Service Zone is a free bi-weekly e-newsletter product for the automotive industry. It includes news and information to help shop owners, service writers and technicians keep up with a rapidly changing marketplace.
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Thursday, May 17 2012

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Opinion: Revenues, not profit margins, pay the bills

Today, maybe more so than ever, people are trying to stretch their money.

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AAA: Cost to own, operate vehicle up 1.9 percent

ORLANDO, Fla. — The annual “Your Driving Costs” study conducted by AAA has found a 1.9-percent rise in the yearly costs to own and operate a sedan in the U.S., and that’s driven, in part, by the increasing cost of tires and gasoline. FULL ARTICLE


RepairPal launches ‘Top Shop’ repair referral service

EMERYVILLE, Calif. — RepairPal, an online source of auto repair and maintenance information, is forming a network of “trusted’ repair shops to be known collectively as “Top Shop” locations.

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TIA establishes On-Line University

BOWIE, Md. — The Tire Industry Association (TIA) has established its TIA On-Line University, offering all its 200-Level Basic and 250-Level Advanced Training Programs in a Web-based format.

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AMI offering scholarship to attend training conference

COLLEYVILLE, Texas — The Automotive Management Institute (AMI) is accepting applications for a $1,000 scholarship to apply toward a training conference this fall in Las Vegas.

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Bosch launches DIY filter campaign

BROADVIEW, Ill. — The Bosch Group has launched its 2012 advertising and promotional campaign for its premium performance DistancePlus oil filter line for do-it-yourselfers.

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Ohio Technical College opens Edelbrock Performance Academy

CLEVELAND — Automotive technician training school Ohio Technical College (OTC) is partnering with auto parts manufacturer and hot rod industry icon Edelbrock L.L.C. to offer what’s being called a “one-of-a-kind training program to the next generation of technicians.”

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Tire dealers and service shop operators should recognize when motorists’ expectations are unrealistically high.

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Some service personnel insist that erasing trouble codes for motorists is a valuable courtesy and convenience, but unfortunately, this practice also may be counterproductive.

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Free diagnoses ultimately reduce the value of all professional automotive service providers.

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Chrysler

Some 2008-09 Jeep Grand Cherokees with 6.1L engines and automatic transmissions may idle roughly on cold startup. In many cases, the Check Engine light will also be on, with trouble code P050D stored in computer memory. If normal troubleshooting fails to reveal the cause of the problems, a glitch in the PCM software is the likely culprit. Reprogramming the module with an updated calibration is the only reliable fix. Check with a dealer for the application specifics of the software upgrade. FULL ARTICLE



A shop owner in Bay City, Texas, writes:

“We called some other shops to find out the cost of repairs and sure weren´t ready for what we found. After doing some management training, we´re pretty much setup using national standards. It appears all the other shops don´t have a clue. Labor is pretty standard, but parts seem to be priced from cost only up to a very low markup at best. We´re the newest guys and commonly hear ‘I can buy this for $XX.XX’ from customers. I´m trying to figure whether I should follow their routine to blend in, or go with common sense and try to make a living using established standards and being generally higher. I´m an outsider in a town with the other shops owned by some popular folks and that adds up as well. I´ve been crunching numbers on this all weekend and it´s frustrating. Suggestions?”

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Entire contents copyright 2012 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved.
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