Posts Tagged ‘Auto Repair’
Auto Body Repairs Can Help the Environment!
Written by admin on May 03, 2010 in Automotive
Being a responsible citizen can mean a wide variety of things. However there are more ways to help out than you think. One of the best ways to be a responsible citizen is to take care of the earth that we live on. We need to make sure that we try to preserve its resources, not pollute it or fill it up with trash. There are many different ways that we can help the environment some may come easily and others you may have not even thought of. One of the ways you can help the environment that you may not have thought of is auto body repairs.
By getting auto body repairs completed on your vehicle you can actually help the environment. When your vehicle needs repair and you opt to get it replaced instead all the broken material is sent to the dump to fill up the earth with trash. Also there are more materials needed which can add more debris to our dumps. When you get your auto body repaired they trained technician simply works with the existing materials, that way less unused material makes its way to the dump. This is a great way to reduce waste. You might be surprised what a highly trained professional auto reconditioning specialist can do to your existing car to get it looking great.
Also if you decided to repair your vehicle and getting it looking better with a few repairs and enhancements instead of trading it or dumping it for a new one there are less cars that will get smashed up and left at the dump as well.
When choosing to get an auto body repair or service for your vehicle make sure you choose an auto body shop that is making an effort to help the environment as well. There are many materials that can be recycled instead of sent to the dump to sit. Find an auto body shop that recycles materials that can be recycled. That way at least if they do have unused materials they can go to creating something new. Also some materials that they use may be harmful to the environment. Try to find an auto body shop that doesn’t use harmful materials or that make a good effort to reduce their effects on the environment by containing them. This is a great solution for the environment and for your personally since repairs almost always cost less than replacements!
So, even if you are not a huge tree hugger it is important to care for our planet earth. After all we do live, breath, and eat here. We should want it to be a great place to live now and in the future. You can do your part by simply getting your vehicle’s auto body repaired instead of replaced. Not only will you be helping the environment but you will be saving time and money as well. These are two things that no one can deny being concerned with today. So, find an auto body repair shop to work with in protecting our planet!
By: Samantha Mccartney
About the Author:
If your car is in need of auto reconditioning start looking for a qualified professional to handle your concerns. Look for an auto body professional to take care of your ride from head light restoration to fixing the major auto body repairs.
Auto Body Repairs For Every Car!
Written by admin on March 29, 2010 in Automotive
As we drive down the road today we notice that a lot of vehicles are in need of auto body repair. There are many different auto body repairs that can be completed on all vehicles now a days. Most are driving with a damaged vehicle because they don’t realize what auto body repairs can be completed. Or they think that the auto body repairs will cost too much or take up too much of their time. However there are some many auto body repairs that are in fact affordable and can be completed quickly. Here are a few auto body repairs that should not be put off anymore on any vehicle.
If your vehicle has dents or dings you should consider getting paintless dent removal. Paintless dent removal can be completed quickly, usually in just under a few hours or less. Also it is very affordable. Paintless dent removal is where dents are massaged out using reflective sources, rods and other special tools. There are not paints or fillers used in the whole process, so the original finish of your vehicle will not be compromised. This is such a great repair solution that no one should be driving with dents and dings anymore.
If your windshield is cracked or chipped you need to get windshield repair. Most times people think they will need to replace the whole windshield. However if you get the repair completed soon after the crack or chip occurred, it can easily be repaired. It really takes no time for a repair specialist to repair, and sometimes auto body shops offer a mobile service where they will come to you and repair your windshield. As for cost, it is affordable, and most times your car insurance provider will pay for most of or the entire repair.
Also many people do not realize that most bumpers can be repaired. If your bumper is made of plastic, it can easily be repaired. And it can be repaired for a fraction of the cost of bumper replacement. Getting your bumper repaired is a quick repair and won’t be too much money out of your wallet.
Paint touch up is also a repair that should be completed on your vehicle is your paint is cracked, chipped or scratched. If your paint is cracked, chipped or scratched you are leaving your vehicle open to getting rust. No car owner wants to deal with rust. Paint is acts as a sealant on your vehicle, so getting that little bit of paint touch up is important.
Also many interior repairs can be done to the inside of your vehicle. If your headliner is falling, if you have any rips or tears in the upholstery, if there are cigarette burns, if your dash is cracked or whatever else you should contact an auto body shop to complete that repair for a lower cost than replacement.
There are many repairs that can and should be completed on all vehicles to keep them safe and keep them looking great!
By: Samantha Mccartney
About the Author:
If your car is in need of auto reconditioning start looking for a qualified professional to handle your concerns. Look for an auto body professional to take care of your ride from bumper repairs to fixing the major auto body repairs
Auto Repair Advertising – No Response + No Information = No Customer
Written by admin on March 08, 2010 in Automotive
If you partake of auto repair advertising, you may have noticed a downturn in effectiveness as a new breed of consumers emerges. They are armed not with phonebooks and word of mouth, but with Internet browsers and RSS feeds. They know where to check your information in the blink of an eye, and can find the perfect middle ground between price and quality faster than you can change oil. This new group of consumers ranges from 16 to 60, and they are looking for you. But are you ready for how they do business?
