I wanted to share with everyone my car repair story/nightmare from the past week to hope that no one else will have this happen to them.  My wife said that her car’s brakes were “pulsing” so we brought it to the local dealership that we’ve gone to numerous times. They called her to say that the front and back rotors were very worn and that the front and back brake pads needed to be replaced to. To be exact, they said that the front brake pads had about 30% left on them and why not replace with the back. Well, the work was a mere $768. My wife said ok, because as she said, it wasn’t like she had a choice.  Right after hanging up with the service department, she realized that the front brake pads and rotors were replaced last summer sometime elsewhere.  She called me and I called the mechanic that did the work. Sure enough last August the front brake pads and rotors were replaced for $225.

I called the service department, fuming, and they said “well it’s a good idea to just replace the front ones now,” blah, blah, blah. I told them that when I picked up the car I want the brake pad and rotor.  So, I went paid them reluctantly the $768 and then took the brake pad and rotor to the mechanic.  They looked at them and said that I have at least 15,000 miles left on the brake pad and rotor. I am currently waiting for the service department manager to call me tomorrow to discuss this issue and dissatisfaction that I have for the dealership.

The moral of the story is even if you aren’t car savvy, question everything that a dealership or mechanic wants to do.  This is a perfect example of them thinking they can roll over a customer and get them to pay for a product/service that I didn’t need. The worse part is that the dealership charged me $375 for brake pad and rotor….$150 more than the mechanic. Highway robbery!  I know that these kinds of things happen all the time with cars and their repairs, so try to not become a victim like we did.

So, every 55 seconds a teen is injured or killed in a car accident, according to tiwi.com.  Something needs to be done to protect our children and others on the roads.  Tiwi has one thing that could make our teens hate us more, but could save lives.  Tiwi is a car tracking computer system that will monitor your teens’ driving.  You set the rules. If you want your child to go no faster than 5 mph over the speed limit, the system will announce that they’ve broken a rule and then call, email, or text the parent immediately. The purpose of this system is not to tattle on the driver, but instead help the driver to do the right thing while driving.  You, as a parent, can also log onto the account and see speeds, if there was any hard braking or accelerating.  It’s kindof crazy.

The system costs about $200 to buy and then you have to subscribe monthly for about $40. I think it would be worth it if it makes my teenager a better driver, right?  Your child will hate you more than they do at this age.  I mean this is really intrusive. The system can text you when your child gets to their location. You can log on at any time and know where they are. Not too much independence happening for your child with the Tiwi.  Is it too much?  I don’t know maybe, but what if it makes your child a safer driver. Isn’t the Tiwi worth it then. I sure think so.  Any thoughts from anyone?

Many Americans will be attending the FIFA World Cup in South Africa in the next month.  Some of them will possibly rent cars and consider driving over there.  Well, there are many things different about driving in South Africa, according to autoweek.com and Barry Winfield, who actually did a trial drive in South Africa in March.  So, I read his article and thought I’d give you some tips on the driving in South Africa in case you are headed to the World Cup.

~South Africans drive on the left side of the road, in right-hand drive cars.  Crazy, right?  Do you know how hard that will be to get used to?

~When you drive in a roundabout or traffic circle, you go in a clockwise direction. So, if you can maneuver the left side of the road, then you can get more confused by going around a roundabout backwards (in our minds!)

~Most cars are manual-transmission models. If you want an automatic, you will pay more for it. But remember, the stick shift will be on the left now.  Crazy, right?  Seems crazy to me.

~You should probably rent a navigation system too to try to not get lost, because there are many bad areas that you want to avoid in South Africa, as in any city.

~Taxis drivers are nuts. Are you surprised?  Well, it seems that they just stop in the middle of the major roads whenever they want to drive or pickup people.

~Pedestrians have no rules either, so watch out for them at any point while driving.

~There are lots of carjackings in South Africa, especially at red lights at night, so just keep aware.

I personally think I’d be opting to use the taxis rather than take the roads on myself!  Scary!

