"Bad Tires, Brake Noises & Detailing Truths | Saturday Q&A #135"
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Concept
automotive repairs and maintenance
This is the difference between keeping your car healthy and fixing it when something goes wrong. Maintenance is the regular stuff you do to prevent problems, and repairs are what you do when parts start failing.
Term
shop manual
A shop manual is like an official repair guide for your car. It shows how to fix things and what the correct specs should be.
Concept
fuel savings tips
Fuel savings tips are simple ways to use less gas. Usually it’s about driving smoothly and keeping the car in good shape so it doesn’t waste fuel.
Term
summer tires
Summer tires are made to be best when it’s warm outside. If it gets cold (or snows), they don’t grip as well, so you may need different tires for winter.
Term
Cabrio
“Cabrio” is Volkswagen’s word for a convertible. It means the car is designed to have the roof down.
Concept
European car show
A European car show is an event centered on European brands. They often want European cars only, so bringing an American car can get you turned away.
Car
Honda Civic DX
This is a Honda Civic, and “DX” is the trim level. They’re saying they’ll bring their 1999 Civic out to a local car meet.
Company
City Auto Sales and Leasing
They’re talking about a used-car dealership that sponsors the show. The host says they focus on fair deals and honest service.
Concept
pre-owned auto store
They mean used cars, not brand-new ones. The important part is that a good used-car shop tries to sell vehicles that are in decent shape and not misleading.
Concept
litmus test
They’re using “litmus test” to mean a simple rule or standard to decide if a car is acceptable. The point is that cars have to pass Earl’s approval before they’re offered for sale.
Term
ignition
The ignition is how the car gets started. It helps create the spark (or start the process) so the engine can run smoothly.
Term
antifreeze
Antifreeze is the fluid in your cooling system. It keeps the engine from freezing or overheating, and it also helps protect internal parts from rust.
Term
battery
The battery is what powers the car’s electronics and helps start the engine. Testing it helps figure out if it’s weak or failing before you get stranded.
Term
polish out the headlights
Headlight polishing is a restoration process that removes oxidation and haze from the clear lens. It can significantly improve night visibility without replacing the entire headlight assembly.
Term
winter tires
Winter tires are special tires made for cold weather. They grip the road better when it’s snowy or icy, and they work better than regular tires in freezing temperatures.
Term
tire sidewall
The sidewall is the part of the tire with printed info. It tells you things like what size the tire is and other important ratings, so you can make sure it’s the right tire.
Car
Dodge Caravan
A Dodge Caravan is a minivan. The speaker is talking about a 2010 one they worked on, using it as an example for the maintenance and safety points they’re making.
Term
oil changes
Oil changes keep your engine running smoothly. If you wait too long, the oil gets dirty and breaks down, and the engine can start wearing out faster.
Term
tires that are from 2026
They want tires made in 2026 so the rubber is fresh. Newer tires usually grip better and last more reliably than older stock.
Term
wheel alignment
Wheel alignment is how you set the wheels so they point the right way. If it’s off, your new tires can wear unevenly or the car can pull to one side.
Concept
professionally detailed
Professional detailing is when a shop cleans your car really thoroughly. It can make the car look better and help protect the paint and interior if you don’t have the supplies to do it yourself.
Concept
buy somebody else's problem
It means you don’t want to buy a car that already has problems the last owner didn’t fix. That’s why it helps to check service records and get an inspection before buying.
Concept
clean on the outside, clean on the inside
A clean car often looks like it’s been taken care of, which can help you get a better price. It doesn’t automatically mean the engine is perfect, but it’s a good sign.
Concept
pre-owned car
They’re saying that when you buy a used car, you should look for signs that it was cared for. A well-kept car usually costs more but can be a better buy because it tends to hold its value better.
Concept
resale value
They’re talking about how much money you can get when you sell the car. A car that looks and seems cared for usually sells for more than one that looks neglected.
Term
detailing
Detailing is a deep clean for your car. It’s usually more thorough than a normal car wash, and it can make the car look “brand new” again.
Concept
before and after
“Before and after” just means they show the car before it gets cleaned and then how it looks afterward. It’s the easiest way to see if the work really made a difference.
Concept
vacuum it out
Vacuuming out the car means removing loose dirt from the seats and floor. It helps prevent grime from building up and makes the rest of the cleaning easier.
Concept
weird noises when I apply my brakes
If your brakes make a weird sound, it usually means something isn’t right—like worn brake parts or a problem near the wheels. It’s safer to get it checked soon instead of ignoring it.
Concept
repair order
A repair order is the paper (or digital form) that lists what the shop says is wrong and what they plan to fix. It also records what they actually did and what it cost. Having it done correctly helps you avoid getting overcharged or surprised by extra work.
LIVE
Good morning folks, you're tuned in to Car Connection where the coffee's hot, the tools
are ready and the talk is always tuned up.
I'm your host, Nile Motorbout Jenkins, coming to you straight from the Car Connection workshop
where we mix a little humor, a little know-how and a whole lot of horsepower.
Here it's not just about fixing cars, it's about keeping you rolling, saving you money,
giving you the confidence to understand what's under that hood.
From the classics to the commuters, the weird noises and the what the heck moments, we've
got you covered.
So grab your coffee, sit back, join the crew because this is Car Connection, your Monday
through Saturday morning pit stop for stories, smarts, a few good laughs.
I'm Nile Motorbout Jenkins, shifting it in to drive this morning on the Saturday morning,
8am morning drive and it is Q&A Saturday.
So a big reminder if you're wanting your question to be put out there for others to
hear the answer, you may be helping somebody somewhere else on this rock we're spinning
on, exactly.
So you got to get your questions in by EOD on Fun Friday, that's End of Day, Fun Friday,
then I put them all together and I select what I think are the top three.
So thank you to all of you who have been doing that, it's MotorMouth.Jenkins at gmail.com
or Nile at ccbusnet.com, that's the email.
If you missed that, you can grab all that information from the home page of our website,
Car Connection Business Network.com, that's our biggest drawer in our toolbox.
Everything is there on our home page for you to connect with us and our program partners.
Just click on their logo to meet them and thank you for giving them your business because
that's what helps to keep this program here until we get further monetization happening.
Then we're going to be able to buy parts, provide labor and shoot videos and load those
up on our YouTube channel.
We have over 300 ways for you now to watch, listen and engage with us.
