American Soldiers Train Iraqi Security Forces on Routine Auto Maintenance & Repair

by Marjorie Steele, Social Media Marketing Manager

It's not very often I come across a story in the auto repair industry that is truly inspiring, but this story fits that bill.

According to the Army News Service, a handful of the 50,000 soldiers who remain in Iraq to assist in rebuilding the country are teaching valuable auto repair and maintenance skills to Iraqi Security Forces (ISF). The article cited Spc. Henry Moss and Spc. Edwin Perez, both mechanics with the 703rd BSB, who expressed the usefulness of this training. Both Moss and Perez have seen encouraging signs of ISF mechanics' improvement, a critical element in the future stability of Iraq.

Perez noted that vehicles in Iraq often need extra attention due to the country's extreme heat. According to Moss, a lack of regular preventative maintenance checks and services have been the number one cause of ISF vehicle breakdowns (sound familiar?) - until now, that is. With the help of auto technician-trained American Soldiers, Iraqi mechanics are quickly developing the skills to maintain their army vehicles and be more efficient with part replacement. Performing regular maintenance and service allows the ISF to maintain more reliable vehicles, making the country's infrastructure stronger and more secure.


According to Moss, Iraqi Army mechanics have improved their skills vastly since he began training with them.

"When we first got here, they would just replace any problematic (vehicle component)...Now, they are troubleshooting the equipment instead of spending thousands of dollars replacing it. Maintaining these skills is very important. If they don't have these skills, then they cannot defend against the people who are trying to attack them."

Thank you, troops!

Percussive Car Maintenance vs. Preventative Car Maintenance

by Marjorie, Cars for Keeps Social Media Manager

All of us have been guilty of performing "percussive maintenance" at one point or another. For those of you who don't know what percussive maintenance is, I'll give you a hint: it usually involves hitting things with a hammer.



Wikipedia describes "percussive maintenance" as "the malediction of an ill-behaved device to make it work, that is to say, swear at it and hit it." (Don't you love Wikipedia?) I've performed this countless times on countless items, such as my door lock, my computer (before I bought a Mac), and of COURSE, my car.

True enough, percussive maintenance may work sometimes - like it did for Marty McFly when he needed to start the DeLorean in Back to the Future I, or as it worked for Apollo 12 astronaut Pete Conrad when trying to remove a piece of equipment from the 1969 space shuttle (true story!). But eventually, hitting things with a hammer only ends in having lots of broken things.

When I think about all the things I've sworn at and hit to make work, I realize that they all could have benefited from some preventative maintenance before percussive maintenance was necessary. My computer could have been de-dusted and de-bugged; my door lock could have been greased, and my car could have been better maintained with regular oil, fluid and filter changes.

Percussive maintenance may be therapeutic, but preventative maintenance is effective. So if you've been having to kick the tires or hit the steering wheel lately, try giving them one more kick, then roll on in to Cars for Keeps. We're a percussive maintenance-free zone!

The High Mile Club: Getting the Mileage Your Vehicle was Designed to Get

by Marjorie, Cars for Keeps Social Media Manager

My favorite page on the Cars for Keeps website is the "High Mile Club Gallery", a page dedicated to Cars for Keeps customers who take Rob's call to preventative maintenance seriously. It turns out, getting high mileage out of your vehicle is as simple as regular preventative maintenance. Most cars in the gallery are at least 15 years old and are running well past 200,000 miles - in great condition.

We've discussed many of the benefits of regular preventative auto maintenance here on Keep the Car blog. They include getting higher gas mileage from your vehicle and spending less money on large, costly repairs. The biggest benefit of keeping a well-maintained vehicle, by far, however, is that you get to keep the vehicle longer, delaying the far higher costs of purchasing a new vehicle. Vehicles are designed and built to last. Why not let them perform the way they were made to perform?

Take a moment to visit the High Mile Club Gallery, which features some true classics - all in mint condition.

The most impressive is Gale Moser and his 2000 Lexus running on a whopping 435,000 miles. See how good it looks?


Take advantage of Cars for Keeps' free "pit stop" service, and maybe someday your vehicle will become part of the High Mile Club Gallery.

Distracted While Driving - the New DUI

by Marjorie, Cars for Keeps Social Media Manager

It's an issue my dad, a former driver's education teacher, championed years ago during his teaching years. "One of the most dangerous types of people on the road is the person who's distracted by their cell phone behind the wheel," he would say, emphasizing that this rule applies to everyone - teenage drivers to soccer moms. "When I see someone in their minivan completely absorbed in their phone while going down the road, I steer clear of them."

The truth is that most of us are guilty of what safety activist groups and legislative groups have dubbed "DWD", or "Distracted While Driving". Answering and making calls while driving has been a mild concern for several years, but the growing popularity of texting has brought this issue to the forefront - particularly among young drivers.

A government report from 2008 states that 515,000 people were injured and 5,870 people were killed in crashes involving "distracted drivers". Additionally, the report indicated that 16% of all fatal crashes in 2008 involved driver distraction; this percentage involved a high number of young drivers.

What does this mean for us? Well, DWD is no longer just an indicator of the technological divide between the younger driving generation and the older; it's become a matter of public safety, and state legislative groups have been treating it as such. Nineteen states have already banned text messaging while driving, and six states (as well as DC) have banned cell phone use while driving altogether. City council members in Ann Arbor are working on ban on cell phone use during driving, and Michigan's House of Representatives passed a bill late in 2009 which would allow police to ticket text-messaging drivers. Non-governmental organizations are considering non-legislative options, such as integrating Blackberry and PDA software with programming that would prevent their users from receiving or sending texts and calls while on the road.

