Before Bringing Your Car to the Shop…

I got an assignment the other day, which made me think about some of things that happened in an engine building and repair shop — and probably happen in shops everywhere, but no one except the mechanics see these happenings. Sometimes, it’s probably a good thing, too.

Trash and Dead Fish: Before you bring your car in for service, make sure the floors are at least accessible and that debris is not stacked up to the top of the dashboard. In many cars, the computers are under the seats and no mechanic wants to dig through a mess to repair your car.

That includes leaving half-eaten, three-week-old fish sandwiches on the dash in 95-degree weather. I’m not kidding — one guy brought his car in and in addition to the shit piled up on the every floor and the back seat, there was that stank fish sandwich on the dash. Needless to say, we called him and told him to clean out his car before we started working on it. Then, we had to wait a couple days for the putrid smell dissipated.

Dual Air: If your minivan or SUV and dual air conditioning and you bring it in to have the air conditioning repaired, you might want to unload the back of the vehicle. If the problem is with the rear air conditioning, the techs will have to unload everything and it’s a possibility that what was once clean may not be when it gets loaded back into the vehicle.

Lug Nut Keys: If you have locking lug nuts, be sure to leave the key in the glove box or the center console where the technician can find it. If you have to bring it to them, that will delay the repairs on your vehicle. If you’ve lost the lug nut key, the mechanics will have replace the stud. In some cases, they will have to cut the stud off, which costs you more money and time.

Toys: Some people like to store their personal toys in the trunk. It’s probably a good idea to remove those — or at least put them in a bag at the back of the trunk. Technicians could have some fun with those toys. One mechanic found such a toy and had anyone with a sense of humor in stitches all day. He put a pair of baggy sweats on over his uniform. He’d make a lot of noise in the shop, then come running in the office saying something slammed into his crotch so hard he’d swell. Then he’d pop out that toy like it was his own. Unsuspecting people would either scream or stare, thinking it was real.

Appropriate Repairs: When you bring your car in for repairs, don’t ask the technician to fix the radio when the axle is held in by rope. Instead of spending money on inconsequential stuff, save up to make your vehicle safe.

Winter Car Care

Exterior: Most people don't wash their car during the winter because it's cold outside. However, this is the worst time to ignore your car. When it snows, snowplows spread and and salt on the roads to help keep ice from forming. The salt is corrosive; and over the years, will start to rust your car.

During the winter, you should take your car to a car wash once per month. If you use a hand car wash, be sure to wash underneath the car, as you will be defeating the purpose if you don't. If you keep the salt off your car, it will last a lot longer.

Engine: As always, you should check your engine's fluids. Antifreeze keeps the water from freezing in the block. If you don't use antifreeze, it is possible that the water could freeze inside the engine. Though it is not common, it could blow out the freeze plugs. It could also crack the block, depending on how cold it gets, and for how long. Make it a habit to check the antifreeze every month. If it's been over three years since you've had your radiator flushed and the fluid changed, take your car in for service.

Interior: During the winter, you have a very good chance of tracking mud and snow into the car. To help keep the carpets clean and unstained, purchase soaker car mats to put over your regular carpet and nice mats. If you use rubber mats, you can easily take them out and rinse them off when they get too dirty.