Baby Girl Getting Married!

My daughter Courtney Leanne is getting married March 24th to John Alva.

I am so proud that you might think I actually did something! All of the hard work was done by her adoptive parents Oscar and Glenda Buenteo, and they did a great job of it.

Courtney and John met in college a few years ago and have been engaged for more than a year. His family lives in Katy. The wedding will be at Ashelynn Manor in Magnolia.

I do have to wonder how those of you with 2 or 3 or 4 daughters have managed to survive.

The Latest News On
Shop Licensing

As most of you know I have been a proponent of shop licensing and technician certification for many years. This year there has been a serious push in Texas, and several other states, to get a real licensing and certification bill passed. Garage owners and technicians from all around the State have worked long and hard formulating and presenting ideas to the legislature.

Basically what we have proposed is very similar to the requirements for a shop to belong to AAA of Texas and claim to be an "Approved Auto Repair Facility", or to NAPA's Auto Car program and claim to be a "NAPA AutoCare Center". ( Freedom is both by the way) The bill would require that the shop have insurance (40% don't), and that it employ qualified technicians.

Less than 1% of the shops in Texas are AAA or NAPA approved. I read recently that only 20% of the shops that apply for these programs meet the standards necessary. The Automotive Service Association of Texas, working with shop owners Statewide and the Legislature is trying to pass this important bill. If passed it will insure that whatever shop you chose and whatever technician works on your car you will know that at least some basic qualifications have been met.

Put On The Brakes!

I recently had a customer ask why my brake job estimate was over $400 when he had seen "the same thing" advertised at a national brake chain for $99. I suggested that he take it to that store and let then do a brake inspection and then see what their bid would be. I offered to do the job for whatever they bid.

He didn't take me up on it. In the past I have had customers that did. Our estimate has never been higher, and is often over $100 lower.

There is a shop in San Antonio that recently offered "free" brake pads and shoes. I was with that shop owner recently and he was bragging about how much he made off that deal.

Maybe we are just old fashion at Freedom, but we think that both of these promotions are intentionally misleading. Even if the customer did end up paying a reasonable price for work that was actually needed, the method used to get the customer into the shop borders on dishonesty.

We don't do that. If you think you might have a brake problem we will road test the car, put it up on a lift, remove all four wheels, check the linings, the rotors and drums, the hardware and the hydraulic system. Then we will give you an estimate. If you decide to fix it great, if not there is no charge for the check out.

We won't tell you something is free, or cheap, and then jack the price up.
Some of the other things we will do;

• Guarantee all of our work for at least 12 months and 12,000 miles nationwide
• Use only original quality parts or better
• Pick up and deliver, or give you a ride
• Use only ASE Certified Technicians to service your car
• Take the time to talk with you about your car (or kids, or sports, or my daughter's coming wedding)
• Arrange a rental car at a great rate.
• And provide you with service for your whole car, bumper to bumper.

Remember the old saying, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

Another Benefit At Freedom

There is a little known program available for motorists who fail the State Emission Inspection test. It is call Low Income Repair Assistance or Replacement(LIRAP).

Every vehicle that gets a state inspection pays a portion of the inspection fee to fund a program to help others get their vehicles repaired for inspection. To qualify for the program and to receive assistance you only have to pass the income test. The "low income" part of the program is a bit misleading. To qualify for the assistance a family of 4 can have up to a $40,000 take-home income. A single person taking home less than $19,000 qualifies.

This means that we all know someone who could be helped by this program. In most cases people who live on social security would fall under these provisions. A lot of our kids would qualify too, even if they are living at home, as long as the car is registered to them and their income meets the parameters. Of course anyone who is already getting food stamps or other government assistance already qualifies.

The way the program works is that the car must be able to pass the safety part of the test, then if it fails the emission test you can apply for the assistance. That application can be handled right at the shop and generally only takes a couple of days to be approved. Then the shop will test the car to find out what it will take to repair it for inspection.

The Houston Galveston Area Counsel handles the approval and payment process under the program.

Once we receive approval we do the repairs, up to $600 and bill the program. The car owner is responsible for the first $30 of charges.

If we determine that the car will cost too much to repair, or is beyond repair, then the program will buy the car and apply $1000 toward the replacement vehicle.

LIRAP has been one of the successful programs helping to clean the air in Houston. It allows motorist who may not otherwise be able to legally continue driving to have their cars repaired. This helps all of us with cleaner air, less wasted gas and fewer illegal cars on the road.

If you know someone who may need more information about this program have them call the shop at 281-499-4797