“Action Line: Get the best auto repairs possible - Bakersfield Californian” plus 4 more

Action Line: Get the best auto repairs possible - Bakersfield Californian
Mobile carbody repair firm started - Hexham Courant
CTC trains new breed of auto mechanic - Frederick News-Post
Bike collection spans vintage, space-age - Pittsburgh Tribune Review
Mazda Review - Myhighplains.com

Action Line: Get the best auto repairs possible - Bakersfield Californian

Posted: 28 Aug 2009 10:57 AM PDT

Action Line: Get the best auto repairs possible

BY VICKIE SANDERS, Contributing columnist | Friday, Aug 28 2009 11:00 AM

Last Updated Friday, Aug 28 2009 11:00 AM

Editor's note: Action Line is a weekly column from the Better Business Bureau answering consumers' questions and concerns about money and business issues.

Dear Readers:

Action Line has recently received letters from readers detailing bad experiences with auto repairs, some from private garages and some from chain stores. I appreciate the time that readers spent to contact Action Line, but space does not allow me to answer each one individually in this column.

However, automobile repairs are extremely important to all of us. We depend on our vehicles and, in this continuing tight economy, cannot afford to distrust our mechanics and/or receive less than the full value for what repairs cost.

Below is some general advice you should know about automotive repairs.

• If you have a problem with your car while it is still under warranty, follow the manufacturer's instructions, which may require that repairs be made at an authorized dealership.

• If you are looking for a qualified independent shop, ask friends for recommendations. Check with the BBB about the shop's reliability. Look for shops that display certification. For major work, such as brake, transmission or engine repairs, you need to find a shop employing a specialist.

According to the Bureau of Automotive Repair, with complex auto designs and the use of computers in diagnosis, you need to make sure the repair facility has the equipment to detect problems and repair them. If you are in doubt about what the problem is, let the shop diagnose the problem. You may cost yourself money by requesting specific repairs that may not solve the problem. Be as specific and accurate as possible in describing the problem. Ask as many questions as you need. Do not be embarrassed to request simple, non-technical definitions.

Don't rush the service writer or technician to make an on-the-spot diagnosis. Ask to be called and appraised of the problem(s), course of action and detailed costs before work begins.

• If you want the old parts back, you must ask for them before any work is started. The shop is required by law to return the parts only if you have requested them before the work is done.

Ensure notification about additional costs, by having the service manager write a request on the bottom of the repair order. Give phone numbers where you can be reached. Before you leave, be sure you understand all shop policies regarding labor rates, guarantees and acceptable methods of payment.

• When you pick up your car, get an explanation of all work completed and get all guarantees in writing. Ask that any major new parts that have been installed be pointed out to you, if possible.

Your repair bill should be itemized so if a problem occurs later, you can prove the item is covered by the guarantee. Don't hesitate to return the car to the shop if the work was not done satisfactorily.

If you are still not satisfied with the work, you have options. You can contact the Kern County BAR at 335-7400 or go to the state Web site at dca.ca.gov. You can contact the head of the auto repair shop, whether that is a local owner or the CEO of a chain. You can file a complaint with the BBB at bbb.org or 322-2077. My best advice is to do all three.

Vickie Sanders is assistant director of business services for the Better Business Bureau serving Central California. Send your consumer concerns, questions and problems to Action Line at the Better Business Bureau, 1601 H St., Suite 101, Bakersfield, CA 93301 or vickie@bbbcencal.org.

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Mobile carbody repair firm started - Hexham Courant

Posted: 28 Aug 2009 02:22 AM PDT

Last updated 11:00, Friday, 28 August 2009

A HALTWHISTLE man has found a way to deal with all those annoying chips, scratches and scuffs to a car's paintwork.

Kevin Middleton, of Meadow Grange, has recently set up a business, Smart Auto Body Coat (ABC), which specialises in putting right minor damages to vehicle bodywork.

Mr Middleton, who works from a fully equipped mobile workshop, will drive to people's homes or businesses and can also be seen in supermarket car parks across the region from time to time.

He said: "I was working constant nightshifts and it was just dragging me down, so I decided on a total career change.

"I have always been interested in vehicles, repairing bodywork and mechanical work, and I thought that I would make a career out of it.

"It seems to be working because I have never stopped since I began."

Smart ABC can be contacted on 07766 062799.

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CTC trains new breed of auto mechanic - Frederick News-Post

Posted: 27 Aug 2009 11:01 PM PDT

With apologies to Oldsmobile -- wait, Oldsmobiles aren't even made anymore -- today's automotive tech classes are not your grandfather's auto shop classes.

The days of points, plugs and condenser tuneups are long gone. Auto technicians are a high-tech bunch who use computers to diagnose auto illnesses. And modern vehicles have on-board computers that have replaced many mechanical systems.