So if you haven't signed up for our YouTube channel as of yet, I highly recommend that.
Whether you're a novice driver or a senior driver, it doesn't matter.
To learn the basic fundamentals of automotive repairs and maintenance and getting a better
understanding of your automobile is going to help you to be a really good player in the car game.
And I'm a good player.
You've got someone here in your corner has over 44 years experience and then some.
I think that's actually, I haven't really counted it, but I started in the trade when I was 19 and I'm 63 now.
Just so there you go.
You don't have to guess.
I'm a very young 63, I might add.
I work 80 hours a week and you know what?
Cars are my thing.
Cars, trucks, anything wheels on anything with a motor in it is my thing.
Yeah.
The only two things I have not fixed are a plane and a train.
That's it.
Yeah, that's pretty much it.
That's it right in the nutshell.
So our homepage will get you to our YouTube channel, Facebook, Instagram, our iHeart podcasts,
our podcasts are out there for you each and every morning, Monday through Saturday.
I take Sundays off, sorry, but I do.
But hey, you can jump into our YouTube channel and you can find any one of our season one
podcasts are up there and they're all public now.
So every day I do a podcast here like I am right now when it finishes,
when we finish the show today and it goes public, it will go public on our YouTube channel.
So on our YouTube channel, here's what you got to know.
Every video I shoot, I shoot to teach.
I shoot to not to teach automotive techs.
You, whether you're a single mom widow or a widower living on your own, like our neighbor
down the street, we got a couple of names down the street or husband passed away.
She's a widow.
She has three vehicles and he was a mechanic and now she's got nobody to take care of her.
We take care of her.
And our other neighbor, Jen, she lives on her own with little Ellie.
She's a sweetheart of a dog.
She loves me.
I love her too.
She's a very special dog and we look after each other and there's a list that goes on and on and on.
So it's great to be able to teach you the five things, what it is, where it is, how it works,
how it breaks and what you could have learned as some basic fundamentals of vehicle ownership
and repairs and maintenance that would save you thousands of dollars per year.
So I've been in this trade.
I started in the automotive trade at about age 13.
That's when I got the bug.
I got into my apprenticeship somewhere around grade 11.
Yep.
I actually worked, I actually worked and went to school for one whole year and then the
shop that wanted to hire me on as an apprentice said, you got it.
We need you full time.
So and at that time I only needed grade 10 to get into the skills and development program
for motor vehicle mechanic and so he signed me up and then that's where that happened.
So I didn't go back from my grade 12 because I really didn't need it.
I just wanted to get going on my trade.
I knew what I wanted to do and I went for it.
And so I started in the trade in my very late teens and like I said, here we are.
It's 2026.
I've got a few decades under my belt and you know what?
I still feel every day that I'm learning more and more and more that I can share with you
and help you to keep that vehicle engine and transmission running long term.
And that's the purpose of our YouTube channel is that I think I've almost covered every
topic there, but you know what?
Check it out, subscribe, like, share, follow, leave a comment, but jump in with all with
both feet, all your feet.
Okay, jump in with all your feet into our YouTube channel and stay in there
because what you're going to learn even in the description boxes for my podcast and for our
YouTube channel, I put a lot of nuggets in there that you could actually create a binder from
and have a shop manual teaching you the basics.
So coming up, we will be having our 30 day fuel savings tips and it's a challenge.
It's in two stages.
First stage, if you conquer that, you'll at least save $100 in fuel savings.
How do I know I'm doing it and have been doing it for quite some time?
I'm sharing it with you.
That's what I'm doing.
I'm sharing my golden nuggets with you to help you.
So if I'm talking to those who are listening and you actually listen and do, you're going to be
a car game winner.
That's what you're going to become.
So what are we covering today?
I have three questions.
So coming up, talking about summer tires and detailing an automobile, is it worth it?
I'll give you the questions in full in just a few moments.
I'm hearing weird noises when I apply the brakes.
That one makes me nervous.
Yeah, you can't ignore that stuff.
So we'll jump into that.
We're going to unpack all three of those questions during this morning's program.
So thank you for joining us for Motor Bounce Morning Drive.
Again, get your questions in.
If you want your questions answered on the Saturday morning drive, it's a one hour show,
full one hour.
And you got to have those into me by end of day on Friday.
Fun Friday, it's a wide open microphone on Fridays.
Just whatever comes into my head, we talk about it.
And I think yesterday we were talking about mac and cheese.
And I'm still thinking about that, how that relates to cars.
It does.
It absolutely relates.
So you have to check out that podcast.
It's already up on our YouTube channel.
So join us on YouTube and don't forget, do the little things for us, would you?
For Skippy and I, we put a lot of hours in every week.
I put in 80 plus hours, but she comes and shoots the videos and edits with me and we upload.
We do that on Mondays and she works.
She works Monday through Saturday, Tuesday through Saturday.
So single mom.
So she's absolutely brilliant, lots of ideas.
And we have a chance to work together, which is really, really cool.
So do us a favor and help us to build our platforms by doing the simple little things,
like share, follow, join our online community.
Skippy puts up reels and bloopers and stuff that she has me do.
And for that, for Instagram and Facebook, Stevensville on the web.ca.
That's a website that our Skippy put together.
She's from Stevensville.
She has families there and all kinds of connections there.
My pops lives there.
So it's great to be a part of that community as well.
So Skippy has put us in as a professional, I think.
Yeah, professional in the category of automotive.
And if you click on the businesses tab, you'll find us there.
You can email me through that website and through our profile page as well.
So there's also our link for our iHeart radio podcast.
That's available to you as well in a couple of places.
You can tune in right here on any podcast platforms, Spotify, Apple, Amazon.
We're on all the major and minor platforms.
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Ring the notification bell so that you don't miss any videos.
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And then we shoot new ones on Monday.
We have a bunch stored up in our library ahead of time.
So we can kind of stay ahead of the curve.
So that if we need to take a breath, we can come up for air and take a Monday off of shooting.
And we still have videos that we can pull from and put up.
We have a new series coming up that will be featuring Rio.
Our 1992 Volkswagen Golf Cabrio Lay Carmen.
That's a German edition, so it has the big bumpers on it.
And that's a convertible.
It's a Cabrio Lay from California.
And it's red.
And it has air conditioning and power windows.
So we're going to teach you on that.
We've got a bunch of upgrades that that car is needed.