Do you live in a big city and not what the hassle of buying a car?  Well, you can borrow a car just about any time you want. It’s called a Zipcar. There are big cars and little cars and even hybrids.  It’s pretty much like renting a car, but cheaper.  How it works is that you have the option of 2 plans. One you pay a $50 annual fee and then you pay a hourly rate or daily rate when you use the Zipcar. Some cars are like $7/hr and then others are obviously more.  It really depends on the size of the vehicle. If that plan doesn’t appeal to you. You could go with the other plan. No annual fee, a monthly fee and then you get a 10% driving discount.  Once you sign up you get a Zipcard that will basically be your key to these Zipcars.  Then when you decide you want to use one of the cars, you can reserve it online, go to the vehicle, put your Zipcard on the windshield, the doors will unlock, and you are ready to drive!  Fun, huh?  Zipcars are available in more than 50 cities and over 100 universities as well.  Oh by the way, gas, insurance, and 180 free miles are included with both plans.

My sister lives in DC and it just so happens that there are 2 Zipcars in her apartment building. She walks and takes the metro most places, but if she needs to go to Target to get anything for her apartment, etc. she takes a zipcar.  She obviously can’t lug big stuff with her on the metro and a taxi would be expensive as well. Plus, sometimes you just might want to drive if you haven’t in awhile. You might miss it, and a Zipcar is definitely your answer.  I love the fact that you don’t need to check in with someone, etc. You just reserve online and drive away.  That’s the best part!  So, if you haven’t heard of a Zipcar, you might want to check it out if you don’t own a car, or for some reason need a bigger one for a day or an extra.  It would be worth joining.

The New York Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) has been looking for a vehicle to replace the current taxis that would “better fit the times.”  The TLC created a website asking for ideas for the “Taxi for Tomorrow.”  Well, one idea that was proposed was the Unicab. This vehicle is basically in the concept car stage, but hopefully it will be built in the near future.  The Unicab has seating for four passengers, and automated ramp for those with disabilities, great views for all the passengers, technology to show the intended routes and any attractions alond the way.  On the exterior, the Unicab shows the destination and vacancies.  The doors slide on both sides for easy accessibility but also for the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.  They thought of everything. It’s also supposedly going to be more fuel efficient.  You have to check out the Taxi for Tomorrow website and see the pictures. It looks really cool and people might just want to take a cab in NYC from now on.  Though it’s hard enough getting a cab there now. What will the cab situation look like when everyone wants to check out the new Unicab??

Did you know that Congress is trying to pass a law to have all new vehicles equipped with Event Data Recorders?  According to Automotive News, if legislators have their way, the new black boxes will be fireproof and waterproof.  They also want these event data recorders to have a significant amount of recording time before and after an accident, up to 75 seconds before a crash.  Right now there are event data recorders that track about 5 seconds worth of information before a crash.

So, here’s the problems with the new standards if Congress passes them into law.  In order to make these EDRs fireproof and add the recording time, these boxes will be big….like shoebox size. Where are they going to go under the hood?  A shoebox is big.  Then the cost of the new EDRs will be about $4000-$5000.  First the automakers will have to pay for these EDRs, but in the end us, the customer, will end up paying more for our vehicles to cover these boxes. That’s a lot of money!  These boxes could become mandatory in 2015. Everyone better plan on buying a new car before then. I like the idea behind the EDRs, but they might not be a good idea financially.  Also, in 2015 we will start having to pay more for our vehicles anyways, because the new fuel economy standards will begin to take place. I’m definitely buying a new car before all of these things go down.

I read numerous articles and websites to find the car tidbits from the past week or so that were the most interesting/newsworthy for you.

GM is giving a year’s supply of diapers and other baby supplies to a Minnesota woman who gave birth to a baby while driving (yes I said driving) a 2005 Chevy Cobalt.  The woman was on her way to the hospital and the father was riding shotgun because he suffers from seizures.  After the baby was born, she turned the heat up in the car, held the baby, and let the father “steer them to the hospital.”  Everyone is fine, and actually they lucked out with GM’s presents. I guess maybe we should buy GM vehicles, just in case this ever happens to any of us!

Consumer Reports did a telephone survey recently asking people what factors in when they are buying a new car.  Well, brand loyalty is number 1.  People like to buy cars that they are comfortable with, though brand loyalty varies quite a bit between men and women and age groups.  Also, people are most likely to switch brands for higher quality and better fuel economy. Lower prices, better safety records, and more standard equipment play a factor in purchasing as well.  Nothing we didn’t already know.

