It's just an oil change

It's Just an Oil Change... Why Does it Take So Long?
We live in a world where “instant” is expected. No wonder we expect an oil change to be done in a jiffy.
But whatever happened to the time when an oil change was the opportunity to ensure that our car was in proper working order?
At Living The Dream Auto Care, we're bringing auto service back. That means having someone take a real good look at your vehicle during an oil change – and that takes time.
We do a comprehensive inspection of the major systems of your vehicle:

• ✔  Braking
  
• ✔  Cooling and Heating
  
• ✔  Transmission
  
• ✔  Suspension
  
• ✔  Drive Train
  
• ✔  Electrical
  
• ✔  Filters
  Since each system has many parts, it usually takes our professional technicians about an hour to properly look over your vehicle. How other places do their “inspection” of all of these vital areas in less than 10 minutes is beyond our comprehension.
  We know...it's not an instant. So, what do you get for the extra time? Peace of mind – knowing that everything is OK with your vehicle. And if there is a problem, we'll bring it to your attention, so that it can be corrected.
  Excellence in auto care takes time. And your car deserves the proper attention. So, enjoy a cup of coffee and a snack. And savor the peace of mind – along with the free hand wash and vacuum – that is the Living The Dream Auto Care experience.
  Living The Dream Auto Care
  The Future of Auto Care 

WHEN TO FIX YOUR CAR AND WHEN IT IS TIME TO TRADE IN

WHEN TO FIX YOUR CAR AND WHEN IT IS TIME TO TRADE IN

As the owner of Living The Dream Auto Care I am asked this question quite often. The answer however isn't an easy one to answer. There are many variables that go into the equation and is also an individual decision.

All vehicles require regular maintenance to ensure longevity of the vehicle. Even the greatest maintained vehicle on the road will run into repairs that are just part of vehicle ownership. “Wearable items such as batteries, brake pads and rotors, axle boots and many other components will eventually need to be replaced. A timing belt service for example is one of the more expensive maintenance items that are usually recommended around 90,000 to 105,000 miles. A service such as this can run between $500 and $1,000 depending on the vehicle.

Each vehicle owner has a “number” that should be calculated and thought about when it comes to repairing or buying another. That “number” is unique to each person as to their salary, vehicle needs, vehicle wants, and budget. To calculate that “number” you need to know the vehicle you would be interested in replacing this one with. Now comes the math portion, take the total price of the vehicle, interest involved in the car loan, sales tax, titling and license fees, increase in insurance, and the 15-20% depreciation cost when you drive it off the car lot. For example, let’s use a 2012 Honda Accord Ex-4 cylinder. Cost: $26,283, Sales Tax: $1643, Title and Registration: $394, Depreciation: $3942, Insurance Increase: $228, Interest/yr on a 48mo. loan at 3%: $408. Put it in the blender and add it all up that is a staggering $1407/mo. for the first year of ownership.

New vehicle ownership does have its perks. You should have 3years sometimes more of problem free driving and if there is a mechanical issue it would be covered at the expense of the manufacturer. Many manufacturers also offer a year of free service with your purchase. So not having unforeseen repairs looming overhead, in some cases this is worth the piece of mind.

Let’s look at a 2006 Honda Accord with 90,000 miles on it. If the repairs at this point include a timing belt service, front and rear brake service, and spark plug replacement you will be in the vicinity of $1780. Throw in 4 oil changes for the year and 2 tire rotations this would put your monthly vehicle cost at approximately $162 per month.

As I see it there are many factors that can compel someone to want to keep their vehicle or get a new one. All these factors are very hard to put into an easy equation. I believe that when your yearly repairs equal that of 3 months of first year of new vehicle ownership it may be time to seriously consider upgrading. Looking at the example above, $4221 equaling the 3 months is a substantial down payment on a new one and would reduce the overall monthly ownership cost.

A Funny Perspective

Oil Change instructions for Women:

1. Pull up to Service Center when the mileage reaches 3,000 miles since the last oil change.

2. Drink a cup of coffee, watch TV, check Facebook.

3. A short time later, scan debit card and leave, driving a properly maintained vehicle.
Money spent:

Oil Change:$35.00

Coffee: Complementary

TOTAL: $35.00


____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _


Oil Change instructions for Men:

1. Wait until Saturday, drive to auto parts store and buy a case of oil, filter, kitty litter, hand cleaner and a scented tree, and use your debit card for $50.00.

2. Stop by Beer Store and buy a case of beer, (debit $24), drive home.

3. Open a beer and drink it.

4. Jack truck up. Spend 30 minutes looking for jack stands.

5. Find jack stands under kid's pedal car.

6. In frustration, open another beer and drink it.

7. Place drain pan under engine.

8. Look for 9/16 box end wrench.

9. Give up and use crescent wrench.

10. Unscrew drain plug.

11. Drop drain plug in pan of hot oil: splash hot oil on you in process. Cuss.

12. Crawl out from under truck to wipe hot oil off of face and arms. Throw kitty litter on spilled oil.

13. Have another beer while watching oil drain.

14. Spend 30 minutes looking for oil filter wrench.

15. Give up; crawl under truck and hammer a screwdriver through oil filter and twist off.

16. Crawl out from under truck with dripping oil filter splashing oil everywhere from holes. Cleverly hide old oil filter among trash in trash can to avoid environmental penalties. Drink a beer.