It's been tucked away and hidden away for years.
It was going to be a gift for someone.
But that didn't work out.
That didn't work out.
So that car is coming over.
We're going to do a series of upgrades on that vehicle.
You're going to get an opportunity to see what we got to do and how we got to do it
to get that vehicle ready.
It has it's going to be part of our fundraising car show lineup of fleet vehicles that we can
get into just about any car show because now most car shows there's model specific now.
You used to be able to mix and mingle.
There are a few of those left, but not anymore.
So in order to get into a European car show where we can meet that type of crowd and they're
different.
I'm just going to say that they're nice folks, but they're different.
They're very anal retentive about their cars.
And I get that I get that totally.
So they're same with the show.
You're only going to get into a European car show with a European car period.
Show up with a Chevelle or Camaro or Corvette.
You're out of there.
You will not be able to register.
So the same applies to the muscle car guys.
They could do a Camaro program.
It could be Pontiac.
It could be Corvette club.
It could be Chevy pickups and suburban suburbanites.
And then there's the Bronco, Mile High Bronco club.
Like this, it just goes on and on and on.
So over the course of 32 years, we've been able to put together some vehicles and not spend
a ton of money on putting them together.
We've been blessed with that, that ability to do that and we use them as tools.
That's what they are.
The kids get to take their pictures in there.
And most of the time, I got to tell you this.
You moms out there, whether you're a single mom or married, love to get behind the wheel
and have your picture taken more so than the kids.
The kids are off.
They want a Hamburg hot dog pizza or some kind of goodie.
That's what they want when they're at the car shows pretty much.
Some of them are into cars big time and a lot of ladies.
It's not just for fellas anymore.
It's fellas and felettes.
That's what I noticed at car shows.
So we're out there.
We'll let you know when we have our whole lineup of where we're going to be.
And we're looking forward to taking the 99 Honda Civic DX,
two-door hatchback out to coffee and cars in the St. Catharines area.
So we'll let you know when we're going to be out there so you can come and meet us.
So you can have a look at the rocket.
It's getting its spring makeover stage two.
I talked about that in yesterday's podcast on Friday was a couple of things were just
cheesing me off.
And that's how I got into the mac and cheese thing tie in.
So let's jump in this morning all the way by starting off with a if you're just joining us
for the first time, there's some things we do.
You need a 16 pack of crayons in a leaf bag, fold it up to be like a ham pressed laptop.
You can take all kinds of notes on there.
If you're working today, take it easy out there.
The crazies are out there on Saturday.
What I call the GGs, the grub grabbers.
And their minds are on discounts, not on the road.
That's what I've noticed.
Like they're rushing to get to the next big deal.
So keep an eye out for them.
If you're working, make it a fabulous Saturday.
And if you've just arrived to the weekend, welcome aboard.
And let's say thank you to our certified financial planning professionals, Tony and Larry.
Tetral 50 years as fiduciaries.
That means they know money and they know how to work it and get it working for you.
Instead of you working hard for your money.
They're without IG wealth management.
They are personally my brothers from other mothers and my own financial planners.
And I'll tell you what, you're not going to tell them anything they haven't seen or heard before.
But take advantage of their knowledge and their honesty and their willingness to help you.
They don't need any more clients.
They just wanted to be a part of car connection and the listenership.
If they could be of help to you.
That's why they've provided the discovery meeting.
We have nicknamed since 2007, the hour and a coffee.
Take advantage of that.
Leave your wallet and your purse at home.
They're not going to sell you anything.
But they are specialized in dealing with portfolios that are not making you any money.
Let them have a look at what's going on there and evaluate it.
Debt retirement.
So putting together a plan for you to get out of debt.
When you think all is lost, you need this discovery meeting.
Let me tell you, get your questions answered folks by those who have the fruit on the tree.
Okay.
I'm speaking from experience.
Estate planning, mortgages.
I will no longer ever have a mortgage with a bank.
I haven't been in a bank for a mortgage in almost 15 years and I'm not ever going back.
They treat you like human beings of value and more.
There's life insurance, critical illness insurance.
All those things need to be put together for you.
So you can rest at night when you put your head on your pillow with peace of mind.
So don't do what I call opinion polls.
That's what my professor taught me.
You know, if you get out there and ask enough people, eventually you just might
get enough people that will agree with what you have in your head to be the answer for your problem.
It may not be the right answer, but you're going to take that opinion poll until you find at least
three people that agree with what you already are going to do that's in your head.
That is the wrong thing to do.
That's what I call very poor planning.
So connect.
Connect with Tony and Larry.
Let them know I sent you and they'll take very, very good care of you.
So connect and get your questions answered by a certified financial planner.
If it's not Tony or Larry, their best advice to you is don't sit down with advisors,
their apprentices and their cookie cutter.
No disrespect, but they are in that group.
Not everybody has a cookie cutter situation.
There may be tax implications.
They do all of that.
They plan certified financial planner, not selling items.
So that's a long, it's a long introduction.
But let me tell you, this is where a lot of people make a lot of mistakes and cars cost money.
Cars cost money the whole time you own it.
And you've got to be able to not only make the payment,
but you've also got to be able to take care of it.
Otherwise, by the time you make the last payment,
the only thing that's left is a wheel nut, maybe a hubcap and the steering wheel.
You've got to be able to plan for the next vehicle purchase.
And you've got to be able to take good care of the vehicle you have.
So let's get into this on 321.
I made a special, I got a special morning coffee today.
It's actually a coffee.
Yeah, so I'm going to enjoy it.
Yeah, you're wanting to know what it is, aren't you?
I'm not going to tell you, but it's a special coffee this morning.
So if you're getting through the drive-through, get it done, lock it down,
be careful out there.
And on 321, let's have a morning breakfast swiggy together.
321.
Oh, yeah, that's happening.
Thank you, Tony and Larry, our certified financial planners for making that possible.
Well, our weekend weather, you ready for it?
I'm going to give you both days, if you don't mind, if that's okay with you.
Let's see what we got for the weekend.
All right, here we go.
Saturday.
Well, I got good news and good news.
Nothing in the precipitation area.
We're good there.
It's a zero.
Saturday's low will be 35 degrees between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m.
The high will be 47 between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.
That's good numbers.
You can take that.
The temperature range will feel like 32 to 47,
and it will feel similar to the actual temperature.
So we've got sunshine.
