issue for someone interested more in performance or traction in weather, but for anyone with any length of commute these days, efficiency is trumping a lot. Also, for people in the northern states, choosing dedicated snow tires during the winter may provide an opportunity to choose extra efficient summer ones.

Either way, at the end of the day, low rolling resistance tires are only one more step in maxmizing your fuel efficiency. And while resistances between tire makes and models may vary by up to 30% or more, for the majority of people the difference may only equate to a percentage point or two in mpg or $100 - 150 or so over 15,000 miles. But with gasoline prices still creeping higher, every little bit can help.

For a very comprehensive article on LRR with some very interesting facts, please click here.

Official Pain at the Pump

The US House of Representatives passed an anti-price gouging bill by a margin of 284 -141 on Wednesday, somewhat clearing the way to the Federal Price Gouging Protection Act that would make it a criminal offense to charge "unconscionably excessive" prices for gasoline. The bill is a version of legislation that has been kickinmg around the Senate for a couple of years now. Aimed at anyone who might profit unfairly or too much under extreme circumstances, the Act would theoretically protect consumers against gas stations, suppliers and even refineries (oil companies).

Even though the bill contains plenty of ambiguity and loopholes, it did cause a reaction (veto threat) from the White House, who is no doubt having its strings pulled by the American Petroleum Institute, or big oil lobby. One of the conditions, for example, needed to be met for the legislation to even think of being enforced, is that the president must first declare an emergency, which is a bit like the Fox guarding the Hen House. Also, there is no clear way to define exactly what gouging is. Either way, many are saying that this first step represents a victory and that having laws on the books is a good first step.

Support for the bill came from both sides of the aisle as consituents from everyone's districts and states have felt the burden of record fuel prices. People can easily connect the dots when they hear about and pay record prices at the same time they hear about record profits from the oil companies. Not to tricky to figure out the correlation there. Whats worse is that people are also starting to take notice of the fact that crude oil prices don't seem to be as closely tied to gas prices themselves as they have been traditionally. Where it once took a natural disaster, political misstep or other disruption, now it just seems to be the thought of another busy driving season that sends prices higher.

Also, facts about how there have been no additional refineries or infrastructure built further act as an indictment that legislation and oversight are needed. Something, of course, the API is very unhappy with saying any additional controls will lead to crunches and lines seen in the late 1970's. A recent informal poll on Daily Fuel Economy Tip suggests that some 80% of consumers feel that fuel prices have been in some way manipulated. Whether or not they have is maybe less relevant now than by how much.

To see information on the bill, click here.

Vanity Fair, Vanity Plate

A recent poll of 500 California motorists showed that much of our automotive care is really only skin deep. A full 95% or 475 out of the 500 said that they were "concerned" with their vehicle's appearance. And they are apparently doing something about it as 85% also said that they wash their cars at least every other month. Unfortunately, this is where the effort stops as less than half of those people even bother to check their tire pressure regularly, never mind conduct other more substantial maintenance & service items.

It is estimated that some 75% of factory recommended maintenance services are never completed. So, I guess, if people do breakdown, at least they will look good on the side of the road.

By the way, to see some information on vanity license plates, click here.

High Fuel Prices: Positive Fallout?

Most North Americans are pretty frustrated these days with fuel prices reaching and exceeding post-Katrina levels already this spring without the added pressure of a mid-summer gas crunch or some natural disaster to blame. The price for an average gallon of regular (if you haven't heard it two or three times yet today on your various doomsday news outlets) has reached $3.19. Heaven help the commuters in parts like Maui or San Francisco where fuel is approaching $5/gal.

Actually, come to think of it, commuters in Hawaii?, never mind them.

Sure, in relative terms, we won't face the same "pinch" that we did in the late 1970's or 1980 until fuel is (today) at about $4.50/gal., all other things being equal. I say other things being equal, because a variable in the equation like average fuel economy (at roughly 24.5 mpg today) is roughly what the average was back during those crunch times and is a terrible indictment of the domestic auto makers and legislative powers that have lobbied for stagnating technologies and promoting our wasteful habits. But that is another issue. Regardless, it costs many people up to $120 to fill up their SUVs and pickups, and for whatever chain of events and policies that got us here, it has certainly put a damper on the drive.

