Regular
warranty checkups that include oil changes and
filter replacements keep your brand-new car in
tip-top shape. More important servicing needs
arising from breakdowns or accidents may require
the repair services of expert automotive technicians
and mechanics.
The Internet offers you immediate access to a
number of national industry organizations, all
eager to foster customer satisfaction and trust
by providing members easy access and a promise
of a basic, or standard, level of expertise and
experience
The Automotive Service Association (ASA) (at www.asashop.org
on the Web) is one such group. It began in 1951
and today represents 13,000 members, advancing
"the professionalism and excellence in the
automotive-repair industry through education,
representation, and member services." Use
the ASA's Web site to search for a member in your
area and to consult its Automotive Tips section,
where you can find out about its Consumer Bill
of Rights for Motorists and more. The ASA Web
site also carries important links to a number
of legislative resources, including State Laws
and Regulations for Replacement Crash Parts, a
Summary of State Aftermarket Parts Disclosure
Laws, and the ASA's formal position on a number
of legislative objectives.
ASE is the acronym for the Institute for Automotive
Service Excellence (www.asecert.org).
ASE has been around since 1972 and boasts more
than 420,000 professionals with current ASE certification.
According to information at its home page, the
organization's professionals work "in every
segment of the automotive service industry: car
and truck dealerships, independent garages, fleets,
service stations, franchises, and more."
Its mission is "to improve the quality of
vehicle repair and service in the United States
through the testing and certification of automotive
repair technicians."
The ASE offers Tips to Motorists at its Web site,
including a number of car-care "brochures,"
such as "Choosing the Right Repair Shop,"
"Getting Your Vehicle Ready for Winter,"
"Choosing the Right Body Shop," and
"How to Communicate for Better Automotive
Service." The site also features a number
of handy tips for female motorists.
Check out, too, the International Automotive Technicians
Network (at www.iatn.net),
which is a group of 26,810 professional automotive
technicians from 110 countries, Notice especially
the site's Shop Finder, which enables you to locate
network members in your area.
We
also enjoy I-CAR ONLINE (at www.i-car.com),
the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision
Repair, which describes itself as a "not-for-profit
international training organization dedicated
to improving the equality, safety, and efficiency
of auto collision repair." Check it out for
peace of mind and details about the kind of training
a collision repair expert must undergoprior to
certification.
After
you consult these and other industry groups, you
gain a greater appreciation for the professionalism
that permeates this sector of the car industry.
Locating Online Service and Repair information
about Your Car
You can find service and repair information all
across the Internet, although you do need to sort
out the good from the bad. Much of the good, of
course, comes from official sources such as the
government, automobile agencies, and the car makers
themselves. Much of the bad comes from uninformed
sources who may have good intentions but not the
training or experience to back it up. So make
sure that you know your source thoroughly whenever
you accept online service advice.
One great source for online car-maintenance information
is the United States National Highway Transportation
Safety Administration (NHTSA) Web site (at www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems),whichpubtishesautomotive
safety notices by make and model. By consulting
the NHTSA site, you stay abreast of recalls, technical-service
bulletins, defect investigations, consumer complaints,
safety studies, and more. It's a great site.
Both the American Automobile Association (at www.aaa.com)
and the Canadian Automobile Association (at www.caa.com)
offer great information covering automotive and
consumer services (and we feature both sites else-where
in this book). The CAA site, for example, includes
a section that it calls Approved Auto Repair Service
(AARS), where you can locate automotive repair
shops that the CAA approves. It offers another
section with the name Driving Costs, where you
can calculate how much owning and operating your
vehicle costs each year by applying national averages
and approximate driving costs.
TIP
If your driving costs are out of sync with national
averages for your particular car, you probably
have a mechanical or electronic problem with your
car, and you need to have your service provider
check it out as soon as you can.
Checking
out service support from car makers
Many of the big car makers offer car-service resources
right on their Web sites. Whether big or small,
these manufacturers understand the value of appropriate
car care, and their online resources point you
to valuable service advice.
Visit the General Motors Web site (at www.gm.com)
and click the GM Goodwrench button to access an
excellent array of owner's service resources.
GM promises to take the guesswork out of caring
for your vehicle with auto advice that covers
everything from cleaning fabric stains to engine
overheating. It even provides an online driver's
log and maintenance scheduler. Sign up for the
driver's log and you receive regular e-mails that
remind you when your car needs routine maintenance.
Over at the Subaru Web site (at www.subaru.com),
click the Subaru Care button to access warranty
information, car-care tips, and maintenance schedules.