We've got sunshine in the mix.
Let's see what we got for Sunday.
We'll give you a Sunday report here.
So this weekend weather brought to you by City Auto Sales and Leasing,
Earl and Louise Grant.
They're great at what they do for over 25 years.
They are the greater Toronto area's premier, pre-owned auto store.
Fair prices, low mileage vehicles, quality vehicles, I have to say,
and you can buy with confidence and be treated with nothing less than honesty and integrity.
That is our City Auto Sales and Leasing with our very own Earl and Louise Grant.
Great people.
You're going to love it there.
You will love it there.
If you don't see what they have that is of interest,
let them know what you're looking for.
They have the resources and Earl's a car guy and I'll tell you,
he's a fuss pot, so he's not bringing any garbage.
If what you're looking for is garbage out there,
he's not bringing it in.
Just say, hey, well, let's do, if it won't pass his test,
if it doesn't pass the Earl Grant litmus test,
it's not going to be at City Auto Sales and Leasing.
That's for sure.
So if you're looking for a specific model,
let Earl and Louise know, let them get on that.
All right, for Sunday here it is.
So thank you, Earl and Louise, for bringing the weekend weather to us.
The motor mouth, 8am morning drive, Monday through Saturday.
Sunday's low will be 36 between 3am and 4am.
Well, 4am I'm up and I usually stick my tongue outside and go,
it's not bad or it's too windy.
The high will be 61 on Sunday.
Yippee!
Between 10pm and 11pm.
Let's pass the bedtime.
The temperature range will feel like 34 degrees to 54 degrees.
Wind will make it feel cooler than the actual temperature.
So a little bit of rain on the precept total,
the total meter at 0.05 of an inch.
So that's where we are.
It's not a bad weekend.
Not a bad weekend at all.
How long would you keep and would your vehicle last
if you actually followed a proper maintenance plan?
If you want to not only put hundreds,
but how about thousands of dollars back in your pocket?
I can teach you how.
With one of our car connection fleet maintenance systems.
And they're going to be available just in a few more days.
Online, you'll be able to get one and you'll be able to see it ahead of time.
And we put together a wonderful description
so that you get a bird's eye view of how this system works that I put together.
It's just like having me with you in person.
Except you don't have to feed and water me and make me coffee.
And hot coffee with donuts with the little chocolate sprinkles on.
Yeah, you don't have to put up with that.
You just get the car connection fleet maintenance system that makes it simple.
Very, very simple to track and control your vehicle maintenance.
Whether you don't know the difference between a wheel nut,
the hubcap, the steering wheel, you're in the right area.
So let's jump into the first question this morning.
Are you ready?
Say ready because we got a lot to cover in a short time to get there.
And appreciate all of you tuning in.
Be sure to join our online community.
You know, Facebook, Instagram, Stevenville on the web.caihartradio sign up
and help Skippy and I grow our platform so we can reach more and more people
and get monetized.
Push us to 500 subscribers this week.
Could you do that for us?
We're on our way to the halfway point.
We need a thousand subscribers and that means, you know, 93% of you are watching the videos
but not subscribed.
So we know you, I watch the analytics.
So I know you're enjoying the videos.
So thank you.
Thank you for listening and watching.
But if you do all those little things for us, it pushes us forward.
So help us keep the ignition on and the engine running smoothly.
Do the like, share, follow, subscribe, leave a comment.
The algorithms love that.
Yeah, I think that's their snack.
You leave a comment in our videos.
Even if it's just, you know, give us a like and hey, great video.
Got a tip out of it.
You know, give us something.
Throw us a bone, would you?
Throw us a bone and help us out because we really want to be able to have a pot of gold
that we can buy parts and help those families that are really, really struggling right now.
And, you know, widows, orphans, single moms, just gals like Jennifer living on her own,
you know, trying to make ends meet and working like a dog to do so and has a vehicle that
got it.
It's got to be taken care of and she wants to take it to someone she can trust.
She likes to bring it to us.
So we're, we're honored to be able to do that.
But we want to be able to do that for as many people as we can shoot the video,
show you what we're doing, how we do it and teach you all that.
From testing a battery to testing antifreeze, mixing, blending your own antifreeze,
doing your own cooling system flush.
We just posted that video recently and we got a fuel pump to do, tire change over,
check the front end.
What else are we going to, Paul?
I'm going to polish out the headlights because they're, they're just showing a little bit
of fogginess on there.
There's a video on our YouTube channel shows you exactly how I do that.
Takes you literally minutes with a, with a battery powered drill.
Works really, really well.
Okay.
Question number one, thanks to Susan for putting that forward.
You ready for it?
Here it is.
My summer tires are in bad shape.
What should I look for when shopping tires?
That is a great, that is a super duper question.
That really, really is because when I shop tires, I shop hard.
Yeah, I sure do.
Because you don't want the rubber that your, your best insurance and defense is about six
inches of rubber.
And that is in most cases, unless it's low profile tires, the distance from the edge of
the rim to the road surface, that's your safety.
So, cheaping out on tires is not a good idea.
I don't want cheap tires.
I mean, if you're driving a winter beater, and that's all it is, it's going to be on the road
just for a few months of the year.
You don't have to go crazy, but it's going to be winter tires on there, right?
So, you want to get a good set, you're going to get five, six years out of it.
You want to do the same thing with your summer tires.
So, slow it down.
And I'm going to give you a huge tip right now on our YouTube channel.
It was requested that we go over all the details that are written on the sidewall of a tire.
That video is on our YouTube channel.
I show you and break it down to give you all the information, the most important information.
When was the tire manufactured?
You need to be able to identify that spot on the tire, and this is why.
You're out there tire shopping.
Let's compare that, you're shopping for a nice steak for you and your hubby,
or you and your boyfriend, or you and your dog.
Yeah, cats aren't really into steak.
They like the stuff that smells bad.
Fish.
Yeah, mollusks.
Cat food.
It's not for me.
I did have a cat at one time in my life.
Sweetie.
But she really wasn't a cat.
She was a people.
And I used to put her in a high chair and she'd have dinner with me in my small little kitchen
in my apartment.
And then I'd take her for a walk and people just loved her.
She was huge.
She had flubbies.
You know, like when she was big all around.
So when she'd run, she'd be like meow, meow, meow.
And her flubbies would be almost touching the sidewalk, swinging back and forth.
Everybody loved her.
