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  • DIYers are causing increased highway fatalities
    By Craig Truglia - Monday February 4, 2013
    I was reading an article in another magazine that noted that in spite of cars being built safer than ever, fatal accidents have increased. Some have theorized the increase in fatalities is caused by customers putting off repairs. Others have asserted that the advent of "texting and driving" and other distractions are not the cause, because car accidents were up all around regardless of age. Let me offer my perspective as a shop owner: Most customers, when given the option to spend a little more for the better part, will spend the money. Usually, I tell them that the part is made in a "better" country, will last longer and that its better construction increases safety.  Yet, my shop is off the main drag, so maybe I am more apt to...

  • Shops are fixing cat converters wrong!
    By Craig Truglia - Tuesday January 29, 2013
    My father, G "Jerry" Truglia, taught me about P0420s before I started full time in the automotive business.  His advice? Test the oxygen sensors, try a burn off procedure and if the catalytic converter needs to be replaced get one from the dealer. So, I begin running my own shop and by "osmosis" learn that all the shops in town were swapping out converters and oxygen sensors as their P0420 repair. It struck me as incredibly wasteful for the customer and a "repair" that would increase the likelihood of comebacks. There are more comebacks for several reasons. First, most aftermarket converters that are sold by the majority of parts stores just don't cut it. They throw P0420s early or they don't even turn the check engine light off at...

  • The end of brake jobs as we know it?
    By Craig Truglia - Thursday January 10, 2013
    "The good times will never end!" Then computerized diagnostics came along and half the repair shopsfolded up. Reading through some magazines I see huge new repair facilities with lobbies like hotels and garage floors you can eat off of. They think the good times will never end and that they will see enough brakes, tires and suspension to pay for the $5 million dollar facility. Yet, I really wonder how much of us will still be here in 2030. How much business would we still have if the brake job went the way of the carburetor? PureForge is a company that is making lifetime rotors for police cars. They never need to be lathed or replaced. Why? There is a thin layer of metal on the outside that is so tough that brake pads and the...

  • DIY diesel lubricity additive study sounds fishy
    By Craig Truglia - Wednesday January 9, 2013
    Making the rounds on the Internet, I came across a DIYer online forum discussion of diesel fuel additives. The posters said that "common knowledge" dictates that ULSD fuel, with only 15 PPM of sulfur, lacks the sulfur necessary to properly lubricate a diesel engine and its components (fuel injectors, fuel pump, etcetera). While what they say may be true of older diesels, newer diesels are designed to work with the new fuel, so it is hard to endorse any fuel lubricant as "necessary," though it might be helpful. However, with all the anecdotal evidence of fuel pumps and injectors going bad from ULSD fuel, the DIYers supposedly "know" that they need to add diesel fuel treatments to their vehicles. So, they took it upon themselves to find...

  • Rumors of 2013 Fords with electric problems
    By Craig Truglia - Friday January 4, 2013
    Just yesterday after we did a set of tires on a SUV in our repair shop, we took it to the Ford dealer to get an alignment. When the alignment was done, I went inside to grab the keys and pay for their work. There, I overheard a conversation between the service writer and a technician which might have escaped the notice of someone that does not work in auto repair. What I heard surprised me. The service writer asked: "Why didn't you charge the battery on that car? Don't you know with any of the 2013s the battery goes dead in three weeks?" The tech responded: "Well, yeah I know." Service writer: "Even two weeks!" Technician:  "Well, we have to reflash the BCM on them whenever it happens too." Now, if I had better hearing or a...

  • Stylists need a license -- auto techs don't!
    By Craig Truglia - Thursday December 27, 2012
    Before I started writing for PTEN I used to do work with TST , which deals with automotive training. I still receive emails from some of the members and today I received an interesting one from Ed Perry of Dolson Tire in Middletown, N.Y.: Hi Craig, Has any of the committees given thought to promoting auto tech licensing at the state level through the NY State Department of Education? Seems silly that landscape architects and hair dressers are licensed but we have not risen to that level of a profession. In my opinion it would be good for consumers and the sense of value techs feel for their profession. Personally, I feel Ed hit the nail right on the head. Pros and Cons of Licensing It boggles the mind that the woman who...

  • Snow is on the way; the "crazies" are coming!
    By Craig Truglia - Friday December 14, 2012
    We just had our first snow of the year. Most sane people might stay off the road, enjoy the sight, or if they really had to, drive between work and back. No detours! Yet, my shop is busy. One customer has a smell coming from his blower motor. He likes to "wait" for repairs and apparently he wants to wait in the middle of a snow storm. Another had facial hair like General Stevenson from the Civil War and he wanted winter tires for his brand new car. He left after we told him that we had to order them. Snow days bring out several peculiar characters. There's "give my snow-covered car an oil change" guy. Sometimes I wonder, what does he really want? His car to be cleared off of snow? I can't open the hood with that sheet of ice on it...

  • The going rate for tire service is not high enough
    By Craig Truglia - Monday December 10, 2012
    I don't run a tire shop, so pardon my ignorance about this topic. But I hate tires. Tires are hard to make money on. You see, there is a reptilian part of the human mind that just does not like paying for anything to do with tires. It goes "Me NEED tire fix. Why not FREE?" The Geico caveman has more class. But after doing 14 tires on four different rims for two different Oldsmobile Toronados swapping old tires from one rusty rim to another rusty rim and specific rims go on a specific car for a measly $20 a tire, I say to myself, "What the heck is wrong with this picture?" The old school thought on the matter is that "tires are easy money." All you had to do is clean the rims (and not even that if the rims were steel and not rusty...

  • Does my ratchet really need 120 teeth?
    By Craig Truglia - Monday November 12, 2012
    What I always liked about an expensive ratchet is how it felt in my hand and how quick it did the job. Pardon me for not being reflective enough on the matter, but it was not until fairly recently I appreciated exactly what separated a cheap ratchet from an expensive one: how many teeth the gear had on the inside. Ever since knowing that I started paying attention to how many teeth a ratchet had. When I heard about the new GearWrench 120XP Ratchet with its "120 teeth" I was very intrigued, though maybe a little skeptical. GearWrench products are very economical and compete in the Craftsman price territory. How could it possibly compete with a Snap-on, I thought. So, I have given the tool a one-month test drive and my review? Two thumbs...

  • What scan tool should I buy?
    By Craig Truglia - Thursday October 25, 2012
    Back in the day in the Wild West there used to be snake oil salesmen. They would peddle an oil, supposedly derived from some sort of Chinese eel, that would be a magical elixir that would cure any disease or ailment that someone may suffer from. Why did these guys only live in the Wild West as opposed to New York? There are more customers in New York, so it seems like a better place to do business. I'm not sure if this is a historical fact, but my guess is that in New York news would travel quickly that the snake oil is a scam so no one would buy it. So, the peddlers all moved out west where news traveled slowly between isolated pockets of people. Sometimes, I feel like scan tools are sold this way. Outrageous claims are sometimes...

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