Females are becoming Technicians at a faster rate every day. About the time I retired this trend started. At first they did mostly interior, dash repairs and the like. No more now days they are doing all repairs and with vehicles becoming smaller and tighter to work on they have become an asset.

They also do excellent diagnostics, and with the modern car and truck having as many as 6 computers this is not an easy task. I am sure there are some problems from the good old boys of auto repair until they find themselves in a jam and they help them out. Of course there are also many excellent male technicians. I am sure some of the grease monkeys of years past would have a thing or 12 to say about this I am sure.

Trying to find a good repair shop is becoming harder to find. Where I live there are only 2 service stations still in operation.

How to choose a good honest repair shop. Of course talk to your friends and coworkers of course this is going to be mostly negative well because that’s how people are.

ASE certified is a good place to start and many think a clean shop is also a good indicator. I agree a shop should be clean but if it is too clean they have too much time on their hands or the equipment is just not being used, there is usually a good reason for this unless the shop is just opened.

Estimate are always necessary before the repairs are done and the final bill should always bee within 10% of the estimate also get your old parts back.

No that is not a picture of my garage

Plug patch or bubblegum what is the best method to repair a tire. I have put in hundreds of plugs over the years and this is the cheapest method and if the plug is self vulcanizing it is an OK repair.

Patching is another repair method the only problem is the hole is left open to the elements and that can cause problems.

The method I prefer is the patch plug, it is a patch with a plug that seals the hole, this is also the most expensive. It is by far the safest also. Patching is also difficult to do properly and takes some practice and experience.

If the tire has a hole in the sidewall it cannot be repaired and must be replaced.

Will ammonia based window cleaners damage your vehicle. The quick answer is no. They will however do some damage to old rubber parts and paint that has seen its better days. Rubber that is hard and or cracking will be damaged, treating the item first may lessen the damage. Old paint well not a lot for this.
Also if you leave the cleaner sit on any item or paint it may do some damage which can generally be removed with several methods. There are several cleaners on the market without ammonia but they will not clean as well. There are several home made recipes on the net, but I have not tried them so I wont recommend any.

I have ignored several holidays this past year, call it old age, they seem to just slip by. But I have to mention Memorial Day, no hugs or big thank yous are necessary a simple tip of the head, a smile a quick thank you will do, they really dont want to make a big deal out of there service. My personal Thanks to all of you who still remember your serial number

A follow up to my light bulb fiasco. I checked several sites and UTube. I was told on one to remove the bumper. In hindsight this would not have been a bad idea as I did put a small scratch on it. It will be easier to remove the scratch however then the bumper. Another instructed me to remove one small screw and pull out the housing, this is the correct procedure, I had to loosen the park lamp assy to reinstall anyway. To replace a headlamp bulb you would have to remove the assy, going to rethink replacing my hlamp bubs with brighter ones, maybe this summer. I do think this repair would have been easier if it had been warmer out and the plastic a little more forgiving. Next time the nipco warms it up before I start, melted plastic is easier to disassemble.

I really liked this and wanted to pass it on A friend just posted this and I wanted to pass it on… A well-known speaker started off his seminar holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?” Hands started going up. He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this.” He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill. He then asked, “Who still wants it…?” Still the hands wer………e up in the air. “Well,” he replied, “What if I do this?” And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. “Now, who still wants it?” Still the hands went into the air. “My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, YOU are still priceless to those who DO LOVE you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE. You are special-Don’t EVER forget it.”

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year To One & All From The Staff & Management of GreenFlagAuto

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