She was a good cat.
She had six toes.
Like her front paws looked like boxing gloves.
And I took her in because somebody was moving and the shop I was working.
And my boss at the time goes, you know what?
You live on your own.
When you take the cat.
And the doctor that owned the apartment building, Mr. Tadros, he said,
not allowed to have animals, but you should get that cat.
That would be good for you.
So I got the cat.
That's how I ended up with the cat.
Anyways, so you got to know how old the tires are because when you go tire shopping,
you don't want to be buying tires that are two or three years old already
because they're rated for six years.
That's the due date.
Not not really supposed to be selling tires that are six years old or older.
Not supposed to.
That is against the rules and regulations for safety.
The NHTSA, National Highway Traffic Safety Act rules and regulations.
Tires cannot be older than six years old.
So that's why I'm telling you that it's not me.
I'm not the message.
I'm the messenger.
I know the rule book.
I know the hand rule book.
So if you're looking at tires,
you've got to know where that date stamp is on the tires.
So go to the YouTube channel.
Look that video up.
I'm going to try and say I think it was three months ago.
It was it was snowing and stuff outside.
I can't remember what tire.
What tire I was working on.
Either a tire from Skippy Zan, the 2010 Dodge Caravan.
That's coming back to life now.
We brought that thing back from it was almost ready to go to the YouTube.
The you pull it recon yard.
We brought that thing back from extinction and it's doing well.
And I think Skippy's learning some things.
We do not press the time for the oil changes and we make sure that we check the oil.
Otherwise, that's how you lose an engine very, very quickly folks.
Stretch out your oil changes and don't even check the oil.
Even when it's telling you in the dash the oil is low.
Time to change it and you just ignore it.
That's when she blows and it's over.
You pull it yard.
That's where it's going.
That is that is unique this morning.
Unique blend.
So go to that video.
Get signed up because these are the things you're going to learn.
You're going to learn all the things on what's written on the outside of tire.
How do you interpret that?
I put it in simple, easy language.
So you know what ladies?
You can learn it.
If you can follow a recipe, you can follow how I explain out the tire on the sidewall.
You need to know where the date stamp is.
So that you're not paying full price for tires that are two years old.
So when the sales guys trying to sell you a set of tires and you look and you go,
well, these are already two years old.
One, one, one.
Dude's going to go, uh-oh, we have an educated consumer here.
Probably listen to that motor mouth guy on the motor mouth morning drive.
Yes.
That's what I want them to know is that you learn something.
Because I'm not paying full pop for a set of tires that's two or three years old.
State stamped already.
Nope.
I'm going to look buddy in the eye and go,
make me a super deal on these and I'll buy them.
If they're three years old, you know what I'm going to say?
I'll give you half price form and I'll take them off your hands.
That's it because you're going to get three years out of them.
And between you and me, I know you're going to stretch it longer because everybody does that
stuff, but you take a chance.
The tires are outdated, they're outdated.
Simple as that.
So you want to know first and foremost, Susan,
that you know where the date stamp is on the tire.
So when you're shopping tires, check every single tire.
Because if they didn't come from the same batch,
they'll have different date stamps on.
Yep.
I made a guy go through like a hundred tires not that long ago.
Actually, I was back in midwinter when we were getting the 2008 Nissan Ragu
safeties inspected.
I ended up having to replace two tires on the front.
So I went to where I normally buy discount tires in St. Catharines.
And the guy's a nice chap, very nice man.
And I said, I want to make sure I've got tires that are from 2026.
And one was and one was not.
So he fixed it up.
He said, yeah, no problem.
And so I come away with tires that were built in 2026.
So there you go.
That's what you want to do.
You're not buying tires.
You're not going to the store and you're going to look for a stake
that ran, that's two days past the due date.
Doesn't mean it's rotten.
It just means it's past the best date due date thing.
Yeah.
So are you going to buy it if it's two days past the date due
or best before date is what one of my friends says.
Well, best before date doesn't mean it's really, really bad.
It just means it's better before that date.
You and I both know I just let him live with that.
I smile and I nod and I go, yeah, okay, I got it.
It's just it's better before that date.
Right.
Yeah, that's right.
Okay.
You and I both know it's if it's past the date to
it mean it's probably still edible, but are you going to buy it?
I don't know.
That's a preference, right?
Maybe so, maybe not.
So tires are the same way, except you're if you're going to pay full pop for tires
that are already two years old or a year old, that's crazy.
You lost a year.
There's got to be a reduction there, a discount for that.
There has to be and if they try and tell you, well, you know, the six years really
doesn't start until the day you put it on.
No, no, it's like a birth certificate.
Oh,
you know what I'm saying?
It's just like a birth certificate.
The tire was born on this day.
And if it's a 12 if it's if they're 12 months old, it's what?
It's had a birthday just like your birth certificate.
That was the day you were made.
Your birthday tires have a birthday.
So you want to make sure that you're getting all four tires or if you're
buying two tires that they're dated the same.
And that's from the year your feet are standing in anything less means you need to negotiate
because you've a good example is and the video is up for that.
Some antifreeze.
I went out there and I bought some antifreeze and I got some antifreeze donated and we did
a whole test on antifreeze.
And what I discovered on some jugs of the antifreeze that said it's good for five years
of 225,000 kilometers, which is nothing I put in anybody's vehicle.
I'm not a believer on that stuff.
Long life antifreeze.
You can watch the video on that where I explain it.
No, that sauce.
No, it's evil.
The jugs were already they were 2000.
The jugs were filled in 2022.
The antifreeze good for five years.
What do you think?
What are you thinking?
Yeah, I'm thinking we lost what four years.
Right.
It's made in 22.
The antifreeze is already four years old.
Not a good deal.
Is that the right math?
Put it in an email.
Let me know.
Yeah, born in 2022 and we're in 26.
It's only good for five years.
You got a year left on a brand new jug antifreeze.
So why would I want to pay full pop for that?
That's just dumb.
Yeah, beauty fades.
Dumbs forever.
Yeah, don't get caught in that trap.
And I had three jugs.
All three were date stamped 2022.
Good for five years or 225,000 K.
Yeah, so you're going to put it in there for a year
and then you got to get it out.
Because it's date stamped.
Do your homework with tires.
I have my some of my favorite brands,
what I call my go to brands.
If you want to know what they are,
send me an email.
