Archive for the 'car repair advice' Category
Hello Im a 20 yr old girl and recently passed my driving test.
Im looking into buying my first car but could do with some advice as i dont really have anyone that I can ask?
What kind of cars would you recommend for a good first car? low insurance and that has cheap parts?
I like corsas but have heard that they often need lots of repairs? is there any truth to this?
what kind of thing should i be looking for
Many thanks Xxxx
Used Toyota or Honda with low miles. Often you can find one that is several years old (which lowers the price) but still has lower miles, so it has a lot of life left.
Avoid: American cars, especially GM or Chrysler. If you pick up a copy of Consumer Reports used car guide, both of these will have page after page of crappy, low-rated cars.
The guy’s Geo Prism recommendation wasn’t bad….those are Toyota Corollas sold by GM. But those cars are getting quite old. Avoid the early 2000 Prizms…they have engine problems.
Feel free to email if you need more info. Good luck.
I know very little information about cars, but have been trying to learn for a while off of friends of mine who are much more into it than I am, I.E. two of them are working in car garages doing repairs and stuff, and I wanted some advice as to some good programs that teach you the basics of car maintenance and repair. I think my friends started out doing classes for ASE certification, but how hard is that to learn?
I had similar problems with my Pontiac Vibe and last month. Try getting a free auto warranty quote and see if you can get the policy before you need to get your car repaired. http://www.goodinternetdeals.com/Auto-Warranty.html
What are your rights when it comes to Auto Repair work? Find out before its time to have work done on your car with Stefanie Schaeffer.
Created by Peter O’Meara.
Know Your Rights TV is a 60Frames original series. For more information, please visit us at http://www.60frames.com.
Duration : 1 min 57 sec
Since l984, my firm has worked with countless numbers of “auto accident injury” clients. Most people who have become clients of mine have initially been bewildered because of the complexity involved. My hope is to clear up some of the terms in order to make this area more understandable to the average person.
First of all, when someone is injured they potentially become a “plaintiff”. A plaintiff is someone who has sustained “damages” as a result of the “negligence” of another individual. The person who caused the damages is called the “defendant”. Negligence in its simplest terms is a concept by which someone’s careless actions harm someone else. Most of the concepts in negligence look at an individual’s actions from the standpoint of a “reasonable person”. Someone’s actions have to be “foreseeable” to be considered negligent. A defendant has to be able to appreciate that their conduct could cause harm to someone else. In an “automobile accident injury claim”, the defendant can be careless or “negligent” in a number of ways. Our court system provides “jury instructions” which describe various types of “negligent” actions. For example, it is normally considered negligent for someone to strike the rear of another driver’s vehicle. If a case goes to trial, a jury will be instructed on the law and the instructions will explain this to the jury. On the other hand, a defendant can argue that the other driver came to a “sudden unexpected stop”. This can also be considered negligence. Where both drivers share in the fault, this is called “comparative negligence” or “comparative fault”. If a driver, for example, is found to be 50% at fault, then he will only have to compensate the other driver for 50% of the driver’s damages.
Each driver is required to carry “liability insurance”. When a defendant is careless and injures another person, then damages will be paid to the other person from the defendant’s “liability policy”. If the person causing the damage is not insured, then a plaintiff can recover their personal injury damages out of their own “uninsured motorist policy”. On the other hand, if the other driver has insurance, but it is inadequate, then a plaintiff may look to their own policy for something that is called “underinsured motorist coverage”. This provides for additional damages which can be recovered over and above the amount of the “policy limits” of other driver’s policy. The uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist coverages do not cover damages to the plaintiff’s car. This would be covered by the plaintiff’s “collision coverage”. When someone buys collision coverage, they choose the amount of their “deductible”, which is the amount which has to be paid out of the plaintiff’s pocket when a car is damaged.
In some circumstances, the defendant may be disputing the case. Oftentimes, a plaintiff will have their car repaired by going through their own collision policy. Under these circumstances, the plaintiff’s insurance company will attempt to go through “insurance arbitration” and will try to collect and return the deductible to the plaintiff.
