Tires Too

Absolutely worth the time and money. Great speakers, some of the best shop owners in the country. I've already signed up for this years conference.

Mighty Auto Parts has this https://www.mightyautoparts.com/web/guest/tech-central-vehicle-inspection-playbook . We use a digital inspection platform from Auto Vitals.

Looking forward to seeing you there. Russ

http://www.fmgaragegurus.com/ http://service-edu.com/ http://www.auto-video.com/index.php NAPA AutoCare Training Here are a couple of resources.

After reading the article and the comments, all I can say is WOW. People are so misinformed! There is a shop owner agreeing with the comment about not changing your transmission fluid if you have high mileage on the car. We are doing it to ourselves when shop owners are perpetuating these internet myths.

alfredauto, I know the euro's have been dealing with this for a while, but we are starting to see both domestic and asian GDI engines that have carbon build up issues. The Valvoline product shows some ability to reduce the built up carbon on the valves, but we have not yet used it on a car with significant deposits.

phynny, Do you have a product code for that? We use Valvoline and pay about $2.00 more per gallon.

We are using Auto Vitals. I initially purchased Assus Tablets and thought they worked well. I replaced one tablet with an I-Pad 3 and the difference in the speed of the application was very noticeable. We have since replaced all with the I-pads, the only down side is no internal flash on the I-Pads when taking pictures. Check with whoever you are using for their recommendations.

www.1addicts.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=851946&d.. I have not been able to find the above tool. Several post about people making their own with a small sand blaster. Valvoline has just come out with some products for this issue. We just got them last week and have not yet used it on a car. I will let you know how it works. http://easygdi.valvoline.com/?gclid=CNGHvuODwcsCFcYdgQoda_wMdQ

Whether it is the worst thing or the best thing for the industry it is here. We are going to have to deal with these type of sites. Find a way to make it work for you and your business.

Here is a link to a recent webinar about phone/price shoppers. I really like this approach to handling the phone. http://blog.repairpal-shops.com/next-generation-telephone-skills-webinar-replay/

In another life, I was a commercial loan officer at a regional bank. I'd be happy to take a look at it. Email is [email protected]

Wow, you are getting 150 new customers a month from Yelp? Those are awesome numbers.

We've refreshed our site; http://www.tirestoo.com/

Here is an link to some information about tracking numbers. http://www.autovitals.com/tracking-ad-campaigns/ Hope it helps.

It does work great for us. As I said, there are much lower priced options available from Auto Vitals for the inspection platforms. I would highly recommend checking them out.

LMC There are a number of ways to use Auto Vitals services. If you are a NAPA Auto Care, you can get a stand alone electronic inspection platform for a one time fee of about $300 I think. When you start looking at a version that is integrated to you shop management software it's another charge. If you are looking at the Smart Flow, it is another charge. I am using Auto Vitals for our customer retention marketing(in place of Demand Force), they are supporting our Facebook page and Google + page, and are creating our new web site, in addition to the electronic inspection platform and the Smart Flow. It is not inexpensive, but I find it is a good investment for me and my shop. The total package I am on is about $1400 per month. To get the best information, you should talk with someone directly from Auto Vitals to see what may work for your shop.

I'm not sure what you mean by ROW's lack of recommended services. Recommended services for future visits are picked up from the checklist in ROW, declined services on an invoice, from the time/mileage recommendations you set for routine services(oil changes, tire rotations etc) and from the manufacturers maintenance schedule. Am I missing something?

We use RO Writer and Auto Vitals. We have been very happy with the capabilities of the combination of these 2 companies. RO Writers electronic inspection platform is way - way behind Auto Vitals or Bolt On's platforms.

phynny, Which one of us is making assumptions? In a court of law, with a jury of his piers, the State of Vermont will have to come up with some pretty substantial evidence to win this case. I never said that the customer was trying to get the vehicle to like new condition, but there is a legal requirement that the inspector would do what he was paid to do, the inspection. Where is anyone forced to do inspections? It's voluntary to become a State Inspector. Where is it required to do said inspection for $10? Each station can set there own fee. The only time you take on the blame from the owner of the vehicle is when you decide which parts of the law to ignore. When the state dictates what I can charge for the safety inspection, I will make a business decision about continuing to be a state inspection station. In fact it is because of some of these "Lick and Stick" shops that our inspection fee is artificially low. If someone is a desperate idiot that slaps a sticker on without doing his job, then Yes it's his fault. It's frustrating to run a professional shop when you have desperate idiots slapping stickers on cars that shouldn't be on the road.

xrac, You are correct that it is not good for any of us. I do not have all the facts (who does), but from what I have read, it really is the fact that he didn't perform an inspection that is the basis for the charges. I have to believe that the State of Vermont has some pretty good evidence that negligence was involved, not just a minor oversight on the part of the inspector.

phynny, You are missing the point. This guy did not do an inspection. He put a sticker on the vehicle without looking at the vehicle. He is a thief, he took money and did not provide the service he was paid to perform. How would you feel if you paid your plumber/heating contractor to come out and service your burning. He takes your money and leads you to believe that everything is OK. You burner blows up 2-3 months later and you find out that not only where there problems with the burner, but that the guy never even looked at the burner. That's negligence. We are not talking about something being missed. As far as feeling bad for someone who is down on their luck, when we are doing safety inspections, we are agents of the state; I have no ability to change what the state has legislated for inspection laws and am therefore breaking the law by not enforcing those regulations.

HarrythecarGeek, Why would we help out someone who shirked his duties to do a proper inspection for a customer. What he did reflects badly on all of us. If you look into the facts, you will see that he was paid to do a safety inspection on the vehicle. He did not drive the vehicle. He did not put the vehicle on a lift. He did not do the inspection he was paid to do. He does not deserve our help. I understand the potential liability we all face when working on vehicles. We take our responsibilities very seriously to do a proper inspection on vehicles. In NH I can not fail a car for rusty brake lines. I can only fail the vehicle if the brake lines are leaking. We will document, with pictures, the condition of the brake lines and let our customers know the condition of the vehicle, but this guy apparently did not even look at the vehicle before putting a sticker on the car. These lick and stick shops are not good for the industry.

Mixing topics a little bit but read the book eMyth Revisited. It will help to open your eyes to all that goes into being a business owner.

++++1 For reading eMyth. It is well worth the time investment.