You can easily find similar information at most
of the other big automakers' Web sites, too. Check
the Directory section in this book to find the
URL for your car's manufacturer.
Car
dealers are increasingly using the Net to offer
advice and details about the services they're
keen to sell you. Most manufacturers' Web sites
offer a Dealer Search feature to help you locate
the most convenient dealer in your area.
Finding neighborhood repair shops on the Internet
Many car-repair businesses operate on a local
basis. They may keep just one or two service bays
and mechanics on duty. Their individual reputations
rest on their capability to meet the needs of
a community rather than on a nation-wide multi-million-dollar
advertising campaign.
These shops often hang a shingle out on the Internet,
and a good search engine can prove valuable if
you're trying to track down a repair shop near
where you live or work.
Ask Jeeves (at www.ask.com
on the Web) is perfect for this search. Type in
its search text box something such as "Find
me car repair on the Internet" to retrieve
dozens of options worth following. One option
that we retrieved from this query helps you locate
yellow-page listings for automotive repair shops
in practically every major city in America.
TIP
Another query to Ask Jeeves — "What
are the legal issues regarding car repair?"
- retrieves a Web site from Court TV about car
repair. Here you find a primer regarding your
obligation to pay for unauthorized car repairs,
a customer's responsibility for paying the difference
between a quoted price and the bill, and so on.
In fact, Court TV offers on its Web site an entire
section of legal resources dealing with automobiles
that you may want to check out (at http://consumer.courttv.tindlaw.com/topic5/autos/ifldeX.html).
Sometimes
locating online auto service info is all about,
well, location. On the Internet, that means dot-com
location, and for one business in La Mesa, California,
its dot-com location reigns supreme. You see,
the domain name CarRepair.com (at www.carrepair.com)
belongs to an outfit with the name of Bob Bowen's
Auto Service. I can't vouch for Bob Bowen's work,
but his location online is dead-on. Another community-based
automotive repair business is a Scottsdale, Arizona,
shop with the name Car Repair Co., which bills
itself as "Your Dealership Alternative."
It, too, has a great Web address (at www.carrepairco.com).
Seeking friendly neighborhood advice online
If
you think of the Internet as your neighborhood
(as we do), you may be happy to find out that
you can find a lot of neighborly advice online.
Check out the Web site at www.askme.com for the
Auto Maintenance & Repair link. The neat thing
about this site is that it links you up to real
people who can answer your questions. Not only
can you view questions and answers, but you can
also rate the answers already given and even add
your own thoughts if you think that you can offer
something useful. But the main thing here is to
ask the question for which you need an answer.
And you can do so here with as much detail as
you think that you require.
PepBoys, the giant chain of automotive parts supplies,
offers visitors to its Web site a useful list
of car care tips (at www.pepboys.com/cartips/list.shtm).
Here you can check out such topics as how to know
whether you need A/C maintenance, how to wash
and wax, the difference between conventional and
synthetic motor oils, battery service tips, and
even how to prepare for roadside emergencies.
Global4autoparts.com sells car parts worldwide,
but its Web site (at www.global4autoparts.com/Car%2OCare%2OTips.htm)
also offers detailed car-care tips. During a recent
visit, we found out more than we needed to know
about shock and strut installation and removal.
Impressive, indeed.
Check out AutoShop Online, too, which considers
itself the United States' largest independent
car and truck repair help line. Its Automotive
101 (at www.autoshop-online.com/auto101.html)
is a free tutorial about the "inner workings
of the major subsystems of the modern automobile."
It's a great archive covering the engine, drive
train, suspension, and even heating and air conditioning.
AutoShop Online also features a pay-as-you-go
Service Department Inquiry Form (at www.medilinks.net/secure/autoshop/secinquiry.html),
promising you direct access to experts and information
that can solve your automotive problem. The site
bases this feature on a massive database of frequent
repair problems and their solutions for more than
10,000 different makes, models, and years of vehicles.
You can examine a list of sample questions and
answers to determine whether this kind of online
service suits you before you ante up with money.
Tapping Into Online Discussions, Lists, and
E-Zines
In
today's dot-com age, you may need to keep in mind
that, not so long ago, the Internet was principally
a service teeming with a high level of discussion
and debate areas rather than Web-based content
and endless sales pitches.
In those innocent days, before the Web existed
as we know it today and graphical Web browsers
were developed, Usenet and e-mail discussion lists
drew people online. Back then, people exchanged
ideas and experiences willingly in a general environment
where commercial interests were considered inappropriate.
