How to put the brakes on any irrational fears when it comes to car trouble....it's about responding vs reacting
My Car Guru Podcast
How to put the brakes on any irrational fears when it comes to car trouble....it's about responding vs reacting
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Term
check engine light
The check engine light is a warning light on your car's dashboard that tells you something might be wrong with the engine. It's important to check it out to avoid bigger problems.
Term
owner's manual
The owner's manual is a booklet that comes with your car. It tells you how to take care of your vehicle and what to do if something goes wrong.
Term
warranty
A warranty is a promise from the car maker that they will fix certain problems for free if they happen within a specific time. If you don't take care of your car, they might not honor that promise.
Term
oil change
An oil change is when you replace the old oil in your car's engine with new oil. This helps keep the engine running well and can prevent problems later on.
Term
inspection
An inspection is when a mechanic checks your car to make sure everything is working properly and safely. It's important for keeping your car in good shape.
Term
lifting points
Lifting points are spots on your car where you can put a jack to lift it up safely. If you lift it from the wrong place, you could break something.
Term
brake pads
Brake pads are parts of your car that help it stop. They get worn down as you drive, so they need to be checked and replaced when they get too thin.
Term
brake light
A brake light is a red light on the back of your car that turns on when you press the brake pedal. If it lights up when you're not pressing the brakes, it might mean there's something wrong with the brakes.
Term
brakes
Brakes are what help your car slow down or stop when you press the pedal. If there’s a problem with the brakes, it can make noise or not work well, which is dangerous.
Part
rotors
Rotors are the round metal discs that the brake pads press against to help stop the car. If the brake pads wear out too much, they can damage these discs, which means they have to be replaced too.
Term
engine seizure
Engine seizure is when the engine stops working because its parts get stuck or damaged, usually because they didn't get enough oil. This can cause a lot of problems and can be very costly to fix.
Term
parts
Parts are the different pieces that make up a car, like the engine or brakes. If something breaks, you might need to get a new part to fix it.
Term
temperature gauge
The temperature gauge shows how hot the engine is running. If it gets too high, it means the engine might be overheating and could be damaged.
Term
oil pressure light
The oil pressure light warns you if the oil pressure in the engine is too low. Low oil pressure can cause engine parts to wear out quickly or even break.
Term
oil pressure gauge
The oil pressure gauge shows how well the oil is flowing in the engine. If the pressure is too low, it can mean there’s a problem that needs fixing.
Term
goodwill repair
A goodwill repair is when a car company fixes something on your car for free, even if it's not covered by the warranty. They do this to keep you happy and encourage you to come back in the future.
Term
extended service contract
An extended service contract is like a plan you can buy for your car that covers repairs and sometimes regular maintenance after the original warranty is over. It helps protect you from high repair costs later.
LIVE
Hey folks, welcome back to another edition of My Car Guru.
I do want to ask you a question, a rhetorical question, because I can't hear your answers.
How do you react when things don't go your way?
And possibly, what are the things that influence how you react or respond when things don't
go your way?
Two key words there, reaction and response.
When you think of reaction, do you think of when you go to the doctor and they give you
a shot and you break out in a rash?
That's what I call a reaction.
Or a response is when you go to the doctor, you're sick, you get a shot and you're
better.
Like every time I get poison ivy, I realize that this is going to be a journey if I don't
go to the doctor and get a steroid shot.
If I get a steroid shot, it puts the brakes on the spread and the itch and everything.
But if I try to tough it out and just use the Calamine lotion or whatever I can to
dry it up, it's just a long, I swear I think it gets in my bloodstream because it spreads
to parts of my body that weren't anywhere near a poison ivy plant because they were completely
covered with clothing.
Well, then you had it on your hands and then you touched yourself in different places.
No, okay, fine.
I don't know why, but I know the steroid shot is I have a good response to that.
The reason I bring this up is I see all kinds of different responses, even in my
own family.
For example, we're going down the road and my wife's driving and something happens.
She'll let out a, not a scream, but oh, you know, one of those kind of things.
And I say, what, what?
And I don't see anything happening and we're about to run over a squirrel.
I say, honey, running over a squirrel or about to is not worth a loud declaration
like that.
You scared me.
I'm sorry.
That's just, you know, how some people react.
But what about when you have car trouble?
Is that something that you fear?
You know, most people don't really think about it.
They're just going down the road and everything's been fine for the last 10,000 miles.
And they don't anticipate a flat tire.
They don't anticipate the engine overheating.
But what do they do when those things do happen?
Do they go into a panic state?
You know, most people are, I guess, probably a little less prone to panic
state because they have a cell phone, but who do they call?
Do they have connections?
What if you can't reach your husband?
He's in a meeting or your dad or somebody else.
You're on your own and you have some type of a situation with your automobile
and you don't know who to call.
