Frame repairs

My frame is rotted? It's something people worry....

AAA Towing scams to avoid near Middletown NY

Need Towing ?

-Middletown NY

If your car breaks down near Middletown NY in Orange County there are a few options for you. One is seeking a Qualified AAA Auto Repair Center who also offers a nationwide warranty and insurance to protect your repair or tire investment where ever you live or go on on vacation.

But there is a warning to be weary of when calling AAA towing, the redirect scam. This is a convincing pitch by the tow truck driver to send your car to "their shop" or a "dealer" or other location other than the AAA Approved Auto Repair Center.

Why? Well research and evidence have shown AAA truck drivers take cash bribes to tow cars to a location that pays off. AAA Approved locations are already supposed to receive the local tow, so if there is any redirection it is going to cost you, lets face it that bribe is being paid for by you in the end. While accepting bribes is illegal....("D" felony punishable by up to seven years in state prison, Bribery in the Third Degree, New York Penal Law 200.00)....its impossible to stop.

What can you do? Firstly you must tell the tow driver like this "Thanks but I want to go to 178 Dolson Ave Middletown NY, that's where I am expected." Period. Its uncomfortable, and you feel vulnerable, that tow guy acts like he is in control, but rest assured its YOUR CAR and your choice.

Your AAA membership covers towing to your AAA Approved Auto Repair Center where you get the discounts, extended warranty, and many other benefits. Plus most are open 7 days a week, such as Dolson Auto Repair in Middletown NY and others in nearby counties. Additionally there are other benefits such as when you buy a new tire you get free tire life services at thousands of Goodyear, Michelin, Firestone, and Bridgestone dealers across the USA, auto repair insurance provided by SONSIO insurance, and peace of mind that a AAA Certified Mechanic and ASE Certified Technician is licensed and insured and well trained.

There are so many reasons to avoid the diversion tactic tow truck drivers pull, but mostly the meer fact they want to tow you someplace else is a major warning. Imagine walking into a nice coffee shop and some seedy person tries to convince you to buy coffee out in an ally! Yeah right buddy!

Go where you know AAA expected you to go, at least you know if something happens those people can help you and stand by you in an emergency. Someone will know where you are and where you were sent to.

Are State Inspections less than good enough? Its a question for ....

-Middletown, NY

The elected officials make and pass the laws, not necessarily the department who enforces them. In some cases laws change when one group asks lawmakers to consider a change in regulation to improve a problem. A recent example of a change was when law enforcement groups concerned for safety asked lawmakers to enact the no tint regulations on state inspection. Now the poor inspector can loose their job if they allow you leave with tinted windows - read the regulation for the specific rulings.

Another issue is safe trucks that can fail causing problems or even accidents, here is a example experienced tow drivers see every day on the side of highways in Orange County.

This truck experienced a ball joint failure, however a search of the text using Google comes up with nothing found. Now to know the entire text is complicated and understanding and interpreting it may require an expert, however some feel this is a potential risk that could be considered by lawmakers.

In simple terms, when you look at what happened at high speed and imagine what could or does happen to some people when these items break while driving - makes you think what if my family vehicle was overlooked for this because the regulation does not specifically instruct it to be tested. This vehicle was inspected elsewhere and the owner felt something was wrong but the inspector said it met the regulation so there was nothing he could cite.

Perhaps its time to ask legislators to think about preventing some breakdowns that cause traffic issues, require police or emergency responders, possible fire, ambulance, towing and worse of all an injury or accident to an innocent person over a small matter of the text of a regulation.

Leasing versus owning, how to save more

Outsmart 'em and save more by using this car trick....

-Middletown NY

       While people complain about not having enough money at times, you look and see major errors in their judgement, don't you? We all have that friend, or spouse, who says "oh I don't know how I am going to retire someday!" while they show off their brand new expensive accessory!

There are some simple tasks you can use to adjust or modify your finances. One is understanding money and time as it relates to one of the larger expenses or assets you have. Your money can either grow or depreciate based upon how you invest it. This is about how to save more money for the long run by realizing how much leasing a car can cost.

I have been saving for my whole life, and I would not be comfortable now if it were not for the discipline and technique we can focus on today. Remember these few hacks and you will be better off for it.

The last time I bought a new vehicle was when I was poor, young, and thought it would make a difference in finding a wife! Many years went by and when my truck was old I finally found a wife who could care less about my cool truck. The vehicle you drive will not make real friends.

