Car manufacturers guide you with car servicing only for a period of 30,000 miles to 100,000 miles depending on the brand and the extent of the warranty period. Most often, the manufacturers might give you a periodical free service a few times. Most problems in cars occur only after this time, since by then various parts of your vehicle might have undergone wear and tear. Therefore, as a car owner, you need to exercise a good amount of care to ensure a long life for the car and its vital parts.

As a car owner, the best thing you need to do is to find a mechanic or service center who will periodically guide you with your car service needs. It will be very convenient if the service center occurs in midway between the regular route you often travel so that you need not make a separate visit to the mechanic at times of need. This will also ensure that you remember to service your car from time to time.

It goes without saying that besides regular maintenance of the vital parts, you should not neglect minor problems which might worsen if not attended ending up with a big bill.

Every car owner must always bear in mind that with proper maintenance, they can dramatically prolong the life of their vehicle and increase its value up to several millions. Agreed that cars cannot speak but once you cultivate regular car maintenance habits, they can repay you in manifold.

Among a set of car maintenance tasks, lubrication is one of the most important things. Though every car owner will know what is lubrication and the real value of lubrication in car maintenance, there are a few things about this that most people might not know.

In the absence of proper lubrication, even a brand new Porsche car will fail within a short time. Lubricating the car is not only checking the oil periodically and topping up the oil level once it comes down. There are other lubricators in the cars including grease, transmission fluid, motor oil and gear lube.

Globally car manufacturer has setup car dealers to provide car service during warranty period to all new cars. Getting extended warranty is easily possible depending upon the condition of car. You have no choice but visiting car dealer ensures car service as per car manufacturer standard guidelines. Not all car dealers are the best as quality service varies depending upon the skilled labour and processes.

After warranty expire, car servicing bill raises and mostly prefer visiting independent car workshop to reduce their bill. Even if you visit to nearest car workshop during warranty, you do need to be sure that nothing is done to the car that expressly voids the warranty. Some warranties, for instance, may prohibit specific cosmetic changes.

Few days back I visited to Sai Service, Maruti dealer in Mumbai. They claim retaining 45% customers even after warranty. These customers are more of quality conscious and believe in paying more for quality. Since the demand of car servicing is increasing and dealers are out of capacity to serve them all. For instance, if a car dealer is selling 250 cars in a month, they all coming back in the next 3-6 months, they have no capacity to serve them all. Car owners have to wait for their car service bookings. It is obvious, customer satisfaction at car dealers also gets affected.

As per survey 60% car owners visit to local car workshop after warranty got expired. Every car owner wants to save on car servicing bill. Choosing good independent car workshop is another challenge.

There are corporate like Bosch Car Service is trying making independent workshops organized by providing them authorization. Bosch has a network of over 260 car service stations in India. Carnation, MyTVS and Mahindra First Choice Services are building their car workshops to organize servicing industry at par with dealers.

So how do you decide? Dealer or independent? Not surprisingly, the answer to some extent depends on whom you ask.

Car owners who prefer going car dealer say …“I’m a firm believer that you should return to the dealership. Parts are installed by rigorously trained technicians. Nobody knows the car better than these technicians”
Even they acknowledge that the initial labor costs were often higher than independents because of steeper overhead, but argued that the dealers’ greater expertise and state-of-the art equipment meant the repairs would go faster — and in the end cost less.

Source:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/26/your-money/26shortcuts.html?_r=1

In the recent survey, Maruti wins over customer satisfaction in a survey by TNS Automotive, but Maruti owners expect better car servicing even if there is a good network of car service stations in India.

The owners of Tata Nano expect more in terms of design and Maruti 800 owners expect better servicing as the years go by.

Apart from after sales service, the customer evaluations were taken in the key areas of sales satisfaction, product quality, vehicle performance and design, brand image, and cost-of-ownership.

Car owners in Northern India are relatively less satisfied compared to those in other parts of the country. The after sales service seems to be the primary reason particularly as the age of the car grows. At the national level, the customers in the relatively larger cities are more satisfied than those in the smaller cities. This may be a reflection of the growing expectations in the smaller cities. The manufacturers will do well to understand those. The customer expectations even at the bottom end are rising.

Due to the high growth, there was also a pressure on the supply of components and the workshop capacities.

According to Auto Serve 2010 Report, spare parts and components demands are increasing. The demand for parts and services set to double over the next 5 years. Roughly, 30 per cent of the market comprises spurious parts. Market interviews and analysis indicate that owners of older vehicles often migrate to independent service networks for cheaper and faster service. With OEMs more focused on vehicles in their warranty period, offering higher levels of service for older cars will be necessary for independent players to attract customers.

According to current scenario, customer satisfaction depends on quality of car servicing. There is a need of good car workshops which has trained car mechanics and has follow good processes for customer satisfaction.

Source:
http://www.tnsglobal.com/news/news-B617D2D0071A4CE195B138D70676706D.aspx

When your car stops working while driving on a busy highway, the motorist is left at the mercy of unknown strangers. There is new trend of mobile auto repairs to save stranded motorists globally.

