Beyond Repair Archives

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What sealed chassis parts can teach us about shifting customer habits and technology’s march forward

When I got to Dorman, I wasn’t bowled over by our chassis parts for one reason: for the most part, they are sealed. We do have a line of severe-service chassis parts (Premium RD™), but the bulk of our passenger-car offerings feature polymer bearings and the grease...

TECHNICIAN CHALLENGE: Can you identify these dash lights? (VIDEO)

Description Think you know your dash lights? Shop Press contributors Keith, Miriam, Chris, and Greaser try their best to identify all kinds of lights, symbols, and indicators. Some are easy, others obscure, and a few are even fakes. How many can you identify?

I’ll gladly pay an independent shop more for a rush repair, and I’m not alone

On a Sunday morning last May, the day before the planned start of a long-awaited vacation highlighted by a 1,200 mile road trip, I awoke to find a very slow but very obvious leak on one of the very expensive performance tires on my fancy SUV. My first and only call...

Dash warning lights: feature or bug?

Warning lights are something we’re all familiar with—all too often, they’re the reason a customer steps into your shop. Mechanics of a certain age will remember a time when the phrase “idiot light” was used to describe a dash light. The derisive term referred to the...

PSA: Check that cabin air filter

Most of us know that we should change the filter in our home heating and air conditioning system monthly, but why? What does it do? The role of the filter is twofold. First, it traps dirt, dust, pet dander, pollen and other allergens and helps keep the air you’re...

Why sidewall styling is both worthless and wonderful for drivers and tire shops

I know the title is a little spicy, so I’ll get right into the meat of this piece: Over the past few years, I have seen more and more tires, usually all-terrains, that have been redesigned with very, very aggressive sidewall styling, and I think it’s fantastic....

Surprise: having snacks and phone chargers in your repair shop’s waiting room makes customers happier

If you’re an auto repair shop owner, you’ve probably heard advice before about the value of improving your waiting room. However, it can also be hard to gauge how much that extra expense makes a difference to your customers. Is it really worth it? Well, we have some...

Exhaust tips: three ways to fine-tune your method

Exhaust work is straightforward and (I think) easy to understand. If you’ve got a lift and a ‘cety torch, it really should be gravy work. That said, I have made plenty of my own mistakes and repaired the mistakes of others. Hopefully this article helps a few of you...

Boomerang business cards: a quick sales tip

by Lemmy | Apr 21, 2022

My first job writing service was at a now-defunct Goodyear/Kelly-Springfield tire dealer. The way my commission was structured, I didn’t make very much money unless I sold a lot of tires. But when I sold a lot of tires, money came pouring in—my per-tire cut went up,...

Take it from a moron like me: giving customers advance notice of preventive maintenance works!

by Jonathan Roth | Apr 14, 2022

My colleague Lemmy recently talked about breaking down ROs into three easy boxes. Now I’d like to focus on “Box Two” from his list from a customer perspective. I’m the type of person who doesn’t read my vehicle owner’s manual from cover to cover. I...

Break down ROs into three boxes

by Lemmy | Mar 17, 2022

“Every time I walk into this place, you guys clean me out for a few grand.” I’m sure you’ve heard some variant of that if you’ve written service. Part of the reason is that the value of preventative maintenance is just lost on some vehicle owners. (“Don’t try to...

Holistic healing works on cars, too

by Lemmy | Mar 15, 2022

Holistic seems to be a buzzword that’s (over)used in medicine. From a medical diagnosis perspective, that word may cause you to roll your eyes, but not a bad way to think about automotive diagnostics. If you work on a counter, approaching repair holistically helps...

Want to get kids interested in trades? Start with their school science fair.

by Mike Principato | Mar 3, 2022

While their interest in learning a skilled trade continues its precipitous decline, American youth and young adults seemingly cannot break eye contact with their phone screens. Coincidence? I think not, and humbly offer all parents a suggestion to help alter the...

Why service writers should always charge a diag fee – and let techs earn it

by Lemmy | Dec 5, 2021

My first job writing service was at an indie Goodyear tire dealer. I was pretty green, and I made a lot of mistakes. For instance, I heard some variant of this more than once: “Yeah, the customer told you they had a slow leak, but you forgot to ask which tire,...