I'll give you a list of tires that I found
to be very, very good at decent prices.
I don't buy any of the cheap stuff because you know what?
It's like 18 months later.
You've got like 60 less than 60% of the tire left.
What's the sense?
Mountain balance.
You're going to pay for that.
And then you should have a wheel alignment
after you put new tires on as well.
Every two years, wheel alignment, all four wheels,
four wheel alignment, period.
There's a video on that as well.
On the YouTube channel, I explain that.
There's also a podcast on front end and suspension.
I explain that out how important it is to have a wheel alignment.
When you're doing tires, you want to get the mounted and balanced
and you want a four wheel alignment.
And you want to make sure before you put tires on anything,
Susan, make sure that the front end,
suspension and steering components, front and rear,
all get inspected to make sure everything is in top working order.
That matters.
It really, really matters.
So shop it.
If you're interested in what tire brands I look for,
send me an email, motormouth.jankins at gmail.com.
We'll give you a short list and you go shopping.
And those are tires that, you know what?
I'm huge on tires.
I do not want anything that's crap rubber on anything I drive.
Not at all.
Even the vehicles that we use for fundraising and car shows,
they have great rubber on there and we make sure we take care of them.
It's very, very important.
You want to have good rubber, good suspension and steering and brakes.
Because if you can't stop it, you can't steer it, nothing else matters.
So be careful what you buy.
Tires aren't all the same, period.
If they're cheap, it's because they're cheap.
They're probably offshore and the rubber is really soft
and it burns off very, very quickly.
I've actually had, I tried a cheap set of tires and they were inexpensive.
They were like 59 bucks.
I thought, you know what?
I'm going to throw a set on, let's see how far I can go.
They were well over 50% after one summer of driving.
50% of the rubber was gone.
They were really, really soft.
And the car felt smooshy.
Like it wasn't really stable.
It didn't feel stable.
I didn't feel safe, but I was doing a test and I got them cheap.
Actually, I ended up paying like 50 bucks a piece all in.
So 200 bucks a set of tires, but they burned off really, really fast.
By the time the summer was gone, I can say when I pulled those off to put the winters on,
I didn't even put them back on the car.
I peeled them off the rim and I gave them away.
That's what I did.
I just didn't, I gave them to somebody who was really desperate for some rubber on their car.
And I just said here, just, you know, come again, I'm take them through yours.
Better to have something on there than nothing.
That's the key.
Next question.
Great question, Susan.
Well done, you.
I hope that helps you.
If you have any other questions, shoot me an email.
Motormouth.Jankins at gmail.com, Nile at ccbusnet.com.
Next question comes in from Ian.
Is it worth having a vehicle professionally detailed?
Yes, yes, and yes, two things.
If you live in, if you're living somewhere where you don't have all the tools and the equipment
to get the job done yourself, it's absolutely worth it to keep the aesthetics of the vehicle
up.
Because if at any point you get to that point where you say, you know what, I'm in a position
financially where I can move out of this older vehicle and get into something newer,
I would not recommend buying anything on the new list.
Right now there's just way too many big problems.
Super big problems.
You don't want to buy a problem.
Trust me.
You know, there's a whole group of us online that are techs and I agree, older is better
and more reliable, especially right now what we're seeing going on out there.
I watched a few of the techs I watch online and watching what they're dealing with in the service
base and it's crap.
Honest to goodness, big money for crap.
Yeah, and you don't want to get stuck with that.
You might, who wants on a newer pile in your driveway?
Come on, nobody.
Yeah, you don't want problems.
You don't want to buy somebody else's problem.
So go for something older.
But if you're in a position where you're ready to move the vehicle out that you have,
you get more money for it.
If it's clean on the outside, clean on the inside.
Period.
Just like the Chinese say, clean inside, clean outside.
You're looking after your health.
Exactly.
You're looking after the health of the vehicle.
Clean inside, clean outside.
It is worth it.
And I'll tell you right now, all the used car stores out there, they are jockeying to
get used cars.
That's their sale right there.
Vehicles anywhere under 15, under 20,000, they're desperate to get their hands on it.
So if you have a vehicle that you're saying, you know what?
It's 15 years old.
I want to get something that's like maybe eight years old.
That would be a good mark, a good mark to look for.
Still reliable, eight years old for sure.
You're buying in the safe zone.
Anything newer than five years is a, I'll tell you what, that's going to be a collector's piece.
All right.
Yeah, that's going to be stress galore.
Here's the thing.
If you go looking for a pre-owned car, you're looking for something that looks like it,
you know, it's been dragged through a hedge, hedge backwards inside and outside.
No, you're looking for something that shows signs and signatures that somebody's loved
on that vehicle and taken care of it.
It's worth more.
It is.
It holds it.
It props up its value.
So if you're driving an older vehicle, take care of it.
If you don't have the time and you don't want to put the time, the effort and the energy into
cleaning it, I have my friend Ray, he has a detailing shop and he's busy.
People are dropping the vehicles off.
They want their leisure time.
They don't want to be getting out the garden hose and getting all the products and they
don't even know what they're doing.
Leave it to the pros.
Couple hundred bucks.
You know what?
You get the thing cleaned inside, cleaned outside.
When you get it back, you'll go, holy smokes.
I'm not selling that.
That looks way too good.
I guarantee you, you fall in love with your car again.
And if you're living in a place where you're in a condo, you don't have access to all that
stuff, leave it to the professionals that know what to use, how to get the job done,
and they whiz through it like you wouldn't believe.
We're going to shoot a video on that before and after at a detailing shop so that you can
actually see a really nasty vehicle going in and what's done at the end of the day,
what it looks like when it's done.
It'll blow you away.
So if you don't have the patience or the time or the effort or the energy, it is worth a couple
hundred bucks to get somebody to do the job for you that you can trust to do a really,
really good job of thorough clean and hand it back to you and you go, wow.
Now all you got to do at that point is, now you got a brand new starting point,
just keep it up.
If you make a mess in there, clean it up.
You know, it doesn't hurt if you can get through, you know, one of the car washes with the outside
vacuum cleaners, suck it out, clean it up, do what you can, do what you can.
And if you can't, at least book it in every couple of months and let them touch it up.
Give it a hand wash, vacuum it out, dress it up, detail it and get it back to you.
It is worth the money.
Trust me, it really, really is.
It's worth the money.
It increases the value of that ride that you have immensely.