Repairing costs have increased in auto repair centres because of their infrastructure. Car service centres are becoming costlier for minor repairs. Car owners still waste the whole day parking vehicle at car dealers for minor running repairs. Mobile repair can serve at their doorstep.

Mobile mechanic can save customers a lot of time. The car break down will continue and the obvious beneficiaries are the mobile repairs service.

Mobile auto repair can save a lot of money by going to car owners where their car broke down. They save on towing costs and the inconvenience of going back and forth from the auto shop.

Repair van equipped with tools, work mat, some basic service parts, repair manuals, and test equipment including fault diagnosis scanners, it can carry out basic cooling system repairs, suspension, electrical, transmission, gearbox, air conditioning, diesel, cylinder head, engine repair or simply a spark plug replacement.

In India, car break down services are popular. Car owners are familiar with their services but mostly are not happy with their services because they do not reach in time.

Few companies are trying to implement similar concept but few trust those mobile repair van. Car washing and detailing services are another doorstep services which are becoming popular. For India, this is customer habit change which is taking sometime to allow mechanic to do repair at doorstep. It is sure to change the way car servicing are done now.

Read More Source:

http://www.mobileautorepairokc.com/

http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/business/personal-finance/28817.html

The Indian automotive aftermarket is expected to grow to around $9.4 billion by 2015 from its present estimated size of $3.7 billion.

Car technology is changing rapidly and to keep pace with latest systems, there is a need for a specialist service provider. Large groups are investing into machinery and equipment along with training manpower. Building own workshops to cater demands is not feasible even large group invested heavily building infrastructure. Majority of people are still visit to road side workshops for car servicing.

Bottleneck in the Indian automotive aftermarket

- Untrained Manpower

The automotive aftermarket industry is one of the largest employers of skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workforce in the country, and there is a shortage of skilled workforce. Survival of small workshop is difficult when they do not have trained mechanics. There are groups like Bosch Car Service, are building network of car workshops and helping small workshops by standardizing and providing training.

- Scarcity of Spare Parts

Car manufacturer supplies spare parts to OEM dealers only. Car owners look for spare parts from small garages with same quality. Alternates and unbranded spare parts are available in the market. Car owners are happy getting cheapest spares from the outside market. Few garages claims they source from OEM dealers or same companies suuplies to OEM. Audit spare parts companies to stop supplies in the open market is not easy for OEM when they supplies same parts with different local brands. There is a need to increase supplies of spare parts.

Indian auto industry is investing heavily in developing facilities for design and manufacturing of auto spares parts. This investment will attract global auto giants to start outsourcing quality spares at competitive price from India. It is estimated that in next 5/6 years the spares parts industry for automobile will be a $14 billion investment.

- Monopoly of OEM dealers for warranty car service

Globally all OEM dealers are allowed to provide car servicing during warranty period. No other car workshop and service centre can provide that service. It has stopped car manufacturer sharing technical information about car technologies to others. In USA and European countries, garages and small car workshops has filed petition for “The Right to Repair”. Some of the states has approved it and community is still working on this to get it approved globally.

The need for Right to Repair legislation has become a necessity in order to protect the rights of car owners to decide where and how they have their vehicles serviced, whether at a new car dealer or an independent service facility. Right to Repair ensures that the person who bought the car and not the car company, can decide where that vehicle is repaired and maintained.

—————- About MeriCAR.com ———-

MeriCAR.com is doing efforts to bring all small workshops on one platform to rank them for quality and customer satisfaction.

Ads:
Find discount parts covering Audi to Volkswagen parts and more (MeriCAR ads)

Source:
http://www.thehindu.com
http://www.getmoneyrich.com/
http://www.righttorepair.org
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com
http://ciiautoserve.in

http://automotivehorizon.sulekha.com/

You get up in the morning prepare for your office and you find your car wont start. It’s just one of the signs that winter is in full effect, and every year it amazingly takes people by surprise. Batteries drain more quickly in winter.

Make sure your posts and connections are no corrosion. Most experts suggest you have your battery checked at least once a year. While many batteries are labeled “maintenance free,” most are serviceable. One simple way to keep your battery in proper working order is to keep the battery case clean. You can clean dirt and residue by wiping it with moist paper towels and mild detergent.

Check car manual for instructions for battery. If your battery has a removable vent cap, you should check electrolyte levels at least once a month. If levels don’t rise above the top plates of the battery, you can add distilled water. If you are checking your battery instead of car mechanic, make sure you follow the safety precautions listed in your owner’s manual. Most batteries have a life span of up to three years. If your battery is older, it should be replaced.

Other possible reasons for a battery runs down are:

• You accidentally left the lights on or some other accessory that pulls power from the battery even when the ignition key is off.
• The battery is not being recharged while the vehicle is being driven (you have a charging problem)
• There is a key off parasitic electrical drain on the battery because a relay is sticking, a module is not shutting down, or there is a shorted diode in the alternator.
• Your battery is old and will not hold a charge anymore. The battery needs to be replaced.