Rather than simply get angry like the "old guard" leftover management in parts of the auto (and related) industry(s), is it possible to look at this situation differently? Going a step further, is it possible that there may be something good to come out of higher fuel prices?

The short answer is yes, the long answer, however, is very long indeed and unfortunately depends on many outside shots and monumental shifts in attitude, lifestyle, and perception, which may not be realistic in this day in age. Either way, many in media currently ask people when they will shift their behavior (i.e. at what price of fuel?) based on these higher gas prices. I am not certain that this is the right question to be asking ourselves. Much more relevant is: How are we going to shift our patterns and behaviors?

We think that these higher gas prices are going to be a temporary thing. "Oh, Sir, you are paying through the nose, for our nightly newscast, how many trips or vacations are you going to give up this summer because of high gas prices and you do you blame for it?" (cue: crying children) We think that later in the fall, prices will fall and then we can get "back on track." Well, that really doesn't seem to be the case, as these crunches are likely going to become longer and more common until they are no longer crunches at all. Rather than wait around like everybody else, maybe a modified strategy is in order today.

18% say they will choose mass transit, while some 30-40% say they will choose vehicles with better efficiency (fuel economy), based on today's prices. These, along with curtailing extra driving, are the only answers we have really some up with so far. Maybe considering some of these other potential legacies of higher prices will help people come up with some more creativity where transportation is concerned.

Extended fuel prices of $5 or 6/gallon, a bit more like Europe or Scandinavia, might really force auto manufacturers to place a considerably greater focus on efficiency. Are you really ready to give up the added space and size and consider a smaller vehicle, say with a lower displacement engine?

What about a different vehicle altogether? Maybe these prices will push more people to scooters and motorcycles. Imagine how driving on two wheels for at least a portion of your driving (say to work and back) might affect your life and energy costs. Or, how about riding a bike to do certain tasks? It would certainly have a positive impact on your health at the same time.

Of course, it we are all riding around bikes everywhere, then we will want to be closer to the city center, where we can do our shopping and commuting easier, which will, in turn, put a renewed emphasis on urban living, raising real estate costs and decreasing the size of the average "in-town" home. This will also put a new premium on inner city/town vendors of our favorite goods and services. No longer will we be out in the suburbs with our giant vehicles where we will back up to our farthest discounter where we load up on two years worth of toilet paper. Instead we frequent several shops and stamp-sized stores on our way home from work to get the next day's needed supplies.

The snowball effect might change the very identity of North American life to one that is much more efficient, if not romantic somehow. Light rail, expanded train service and loads of buses will come online to take us where we want in both inclement weather and over longer distances. Telecommuting and people working at home in their underwear is commonplace. Trips and vacations are even more appreciated. The energy world receives the same time of revolution that information has and new technologies we never thought possible power our toasters.

Genetically engineered grass grows to a height of 3 inches and magically stops, roof tops are white during the summer and black during the winter, the average size of a North American nearly halves with all the exercise and walking. Obesity and heart disease drops and intelligence actually rises, weather patterns stabilize and El Nino takes an extended vacation. People walk to the theatre and collect frequent rail miles. Local organic foods and farmers flourish. Drunk driving rates and auto-related deaths decline, though bike injuries rise. Foreign policy shifts. People turn off their computers at night.

Hell freezes over?

Well, maybe. But, if not, at the end of the day what are we left with? A society and lifestyle that looks a little bit more like, well, Europe and Scandinavia and refrigerators half their current size. Which isn't such a bad thing; just think of the savings of not having to travel abroad.

My reason for suggesting a new and current personal energy strategy today is not just because riding the train is fun (and comfortable) or that these changes would have a very positive environmental and social impact. I would suggest it to save that one thing that cars are really about, which is the drive.