When there is “property damage” to a plaintiff’s car, the car may be repairable, or it may be “totaled”. A car is “totaled” when it would simply cost more to repair the car than what the car is worth. When a car is totaled, the insurance company owes what is known as the “market value” of the car. This is the amount that the car could have been sold for in the open market prior to the collision. The insurance company will often retain the totaled vehicle which is called “salvage” since they are purchasing the totaled car. They will then sell the working parts to a junkyard or parts dealer. If the plaintiff chooses to keep the car, the he will receive the value of the car, minus the” salvage value”
With regard to a plaintiff’s injuries there are several types of damages. The first type of damage would be classified as “financial damages” or “economic damages”. These are the amount of out-of-pocket expenses sustained by the plaintiff. Lawyers and insurance adjusters sometimes refer to these as “special damages” or “specials”. Financial damages would include payment for medical bills and lost wages. The second kind of damages would be “pain and suffering damages”. I like to think of pain and suffering as being divided into three categories. First, there is past pain and suffering which takes into consideration the pain and discomfort immediately of the plaintiff following the accident. There is also present pain and suffering which is what a person is living with on a daily basis. Finally, sometimes injuries do not heal completely. The third category, then, would be damages for “future pain and suffering”. This would include “permanent disability” which would limit someone’s ability to function. For example, if a plaintiff has injured their right hand and they will permanently have a loss of grip strength, then a jury may consider this in awarding damages. On the financial side, if a plaintiff is unable to work in their normal full capacity, there may be “future economic damages”. A jury can take into account that if plaintiff will be losing income in the future because they either can’t work, or they can’t earn as much as they were previously earning.
In any event, this is my humble attempt to clear up some of the terminology which is used in car accident cases. Of course, how damages will be computed will ultimately be based upon where a case could end up going to trial if it cannot be settled. Some juries are much more generous in awarding damages for and other juries are known for being more stingy. A plaintiff lawyer’s goal in “settlement negotiations” is to get as much or more for his client than what he would likely receive from a jury. If the case is to go to trial, then the goal is to receive the highest possible verdict for his client.
The contents of this article are intended for educational use only in order to provide readers general information and a basic understanding of the law. If you are seeking legal advice, please consult a licensed professional attorney in your state. The information in this article should not be substituted for experienced legal advice.
Jeff Swaney
http://www.articlesbase.com/personal-injury-articles/st-louis-personal-injury-attorney-discusses-auto-accident-injury-claims-751457.html
I met with an accident the other day where a drunk guy hit me at the rear end of my totyotal avalon. there is considerable body work to be done. i dont know if there may be any mechaninical problem with the car. The guy who hit me had insurance from progressive company. Progressive gave me two options: either repair the car with their own service providers where they give me life time guarantee on repairs and parts but have told me that they may use remanufactured parts or used parts for repair. The other option is to go to the toyota dealer and have the car repaired with new parts. In this case I will have to live with the warranty the toyotal dealer will give me on the parts. WHICH OPTION IS USUALLY RECOMMONEDED :TO GET THE CAR REPAIRED WITH PROGRESSIVE OR WITH TOYOTAL DEALER OR IS THERE A THIRD OPTION? i am not much experienced with repairs from accidents so any advice or suggestions will be appreciated.
Check with your own insurance company first. That is your FIRST option. I work as a claims adjuster for a warranty company and if you follow the aforementioned advice I am reading in your answers, you may find yourself needing money at the end of the day. First think about what ‘warranty part’ means. This means a failure of the part under its own power, not caused by an outside source. So what can a bumper actually do to fail under its own power? Not much. If you decide to go to the dealer, the insurance company still has the LKQ option. That is, like kind and quality. That means they can opt to pay ONLY what they can do the same job for elsewhere. It is your option to go to any shop you wish. It is their option to set price based on fair market value. That means the dealer may tell them it will cost $3600 to fix your vehicle. Progressive might say we will pay $2000 toward the repair or we will ship you the parts to use. This option is usually taken if your vehicle has some age or miles on it. They do not have to put brand new parts on a used car. Check with your own insurance company FIRST. They are the ones who will want to see you happy. Toyota sees $$$$. They don’t care where it comes from, even if part of it has to come from you. Progressive sees $$$$, in the fact that they have to be cost effective and LKQ keeps the law on their side. Your own insurance company will send you to a reputable shop and they can also go to bat for you against Progressive, but most of all they will give you advice that will keep money in your pocket in the end.
