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Excerpt: AAA has recently completed a study that contends that this holiday season there will be more than 4 million people on the road driving on tires that need to be replaced. Today, as a major winter storm has hit the greater Bay Area, the number of auto accidents will probably be at least double the usual. Many of these will be directly related to factors of excessive speed, (for conditions)and worn tires.Most auto repair shops will be glad to check your tires for you as a courtesy. Yes, these are the guys/gals who will be happy to come…

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Excerpt: One of the challenges facing automakers around the world, is whether to use gasoline or diesel motors in their hybrids. As R & D budgets shrink throughout the car world, are there budgets to fully research new innovations?BMW at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show earlier this month, revealed their M sports car concept that features plug-in-full hybrid technology powered by a total of 3 sources. A 3 cylinder turbodiesel rear engine, along with a hybrid synchronous motor at the front, and a full hybrid motor at the rear, (positioned between the turbo diesel and the double clutch transmission)….

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Excerpt: One misunderstanding of current BMW repair, is that there is some magic tool that plugs in to a component and the car is automatically fixed. NOT! We had a recent call where an adventurous BMW owner replaced an ABS/DSC unit in his or her BMW and now needed to have the unit reprogrammed. The part had been bought on-line, and supposedly had a warranty. Yes, there is a warranty, but what happens if reprogramming the unit doesn’t fix the original problem. Just because you have a code reader that indicates a fault in the ABS/DSC…

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Excerpt: Rolling Resistance tires may be the next big thing in the effort to reduce emissions.  Tires are rated according to this additional newer measurement standard.  Of course, this is another item that will probably add cost to your new tires, as well as the tariff that was implemented in September ’09, on tires being imported from China, (often from U.S. tire makers).  So now you have your speed ratings, load limits, rolling resistance and more to consider when you purchase tires. Always keep your tires inflated properly to get the best mileage.  Unfortunately, due to the extended service intervals, this…

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Excerpt: There are times when we would all love it if an intermittent electrical problem would “heal” itself. Unfortunately, some drivers seem to believe that it will “just go away” if they wait long enough.  Well, it’s true the check engine on the dash will sometimes turn off if you keep driving, but that does not mean that your BMW or MINI healed it’s problem.All the while fault codes are being stored, adaptations are happening in the systems, and one component being out of spec is affecting another and the situation is exacerbating.  Your BMW or MINI will only “self-heal” for…

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Excerpt: Your BMW or MINI service records will come in handy if you are changing service shops, or if you can’t remember what your last service was, or even in the rare chance you decide you want to do some of the work yourself. It’s great to have those records readily available, especially if you took great care of your BMW and now it’s time to sell it.Having good records close at hand can make your life a little easier if a question comes up as to what or what not has been done to your BMW or MINI. …

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Excerpt: Although we do have some of the greatest weather in the U.S., we know some BMW and MINI convertible owners prefer to keep their “baby” indoors during our winter weather.If you are garaging it for the winter or using a car cover, do so only after your BMW or MINI convertible has been washed. You do not want to park it with any dirt or debris such as leaves or pine needles on it. That can eventually ruin not just that beautiful paint finish, but especially that canvas top.Vacuum the top thoroughly, then use a convertible top cleaner and…

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Excerpt: Well, by now, we are sure that most of you have heard about the busts of the seven smog shops in our Bay area, (and also in L.A.). The techs are charged with what is called “clean piping”, where they use the emission readings from one car for another.Emission testing has become sophisticated enough that basically Sacramento can tell when one car is on the dyno and a completely different car is being read at the tail pipe. This is a science, after all. Duh!The report that we read said that the techs were charging about $200…

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Excerpt: Do not steam clean the engine compartment of your modern BMW. We don’t care if you are trying to sell it and want to get top dollar! This could be like some sudden death syndrome to your BMW electronics.Decades ago, it was not routine, but not uncommon for the engine compartment of most makes of cars to be steam cleaned for various reasons. Seals were not as good in those days and cars just had more minor drips and seeps going on. Well, that was eons ago. Needless to say, manufacturing processes, the proliferation…

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Excerpt: Back in 2003 Congresswoman Jackie Speier drafted SB551 which banned the auto insurance companies from steering a consumer to one of their DRP shops. A DRP shop is one that has a contract with the individual insurance companies. Initially, that doesn’t sound too bad, right? Like your doctor has a contract with medical insurers, but, those contracts are highly regulated. The Direct Repair Programs/DRP contracts are not regulated and they encourage use of anything other than original manufacturer equipment to keep their costs down and their profits high. That is not good for the consumer.Now,…