New Car Warranties

If you are a Dodge Durango or Jeep Liberty owner, be aware that your vehicle could possibly be rounded up in a recall issued by Chrysler for almost a half million automobiles.

“Chrysler “Group said on Friday it would recall almost half a million vehicles, including recent models of the Jeep Liberty and Dodge Durango after reported fires and its new Dodge Avenger sedan because of faulty door latches.

Chrysler said it took the action after receiving reports of dozens of cases in which the Durango or the Liberty caught fire.

The sweeping recall of over 489,000 vehicles was the second such action by Chrysler in two weeks. In late February, the U.S. automaker recalled almost 51,000 vehicles to reprogram software for anti-lock brakes.”
(source)

In other recall news, police officers will find that their Crown Victoria might be part of a recall involving over 100,000 vehicles. The problem seems to stem from faulty wheels that tend too fall apart during a high speed chase.

“Ford Motor Co. will recall 109,664 Crown Victoria police cars because of cracks that can develop in the police cruiser wheels causing rapid air loss during high-speed pursuits.

The cracks have been reported in a small percentage of the steel wheels on 2003 to 2005 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptors. The wheels were covered by a Ford extended warranty program, according to a company executive.

Ford notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the problem stating that the cracks can form near the weld line that connects the rim to the wheel disk.

Ford dealers will inspect and replace the wheels and the spare as needed.”
(Source)

You have always wanted a Jeep. You have investigated new car warranties and Jeep satisfies your requirements there. But you are not quite sure which style or model Jeep to choose.
MSN/ Autos offers the following Consumer Report’s review of the 2007 Wrangler Sahara

Highs: Off-road ability.
Lows: Ride, handling, braking, noise, fuel economy, fit and finish, visibility, front-seat comfort, access.

“The redesigned Wrangler is more civilized but makes many compromises for its off-road capability. The ride, handling, and powertrain are all improved, but the Wrangler still falls short when driven on-road. Handling is compromised by vague steering and low cornering limits. The ride is steady but stiff. The 3.8-liter V6 engine lacks punch and delivers dismal fuel economy. Improvements like the available four-door body style, five-passenger capacity, up-to-date safety features, and more creature comforts make living with this Wrangler more palatable than ever. Off-road capability remains extremely impressive.”

Consumer Reports Bottom Line Price
The Consumer Reports Bottom Line Price is the dealer invoice minus any holdbacks, national dealer incentives, and customer rebates.
Bottom Line Price Range: $16,866 – $25,438

You have car insurance, your Volvo is protected by an excellent new car warranty, and if a group of male activists have anything to do with it, your male image as a Volvo driver will be protected too.

“In what appears to be a first, a male activist group is petitioning Volvo not to choose Arnold Worldwide of Boston as its new global agency of record, claiming that the shop has created ads for other clients that denigrate fathers.

National newspaper columnist and talk-show host Glenn Sacks is behind the push that started Tuesday, Feb. 27. His Web site, glennsacks.com, has a form letter to Volvo urging the Ford Motor Co.-owned brand “not to award the contract to Arnold Worldwide and instead award it to one of the other agencies, preferably Euro RSCG.”

The Web site lists names and contact information for Volvo officials in the United States and Sweden.

Sacks told Advertising Age on Wednesday, Feb. 28, tha 1,000-plus e-mails and faxes on the matter were sent to Volvo in the previous 24 hours. Other male groups, including HusbandsandFathers.org and Fathers and Families, are supporting the effort.

Sacks said “a lot of us in the fathers’ movement are upset” that dads are portrayed in advertising as “idiots, clowns,” while “the wife is always right.”

His site criticizes Arnold’s purported anti-father work for Fidelity — for example, a spot showing a man going to great lengths to parallel park in an empty parking lot — while praising a TV ad that Euro RSCG did for Volvo.

Sacks discusses his 2004 blitz against Verizon on the site, claiming success for getting the telecom giant to pull a TV commercial showing a bumbling father trying to help his daughter with her homework.

Richard Smaglick, co-founder of HusbandsandFathers.com, said Verizon pulled the commercial, although he added the advertiser explained at the time the campaign had run its course.

A spokesman for Volvo Cars of North America confirmed the arrival of an undisclosed number of e-mails, faxes and a “handful of voice mails” on the matter. “All were very polite,” he said.”
continue reading at Automotive News.com

Your gorgeous new car is in the driveway and well, it is a babe magnet isn’t it? Your new car warranty is probably pretty comprehensive, but, there is not likely any new car warranty that will cover the scuffs and possible scratches from your well meaning, car washing friends.

So now that the crowd has gone home and you notice a few scuffs, what do you do?

Here is the answer from a car detailer’s point of view.