The real loss in driving is not giving up two stress-inducing hours sitting in rush hour traffic everyday, or having to set our vacation plans around a train schedule. The real loss is not being able to jump in the car on a moments notice to talk the kids for ice cream, or respond to an emergency, or go for a Sunday morning drive in a real sports car that burns real gas and makes a lot of noise. These are what make driving fun or necessary. Driving to work, typically is not.

So, maybe we should not consider when we will change our habits, but how. If not for yourself, than for the scooter mechanics.

ATF for life

Automotive service has always been a very profitable business for chains, garages, and dealership service lanes. With set labor rates and favorable margins on parts, even the more simple and mundane of tasks by the average technician can reap substantial profits. It is for this reason that many people in the industry refer to a handful of service procedures as the "gravy train."

Replacing automatic transmission fluid in the modern vehicle has apparently become one such service, and not because spent ATF may appear and smell somewhat reminiscent of the drippings draining from a thoroughly torched rib roast.

While there was a time when a very strong argument (including balky and missed shifts) could be made for changing your transmission fluid every 50 or 60K, many manufacturers source their transmissions from a smaller pool of suppliers that have standardized (and modernized) today's gearbox hardware. And with better fluids and emphasis on lower maintenance components, transmissions are generally now of the "sealed" variety, meaning they (and their factory fluids) have a useful life of some 150,000 miles or more.

In fact, the manufacturers recommend not changing the fluid for the increased problems associated with using the wroung replacement fluid, leaking from improper reassembly, and malfunction from some other sort of botched repair. Most are so confident in the new trannies that tinckering with them may even void your warranty.

This development is in stark contrast to what many service centers and lube shops offer as routine transmission service. Replacing the fluid is still on their list of regular "go to" things for its traditional ease to conduct high profit. As we have seen with other procedures (oil change intervals, for example) the service indsutry is counting on some lag time between the adoption of new standards and traditional service perception.

As always, be sure to consult either or your owner's manual or trusted service resource to see what your specific make and model require. It is possible you will still find "Check the ATF, top-off or replace as necessary," but you probably won't see it until way out there in your service schedule (120K, 150K or longer) if at all on your next vehicle. To see an interesting article about what can happen when you change your ATF with the wrong fluid, click here. 

Technology swells as pressure mounts...

One of the latest automotive developments to receive considerable attention over the last few years is the introduction of tire pressure monitoring systems.

Not long ago, monitoring tire pressures was something you did every once in a while with that funny contraption at the corner gas station that made those loud dings as you inflated the tires. Typically you wouldn't even do so unless you visibly observed a tire that was considerably flatter than the others. Fast forward just a few years and tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) not only represent an entire sub-industry, but they also have legislative backing requiring them on future vehicles all but ensuring a shot for any company that should get involved with their design, manufacture and distribution.

When it comes to TPMS, the single most significant development was the improvement and attainment of radio frequency identification or RFID. It is this type of short term radio signals that allow sensors inside of a car's wheel to send basic data to a receiver somewhere on the vehicle. Of course, TPMS was at first a luxury item destined only for the more expensive brands, the hardware itself has already achieved an economy of scale, which allows it to be delivered on a wide scale, i.e. to all vehicles after 2008.

The benefits of maintaining optimum tire pressures are clear. Safety and fuel efficiency are perennial hot topics in the industry and this simple fix addresses both by removing that pesky task of taking a knee once a month and manually checking all four tires with the tricky to use pressure gauge. If you haven't done so in a while, I recommend doing it as it often brings back some nostalgic feelings associated with Sears and the smells found only around an old gas station.

TPMS has been rolled out manufacturer-by-manufacturer starting with the more expensive models and is just now working its way down to more economically minded cars (see also the Tread Act of 2000). One Canadian company, however, has taken the technology one step farther and aimed their product at the fleet crowd, whether car or truck, which (as you can imagine) equates to a sizable market.

Rather than simply sending the data from the tire sensors to the onboard receiver alerting the driver of pressure discrepancies, this company's units actually send the information back to a central repository (originally in Ottawa) where it is then forwarded to the individual fleet's manager(s) via email, blackberry, cell phone, etc... Pretty nifty.