Some of you who understand cars might be able to give some good advice. I broke down today with my car. Usually I need to keep checking the oil level quite frequently and keep topping in up(lets say about 300ml every month. I put about 300 ml on Thursday and today the oil light warning came up while driving. I ‘ve put 5 litres of oil in to car(idiot, I know) because I thought that because light is flashing, it must be empty, I did not check oil stick although I always do, I just panicked. Then I was able to start my car and drove for about 500 metres when black smoke came out of exhaust. I was told that it might pump, or switch, perhaps engine has gone. My car went straight to garage. Could you advice what is sensible repair to pay or how much the repair could cost. Model of car is Renault Clio Grande, year of make is 2000. Thanks so much for advices!!!
Too much oil can damage seals. The rubber components that stop oil leaking from rotating bits that emanate from the engine, such as drive shafts etc. But that is not what happened. The excessive oil got thrown up into the combustion chamber and was burned and pumped out of the exhaust. In itself not a disaster. All that should need doing is to reduce the oil level to normal and off you go. Ask the garage to do this first. Tell them you are broke. Otherwise they may spin you a line and charge you the earth. With the oil level back to it’s proper level you would just need to check for oil leaks that MAY have been induced by the excess oil. Chances are the car is fine. But be wary of the garage inventing problems.
Recently my car was put into a auto shop to due to the Igintion Cylinder needing to be replaced. Well When the car was taken to the shop the mechanics there couldn’t find a problem (my boyfriend and co owner of car was the one handling) Well I late that day had mentioned that the security light was blinking off and on, this was relaid back to the mechanic and they found problem, prior to my boyfriend telling them this they could not find a problem, They did not work on my car at all so they say. Well the auto shop told us that is was going to be $640 for then to put in the part and all the work they did. Also if we did not want them to do anything to the car then we sould have to pay $359 for us to get the car out with no work done, Coming from a family where my father knows about cars and car repair which is the person who would always fixed my car in AZ, we live to FL so he can’t fix the car anymore, Anyway he said that if they would have turnned on the car and looked at the gages then they would have known right away, They towed the car there at 10:30am and didn’t find the problem until after my boyfriend told them about the security light that turnned on (I thought it was a dummy light because it was blinking off and on for a month) Which the time was around 3:30pm The other thing was that they did not have consent from either myself or my boyfriend but had consent from his mother and grandfather to go ahead and fix the car and the price came down to $540. Before I knew that his family had done this stupid thing, I was calling around for estimates on how much the part was first place I called was the Chevorlet Dealership which the parts department quoted me the part was $187 and change and the service department quoted me $102 dollars for labor and coding the part. Then I called Pepboys and they told me that they do not sell the part because it needs to be taken to the dealership so that they can recode the part. So my question is do I have a case? Either way the auto shop is fixing the car because of his family. So as of right now we have to pay the $540. What should we do?
To be honest, go ahead and pay the bill. The garage has already towed the car to their shop, and have been given the go ahead to do the work. It is a bad situation, but there is no use in getting a lawyer involved and then losing the case and having to pay the lawyer too.
Just write it off, and go on. At least now your car works again. It is just one of those things. Next time this would happen, make sure you and your BF get together and agree on what you are going to do about the problem. good luck.
