Replace or Rebuild

The high price of new cars, the falling price of trade-ins, the credit crunch, the diminished value of our investments and the general uncertainty of what surprises the next few years may bring has many of us looking into the viability of reconditioning our current car instead of replacing it with a new one.

Last year the average new car cost $29,700 (according to Comerica Bank). Investing a small portion of that in the car we have now, the one that is paid off, or nearly so, can be a good decision.

If the car we have now fills the needs of our family or business and is basically sound there is really no reason to replace it. Even if we had to invest 4 or 5 thousand dollars in the vehicle it would be less than one year of payments. That doesn’t even count the sales tax we would have to pay, or the higher insurance premiums that a new car brings with it.

Here's a nicely rebuilt car...wish it were mine!

Begin with a very thorough inspection of the current car. Everything should be checked, from tires and suspension to engine and transmission performance. Air conditioning, cruise control, stereo, seat covers and interior upholstery including the headliner are all serviceable items that can be replaced at a reasonable cost when compared to purchasing a new car.

Sometimes we get focused on a technical gizmo offered on a new model. A popular item now is the onboard navigation systems. We don’t have to buy an entire car to get a very nice nav system. For about $1000 we can have a pop up screen color system that incorporates a great stereo system. We can have Bluetooth enabled phones, I-Pod connections and voice controls. Remote start, tire pressure monitors, and entertainment centers can all be added to almost any car on the highway.

Once we know the condition of the car and what if any accessories we would like to add, we can come up with a cost to keep the car we have. Now compare that to the cost of replacing that car. If a few thousand dollars invested in the current car will give us a couple of more years of safe and comfortable service why spend 10 times that?

Another consideration is that sometimes we want a new car for those special trips, like to Grandma’s house for the holidays, or the family vacation. Consider renting a car for those occasions. You can rent a very nice new car or SUV for a week for less than 1 month’s car payment. You don’t have to worry about maintenance, insurance or depreciation and can have the pleasure of a different new car for each trip.

THANKS FROM A LISTENER

Hi,

I just wanted to thank you!

My name is Happy Littlefield with Wolfenson Electric. I listen to your radio show every week and took your advise.

We had a transmission problem with a Mercury Sable. We went to our regular transmssion place and they said it was shot. But being a mechanic most of my life I had a hard time believing that, so had the car brought to Houston from Freeport. I called your office and spoke with a real sweet Lady and got Tom Hart's phone number at Carl's Transmissions. We took the car there, He drove the car and told us it was most likely a sensor and did not charge us. We carried the car back replaced the part and still had problems. Tom checked the car again and found it to have an electoral problem and suggested we take it to an electric shop. Once again he did not charge us! We sent the car to the dealer told them what we had found. They kept the car for a week and said the transmission was bad and we needed a new one.

We picked up the car and took straight back to Tom where he agreed to look at the car and repaired it. The problem ended up being a broken wire in the harness and the car is like new.

Thank the lord for honest people! Thanks for all the help.

Happy Littlefield
Tool and Equipment Manager
Wolfenson Electric

Looking at The Price of Gasoline

Energy Information Administration analysis of the petroleum market points to the cost of crude oil as the main contributor to the large run up in the first half of 2008 and the recent decline in retail gasoline prices.

The cost of crude oil accounts for about 73% of the gasoline pump price (see graphic on gasoline price components). The cost of crude oil for U.S. refiners reached a record high in early summer 2008 (as did retail gasoline prices) due mainly to high worldwide oil demand relative to supply. Other contributing factors included political events and conflicts in some major oil producing regions, and other factors.

EIA believes that the high prices for petroleum products and relatively weak economic conditions in the U.S. and other countries has helped to reduce demand and prices for crude oil and gasoline. This contributed to the decline in crude oil and retail gasoline prices starting in mid-summer.

Why have retail gasoline prices not dropped as much as crude oil prices have fallen recently?
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Although crude oil is a major component in the price of gasoline, refining is another factor that affects the U.S. retail price of gasoline.

Beginning with Hurricane Gustav, several refineries shut down, reducing gasoline production as a result. Hurricane Ike then induced a loss of over 20% of U.S. refinery capacity, all located along the Gulf Coast. This loss means much less gasoline can be produced domestically, thus driving up the price.

EIA estimates that as much as 15% of gasoline needed is not being produced as a result of refinery shutdowns related to Hurricane Ike. Most of these refineries are expected to be fully operational within a few weeks, leading to an easing of prices at the pump.