Regardless of what measures our legislators and PDA software engineers take against DWD, it's an issue all drivers should become more aware of - both for ourselves and for instructing younger drivers.

What do you think about this issue? Should texting while driving be banned, all cell phone use while driving, or neither? Now is the time to contact your state legislatures if you'd like to have a say in this issue. Follow this link to learn more about Ann Arbor's City Council in their fight against DWD, or read what Nationwide Insurance has to say about the issue.

This video compares the effects of driving over the legal alcohol limit to DWD with some surprising conclusions.

Tell us what you think!

A Women’s Point of View; Take A Deep Breath

by Colette Cooley, Cars For Keeps Office Manager

Thanksgiving is over and most of us are out shopping today. Hello Christmas! We are gearing up to think Silver Bells, Caroling and Presents Under the Tree. And, More Cooking! (Oh, Joy!) Take a deep breath. You actually have some time to pamper yourself a little bit. You deserve it. Get your nails done. Change your hair color. Get a facelift. You should be getting flowers and applause for yesterday’s extravaganza. If that has not happened, at least grab an hour soaking in the tub, surrounded by candles, a little aroma therapy and a strong Martini. AAAHHHHH! Life is good.

Your Christmas gift list is floating through your head and coming together quite nicely. Is everyone accounted for? Hmmmm. What about your car? (I’ll bet you were wondering how I was going to get your car into this blog, didn’t you?) Are you going to be taking another trip for Christmas? It will probably need an oil change and brake inspection before the trip. How about snow tires? Are they good for another winter or do they look “iffy”? Are all the lights working properly? Are there any noises that should be investigated? Are all the windows and doors working properly? Even if you are staying close to home for Christmas, you will be making more than average trips to the Mall and possibly out-of-the-way trips to ‘Marvin’s Machine Mega-Mercantile’ to get that special hinky-dink tool that hubby has been wanting all year, or to ‘Auntie Aroma’s All-Together Apothecary Annex’ for that extremely expensive bottle of perfume for your precious teenager who will “just die” if she doesn’t smell like all the rest of her friends. So. Here is a hint that will make your life just a little less complicated. Call Cars For Keeps now to make that appointment for you and your car’s health and welfare. That way you won’t panic three days before Christmas because you forgot. You deserve peace on earth.

Happy Birthday to Cars for Keeps: 20 Years of Quality Service

by Dennis Sweet, Service Manager at Cars for Keeps.

Happy Birthday sounds nice at any age. Some people would like to quit having birthdays once they've reached a certain age. Well, I say bring on the birthdays. In case any you are wondering what I am rambling about, I am not talking about myself; I am talking about Cars for Keeps.

As of November 1, 2009 we are 20 years old - hurray! For us, that means 20 years of helping people like yourselves keep your vehicles as long as you wanted to. Here’s to another 20 years of great clients and the satisfaction of being able to help people by keeping their cars healthy.

Thank you to all who have made these last years so rewarding. You have made saying happy birthday worth it.

Until next time,

Dennis

Preventative Maintenance: Listening to Your Car

by Rob, Cars for Keeps Owner

Mike the Librarian.

My buddy Mike gave me a ride home from the range last week. Being the car geek I am, I immediately asked him how long the back tires had been making that growling sound.

He said “What sound?” and once again proved that people often don’t hear or feel the gradual changes their vehicles go through. Until the noise was gone, he thought it was normal.

That’s another reason it’s so important to have a trusted, knowledgeable person give you an independent perspective of your cars safety and reliability.

I recommend a basic inspection at least every three months. Note that I didn’t recommend oil change that often, it's just that since we change our oil so much less often in modern vehicles, it is too easy to ignore an issue that could have a simple remedy if caught early enough, so, every change of season presents a vehicle with temperature and moisture changes that affect multiple parts of your mobility. At Cars for Keeps, we call this inspection our AAA Readiness Inspection. If we normally do your oil changes, we do it for you for free. This usually works out to be an oil change every other readiness inspection.

Our high tech road machines (Cars) adjust themselves with such precision, that most people don’t know any fault is happening until the computers cant compensate any further & the system “folds” in sometimes simple and sometimes dramatic ways.

Even if you choose the convenience (perceived convenience IMHO) of the drive through oil change place, having a qualified mechanic inspect it regularly is a key aspect of the long term reliability of your mobility machine.

More about Mike's Great Escape next time.

Watch for our Hot Apple Cider Specials this month…

Maintaining Proper Air Tire Pressure has Big Benefits

by Kevin, Cars for Keeps Mechanic

This is Dr. Auto with a car car care tip for everyone. One the most overlooked types of preventive maintenance for your vehicle is tire pressure (keeping air in your tires).

By maintaining the correct tire pressure you will increase the life of your tires and they will wear evenly and give you the correct traction for wet/snow and dry conditions. Low tire pressure can also lead to a loss of gas mileage!

You can pick up a tire pressure gauge at Cars For Keeps (free if we have your e-mail address), most gas stations or any Napa Parts Store.

Most vehicles will have the correct tire pressure printed in your owners manual ( the untouched book stored in most glove boxes) or along the inside of one of your door frames.

Any vehicle after 2007 has to have a TPM (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) installed in the vehicle according to the Tread Act. So when you see your tire light come on, check the air in your tires or bring your vehicle to Cars For Keeps for assistance.

Safe Driving and Healthy Cars,

Dr. Auto