17. Install new oil filter making sure to apply a thin coat of oil to gasket surface.

18. Dump first quart of fresh oil into engine.

19. Remember drain plug from step 11.

20. Hurry to find drain plug in drain pan.

21. Drink beer.

22. Discover that first quart of fresh oil is now on the floor. Throw kitty litter on oil spill.

23. Get drain plug back in with only a minor spill. Drink beer.

24. Crawl under truck getting kitty litter into eyes. Wipe eyes with oily rag used to clean drain plug. Slip with stupid crescent wrench tightening drain plug and bang knuckles on frame removing any excess skin between knuckles and frame.

25. Begin cussing fit.

26. Throw stupid crescent wrench.

27. Cuss for additional 5 minutes because wrench hit truck and left dent.

28. Beer.

29. Clean up hands and bandage as required to stop blood flow.

30. Beer.

31. Dump in five fresh quarts of oil.

32. Beer.

33. Lower truck from jack stands.

34. Move truck back to apply more kitty litter to fresh oil spilled during any missed steps.

35. Beer.

36. Test drive truck.

37. Get pulled over: arrested for driving under the influence.

38. Truck gets impounded.

39. Call loving wife, make bail.

40. 12 hours later, get truck from impound yard.

Money spent:

Parts: $50.00

DUI: $2,500.00

Impound fee: $75.00

Bail: $1,500.00

Beer: $20.00

TOTAL: $4,145.00

But you know the job was done right!

At Least They’ll Have Some Food and Clothing

At Least They’ll Have Some Food and Clothing

Because of all our generous guests and our surrounding communities Free Brakes for Food was a success!

           

All of us at Living The Dream Auto Care, Father Bill’s & Mainspring and Allied Auto Parts want to send out a great big THANK YOU! Because of our current guest, new guests and the shear generosity of the community our Free Brakes For Food was a huge success. There were even folks just dropping off contributions without any return expectations. This collection will go to help homeless Veterans, families and individuals that are so desperately in need of it.

“I really don’t know how much it is, but it’s a lot! I think next time were gonna weigh it!” says Brian Ducie of Living The Dream Auto Care, “It just makes us all feel great to be able to help.”

The Difference Between OEM, OES, and Aftermarket Parts

     It is believed by many that OES (Original Equipment Supplier) parts have to be purchased directly from the dealer. OES parts are made on the same assembly line as the OEM(Original Equipment Manufacturer) except it goes through a couple added steps. Branding of the part or stamping with the manufacturer logo IE: HONDA, and then gets wrapped and labeled in the manufacturers packaging. This OES part has just become more expensive to the consumer because of theses added steps and inflated by numerous middlemen. Due to the regulations of the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) certification there are quite a few OEM companies on the market because multiple OES brands are required. For the Auto manufacturers to have a steady supply on the production line, they must have several supply sources that provide them with equal quality parts. This ensures if a manufacturer has any problems with one supplier it will not disable the vehicles production and allow for substitution of other brands for  production , repairs and warranty replacement.


     Aftermarket parts are copies of the OEM part. These parts are made to be a more economically feasible replacement parts than an OEM part. These parts are usually carried by your retail "chain" parts suppliers and are intended to be sold to the "do it yourselfer" who is more concerned with price than quality or longevity. However in my experiences there are some aftermarket companies that take OEM parts to the next level of quality. MOOG suspension components being a good example, they take for instance a ball joint, reverse engineer the part and and then recreate a replacement part that is of a  higher quality. These products are most of the time equivalent in price to an OES part but carry an outstanding lifetime warranty.
In conclusion, there are several options to meet your repair, service and budget needs without sacrificing overall quality.

Dealer repair not necessary to uphold a vehicles warranty

Due to the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act of 1975 consumers don’t need to bring their vehicles to the dealer to uphold their warranty.

           

It has been mentioned far too often by our service guests that “we will bring in our other car for service as soon as it is out of warranty”. It appears that the majority of consumers are unaware that they can have their vehicles serviced at any repair facility of their choice without sacrificing their manufacturers’ warranty.

The Magnuson – Moss Warranty Act basically states that weather the product is serviced by the seller or by another service facility, the manufacturer cannot void the warranty or charge for a warranty service based on the place of previous service. Furthermore that the use of aftermarket products cannot void a warranty unless a failure is a direct result of using said product and that would have to be proven.

Having heard from guests that during their new car buying experience it had not been directly said but inferred that service would have to be done at the dealer and those guests were surprised to find out this not to be the case.

Living The Dream Auto Care is changing the standard of automotive service by educating our guests and empowering them to be informed consumers.