The idea is that while fleet vehicles may not receive the same amount of love from their drivers as an individual's car might, the problems associated with improperly inflated tires and their failures are often magnified by several degrees both physically (safety) and financially. When a tire can cost up to $2000 and a vehicle is being driven for a living, maintenance & repair as well as operating costs quickly make a strong argument for their extra care.

To see an article on the company (that now has a US office outside of Detroit), click here.
To see the company site, which features a cool ROI calculator, click here.

Paint scratch comic relief

We are always on the lookout for new methods in Do-it-yourself auto service and repair. The more original the method or materials used, the better. And while the parking lot offenses (door dings, scrapes, and bumper contusions) are the most common, we tend to see more fixes for this than anything else.

This interesting description of how to repair your basic side scratches is not only useful, but is worth mention, if nothing else, for its delivery. The author took it upon himself to lay it out as a comic.

When you consider that there are few things in life more frustrating and anger-inducing than coming out of the store only to find nice gaff in the side of your ride, it is quite refreshing that this guy talks about keeping an even keel throughout the process.

Admittedly, it is a bit of a tough sell for those of you who keep a baseball bat in your trunk for such situations, but a little comic relief goes a long way today.

I only hope he can make getting taken for several hundred on a timing belt funny.

To see the comic, click here.

Just the certified fax Ma'am...

So, you are interested in a replacing your ride. What is it going to be New or Used?

Well, over the last couple of years, consumers in the crowded automotive industry have had a third choice, and that is "Certified Pre-Owned," which at least manufacturer says provides all the reliability of new, but the affordability of used.

Sales of CPO vehicles has grown over the last several years to about 1.5 million units annually. During the excess of the late 1980's, leasing became very popular among automotive consumers as it allowed your average Joe to drive and above average car with enough money left over to fill the closet with white suits and pastel T-Shirts.

The leasing craze, however, provided an eventual legacy the manufacturers weren't entirely ready for, which was lease returns (vehicles). After a relatively short 2 to 4 year lease, most vehicles are simply returned to the manufacturer with the "owner" choosing for a new vehicle in lieu of actually taking advantage of the end of lease purchase opportunity. This led to a glut of "somewhat" used vehicles coming back into the marketplace, some of which could go straight to wholesale or sales on a new car lot as used. But for many, it is the luxury vehicles that make up the majority of lease deals, which represent a significant profit center in the used car marketplace.

The only issue was, the demographic typically interested in these vehicles was also interested in a like-new vehicle with some factory support. And so the Certified Pre-Owned category was born.

Every manufacturer now has a program that generally offers two distinct things. The first is an inspection of the vehicle, often coined as "rigorous" and inclusive of X number of physical checks. It is then understood that any problems or imperfections will then be addressed by the certifying dealership. The second offering is a factory-backed warranty, which typically extends the vehicle warranty for an additional two years and (again typically) 50,000 more miles, whichever comes first.

Two recent CPO vehicles, however, have become very high profile recently and are simultaneously featured on the front page of the NY Times, which has shed some light on issues stemming from CPO programs. One woman purchased a certified Chevrolet only to find out that the vehicle was really a "hybrid" unbeknownst to her. And if you thought you couldn't get a hybrid Monte Carlo, you might want to check out this article.

Maybe even more fitting to the Hybrid moniker than a vehicle with two power sources, this woman's car was actually two previously used (and obviously crashed) Monte Carlos that were fused together and sent back out on the lot for another go. One of the issues at hand here is that manufacturers outline the specifics of a CPO program, but it is the individual dealers that implement and administer it. With more than 21,000 new car dealers out there, you can imagine that there is a wide interpretation of the fine print.

It is the dealership that decides which vehicles to certify and which ones to sell simply as used or wholesale. They make this decision based on whether or not that vehicle might bring the extra money as CPO. Dealerships "pay" the manufacturer several hundred dollars to certify the car, then they charge the customer a fee, sometimes as much as an additional $2,200 for the CPO vehicle. This creates both a real incentive to certify cars, but also a conflict of interest as it is the dealer's responsibility to fix these small items that ensure the vehicle passes inspection.