What is your reaction?
Fear?
See, I've been in this business long enough that, and I've had a lot of
breakdowns in a lot of different circumstances.
And it's an inconvenience, but it's not anything to panic about.
Why?
Because I've been through it too many times.
I know who to call.
I know what to do.
Could I change a tire if I had a flat tire?
Absolutely.
I've had to do it a bunch.
I know what it feels like to try to take a lug nut off, especially if it's
been put on with an impact wrench.
It's not easy, you know, and if you're out there and you have no alternative
and you don't want to flag somebody down that is going to possibly harass
you or whatever, then you want to be able to do those things yourself
if you possibly can.
Now, I don't see a lot of flat tires these days.
People pulled over changing tires, but it does happen.
Tires have gotten a lot better than they were 50 years ago when I first
got into the car business, but it still happens.
And the important thing is it's not to panic.
Somewhere in your car, you should have a list of phone numbers of people
that you can call and rely on businesses that are auto related.
Who is your tire store?
Who are you going to call if you have a tire issue?
If you have an emergency issue, are you going to call roadside assistance?
Does the vehicle that you purchased, if it's new enough and still under
warranty, it's very possible that they have a roadside assistance number.
Of course, you can keep all these in your phone as well, but it's not a bad
idea to have them written down on the outside of your owner's manual
or maybe on your maintenance record book that you're supposed to keep.
Yeah, you could have a record company that's local.
Now, if you're in an area, you're traveling, you don't know
the record companies, then you might have to do a Google search
if you have a cell phone signal.
But what's the plan if that happens?
Let's say that you're, I don't know, you're driving to the beach
and you're on I-26, and all of a sudden, your car quits.
What's the phone call to make?
Who is it?
Let's say you're driving a Toyota and it just check engine light comes on,
engine shuts off, you coast to the side of the road.
And now what?
You know, I've heard some nightmares about roadside assistance, you know,
that people call them and then three hours later they show up.
You know, what is the, what's the expectation?
You know, the sad thing is, is you really don't know until the event happens
and you're out there stuck.
But you should have phone numbers, especially if you, you know,
if let's say you're not on a trip and you're just driving around town,
which record company are you going to call
if you have to have your vehicle towed in?
Which body shop are you going to go to if you have an accident?
Which car dealership are you going to have service your vehicle?
You know, on a regular basis.
I had a guy trade in a vehicle to me yesterday and he bought it new from us
and what he would always do is he would buy his own oil and filter
and then take it to another business that he uses and have them change the oil.
And that's great.
I mean, he was maintaining his vehicle on a regular basis.
What was he not doing?
Well, it doesn't sound like they were following the owner's manual
unless they, unless, you know, he provided that book to them
and said, check all of these things.
Because if you're not taking your vehicle back to the dealer
that sold you the vehicle, that brand and having it inspected
and the oil change is done there, then if you ever have a warranty problem,
then it's very possible that they will turn it down.
Because let's say that you can't provide any kind of records
and they don't know by looking at your records whether or not,
you know, you had everything inspected that was supposed to be inspected.
If they're the ones doing it all the time, you won't have a problem with warranty.
You won't have a problem with after-warranty repairs.
You know, when your warranty expires.
So these are important things.
Have you ever changed a tire?
I mean, some cases it's not easy, especially if the lug nuts, like I said,
have been put on with an impact wrench.
They're really, really tight.
And if all you have is just a little lug nut wrench,
it could be really difficult if you're not, you know, super strong.
So that's something that you need to practice in your driveway.
You know, have you ever pulled the jack out of the vehicle?
Have you ever jacked your car up?
You know where the lifting points are on the car?
You can't just pull a jack out and just lift it up from any angle.
No, you have to find out where the lifting points are on the vehicle
or you could damage the vehicle.
You know, that's why fire departments and police departments
and places like that, they practice.
You know, they know what to do in an emergency
because they've practiced it many times.
Do you know what to do?
Are you even checking the condition of your tires on a regular basis
or are you relying on some stranger to do that?
How hard is it to check the tread depth on your tires?
It's not hard.
I mean, you can Google it.
You can watch a YouTube video.
You can come to my dealership and I'll show you personally.
But yeah, it's not hard.
And how to check the air pressure in your tire
so that your tires last longer.
And then, you know, the risk goes down dramatically
if you're doing those things when it comes to having
some kind of problem out there on the road with your tires.
It probably won't happen, but it might.
So right now going into the fall,
you need to make an appointment.
If you've got an oil change coming up pretty soon,
good for you.
Make sure that it is taken to a new car dealer
that sells the brand of vehicle that you're driving
or to somebody who really, really knows what they're doing.
Some independent shop that's gonna really inspect the car,
do a bumper to bumper evaluation.