No one wants to buy a junkaroo.
That's what I call them.
You open the door and you go, wow, we're going to need a box of garbage bags to empty this puppy out.
I bought that stuff.
I call them my $500 beauties because I'm willing to pull all the interior out,
get rid of all the pet hair, all the dead sandwiches and muffin crumbs.
And you know what, what's in there and you probably don't.
So you glove up, you mask up, you go in, clean it all out.
And at the end of the day, first person that looks at it goes, wow, is that for sale?
I used to sell them all the time in the shop.
I'd get parents saying, hey, dial, keep an eye out for one of your beauties.
I need a decent car for my son or daughter.
They're heading off to university or college.
They're going to be working and they're going to be commuting.
Keep an eye on one of those beauties.
Those look really good.
And I make sure top drawer, it's all mechanically sound and all cleaned up.
And then you, you're the next caregiver.
So great question, Ian.
Yes, yes, and yes, it is well worth keeping it up inside and out.
If you can't do it yourself, put it on a maintenance.
That's what I say.
Don't let it get to the point where it's kind of ladies, it's like this.
If you have a house cleaner, and I used to do that.
I really enjoyed it.
It was therapeutic for me.
House cleaning is, you know, every year we do a deep clean in the spring.
So I'd be booked in there for about two days, maybe three days, depends on how bad it is.
And you know, you'd have to price it accordingly.
And those who kind of did some maintenance in between, they helped themselves because
I didn't have to spend three days there and charge them for that.
And go through the whole house top to bottom because it's a pigsty.
You know, I'd look at it some places and go, well, what's my budget?
Well, can you do a deep clean for like 800 bucks?
And I go top to bottom, not going to happen.
I said, no, if 800 is all you got, then I'll tell you which rooms would you like me to do?
And I'll tell you how much those rooms are.
Yeah, so a deep clean.
Don't let it get to that point.
Do some maintenance in between best you can.
And that will reduce the cost to have your vehicle detailed.
But if you're a total car slob, you deserve to pay hard because when you see these vehicles
cleaned out and what these guys deal with and bring that vehicle back to life, it's absolutely
amazing.
The love they put in care they put into doing what you didn't want to do and they bring it back
and you just you'll stand there and go, wow, that's it.
That's my car.
That's incredible.
Yeah, so if you're like a super duper car slob, expect to pay more than somebody who's,
you know, once or twice a year, take it in every six months to get it touched up.
If you're doing some caregiving to that car inside and outside,
it's going to help.
It's going to help reduce the price of having it detailed.
And these guys, the good guys that have the detailing shops, the really good fuzzy guys,
they're busy.
So you're going to have to book ahead of time.
You're not going to like call today, get in tomorrow.
That's not how the good guys work.
They have a really good salon going and taking care of people's cars and they know
they can make an appointment, drop it off and they got their time back to enjoy time with family
or just downtime away from work.
Okay, great question, Ian.
Thank you, William.
Then we'll wrap up with this one.
I'm hearing weird noises when I apply my brakes once in a while.
Should I be concerned?
Yes.
That's the short answer.
Here's what I say with regards to cars, period.
If you're hearing something when you drive, if you're hearing something when you hit a pothole
or a moonsize crater big enough to swallow a Hyundai Accent,
pretty much, might even fill the pothole.
You hear something when you're applying the brakes.
You hear something that's not normal when you turn left or you turn right.
Do this.
Please don't ignore it.
You got to get that checked.
Get it checked so that you're living in the know.
As I always say, you know, there's two ways to own a car.
Living in the know or living in the unknown.
Guess which one creates a lot of stress?
Guess which one gives you peace of mind and freedom?
It's better to be in the know than the unknown.
So William, great question.
The answer is you need to book an appointment.
You need to go with the service tech on a road test to point out the noise that you're
concerned with because here's the problem with noises.
It's either sticks out like a sore thumb and then, you know, even a blind hog can find an acorn once
in a while if it's a blatant in your face issue.
But if it's not, and I take your car for a ride and I hear like a dozen noises,
which noise is the one that's, you know, cheesing you off?
Mac and cheese.
Three cheeser.
I'm a three cheeser guy.
Yeah.
Or a white cheese.
Mac and cheese is good, too.
Absolutely.
A little hot sauce on there.
Anyhow, I'm getting hungry.
Yes and yes.
Any time you hear a noise that you feel is not normal, it probably is not normal.
Something is developing and as I've said before, I'd seen over the course of four decades
a $200 job jumping up into $1,500, $2,800, $3,200 worth of repairs.
And I usually hear, what could I have done to prevent that?
Brought it in sooner.
Yeah, would have been a lot less expensive if you had a brought it in sooner.
But it's gone to the next level and the next level above that.
And the end of the line, you've crossed the Rubicon.
It's over.
Big money.
That happens all the time.
So don't think the noise.
Oh, I drove it yesterday.
Honey, the noise was gone.
Oh, self-healed.
Amazing.
No, it didn't.
There's still something going on there that needs to be checked.
Checked and verified to be certain.
Is it something in the steering?
Is it something in the brakes?
Does the noise go away when you apply the brakes?
Is the noise gone when you turn a certain way?
Is the noise change when you go a little faster or a little slower?
These are things that if you pick up on that, when does that sound occur?
Lower speeds, higher speeds.
Plying the brakes, not applying the brakes.
Turning left, turning right.
Hitting a specific pothole of a jarring ball joint bashing pothole
or more like a speed bump in the big W at the big W store, big box stores.
You know how they got those speed bumps that are big enough
to launch you up there with the space shuttle?
Or what is it, Artemis that's up there?
Maybe you could get going fast enough, hit one of those speed bumps,
and launch yourself to buzz around the moon in the sun.
Yeah, until you run out of gas.
So great question, William.
That's my advice.
Any noises at any point in driving your vehicle, do not ignore it.
It will generally go to the next level and it will take out your cash for you.
Instantly from your bank account.
It will instantly do a withdrawal for you that you may not have the money for.
So don't take a chance.
Pay attention to the noise.
When does it happen?
So you can at least tell the service writer to translate that over to the tech that's
going to be working on it.
But what I like 100% is taking the customer in the car with me and I let the customer drive.
That's what I do.
I want them behind the wheel because they know the car and they know when it's going to do it
and they can point that issue out for me so that I can pinpoint it with accuracy.