This is funny.  A reporter for KTLA tv in Los Angeles is doing a live report in a parking lot about the best road trip cars to buy.  While a man is describing each car and its road trip advantages, a police officer is writing parking tickets for each car and handing them to the reporter as she is doing the LIVE segment. She says on air that she had paid for parking, but the officer could care less and just keeps on writing tickets and handing them to her.  Funny.  Check out youtube to see the segment.

In case you missed it,  Dario Franchitti won the Indy 500.  There was a serious crash and one car flew through the air and slammed into the fence and exploded into pieces. Luckily, the driver was extracted and looks as though he broke his leg but escaped without further problems.

There’s your car tidbits for the week.  Some pointless information, but interesting nonetheless.

Good evening!  I thought I would share my random thoughts tonight.  My subject…..license plates.  In case you didn’t know, New York state has gotten a new license plate. They went from white with royal blue trim to nasty orange with black.  They are really ugly. I know what you are saying. Who cares, right?  I know that I shouldn’t but I just wonder why some states have such nice license plates and others so ugly…or plain shall I say. The only time that I truly notice and sometimes admire a state’s license plate is when you are travelling and playing the license plate game (try to find all 50 states.)

I googled license plates and what’s even crazier than their colors is the face that you can do a reverse license plate search and look up anyone’s license plate and get some serious dirt on them.  One website you pay $29 and then you get unlimited searches for 3 years. I’m not sure exactly why you would want to do this, but clearly there are lots of people that do because there were lots of license plate search websites.

I know that some people are interested in license plates, custom plates, etc. You can actually find out the history of many states’ license plates.  That’s interesting right?  To some I’m sure.  Do you or do you know anyone with a custom plate?  A friend’s parents each have a custom plate.  I’ll say this. You always know it’s them whenever they are….in a parking lot, restaurant, driving down the road.

I just thought I would share my random license plates thoughts with you.  It started by just thinking that the new New York state plates were ugly to how much information is available about license plates if you are interested. Check it out, and then you can check on your neighbors and their business too as long as you secretly get their plate numbers. Crazy!

Getting ready to soak in the summer rays?  Well, MSNBC.com has come up with the top summer cruising cars for all your needs, whether it’s towing a boat, or really enjoying the summer sun.  Maybe you already have a summer car that you are about to take the cover off and clean for the first time this year.  It’s an exciting time. I on the other hand, don’t yet have a summer cruising car, so maybe I’ll get one of these.

Chevrolet Suburban - for all your boat towing needs this summer.  Not only can you tow a boat but carry the entire family and all the “stuff” needed for summer vacations!

Chrysler Town & Country - yet again for all the stuff and kids when you go all the family vacations.

Ford Mustang Convertible - great convertible car….enough said

Honda Element - a lot of people think this is an ugly car, but it is perfect for pet owners that travel a lot with their animals.  There is a cargo area kennel in the back of this car.

Jeep Wrangler - for all your off-roading and beach party needs.

Mazda MX-5 Miata - another great convertible that screams summer cruisin’!

There are a few more in the article, but these are the ones that I think will be the best for your summer cruising needs.  I might need to pick myself up one of these for my summer needs!

BMW has taken over the top spot from Toyota as the most valuable gloval car brand, according to autoweek.com.  Though it is expected that Toyota will be able to bounce back from their bad publicity and therefore bad brand value from the recent recalls.  Toyota is spending a lot of money and energy in marketing to try to win back their customers.  I’m sure that they will, so BMW so enjoy being on the top of this title, because it may not last for long.

Ford ranked higher on the global car brand value as well. Experts think that this is because Ford has introduced several new technologies such as the Sync, emission control, and their use of social media.  Smart techies working at Ford!

Porsche and Mercedes suffered in their rankings this past year.  That’s really not a total surprise though. These are luxury cars and people cannot afford luxury cars these days with the economy the way it has been.  Mercedes brand value fell 11%, but Porsche brand value fell 31%.  Yikes!  Not good.   But mind you, they still rank 4 and 5 on the list respectively.  Honda is third to round out the top 5.

The only thing I’m a little surprised about it is that I always consider BMW to be luxury as well.  I know that they have models that are cheaper by a lot than Porsche and Mercedes, but overall their vehicles aren’t cheap.

I guess good for BMW to take over and top the list of most valuable global car brand, but as I said earlier, very good chance this honor won’t last too long.