Most dealers call them multi-point inspections
and it's just a piece of paper
that's got all the different things that you should check
and it's got a green dot, a yellow dot, or a red dot.
And if they check anything in the red,
then that needs to be taken care of now.
If it's in the yellow, maybe your brake pads
are getting kind of thin.
You might have another 5,000 miles left
on your brake pad thickness then.
Then they'll mark it in the yellow.
I mean, I see people get their multi-point checklist
here at the dealership and we review it with them
before they leave.
And they say, no, I'll just,
I'll take care of that the next time.
And then they just forget about it.
They fold it up, stick it in a pocket book
or stuff it in the glove box.
And they don't remember that this is something
that needs to be taken care of.
And they go on a long cross country trip
and all of a sudden their brake light comes on
or there's some type of an issue with the brakes.
It's making a noise, it's scrubbing.
Next thing you know, that brake pad is down to the rivets
and it's digging into the rotors
and now they have to replace both rotors on the front
and they went from a $200 brake job
to a $600 brake job because they just weren't paying
attention to the yellow dots
on their multi-point inspection form.
So there are certain things you need to learn
and I'm gonna do everything I can to help you
through this podcast and radio show.
Okay, I'll be back in just one minute.
I guarantee if you had a horse
and it was back in the 1800s,
you would probably make sure that that horse was well fed
was taken care of.
I don't know everything you have to do to a horse.
I see people brushing them and washing them off
and giving them a bath and then checking their shoes,
making sure that they have that their feet are protective
because that horse goes lame, you're out of luck.
And the car today, that's our horse of yesterday.
I'll give you an example
of somebody not paying attention to their vehicle.
Got it in the shop right now.
Vehicle is under or within the factory warranty period
from a time standpoint and a mile standpoint.
But guess who's having to pay for their new engine?
They are and they are not happy, but it's their fault.
The engine just seized up
because it didn't have adequate lubrication.
And when we pulled off the oil pan
it's full of sludge around the valves
at the top of the engine full of sludge.
They said, well, we changed our oil,
but there's no records and it's obvious that they didn't.
I mean, you can say something like that
and you can say, well, I think I did.
You know, or yeah, I know we've changed the oil.
Can you prove it?
Well, no.
Well, the engine tells the story.
And when it comes down to it, it looks as though
where they got close to 30,000 miles on it,
it looks like if they ever changed the oil
they might have done it one time.
But we try to submit that to Ford
as a warranty claim and they're gonna turn it down.
But even if they don't turn it down
and we just go ahead and fix it
they may request the parts.
And when they inspect the parts
they're gonna charge it back to us.
What is this costing the customer?
About $7,500 plus tax.
And this same kind of thing can happen
if you just ignore your gauges,
the signals that your car is sending to you
like your temperature gauge
or your oil pressure light or oil pressure gauge
or so many different things on there.
Do you know what they mean?
If light comes on, when you get in a bad situation
and you see a light and you say, what's that?
What does that mean?
That's when you decide that you're on the side of the road
and you say, well open the glove box,
get the owner's manual out.
It's not in there, it's at your house.
And so you don't know what the light is.
It's too light.
So what do you do about this?
Well, like I say, you go to a new car dealer
or a very professional independent shop,
not the fast-loop places,
don't go buy your own oil and filter
and then take it to some other,
maybe to your next door neighbor or somebody else to do it
because they're not checking everything,
it needs to be checked.
But maybe they are, maybe they are checking everything.
But if you have an issue like these folks have
and let's say that, and this does happen,
that your warranty runs out, it's been a great car.
You drive another 15, 20,000 miles
and that transmission goes out.
And you go back in the dealership
and they say, well it's gonna be $3,500
to fix the transmission.
And you say, would you mind just checking
to see if warranty will take care of this?
First thing they're gonna do is pull up your service
to the district and if you've had it serviced
at that dealership on a regular basis,
it's gonna get covered.
Now, they may not pay for everything,
like for example, they may make you pay a percentage of it
or you pay the labor, they buy the parts,
something like that.
But in most cases though that I've seen
and that I've gotten involved in
because I do have some influence as the dealer,
you know, I'll call the rep and I say,
listen, we've got to help these people.
They've been diligent about maintenance.
They're loyal customers.
Please get the factory to pay for this
and most of the time they'll come through and pay for it.
But it does help to have that advocate
in the dealership that you know
and if you're going in there on a regular basis,
they recognize you, they know you
and they really do wanna help you.
If you've bought a vehicle from them
and you've never darkened their door,
then it's a different kind of a situation.
You may say, well, they should do it anyway.
Why should they?
Shouldn't loyalty be rewarded?
I think so.
But it really doesn't matter what I think,
what matters is what the factory thinks,
the people who are actually gonna be paying for the claim
and that's Chevrolet or Ford or Toyota or whoever
and they're the ones that are gonna eat the repair
because, well, they call it a goodwill repair.