A recent study of consumers seeking auto repair quotes/information online showed extremely high levels of dissatisfaction with the speed and personalization received by local technicians. Beyond that, of the few facilities even offering email contact, virtually none of them chose to respond to the inquiry. Even more powerful is that the vast majority of these customers reported they took their business elsewhere. Some in just a few hours. A subsequent study, looking at the number of online searches for “auto repair” and all possible variations, found that in any given month between April 2006 and March 2007, there were well over 52.4 million inquiries nationwide.
What a fantastic opportunity for your auto repair facility! It seems the market is wide open for technicians who return emails. Somebody out there is getting this business… why not you? But here’s the catch: Technicians choosing to tap into this massive stream of new customers will have to be prepared to focus on direct, personal communication and provide information before sales.
No longer is it enough to say: “bring it in and we’ll take a look”, or push credentials and experience now you must provide information along with a ballpark price or at least an explanation of why you are unable to estimate and a disclosure of your inspection fee. If you want to establish the kind of trust and credibility which leads to long term clients, you must do the following:
1: Directly answer the question/concern of the individual.
2: Offer, based on the information given, either a ballpark price or an explanation as to why you are unable to give this and quote your inspection fee.
3: Offer potential, lower cost alternatives to the full procedure (if possible).
4: Ask for the business, then provide an easy way to contact you.
Would you rather have a person come in once and never return, or endless times over the course of many years for $50 – $150 maintenance, while bringing legions of friends?
This isn’t to say you shouldn’t flout your credentials; it is always a good idea to include a sentence or two about your experience and certifications. But this initial online correspondence must be about offering information. There is no other way besides direct, value rich correspondence to build trust with today’s net savvy consumer. Many auto repair facilities refuse to give any information at all over the phone or online. Unfortunately, this approach, in almost every case, backfires. Not offering some sort of info-rich response defeats the purpose of communication. This alienates your potential clients. While many technicians view these people as “price shoppers,” the majority of consumers are only looking for a healthy middle ground between quality and cost.
At the end of the day, the auto repair facility responding appropriately to online buyers has a much better chance of landing a strong line of new clients. Not only will you establish your professional credibility, but you will have a major edge against the fierce local competition with a wide open door to new word of net business.
By: Drew Turnbaugh
About the Author:
Drew Turnbaugh is Americas leading authority on communication based auto repair advertising [http://www.ianauto.com/auto-repair-advertising-optin.html] and founder of The International Automotive Network (IanAuto). IanAuto is responsible for helping facility owners reconnect with consumers while growing their business by becoming local information resources.
Why Auto Body Repair Shops "Hate Our Guts"
Written by admin on February 23, 2010 in Automotive
The two most frequent vehicle accidents are getting hit while parked and rear end collision. For the rear end collision, approximately 75% of them are less than 10 miles per hour, 94% occur on straight roads and most are direct hits. The average claim is less than $1,500.
Just from the 5 mile per hour “rear into pole” crash tests done by the Insurance Institute For Highway Safety, the best rear bumper on a pickup truck sustained over $600 damage in 2004 (the last time the IIHS tested pickup trucks) and the worst sustained over $2,000 damage. SUV bumpers had even more damage in this walking speed accident with the worst sustaining over $4,000 damage.
You can see why bumper manufacturing companies and auto repair facilities are smiling. The average number of plastic bumpers being replaced each year is over 8 million with the average cost to repair a plastic bumper $450 and the average cost to replace one is $900. And what are they made of – thin metal, plastic, fiberglass and even foam – very flimsy stuff. Today, if you hit the bumper, you hit the car. And there are thousands of tailgaters, inattentive, distracted drivers, drivers with poor judgment and lousy-stinking parallel parkers out there just ready to wreck your vehicle.
In 2007 I did a live radio talk show interview on The Auto Channel about rear end collisions and one of the interviewers was an auto body repair guy. The host of the show asked this body shop guy: “Are you interested in having people protect themselves? (from a rear end collision)” and his answer was; “Not necessarily.” And he continued on by adding; “For those of us in the body shop business, that’s how we make our living.” I didn’t get real warm and fuzzy feelings from this guy at all. And I totally understood since I was introducing a product that would eliminate a lot of his business.
But, after having been in a rear end collision, all the hassle that it entailed, the amount of damage we sustained and the threat of my insurance going up, I decided to do something about it – and the auto body shops don’t like it at all. Needless to say I won’t have to worry about advertising in any auto body magazines or web sites.
Today, if you paid $40,000 for a new car, totaled it and wanted to put it back together again with new parts, it would cost you $150,000. Auto body shops and automobile manufacturers don’t lose money in their parts departments. And like Andy Rooney from 60 Minutes once said; “bumpers don’t protect anything except the income of automobile parts departments.”