To keep up with the ever-changing modern automobile, automotive repair classes have changed drastically, and so has the image of a mechanic.

"Twenty years ago, a kid who liked tinkering on cars in his backyard could come here, take classes and get a job," Greg Solberg, principal of Frederick County's Career and Technology Center, said last week. "Today, it's hard to get even an entry-level job without ASE certifications."

The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence awards the automotive industry's benchmark certification.

Juniors and seniors enrolled in Frederick County public high schools can apply for admission to any of CTC's 24 programs.

The automotive program has room for 72 students each year, with automotive instructors Richard Smith and Gary Wilfong sharing teaching duties.

The school system has made a large financial investment in the program over the last seven years or so, Wilfong said.

"The students have the latest tools and equipment here," he said. "The county has been very gracious and has spent a lot of money to get this place up to date."

First-year students concentrate on automotive fundamentals, steering and suspension, and brake systems, according to Wilfong.

"They become familiar with the car's basics, and learn about hand tools and safety," he said. "The second year, most of the focus is on electrical components and electronic systems and engine performance."

In the second year, students progress from basic engine operation through a car's many different systems, Wilfong said.

At the end of the two-year program, qualified students receive the ASE Student Achievement certification.

"A mechanic has to have two years of hands-on experience to sit for the ASE test, and our graduates get one of those years here," Wilfong said. "Our kids only have to work one year to be eligible for ASE certification."

Wilfong said he and Smith stress the importance of certification for several reasons.

"Certification determines pay levels in many cases, and also determines hireability," Wilfong said. "But from an educator's point of view, more than that, it points to a level of commitment on the part of the students, a level of determination."

CTC has had the best passing rate on ASE student tests in Maryland for the last two years. Wilfong said that success attests to the quality of both the students and the instructional program at CTC.

The school's automotive graduates are working in car dealerships and independent repair shops, for fleet service companies, and on heavy equipment and recreational and sport vehicles like motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles.

"And we have articulation agreements with many postsecondary institutions," Wilfong said. The kids earn college credits for the work they do here.

The program has had its stars over the years, and also attracts a couple of females each year.

"The program is open to everyone," Wilfong said. "Every year, when we talk to middle school students, I make sure I tell the girls it can be for them, too."

The instructor said he likes to tell his kids at the beginning of every year that CTC has the best automotive program in the country.

"They look at me and say 'yeah,'" Wilfong said. "But I tell them that's how we feel about it and that's how they should feel about it."

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Bike collection spans vintage, space-age - Pittsburgh Tribune Review

Posted: 28 Aug 2009 02:32 PM PDT

Parking a bicycle in a living room is for space-challenged folks living on the East or West Coasts, not suburban Pittsburghers with garage space aplenty.

But Craig Morrow makes his living buying, selling and collecting vintage bicycles. So propping a spotless blue Bowden Spacelander bicycle in his roomy Ben Avon home follows naturally. Fortunately, he has a tolerant wife.

During the past 20-plus years, Morrow bought and sold many bicycles and now has a continually changing collection of about 1,000 bicycles, including several unusual and prized Bowden Spacelander bicycles.

"No one's had more than a few of them; I have 12," says Morrow, 52.

The Spacelander, which Benjamin Bowden designed in 1948, wasn't manufactured until 1960. The crossbar and bicycle chain were encased in a curved Fiberglas frame with a large oval in the center. Space-age-style lights fore and aft and a deco-type curved wheel frame add to the unusual look. Morrow displays a pale blue Spacelander in his living room; others he owns are in a variety of colors, including a bright green.

Today, such bicycles can sell for around $15,000 each.

"They're the rarest, most collectible bikes in the world," says Kurt Hagler of Shaler, an auto-body technician who does bicycle repair work for Morrow, including manufacturing missing parts. Hagler, 54, once collected bicycles himself and is returning to the hobby because of his grown son's interest.

Hagler says the Spacelander is historically significant because it comprised two firsts. It was the first bicycle to have a monocoque frame, in which an object's external skin supports the structural load. That's what gives the Spacelander such an unusual spacecraft look.

Secondly, its inventor, Bowden, was the first designer to use color-injected Fiberglas. The bicycles were not painted but came in an array of colors. Only about 500 were manufactured. Hagler says only 50 or so Spacelanders remain, meaning Morrow has cornered nearly one-quarter of the Spacelander market.

Morrow has an impressive array of bicycles, making him, as Hagler says, "one of the biggest collectors in the world." Several of Morrow's vintage bicycles were featured in the August 2007 edition of Country Living magazine, though not the Spacelander, which has a decidedly non-"country" look.

"I have 3,000 bikes and millions of parts," says Morrow, who had to move out of a home in Bellevue because he had accumulated so many bicycles.