Today, both Usenet discussion forums (or Usenet
newsgroups) and e-mail lists continue to grow
in numbers and in popularity as they always have,
and they continue to do so without the kind of
fancy design and high-energy promotion that define
the Web. If you're seeking car-service advice,
both Usenet and e-mail lists, therefore, may prove
well worth your time exploring.
Usenet newsgroups
You
can access Usenet newsgroups in a number of ways.
If you use AOL, simply type the keywords Usenet
or Newsgroups to access AOL's Internet Newsgroups
area. From there, you can search the newsgroups
to find one that matches your needs. Other Internet
surfers can access Usenet through their Web browsers
or e-mail programs.
One simple way for every Internet surfer to access
all Usenet newsgroup archives is through Deja.com
(at www.deja.com
on the Web). Although it's recently become a catch-all
for e-commerce opportunities, Deja.com was once
DejaNews.com,
the ultimate repository for Usenet messages both
current and historical.
Today, access to Usenet through Deja.com is through
a new independent site (at www.deja.com/usenet).
From that site, you can use the search function
to find specific Usenet groups by typing keywords
relevant to your needs and specifying recent or
past messages. You're certain to find a wide variety
of possible matches, such as nec.autos.makers.chrysleruk.rec.carsmaintenance,nec.
autos.tech,alt.autos.porsche,andalt.autos. antique,
to name but a few. A bit of patience links you
up to a host of worth-while discussions perfect
for posting your specific car-repair queries.
E-mail lists and e-zines
E-mail
lists and e-zines are other possible avenues for
you to check out for answers to your questions
on car repair and maintenance.
E-mail is, arguably, the backbone of the Internet
in terms of use by average people such as you
and me. It's the most popular part of the Net,
and it keeps each of us in contact with our network
of friends online. In fact, more e-mail now goes
out online than all the mail that uses the regular
postal services around the world.
That's a lot of e-mail — and a lot of people
shuttling their messages back and forth across
the Net. Numerous e-mail lists have also grown
along with the explosive growth in the Net's online
population.
People who share a particular interest often share
the same e-mail messages. These messages are known
as e-mail lists, and literally thousands of them
exist covering just about every topic imaginable.
Some are private and others are by invitation
only, but many are open for you to join as both
a recipient and participant. E-zines are an extension
of e-mail lists, and many are also open to join.
ListUniverse.com (at http://List-Universe.com
on theWeb) is the mother list of lists on the
Net. It can put you in touch with most e-mail
lists and e-zines through a simple keyword search.
Type Chevrolet, for example, and the search retrieves
a listing for the Atlanta F-Body Organization,
a group for owners of Pontiac Firebird/Trans Ams
and Chevrolet Camaros.
Topica.com (at www.topica.com)
boasts a huge collection of discussion lists and
can help you find people, discussions, and information
on virtually any topic. Type car repair to access
a wide variety of related lists and newsletters.
Topica recently acquired TipWorld (a collection
of more than 20,000 tips and 140 newsletters)
from our publisher IDG and, as a result, boasts
that it now has nearly 10 million subscriptions
and delivers more than 200 million e-mail messages
per month.
Asking
Your Online Friends for Advice
Last,
but certainly not least, keep in mind that the
Internet is a great tool to use if you just want
to ask your friends for advice about car repair.
If they have e-mail, you can shoot off an e-mail
message to them asking for advice about their
favorite online sites, no matter where they live
— locally or across the world. Tap into their
knowledge and use it as best you can. That's part
of the fun about being online — sharing what
you know.
You
need, of course, to weigh all the advice that
you get from this chapter, from your friends,
and from your own wanderings on the Internet with
common sense and practicality. Many aspects of
car repair you want to leave to the experts, regardless
of how much information, testimonials, and how
to advice you can find elsewhere. These aspects
involve the difficult tasks that require special
tools and diagnostic components that you mostly
find only at professional service businesses,
such as car dealers, authorized repair shops,
and sometimes even the local gas station. They
require a special expertise that comes only from
much learning and practice to ensure that the
work is done correctly so as to not harm the rest
of the car.
But
car service and maintenance isn't always about
repair. It often means simply keeping your car
in routine working order. Much of what you read
here can help you achieve that goal.
TIP
Most important, as an informed car owner, you
need to know how to use the data that you find
on the Internet to ensure that you maintain your
car sufficiently through the duration of your
ownership. What you find through the resources
and recommendations in this chapter can help inform
you so that you can make the right decisions to
enjoy your car to the fullest and then, later,
to resell or trade it in at the highest value
possible.
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