It's not something they have to do.
I mean, they could follow the warranty guidelines
by the letter and say, you're on your own.
But they want you to come back
when you're in the market for a car
and buy another one from them.
And they've got their priorities right.
So when does this work?
Well, it'll work.
I mean, I've seen them go out of warranty like 40,000 miles
but you get up around 50,000 miles out of warranty,
you're probably not gonna get any help
because that's more than double
the warranty coverage period in many cases.
What about these lifetime powertrain warranties?
Well, they're great.
I mean, with every new vehicle that we sell,
we offer a lifetime powertrain warranty.
How do we do that?
Well, we buy insurance and it cost us several hundred dollars
to be able to buy insurance on every vehicle that we sell.
And that all goes into a pool.
And when there are warranty claims,
the money is paid out of that pool.
And if that pool goes completely dry of funds,
then insurance kicks in and takes over.
We have about, I'm gonna say,
you know, to cover a vehicle for a lifetime,
that's a lot of exposure.
And on typical lifetime warranty plans,
the loss ratio is about 75% of the dollars that are paid in,
you know, for the coverage paid into reserve.
Now, for just what we would call extended warranties
like when you buy a new vehicle and you purchase a warranty
or an extended service contract that covers you
for, let's say, five years, 100,000 miles.
The loss ratio on those kind of plans is closer to,
well, between 45 and 50%.
So that's why a lot of companies
want to sell extended service contracts
because it's profitable.
I mean, they make money on the front end
when they sell the product
and then they put money in reserve to pay claims
and only about 45% of the money that they put in reserve
is used to pay claims.
The rest of it's just profit once it earns out.
But these warranties aren't bulletproof either
because if you don't maintain your vehicle
and you have a major failure,
a lot of these warranty companies
are gonna send an adjuster in
and they're gonna look at the vehicle
and they're gonna look how it was maintained
and they're gonna ask for records
that it was properly maintained.
And if you can't produce them,
then it's possible that they will turn down the claim.
Now, I'm not real good about keeping receipts.
You know, every time somebody go to a restaurant
or whatever or to buy something,
they'll say, do you want your receipt?
And I say, no, I just don't need one.
But when it comes to your car,
if you have anything done to your car
from a maintenance standpoint, always keep that.
Fold it up, put it in your glove box
and even better than that,
keep a record, some type of a log book
and keep the receipts as well.
The log book by itself, you know,
I guess somebody could make up a log book
but if you have the actual receipts,
you have a little folder or something like that in your car.
And just every time you have an oil change,
you just take the receipt, stick it in there.
It's not as good if you go to Walmart
buy the oil in the filter, put it on yourself.
That's not really proof that it went on your car.
But if you have a repair order that has your VIN number
and it's done by a new car dealer
or like I said, a high quality independent shop
and it shows the oil in the filter
and all that in the date and the miles,
that's all the proof that you need
to be able to get some of this taken care of.
Okay, I'll take my last break.
I'll be back here in just one minute.
Just remember the Boy Scout motto,
be prepared, that was hammered into my brain
when I was a Boy Scout.
Also this, be trustworthy, loyal,
helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient,
cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
I think I learned that when I was like 10
and it stuck with me.
And I hope some of this stuff sticks with you
because these are the things that we talk about
on this program that really can save you a lot of money,
a lot of hassle, help take some of the fear
out of those situations that you will run into
at some day or somebody that you love will.
I've had a lot of phone calls in the middle of the night.
What do I do?
Would it be nice if you could just get a little book
out of your glove box
and just tells you what you need to do in that case?
I'm gonna put some emergency things
into the My Car Guru guidebook.
That'll be the next chapter that I add.
And anybody that's requested the book,
either by text or by email and there's a bunch of them,
I will get it out to you, I promise.
So if you want the My Car Guru guidebook,
it's 32 pages long, I can text it to you
or email it to you.
You just gotta let me know, 423-552-2020
or you can email me at Lenny Lawson 2020 at gmail.com
and I'll get you a copy out, read it, absorb it
and use it because it will save you a bunch of money.
Well, thanks for listening to this edition of My Car Guru
and I'll see you next time.
About this episode
Navigating car troubles can be daunting, but understanding how to respond rather than react can ease anxiety. The discussion emphasizes the importance of preparation, such as having a list of reliable contacts for roadside assistance and knowing how to handle basic car issues like flat tires. The host shares personal anecdotes and practical tips, including the significance of regular maintenance and keeping service records. Listeners are encouraged to familiarize themselves with their vehicles and create a plan for emergencies to avoid panic when trouble arises.
Original notes
Email Lennie at [email protected]
My Car Guru Podcast
My Car Guru...Lennie Lawson
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