You can take a proactive approach to this huge problem and protect your family, vehicle and insurance before the “auto body shops” get you or you can wait until it happens and wish you’d done something about it. There are products on the market today that will prevent a lot of this damage. And when nearly 15% of the drivers out there are uninsured and you’re armed with a $500 deductible it’s defiantly worth your time to try to find them.
By: Jeff Mohr
About the Author:
Jeff is CEO of Mohr Mfg is an expert in rear end collisions. His company makes portable, energy absorbing, spare safety bumpers or “hitch steps” that install in seconds and protect your vehicle from rear-end collision damage, reduce whiplash injuries, shield your gas tank from under-ride and eliminate parking lot and parallel parking dents and dings. For additional information: http://www.superbumper.com
Average Auto Repair Costs
Written by admin on February 07, 2010 in Automotive
In 1960, the average auto repair cost for a popular midsize car driven for 15,000 miles a year was about $8,053. After a decade, the cost got cheaper and averaged about $7,770. In 2000, that figure went down to $6,880.
Having your vehicle repaired really does mean that you have to shell out some hard-earned cash from time to time. This is the reason why most people try to keep their cars in tiptop shape through regular maintenance. The continued upkeep of a vehicle helps it perform at optimum levels and lessens the risk of a total breakdown. It also helps fix problems while they are still manageable and do not yet affect a significant part of the car’s systems. It is better to pay for car tune-ups every so often than to rack up bills for a major problem.
Take a look at your vehicle. You will see that it is made up of individual parts connected to form a bigger functioning whole. The performance of a system depends on the efficiency of its parts. If one part does not work as well as it should, the entire car system is affected. This is why it is important to identify damage or malfunction right away. When you recognize a problem early, you are able to solve it more promptly, saving yourself big expenses in the long run.
Here are a few systems found in a vehicle, along with the average cost of their repairs. The four-wheel drive’s differential and transfer case, for example, has an average repair cost of $1100. Containing over a hundred parts, the air conditioner and heater system could incur repair costs as high as $700. The brake system, which is also comprised of more than a hundred parts, has an average repair cost of $350.
When the cooling system breaks down, you can pay as much as $465 on average to get it fixed. Drive axles and differentials have over 70 parts and the price of their repairs falls between $500 and $1000. Repair costs for your car’s electrical systems can reach $800. Troubleshooting your engine costs about $2000. You pay an average of $550 for repairs on the fuel system and $600 for the steering system.
By: Ken Marlborough
About the Author:
Auto Repair provides detailed information on Auto Repair, Auto Glass Repair, Online Auto Repair, Auto Body Repair and more. Auto Repair is affiliated with Discount Auto Parts.
The Top 10 Auto Service and Repair Companies
Written by admin on February 03, 2010 in Automotive
Are you satisfied with your car maintenance or with mechanic who is repairing your vehicle? If no, here is a Top 10 of Auto service and Repair Companies in the Albuquerque, NM area. This was compiled by how frequently the Auto Service and Repair Companies’ information is kept in people’s digital address books. The Auto service and Repair Companies that are used more frequently are stored more frequently. The No.1 Auto Service and Repair Company on this list has been stored the most amount of times by Albuquerque, NM area.Generally, people only store a business’ information in their address books if they are satisfied with the provider’s service and wish to engage in repeat business.
The Top 10 Auto Service and Repair Companies of Albuquerque, NM area:
1. University Mazda (99 people stored this Auto Service and Repair Company in their digital address books)(505) 761-1900 5150 Ellison St NE – Albuquerque, NM 87109
2. Perfection On Academy (61) (505) 822-8500 6012 Academy Rd NE – Albuquerque, NM 87109
3. Quirk Tom Automotive (35) (505) 883-0793 3434 Girard Blvd NE – Albuquerque, NM 87107
4. Acdelco (27)(505) 296-4816 9401 Central Ave NE-Albuquerque,NM 87123
5. Bobby Joes Auto Service (21) (505) 881-7713 2505 Quincy St NE – Albuquerque, NM 87110
6. Jims Fine Car Service & Parts (21)(505) 883-4224 5110 Headingly Ave NE – Albuquerque, NM 87110
7. Garcia Honda (21) (505) 260-5001 8301 Lomas Blvd NE – Albuquerque, NM 87110
8. Central Motive Power Incorporated (21) (505) 884-2525 3740 Princeton Dr NE – Albuquerque, NM 87107 centralmotivepower.com
9. Fast Lane (21)(505) 254-9292 1010 San Pedro Dr NE – Albuquerque, NM 87110
10. German Motorwerke (19) (505) 344-6712 6712 4th St NW – Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, NM 87107
Make sure your car is always in good working condition as you are responsible to keep your family safer in the car. This Top 10 List is for you to find and get a highly qualified Auto Service and Repair Company in your locality to help you deal with any automotive Emergency.
By: Zander Smith
About the Author:
