Should I panic when my check engine light comes on?

When your oil light comes on you are in trouble and need to stop immediately, but what is the deal with the check engine light, and is it important to pay attention to it, or is it just another way for dealerships to make money?

The name suggests that something is seriously wrong with your engine, which is meant to scare you into doing something,but your check engine light it is mainly about emissions components. The most simple fix, and a good thing to do first, is to check if your gas cap is on tight. While you’re at it, take a look at the gas cap to make sure it is in good condition, and doesn’t have a crack. Even if it it needs to be replaced, that is an easy fix.
A lot of people ignore this light. We’ve had a client with a Subaru, where in addition to the check engine light the cruise control light came on. The intent of making both lights come on was to make the car owner take this more seriously. In this case both lights went off once the one problem was repaired. Most mechanics can hook up a small computer to your car and get the error codes. They can also check your spark plugs and wires with the initial diagnostic.
Other causes can be a busted oxygen sensor, a problem with the catalytic converter, and with Subarus it is often on the head gasket. Be sure to go to a reputable mechanic (that does not mean you should go to the dealer unless you have free factory warranty). If your mechanic recommends something expensive. you should get a second opinion – always! If the second diagnosis is different from the first, you may want to get a third. We once had a shop insist it was only an oxygen sensor on an early 2000 Subaru and it turned out to be the head gasket. Had we gone to the first shop we would have thrown a few hundred $ away and fixed something that wasn’t broken.

Top 5 Marketing Secrets for Small Business Owners

1. Features versus Benefits.  Features are what you do, benefits are what your clients buy, it’s what’s in it for them.  For example, for Auto Brokers, the feature is that we find cars for people, the benefits are that it is without hassle, convenient, cheaper and better quality and free.  Another example is the security system: what type of glass breaking detectors are used is a feature, what clients buy is feeling safe in their home.
2. Brand Name (or business name) versus Benefits: Brand Names are very expensive to build, it likely took Coca Cola millions of dollars to make people know what Coca Cola is, or that Google means searching for something.  With Conifer Cars I don’t care if people know the name or if they call me the car lady, I’d rather spend my time and money promoting the benefits that get me business, since I don’t have an extra million to throw at advertising.
3. Know your audience:  you need to tailor your message to fit your audience.  For Conifer Cars we are popular with young professionals, families up to retirement age, women of all ages, middle class, mid-income ranges.  We don’t spend resources on selling to people who love haggling with dealers.  If you aren’t sure who your audience is, analyze your good clients, the ones you enjoy working with and the ones you earn adequate revenue from.
4. Tracking:  if you properly track your results, you will get to a point where you know exactly what works and what doesn’t, so you only spend money on the marketing that gets results for you. An example of tracking properly: if you have a store like Andrea’s Frame Store, and someone walks in who saw your ad in the Columbine courier, peruses and looks at every frame but doesn’t buy anything, it would not make sense to track them as a positive result from that ad.  You only track what leads to actual NET revenue.
5. Opt in versus Opt out – Permission Marketing:  you spend a lot of time and energy networking with people and that results in what we call positive capital in marketing.  That means people like you and your service or product and will use you when the time comes.  Don’t blow it by sending them unsolicited emails, even with one email a month you destroy that positive capital one email at a time.  If you think they would like your emails, ask permission first.

Top 5 Mistakes of Car Ownership and Car Buying

1. Understanding Repair Shops:  The nice guy talking to you at the counter and on the phone is the service adviser, which is a 100% commissioned sales position.  Don’t buy everything they sell.  Shop around, get 3 estimates for expensive repairs, ask questions like ‘when do I need this’ – often they will weasel out ‘can’t tell for sure’, but they should be able to tell you if you if it needs it done in the next 30 miles or the next 3000 miles.  Why does that that matter?  Your car may get stolen or wrecked in the next 2000 miles, or your situation changes and you end up selling it, so don’t spend money until you have to.  Ask ‘what happens if I don’t do it?’  If it’s a timing belt on a Honda, you’ll destroy the engine, on a Toyota you’ll just need a tow to the repair shop.  You may only do 2 timing belts over the life of the car instead of 3, that is over $1000 you save.
2. I have 3 days to change your mind after I buy a car.  NO you don’t!  There is no 3 day right of rescission like there is with a mortgage.  Once you put your signature on the buyer’s order, the car is yours for better or for worse.
3. Disclosure: The seller has to tell me what is wrong with the car they are selling. They don’t!  The only thing that has to be disclosed is the mileage if the car is under 100k miles. Nothing else. Get a mechanical inspection or better – hire a broker.
4. Carfax tells me if the car was in an accident. It does not.  Even carfax does not claim this, they merely say that no accidents were “REPORTED” to carfax.  That’s a big difference.  Many accidents don’t show up on carfax and accidents do not just affect the paint quality or frame integrity, but also the mechanical reliability of the vehicle.
5. Does my car have a black box?  Most newer cars have black boxes. Is that a good thing?  Who owns the data?  Can it be used against you?  Can your car be hacked?  That is something for car owners should be aware of. Stay tuned for more articles on black boxes.