Auto Repair In Greeley
I ended 2008 on the subject of having a maintenance plan and as each day goes by
I am more and more convinced that having such a plan for each of your cars is going to be something that will pay you great dividends in the next few years if you follow the plan. New car sales continue to plummet across almost every car line and the long term results of that trend will be additional price increases. That will mean increased value in your current car down the road if it has been properly taken care of.I am working on putting a process in place here at the shop so we can give you a 24 month horizon on what you should expect maintenance services to cost over that time period for any vehicle you own. My hope is that this program will make it easier to budget for those expenses and raise your awareness of just what needs to be done.
But what I really wanted to talk about this month is vehicle safety. We all see the manufacturers claims for their crash "star" ratings and then perhaps we get a notification of some safety related recall for a vehicle we own. But how do you find out about any recalls which may apply to your vehicle you bought used, get good information about how to tell if your tires are too old to be safe, or learn how to use the LATCH system, which every car built since September of 2002 has, so your child safety seat is properly installed?
The answers to all of those questions and many more can be found on-line at http://www.safercar.gov. This site is the consumer information site for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Here you can look at current safety investigations related to vehicle problems which have been reported by consumers and you can also report any suspected safety problems which you may have experienced yourself. You can also look up tire rating information, including details on the tire age issue I have spoken about in the past. But the most interesting area, and perhaps the most important, is the link to NHTSA's LATCH pages. LATCH stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children. These pages have everything you need to know about how to properly install a child safety seat in a 2003 and newer vehicle. There are videos which show how to install both forward and rear facing seats, a ratings page for different brands of child seats, and a link to the form needed to file a complaint about a child seat. And lots of other information!
I encourage you to take the link above and take a look at this site. It has a wealth of information about vehicle safety issues and is very user friendly. I am sure you will find something of interest.
Until next month.............
Phil White
Phil's Pro Auto Service
by: Phil White