Month: January 2015

Independent Car Repair Shops Preferred Over Dealers

Consumer reports recently confirmed what we already believe, that local, independent car repair shops offer better repair satisfaction than franchised new-car dealerships.

The analysis by Consumer Reports weighed five key car repair factors to determine their findings. They five factors they examined were:

  • Price
  • Quality
  • Courteousness of the staff
  • Work completed when promised
  • Overall satisfaction

The data was based on Consumer Reports subscriber surveys collected from more than 120,000 individuals. 80,000 readers had their car serviced at a franchised dealer, while 41,000 had car repair work preformed at independent service centers. Although their overall scores tended to be lower, Consumer Reports did note that mechanics at both independent and dealership centers earned high marks for the quality of their work.

“To be fair to mechanics at franchised dealerships, our respondents also reported being very satisfied overall with their repairs despite being outscored by independent shops,” said Mark Rechtin, Consumer Reports Cars Content Development Team Leader.

Best Car Repair MN

Overall, the biggest issue consumers had was with the total cost of the repair. Certain specialty car owners like Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar and Mini drivers were much more satisfied with the overall service and price they received at independent dealerships than at franchised new-car dealerships.

“Mercedes, Jaguar and Mini dealerships got dinged in our survey for price. The customers feel they overpay for parts and labor,” said Consumer Reports spokesperson Simon Slater.

Other foreign car owners were equally satisfied with repairs from dealerships and independent shops. Consumer reports stated that drivers of BMW, Porsche and Volkswagens typically were equally satisfied with the quality and cost of their repairs, so you don’t need to drive 30 miles to get to that specialized new-car dealership to get the same price and quality as a local, independent dealer.

Related source: Consumer Reports

Minnesota Among Safest Driving States For Your Wallet

A recent study conducted by WalletHub found that Minnesota is one of the safer state’s to drive in, in terms of keeping money in your pocket in the event of a crash.

For their study, researchers analyzed three factors: State requirements for liability coverage, related types of required insurance (like medical payment coverage and personal injury protection) and the estimated number of uninsured drivers on the road. They developed a point system, which you can read about in more detail here, that awards points based on the amount of required coverage, if additional coverage is required, and for low uninsured driver percentage. After tallying all the data, researchers compiled a list that ranked the all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The Top 10

The top 10 states that keep the most money in a driver’s wallet in the event of a crash are:

1. Maine

2. North Dakota

3. New York

T-4. Maryland

T-4. New Hampshire

6. Utah

T-7. Massachusetts

T-7. Oregon

9. South Carolina

T-10. Alaska

T-10. Kansas

T-10. Minnesota

Minnesota actually has more minimum bodily injury coverage per person and per accident than many of the states ranked higher on the list, but it as a relativity high percentage of uninsured motorists. WalletHub projects that about 10.8 percent of Minnesota drivers are uninsured. Of the top 10, only Maryland and Alaska have a higher percentage of uninsured drivers, at 12.2 and 13.2 percent respectively.

Minnesota Roads

The Bottom 10

Conversely, if you get into an accident with the wrong person in one of the bottom 10 states, it may take a significant chunk out of your wallet. The worst driving states for your wallet are:

T-42. Nevada

T-42. Washington

T-44. Alabama

T-44. Michigan

46. Tennessee

T-47. California

T-47. Mississippi

49. New Mexico

50. Oklahoma

51. Florida

Aside from rarely requiring additional medical or personal injury insurance, these states all boast high numbers of uninsured drivers. Six of these states have uninsured driver rates that top 20 percent, and Oklahoma takes the cake for the state with the most uninsured drivers, at 25.9 percent.

Related source: WalletHub

Subaru Issues Brake Recall For Minnesota Vehicles

Subaru has issued a recall of nearly 200,000 of its vehicles, citing a potential brake line issue.

Subaru owners should take note, especially if you live in state that gets plenty of winter weather, like Minnesota. According to the press release, the brake line issue increases the risk of crashes for drivers in snowy states.

The vehicles involved in the recall are:

  • 2009 through 2013 Foresters
  • 2008 through 211 Imprezas

The recall has been issued in 20 cold-weather states where road salt is used to winterize the roads. The National Traffic Safety Administration (NTSA) said rust can develop if the brake lines are splashed with salty water. The release noted that salty water can reach the brake lines through a gap in the car’s fuel line projector. Rust can increase stopping distance, which may leave drivers susceptible to a crash.

Subaru

This is the second time Subaru has issued a recall for the potentially defective brake lines. According to the NTSA, the previous recall included “incomplete repair instructions,” and some vehicles were not properly serviced.

Vehicle owners who purchased their Subarus in Minnesota or Wisconsin should take their car to a dealer. Subarus purchased in North and South Dakota are not effected by the recall. The other 18 states listed in the recall are Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Subaru said dealers will apply an anti-corrosion spray to the car’s brake line system, and owners will not be charged for the repairs. To find a participating Subaru dealer, click here.

The Do’s and Don’ts of De-Icing Your Windshield

Winter is finally here to stay, and with snow emergencies comes the need for drivers to clear their cars of ice and snow. There are a lot of different ways to clear snow from your car’s windshield, and some are better than others. Today, we discuss the Do’s and Don’ts of de-icing your windshield.

Do – Be cognizant of your surroundings. If there’s snow and ice on your windshield, there’s probably snow and ice on the roads, which can make it tough for drivers to stay in the middle of their lane. Try to scrap off most of your windshield and rear windshield while on the curb side, and only venture out to the street side when no cars are passing.

Don’t – Pour hot water on your windshield – If you knew somebody with a hot tub growing up, odds are you’ve gone hot tubbing in the winter. If you’re a daredevil, maybe you even made a snow angel or just ran around in the snow before quickly jumping back in the hot tub. If so, you’ve experienced the shock of going from super cold to super warm and vice versa, and while your body may be able to handle it, your windshield may not. Pouring hot water on a frozen windshield can cause what’s known as “thermal shock,” and it can result in a shattered windshield. If you’re set on using water to de-ice your windshield, make sure it’s cool or lukewarm at most.

Do – Consider de-icing solutions – Sometimes you can prevent snow and ice from accumulating by treating your windshield with de-icing solutions. Certain homemade salt or vinegar based concoctions are alright, but spending a few bucks on a solution at a trusted car care center is a worthy investment. While you’re there, you can also pick up formulas that you can spray on right before scraping to help ease the process.

Don’t – Use a brick, rubber mallet or metal shovel to clean or break up ice on your windshield. This may seem like common sense, but if you don’t have a scraper in your car, you might go looking for the next best object, and that can be a huge issue if you’re not careful. Only use plastic or soft tipped scrapers to avoid damaging your windows.

Windshield De-icing tips

Do – Be smart about where you park. This doesn’t directly involve de-icing your windshield, but here us out. Preferably you’ll park your car in a garage or covered parking stall before the snow hits, but if you park outside, park in a safe spot. Unlike summer where you might want to find a tree to provide your car with some shade, you’ll want to do the opposite in the winter. Particularly heavy snowstorms, like a few we had last winter, can dump a lot of snow in an area in a short period of time. If you park under a brittle tree that can’t handle heavy wind or snow, you may wake up to find a tree branch fell and damaged your windshield. Avoid parking under trees if you know a snowstorm is on the way.