Other favorites of Morrow's include Schwinn Stingrays and Stingray Krates, of which he has about 140. Most are hanging from the ceiling in his basement. Krate models include the red Apple Krate, the Orange Krate, the Lemon Peeler and several others, each with a name corresponding to its color. All the Krates had a smaller wheel in front, a front "fork" akin to a set of motorcycle handlebars, shocks and front suspension with drum front brakes and rear disc brakes. The regular Stingray had 20-inch wheels back and front and no shocks.

"The Pittsburgh area had a lot of Schwinn Stingrays because people had money around at that time," when steel mills flourished, Morrow says. "I find a lot (of bicycles) in Ambridge and Bridgeville."

He's also taken a fancy to a J.C. Higgins Colorflow, manufactured in 1948. Morrow's find has its original paint and glass reflectors, with a so-called "batwing" light on the front.

Bikes have been both Morrow's hobby and his bread and butter. For more than 20 years, he has been fixing, buying and selling bicycles.

"I'm a flea-market guy," Morrow says. "I go to flea markets looking for that stuff." He buys locally and sells on the Internet. His mother, her husband and a helper aid him in his business, called Bicycle Heaven.

Most of the bicycles in Morrow's collection are vintage models, though he has a few modern ones. He stores quite a few in the newer home he shares with his wife, Ming, who puts up with her husband's affinity for parking at least one spotless bicycle in most rooms in the home. Morrow, the father of five, is currently sharing his knowledge of bicycles with his stepson, Chien, 14.

Long after childhood, Morrow began fixing bicycles for neighborhood children after he was sickened by paint fumes while doing custom painting on automobiles. During his time off, he also bought one bicycle for $30, fixed it up and sold it for $150 -- a 400 percent profit.

"I thought, 'Hey, that's a good way to make money,' " and he has made his living that way ever since.

In today's beleaguered economy, Morrow says the bicycle business is not affected as much as other goods because people can still ride them and save money on gasoline.

Morrow's ultimate goal would be a bicycle museum in which he could display his finds. Until then, he'll be buying and selling and attending bike shows, including a major local show each year in Butler. But he won't part with some of his finds.

"I'm probably going to keep my Bowdens for awhile, and my Stingray Krates," he says.

For more information on vintage bicycles, contact Morrow at 412-716-4956.

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Mazda Review - Myhighplains.com

Posted: 28 Aug 2009 11:11 AM PDT

Put this badge on this shape and you think, what? Miata? Well, Mazda really wants you to call it MX-5, which is how most of the world has always known it.

The Guinness Book of World Records has crowned it the best selling two seat sports car in the world. For 2009 it gets a slight freshening nose to tail.

For those who were uncomfortable owing this car because of the fabric roof it's now available with an optional hardtop.

It makes security and vandalism less of a worry. In 12 seconds, life becomes even more sunny and carefree.

The mx-5 starts at 22,500 dollars. Add twenty six hundred for the power hardtop. This loaded grand touring model stickers for 31 grand, a bargain considering a bmw-z4 now starts at 46. Simply put, the performance is unbeatable in the bang-for-your-buck department.

Pure fun to drive, MX-5 feels hard wired right into a driver's brain stem. Every corner produces an involuntary smile.

Scoot is provided by a two liter 167 horse four cylinder with spunky sound.

Enthusiasts will buy this car just to shift the short throw 6-speed. A 6-speed automatic is available.

Stoplight to 60 takes 7 seconds, pretty quick. MX-5 is a proper rear drive sports car, the solid body has no creaks or rattles. I'm seeing 23 mpg in mixed driving, but I'm flinging it hard.

The snug cabin is like a well-tailored suit. If you're of average size, it might feel tight for those on the larger side.

Everything's easy to use including auto climate control and heated seats. Multiple air bags help with piece of mind. Bluetooth for phones is available. Mazda has done their best to provide a bunch of small cubbies.

with the hardtop up, there's a little bit of storage but it's tough to get things in and out of here.

Remember to clear it out when stowing the top. Gripes? A telescoping wheel would help larger drivers. A plain audio jack is fine, integrated ipod interface would be better.

Drinks up here get in the way of the shift action. There are helpful options.

The MX-5 has a huge trunk. Just checking to see if you're paying attention. No spare, just a repair kit. When pushed, two bundles will wedge in..though it looks like i'll be buying these packs.

Like the MX-5, time sure flies.

This cars coming up on it's 20th year now. There's a reason why it's passed the test of time. Call it Miata, call it MX-5, whatever. If you're looking at a great time at a reasonable price, nothing else can touch it.

Tom says full disclosure is in order. He bought his Miata nearly 20 years ago, but he insists he's objective about the new one.