That truck cost a lot, and monthly payments for 5 years totaled $32700 from 1991 to 1997. That total included $8000 in interest. In 1997 the truck was worth $12250 and had 50,000 miles. I lost $20450,  the down payment, fees, and taxes of $4189 of my investments value in 5 years. That equals $4090 per year or $340.83 per month. At least I owned and it did not lease it.

An average vehicle owner spends about $432 per year on repairs and maintenance (varies by state and vehicle type), of course some spend more, but the point is some more some less, even the largest issues cost less except a crash with major body work. Over those years I wish I could keep those car payments. I thought about it every day. Every month when I made that payment, it was painful. I thought to myself, of all the cars I fix every day none are that bad. Not as bad as $4090 per year.

I imagined my life had I not spent the payments and instead purchased a used truck with 60k, you could look at it a few ways:
1. the used truck cost $12500 and in five years is probably worth $3000 but I did not pay out the $20450 and it only lost $9500 in value for a better result of $7900
2. had I set aside the average $432 in repairs and maintenance costs for a vehicle with 60k to 110k of that type I would have $2592 in the bank for those repairs, it's possible earning a small interest.
3. I would not worry much about my vehicle and reduce stress

Depreciation is the word and it wraps up the dirty little secret. An article by Nerd Wallet sums it up but does not delve into the mathematical facts. Used cars loose less dollars of depreciation at a slower rate over time. The curve as expressed on a graph is

At some point you have to be getting really stingy or even to look into the yellow area to buy a car, however any car that runs and passes inspection has good value. If it gets you to work or the store its worth it for the fact of its purpose. Plus who cares if it gets a dent or scratch? No stress and cheaper insurance. The point here is that you are not losing much money down at these levels, and over time - 5 years of payments is way more than the car cost you. In fact you could afford to pay someone to wash it, detail it once or twice a year, repair it and have plenty of money left over.

Lets use the same chart for leasing - just humor yourself for a moment if you would be so kind. A person who leases an average car is paying $399 a month and if leased for 3 or 4 years at a time and traded back to a new lease you would have spent $48,000 in 10 years and owned nothing. Had you purchased a newish used car lets imagine 4 year old Rav4 for $15000 with low miles in great shape you would have a 14 year old rav 4 with 180,000 miles, not out of the norm for modern cars and if you cared for it well it will probably still be worth something and you would have saved $33,000. Leasing is good for wealthy people who can write it off or who make a very high hourly rate such as a licensed professional where time is the problem more so than money. If you entertain clients in your car then image is truly part of your job and you need a very clean and pretty car. 

I started this as an exercise to convince myself that it might be ok now for me to buy a new car, to analyze the worth and main effects and interactions. While we don't have time for all that you might consider in this short article I suggest that a conclusion is generally buying used or keeping your car is a better method to retain cash and grow your wealth. This is further indicated by the national vehicle age that has risen to 12 years due to the higher quality of modern vehicles, they simply last longer.

Use your scenarios to analyze your specific situation and chart out time in your analysis to determine what is worth it for you. One suggestion is to have a car repair account that you make a scheduled transfer to monthly and let it build up so that when repairs are needed its no stress. On a future post I want to consider easier ways to pay for the inevitable things that age and environment cause with all machines. Thanks for reading and please share or repost to help me if I have helped you in some way.

If you like this please check out our facebook page or https://www.DolsonTire.com and the link to our other blog articles

Everest Motor Oil beats Valvoline Mobil1 Castrol at Dolson Auto

Look at this on eBay

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=2&pub=5575378759&campid=5338273189&customid=&icep_item=333024554872&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg&toolid=11111

Audi AllRoad Air Suspension Training

In order to begin diagnosing advanced systems you will need the information to focus on the testing required for a given problem. Here is an example of the work we do on Audi VW cars with a combination of testing, meters, and VAG-COM factory level access coding and programming software.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mHuFdeKoVVISRHA4w79y0O7TnwTt4mub/view?usp=sharing

Be sure to verify the basics first, it takes time, removal of interior panels alone can take 35 to 60 minutes each way, plus tooling and developing tests. If you need Audi VW problems diagnosed please see us at our site.

ps... if the dealer gave you a large estimate and you want to try to save some income bring us the printed copy and we will try to beat it or discuss alternate methods and parts. Thank you.