And then if I think the customer should hang around just for a little bit while we get it
up on the lift to have a look with the car on the lift, I want to bring them into that picture too.
I want to show them what I see.
And if they got a goal, then that's why it's great to have cameras that shoot video
because you can shoot a little video and fire it over to the customer and they can see that,
which is really, really cool.
Here's what we found like a YouTube short, you know, putting together a little video
and firing it over to you at work or at home, whatever.
And you can see what we see.
That way you know exactly what's going on.
You're in the loop, in the loop.
And if you want to know how to protect yourself from being ripped off,
I just did a podcast entitled the RO, the repair order.
How important that is to make sure that you understand what a repair order is.
The protection is all in the details of the RO.
If you haven't listened to that podcast, it's up.
I did that this week.
I specifically focused in on the repair order and how important check-in time
is at any repair shop.
I don't know, I don't care where you're going.
The repair order, everything starts with that repair order,
that it's, that's documentation needs to be filled out properly, all of it correctly
to protect you, to protect you.
As for the business, if they want to short change the RO, that's where you come in.
You have to take charge to make sure that everything is documented properly on the
repair order.
You don't just put your John Henry on there or your Margaret Smith and go out the door.
You're giving them a blank check.
So you might want to listen to that podcast because I dive in deep and I am a master at ROs.
I have written probably hundreds of thousands of them and also filled out repair, make sure
repair orders are filled out correctly to put in warranty claims for the car manufacturer
that I worked for and you miss something, the claim gets denied twice, then you're not,
the dealer's not going to get paid back for that warning work, parts and labor.
Done, it's over.
So I'm teaching you what I know.
So any other help I can give you is by, again, head to our website, carconnectionbusinessnetwork.com.
On the homepage, you can meet and greet any of our program partners and we'd like to thank
the Greenville family at Niagara Block, 5000 Montrose Road, Niagara Falls.
Not only have they been building Canada for 31, since 1931, but they have building supplies
and all the things that you need to get your project up and running and started and completed.
Hardscape, landscape materials so you can create that backyard space you've always wanted.
So check them out on the homepage or a website.
Just click on their, their logo and it will open their profile page.
That's the same for Crystal Ridge Dream Center, serving men, women and children,
meals, love and hope, changing lives one at a time in the entire Niagara region.
They feed almost 300 people hot meals every Tuesday and Friday.
If you see fit to do something to help them, they are a nonprofit, faith-based organization
that gets no government granting whatsoever.
They rely on people like you and me and local businesses to support them and provide all
the products and services that they need for men, women, widows, orphans, single moms.
They have programs specifically tailored for single moms and for the kids and after-school
programs. So search your heart. Is there something you can do? Give grocery gift cards where they
can buy food, do a food donation, maybe donate some time, maybe be a one-time giver or an annual
giver, a big part of their community and give each month. A little goes a long way if we all
wow, sorry, I just hit the piano. Sorry about that. Okay, careful. Don't, don't lose it.
So with that, that brings today, today's Q&A to a close.
Remember again, Fridays is the cutoff date, end of day for getting your questions in
so that you can join us. Your questions can join us live on the air for a one-hour Q&A
with yours truly, MotorMouth, Nile Jenkins for the morning. The MotorMouth, say that 10 times
fast, the morning MotorMouth drive and car connection now with more ways to watch, listen,
and engage. And this is the lane that I've been carving out and have been carving out
for over 40 years as I'm here to serve you, the car owner. So whether you know a little or you
know absolutely nothing, tap in to all the platforms that we have and you're going to learn
a lot of stuff. And I guarantee you, we will not hurt your brain, but we'll fill it up with good
stuff. So till Monday morning, enjoy your weekend. If you're working, make it the greatest weekend
possible. Be careful out there, drive safe, happy, healthy motoring, keep it under 100 folks,
and peace, patience, kindness, always friends. And we'll see you for another edition of MotorMouth's
morning drive, 8 a.m. Monday morning. Till then, make sure you sign up for our YouTube channel,
ring that notification bell. I know you can. I know you can do it. Leave a comment, give us a
thumbs up, a like, and we'll see you in the next one. Bye for now.
About this episode
Summer tire shopping, detailing value, and brake-noise anxiety headline this Q&A episode. Nile Motorbout Jenkins urges buyers to inspect tire sidewalls for manufacture dates (and avoid paying full price for older stock), prioritize quality rubber, and plan for alignment after new tires. He argues professional detailing is worth it for maintaining value and avoiding “junkaroo” interiors—especially when you lack tools or time. For brake noises, he’s blunt: don’t ignore them; book an appointment and ideally ride with the tech to pinpoint the sound.
Original notes
Saturday Q&A is back with three great real-world questions from listeners-and these ones could save you money and keep you safe on the road.
Question 1: Shopping for summer tires-what should you actually be looking for? We break down why the date stamp matters more than you think, how old is too old, and why cheaping out on tires can cost you when it matters most-stopping and steering.
Question 2: Is professional detailing worth it?
Short answer: yes, yes and yes. If you don't have. the tools, time, or know - how, a proper detail can increase your vehicles value and keep it looking - and feeling - well cared for.
Question 3: Hearing weird brake noises once in a while-should you worry? If something doesn't sound normal, it's not. We talk about why early diagnosis matters, and why a road test with your technician is the best way to pinpoint the issue before it gets worse.
Got a question for next week? Get it in by end of day Friday-we pull from the pile and feature three each Saturday.
#CarMaintenance #AutoRepair. #SaturdayQA
Car Connection/Motormouth Merch available in our online store at ccbusnet.com grab some gear & join our fight to help those struggling with addiction break free. Proceeds go to Total Freedom Addiction Campuses Canada & USA where a New Life awaits them there! Thank You Friends You Rock! Skippy & Motormouth.
More Episodes and...project Details available at Car Connection Business Network .com (ccbusnet.com) you'll find everything on our home page if you'd like to follow the build & repair work we do, connect with our program partners click their logo to meet them. Thank You for your support and giving them your business. Nile Motormouth Jenkins
Help us to grow simply: Like, Share, Subscribe, Leave a Comment, Ring the Notification Bell for new videos coming out, Join our online community too.. Thank You so Very Much Friends! We love y'all. Motormouth & Skippy
Happy Healthy Motoring Friends, Peace Patience Kindness Always. NMJ
Car Connection Workshop
Nile Jenkins
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