AUTO DETAILING 101-Removing Paint Scuffs and scratches

Hey Detailer-
Got paint?
Got client cars with scuffs or scratches?

Today is your lucky day!

I am going to tell you how we remove scuffs with the blink of an eye,…so simple and easy, and cheap to do

And the funny thing is-most detailers have no idea how to do it. They buff a car, they rub hard with wax and the scuffs go nowhere..so they just leave them and ignore them.

Dont. They are money waiting for your profit piggy-bank.

So- here it is. Here is the magical potion that will get your paint scuffs removed from your clients cars, with the easy wipe of a terry..

ANSWER: LAQUER THINNER.

Now that was easy, huh?

Go to your local Home Depot, get a gallon, some terry’s and start making more money.

Simply wipe, and your scuffs are gone!
fromAuto Detailing Blog

You’ve saved and scrimped to buy the new car of your dreams. You have reviewed all of your new car warranty options and have secured the best new car warranty plan available for your vehicle. You have good insurance coverage and your feeling pretty darn well protected. But have you ever wondered if the parts that you will eventually need to buy are genuine or counterfeit? Well,3M has.

“The automotive industry is constantly dealing with counterfeiting and parts piracy. These sub-par and unsafe products wind up with unknowing consumers, putting lives at risk and exposing shop owners to potential liability. Besides safety and health concerns, counterfeiting leads to shrinking profit margins, increased warranty costs, financial investments in intellectual property protection and brand damage. In most situations, these products look almost identical to the originals. However, they are usually full of errors, inferior and don’t meet appropriate standards. To combat this, 3M has launched a new format of the 3M Confirm authentication products featuring floating image technology that helps protect against counterfeiting and tampering. The new format offers multi-layered overt and covert security features, and allows for the incorporation of security and tracking features into the same label. The product can be used on virtually any auto part.”

An innovative 3M technology enables auto part manufactureres to apply a lablel that will allow the consumer or auto repair shop to quickly detect any counterfeits that nay be in their stock.

“This fully customizable strip is ideal for any market segments that are known victims of counterfeiting or fraud, such as automotive parts,” says Bill Markovitz, marketing development manager, 3M Security Systems Division. “The additional functionality of the new format allows manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers to use one label for easy authentication, bar codes, tracking and other additional security features, which cuts costs and increases efficiency and security.”

from ABRN

“Ford Motor Co. said Friday it will sell a subsidiary that offers vehicle service contracts and related products to dealers to a private equity fund. Terms were not disclosed.

Ford’s Automobile Protection Corp. is being sold to Trident IV LP, a private equity fund managed by Greenwich, Conn.-based Stone Point Capital LLC.

The Dearborn-based automaker is in the midst of a massive overhaul under which it is cutting jobs and closing plants as it loses market share at home to Asian automakers.

Ford said in a news release the sale was the result of its review of strategic options for the service contracts business announced in October. The deal is expected to close during the second quarter and is subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions.

Ford bought Automobile Protection in 1999.

Ford shares fell 18 cents, or 2.3 percent, to close at $7.59 on the New York Stock Exchange.”

(Source)

Buying a new car is exciting and sometimes confusing. Often the consumer is presented with the option of buying an extended warranty and wonders why that would be necessary with a brand new car. Depending on the individual circumstance, an extended warranty can be an excellent safeguard against future emergency expenses. How Stuff Works.com offers the following counsel on buying new car extended warranties.

“Most manufacturers offer at least 3-year/36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper protection on their new products. In addition, many offer extended warranty coverage on engine and powertrain components and limited warranties on certified used cars. In most cases, these plans offer consumers excellent protection. But if you drive more than 12,000 miles per year or plan to keep your vehicle for a long time, then an extended service plan might offer the kind of security you are looking for.

According to Ann Tomlanovich at DaimlerChrysler, “many consumers choose to purchase extended bumper-to-bumper warranties to match Dodge’s free 7-year/70,000-mile extended warranty plan. This guarantees that consumers won’t have to pay for repairs for at least seven years or 70,000 miles.” Tomlanovich also went on to state that roughly 30 percent of consumers are purchasing extended warranties-up considerably from past years.

Keep in mind that it is less expensive to purchase the plan while the vehicle is still covered by the manufacturer’s warranty. If you wait for the bumper-to-bumper warranty to expire before looking into and extended plan, then you will pay considerably more. Most of these plans are self funded and insured, so the earlier you pay, the lower your rate.

If you think of an extended warranty as a security blanket then you might not mind paying money up front to avoid a large repair bill in the future. Consumers also need to look into the reliability history of their automobile. Some models with higher-than-average repair histories might necessitate an extended warranty. Also, consider the cost of parts. Many domestic models have repair costs that are half that of imported models, making an extended warranty appealing to owners of foreign cars.”