An additional lynch pin in the whole process is the Carfax or report of the vehicle's history. Carfax is the company that keeps and sells vehicle histories, which have become the industry standard in used and CPO sales. Unfortunately, it has been shown that Carfax information can be incomplete or otherwise forged (or information withheld, etc...) as was published in this NY Times article. A Carfax is supposed to document major accidents/damage as well as flood damage (an issue made more relevant post-Katrina), though it is yet to be determined who is actually responsible when a car with a "clean" history actually has had significant work.

Industry insiders seemed to be split on the issue with some saying the factory warranty is definitely worth the added money and to pay for a vehicle, which is backed up to 100,000 miles through a CPO program is comparable to what an aftermarket warranty would cost. The others argue that with newer vehicles 100,000 miles is generally an easily achieved lifespan without significant problems anyway and that the cars are often no different from other used cars with the exception of price premium.

Either way, almost all agree that when purchasing a used car which is not certified, it pays to spend the extra time and money required to get a third (neutral) party to inspect the vehicle in addition to a Carfax report. As far as CPO programs, not all are created equal, though they are ranked by companies like IntelliChoice. How much peace of mind is worth is really up to you, but be sure to choose both a brand and dealer you trust.    

The nuts & bolts (literally) of auto service

Reliability is one of the last frontiers where automotive manufacturers can still compete and distinguish themselves. Pretty much all vehicles have the same general equipment and features and even though differences make up a large part of their marketing and brand messages, the fact of the matter is, cars today are more similar than they are different.

At one time, buying a vehicle from a certain manufacturer or region meant that you were making a specific consumer automotive choice, which may have been focused on one particular characteristic. Volvo (Sweden) has long been considered the safety domain, for example. Go to Europe, or more specifically Germany or Italy, and it was clear that you were concerned more with performance. Interested in getting the most dependable bang for the buck on the market?...clearly Japanese was the way to go.

Increased competition and globalization have, for the most part, removed most of the validity to these traditional associations and stereotypes, though you wouldn't know it from the extensive advertising that suggests otherwise. In all reality, you are very likely to observe reliability in a European, American or non-Japanese Asian car that is on-par with (or in some cases exceeding) a Toyota, Honda or Nissan. When you consider that many of the cars are made in the same geographical location, by similar people, and backed by similar companies, it is really no wonder why.

As a matter of fact, when it comes to reliability specifically, OEMs are really competing with corrosion, the laws of physics and other external factors as much as they are with like manufacturers. Cars are simply expected to last a long time today but it isn't even the ones that do that make the news, but rather the ones that experience some breakdown or defect that pad a reputation. This means that companies spend a significant amount of resources on PR and the ability to spin in addition to their R&D budgets.

Either way, if there is one place where reliability is really played out, it is in the nuts & bolts of every car. By nuts & bolts, I mean the actual nuts & bolts that hold the car together and not just the figurative expression that happens to describe the more intricate hardware.

Nuts, bolts and fasteners make are found in every component and make up a sizeable number of a vehicle's overall part count. Some 40-60% of all automotive warranty claims can be traced back to the failure of a single nut, washer, or other clip that has allowed a part to come loose.

So when we talk about the advances made in automotive quality over the last couple of decades, we are talking in large part to the advances in nut & bolts. As we have seen, original nuts & bolts were familiar to anyone with basic mechanical knowledge and who has picked up a wrench. Today, of course, the items are much more complex in design often requiring the use of special tools and/or adhesives and other secondary locking devices to hold things together.

One thing that hasn't changed in the industry is the vibration, corrosive properties and stress placed on vehicles in the automotive environment. Who would have thought that developing the most reliable car on the road was as much about developing a fancy screw as it was about perfecting galvanization or long-lasting brakes?

To see an article on the nuts & bolts, click here.