In the last month, we have seen a steeper drop in crude oil prices than in retail gasoline prices, on a cents-per-gallon basis. More recently, gasoline prices have been rising as crude oil prices have been falling. But keep in mind that in 2008, until Hurricane Ike occurred, crude oil prices increased considerably more than gasoline prices, on a cents-per-gallon basis.

Retail gasoline prices increased an average of 82 cents per gallon more in the first 7 months of 2008 than in the same period in 2007, while crude oil prices increased by 119 cents per gallon. So, why didn’t pump prices rise nearly as much as crude prices for the first 7 months of the year? Because robust supplies of gasoline combined with weak gasoline demand meant that much of the crude oil price increases could not be passed on at the pump.

Lifetime Warranty for Your Car!

If you listen to our radio show, or have been to the shop, you know how excited we are about the BG Products warranty. Well now we are even more excited, BG has extended the warranty from 7 years and 150,000 miles to UNLIMITED MILEAGE FOR THE LIFETIME OF YOUR CAR.

This warranty covers the components of your car serviced with BG Products on the BG Maintenance program and can include; the engine, transmission, cooling system, differential, power steering and hydraulic brake system.

BG has found that their products are so successful at eliminating failures in these critical systems that they can offer this tremendous warranty.  BG is making this warranty retroactive to July of 2004. If you are currently on the BG warranty you just got a lot more than you thought you paid for!

For more information please call us at Freedom Automotive.

Portable Generator Maintenance

A lot of us had recent unwanted experience using portable generators and for many it was a first exposure. I have had a lot of questions about generator maintenance and operation. Like cars the maintenance on generators can vary from model to model but there are some basic guidelines that will cover almost every model we are likely to see.

The first and most obvious thing we notice when discussing maintenance is that it is based on hours of operation instead of mileage as with our cars. If you think of hours as miles it makes a lot more sense. Operating at 50% power would be the equivalent of driving at 60 miles per hour. Using that as a guide, 50 hours of operation would translate to 3000 miles driven.

Generators and most small equipment engines are still carbureted and because of this tend to have a lot of fuel contamination in the engine oil just like our cars did 30 years ago. Back then we had to change our car engine oil much more often, for that reason we want to keep our generators at that 3000 mile mark for maintenance. Whether you use synthetic or conventional oil contamination is the problem, not the breakdown of the oil itself.

The less expensive small generators do not have an oil filter. This makes oil maintenance even more critical. Without a filter to clean the oil it accumulates dirt even faster, and dirt translates to engine wear rapidly. Engines with filters generally hold considerably more oil than the usual 1 quart that the non-filtered models require. If you haven’t purchased a generator yet you need to consider upgrading to a better model with an oil filter.

Air filters should be checked about every 100 hours. If the air around you is very dirty it may need to be changed as soon as that. Under normal use (what would be normal if you need a generator?) they will last several hundred hours.

Keep the generator clean. You do not want to let the oily dirt accumulate around the generator. This reduces the ability of the air cooled engine to transfer heat, deteriorates the rubber mounts and could allow the high voltage to short out.

Check all of the fuel lines and fittings for cracks or leaks at each oil change. Even a small gas leak could be very dangerous. Remember you have about 5 gallons of gas sitting on top of a hot engine and high voltage only a couple of feet from your house.

The most dangerous thing about a generator is the carbon monoxide from the exhaust. These fumes can enter the house through an open window, a door, or even through the vents in the overhang of the roof. If you notice the beginnings of a headache, dizziness or nausea move to fresh air and shut down the generator until you are sure that it is not poisoning the air inside the house.

Another common disaster from generators is caused by the unstable voltage that many less expensive units put out. The voltage can vary from 90 to 130 volts in rapid spikes that will cause failures in many electronics. If your generator doesn’t have a gauge that shows a steady 110 to 120 volts, or voltage filter...don’t hook it into your high priced TV or computer.

When you are finished with the unit add a fuel stabilizer to the gas tank. This will keep the fuel from breaking down over the off season. Instead of shutting the engine off with the kill switch close the fuel supply valve and allow the unit’s carburetor to run out of gas. This will prevent the gas from drying out inside the carb and plugging up the small metering passages in there.

If you want to be sure that the generator will be ready to run at the next power failure you should start it up once a month during the off season. Let it run about 20 to 30 minutes and put some load on the generator output with an electric tool or appliance.

Hopefully we won’t need to use them again for many years, but with good preventive maintenance it will be ready when needed.

Please remember that the Houston Food Bank is still feeding the hungry...and still needs food donations...volunteers...and cash donations. CLICK HERE to learn more about hoe you can help support the Houston Food Bank.