Here are the facts:
1. His shift is from 2pm-11pm
2. He’s in Washington, D.C.
3. He’s been working there for just a month.
4. He’s in charge of driving the newly-bought car to its new owner.
5. The damaged truck was the last one of his shift.
6. It (I guess) got dented from the gate.
7. He seems to be doing over time of 1 hour a day.
8. He’s 21 years old.
9. It’s a Toyota dealership.
10. It’s a big damage. the 2 doors on one side are both damaged.
LEGAL ADVICE and REPAIR ADVICE, PLEASE! We are desperate at thsi stage. Please, leave me an e-mail so I can contact you for more questions, if possible.
if he doesnt tell them then and they find out he wuld be fired…but if he tells them, they might just say that its okay, they well cover it up…
When a transmission is having problems, a person can take it to a specialist who will determine if the problem is caused by something electrical or mechanical. Discover how transmission fluid is examined to identify problems with help from an automotive technology professor in this free video on transmission problems.
Expert: Bob Ricewasser
Bio: Bob Ricewasser is a former automotive technology professor, and an avid car collector.
Filmmaker: Nathan Boehme
Duration : 0:1:22
Beware of Store Cards
Department stores love to push their credit cards by offering a discount on your purchase if you sign up on the spot. This can be a good deal. But it is handy to know that store cards create triple trouble on your credit report. First, your score will be reduced because of the inquiry. Second, your score will be reduced because of the new account that will soon appear on your report. And third, store cards tend to give a low credit line, often just above your purchase amount. This can be terribly damaging as the FICO credit scoring model puts a lot of weight on the relationship between your balance and your high credit limit.
Watch That High Limit
I run a national credit repair company and speak to people all day long about their credit reports. One of the bits of advice that we like to offer our customers is to pretend they only have half the limit on their credit card that they really have. It takes some discipline to do this but it can make a big difference on your credit score. As soon as your balance exceeds fifty percent of your available limit your credit score will start to suffer. If your credit balances are currently close to your credit limits you might consider calling the credit card companies and asking them to increase your limit. You will be amazed at how fast this can make your score go up!
The Auto Shopping Credit Trap
I can’t tell you the number of times that we have looked at a credit report and seen multiple auto credit inquiries. When we ask our customer they inform us that they only went to two different dealers. Auto dealers will often shop for the best interest rate for you. If they shop with three auto finance companies you will have three credit inquiries. These multiple inquiries can have a significant impact on your score. This is not the auto dealers fault. After all, they are acting your best interest, but it is best to be aware of the possibilities. If you are shopping for a car I would suggest not providing your Social Security number until you are settled on the car you want.
No More Mr. (or Mrs.) Nice Guy
Just about every day in the credit repair business we come across someone that was nice enough to co-sign for someone on a car loan. I’m sorry to say this, but chances are that if they need you to co-sign they will not make their payments on time. And this will kill your credit scores. I know that this is a tough call. It is hard to say “no”. If this situation arises in your life I suggest an alternative approach. Go ahead and co-sign. But when the payment book arrives ask them to give it to you. Have them pay you instead of the auto finance company. You will make the payments on time. And maybe they will feel some extra obligation to make their payments to you on time as opposed to some anonymous auto finance company.
Don’t get complacent
Check your credit from time to time. In December of 2003 Congress passed the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act) which, among other things gives you the right to get a free credit report from each bureau one time per year. This law was passed to protect you from the credit reporting errors that occur far too frequently. Don’t imagine that because you are doing everything right that the credit bureaus are reporting everything correctly. Get your reports and proof read them carefully. It’s your right.
No explanations needed
Are there errors on your report? Whatever you do please don’t write an explanation for the credit bureaus to include on your credit report. No creditor wants to see your story. Sorry! But it’s true. If there is something wrong on your credit report you should dispute it! If you don’t feel up to the challenge of dealing with the credit bureaus hire a reputable credit repair company. They have the experience and knowledge to get the job done for you. A good credit repair company should be affordable and efficient. You should never have to commit for a predetermined period of time. Before you hire someone pick up the phone and talk to them. Make sure you are comfortable. It’s your money
Copyright © 2007 James W. Kemish. All Content. All Rights Reserved.
Jim Kemish
http://www.articlesbase.com/credit-articles/credit-repair-what-not-to-do-110596.html