To send enquiry with discounted offers, you can check with Nishant Batteries, Click here

Source:
Articles
More detail of Diagnosing A Car Battery That Runs Down read at aa1car.com

When you are busy, it is very common that you do not bother asking about the spare parts brand your mechanic has replaced. You stress upon having seen old parts.

Here is a story.

“About two years ago I played a joke on a customer who asked me to keep her old parts. She asked me to save the old parts–BEFORE we did any work, I gave this customer an air conditioning compressor and told her it was her old water pump that we replaced, and she believed me” said mechanic and writer at: trustmymechanic.com

Ask your mechanic to use brand name or dealer parts whenever there is a “critical component” being replaced.

Critical components are water pumps, alternators, starters, fuel pumps, etc and non-critical items are air filters, spark plugs, fluids, brake pads, etc.

Ask your mechanic to use his best judgment when determining critical items. You will probably pay more for these parts now, but in the long run you will be glad you did.

In India, spare parts industry has grown with huge demand. Almost every workshop has problem getting particular parts from the market. Maintaining inventory is not easy, especially multi brand workshops. Car manufacturer are putting legal term before spare parts supplier to supply to their dealers only. It has been believed that same spare parts are available in the open market with different brand name and they have warranty.

Always compare while you need to replace critical component and prefer authorized workshop or ask for brand name. Small workshops get it arranged but take their responsibility to replace if it has any problem.

Visit to any car repair service centre, look around, there is a possibility you will find a customer who would be having problem with his bill. The problem is wrong cost estimation or few items are overly charged. In other countries car owners still find some data from website to compare charges, but there is no such system in India. Even car manufacturer has listed down fixed charges for warranty servicing but if car needs any repair done, you can not guess what would be the bill.

As per experts (5PointsAutomotive) Start shopping for a repair facility before you need one; you can make better decisions when you are not rushed or in a panic. Once you have chosen a repair shop, start off with a minor job; if you are pleased, trust them with more complicated repairs later.

In India, mostly car owners start finding car service centre when their car has problem or somebody remind about servicing.

MeriCAR.com is helping car owners to SEARCH for car service centres in your nearest area and sends automatic Service Reminder once you are registered members.

One of the most prominent questions asked by any car owner is how to improve fuel efficiency? Answer is very clear in the unconscious mind of people but they often tend to avoid it. Consumer guides recommendation for getting better fuel efficiency may seem like a silly approach, but they really can make a difference.

Apart from regular car service, checking tyre pressure is normally recommended by mechanics and car experts.

Tyre pressure can drop due to small perforations, the natural escape of air through the tyre’s components or even from a decrease in ambient temperatures. So it is important to check it once a month, because:

• Low pressure increases the risk of damage to your tyres
• Excess pressure of 20% can reduce the life of your tyre by up to 10,000 kms
• Correct tyre pressure will even save fuel

Michelin recommends that you must check the pressure of your tyres, including your spare, monthly and before any long journey, preferably when your tyres are cold. If they are hot, it is advisable to add 4-5 psi to the pressure recommended by the vehicle manufacturer.

I met somebody at AutoExpo 2010, he made comments while talking about car servicing trends in India. He said “next 10 years dog may know how to maintain cars”. I try to understand what he was saying that India still need lots of awareness about do-it-yourself car maintenance and knowledge will grow at level that car mechanics would not be able to make them fool and everybody would know basics. I am talking about basics services which you can perform at your home garage.

Do-It-Yourself (DIY) exists in all other countries but people do not know how to open bonnet in India. Calling emergency helpline for basic things which were not checked and on-road assistance company charges heavily to tow vehicles. Driving habits are still to improve.

Recession has taught many in the world. Last year according to survey, majority of car owners missed their car servicing to avoid heavy charges in UK. Do-It-yourself is good for knowing if your car need major checkup and save you from heavy expenses occurred while things go road on the way.

Here is a list of the most common Do-it-yourself (DIY) tasks which you can do with little practice. It will save a big chunk of money.

1. Changing Oil
2. Change Air Filter
3. Replacing Fuel Filter
4. Replacing Spark Plugs
5. Change Battery
6. Replacing Your Disc Brake Pads
7. Replacing Your Drum Brakes
8. Replacing Your Ignition Coils
9. Jump-Start a Car
10. Replace Your Electric Fuel Pump

In your leisure time read manual which comes along with your new car, that would great help for your to understand few basics. It is not only save money but also increase your car value when you want to sell it. Happy DIY!

Car manufacturer are worrying about present market scenario globally. American new elect Barack Obama is trying to save American motor industry from collapse (today’s news -HT). Car manufacturer are worrying about present market scenario globally. American new elect Barack Obama is trying to save American motor industry from collapse (today’s news -HT).

New car prices are being raised in India. Everybody needs to look at his pocket before buying new car.

Do not buy new car, get you old car service. This is the time wait and watch before buying new dream car.

You can make your old car looking like new when you just drop it at nearest car service dealer. MeriCAR.com has a list of dealers. Pick up and facility is mentioned along with dealer. Use ’send enquiry’ form to contact workshop. It is easy!!!