Auto Repair Information Blog

Mud flaps, also knows as a splash guards, are more than just your standard rubber variety truck and auto accessories. It is more than a useful quality auto accessory that protects your truck from flying dirt, slush, or road debris. The mud flap has become a blank slate where a driver can plaster his or her personality in the form of great truck and car accessories that can protect as well as make others laugh.

The Most Famous Mud Flaps

The most iconic of these truck and car accessories characters is simply known as “The Mud Flap Girl”. We’ve all seen her before: She’s the buxom silver silhouette of a long-legged beauty lounging with one leg provocatively crossed over the other, hair blowing in the wind. Bill Zinda of Wiz Enterprises in Long Beach, California, created this famous character to promote his line of truck and auto accessories and based the character upon a famous model named Leta Laroe.

Another famous character to make an appearance on these truck and car accessories is Yosemite Sam pointing his two cartoon pistols with a caption beneath declaring, “Back Off!” or, “All Fired Up”. Other Warner Brother characters have also made appearances, such as a frightened Daffy Duck and an overly upset Tweety Bird.

These mud flap characters are so engrained in our psych that they have gone beyond truck and car accessories and began appearing in commercials together. One famous commercial created for the Superbowl in 2006 had the Mud Flap Girl and Yosemite Sam driving away in a Honda Ridgeway.

Sadly, it appears that both of these figures have been targeted by legislation, when officials in Arizona tried to pass a ban on the two icons on the grounds of political correctness (one promoting sex and the other promoting gun violence). For the time being, the legislation on these truck and auto accessories has been struck down.

As long as that law doesn’t pass, you can find quality auto accessories and mud flaps that can have anything on them from your favorite sports team logo to the picture of your dog.

Self-expression isn’t a reason to sacrifice quality auto accessories anymore. You can find many manufacturers who can produce a mud flap to your vehicle and personality type. Whether you want a skull and crossbones or the Ghostbusters logo, mud flaps can be created with top-of-the-line materials to let you “keep on truckin’”.

The most popular use of custom mud flaps nowadays are for company vehicles. If you’ve ever been caught behind a large semi on the highway, or maybe stuck in traffic behind a moving van, you may have noticed that mud flaps are an effective advertising tool. Most companies spend a little extra in this truck and auto accessory to manipulate their vehicles to carry the company name and phone number on mud flaps.

More than mere truck and auto accessories, mud flaps can be a unique form of showing off who you are or acting as a clever bit of advertising. Never before have truck and car accessories been so interesting, versatile and amusing while it protects!

Truck Accessories to consider

Truck options don’t just stop at what you get from the dealer. Accessories can turn your working vehicle into something enjoyable and pleasant to drive all the time. But do you know what accessories you can add to your truck to get the most out of it? Your heavy-duty Chevy or Ford might be in need of a nerf bar or a rear spoiler.

Even older trucks could use some help with vehicle accessories, like a new dash kit to give your truck a fresh look. For more great information on where I get my truck and car accessories. My single favorite upgrade that I have done on my own truck is explained here on my ipod truck intergration page.

Even if you bought a luxury Chrysler 300 with all the extras, you can still buy more auto accessories parts to add your own personal touch to this classic vehicle. The Chrysler 300 might look expensive, but unlike other top-of-the-line luxury cars, this car is more affordable to the public, leaving a little extra cash in a buyer’s pocket for a quality auto accessory or two.

Begin with custom car accessories like the Sherwood Dash Thirty-Four Piece Dash Kit for your dashboard to add a wooden accent to your interior. If you are willing to spare no expense to upgrade your interior, you can go with the Laurence Gartel Signature Series Dash Art that retails at $1300 US and up. Each of these dashes is one of a kind and comes with a signed certificate of authenticity.

Next, choose quality auto accessories parts for your Baby Bentley, such as the Mopar OEM AM/FM 6-CD changer/MP3 Player and DVD Navigation Radio. These multi-faceted radios come with a color digital display which uses GPS technology to guide you turn-by-turn to any location in the United States or Canada. The unit also comes equipped with Sirius Satellite Radio technology. You can take advantage of this feature if you have a subscription to Sirius and the right antenna. This amazing system can set you back a cool two or three grand.

If you want to add satellite radio such as Sirius to your car, you will need a few special auto accessories parts first. Mopar sells an OEM Chrysler 300 Sirius Satellite Radio kit for $350. This system comes with a discreet antennae and receiver you hardwire to your radio. The cost does not include the subscription to Sirius, which will run around $12.95 a month.

More Auto Accessories Parts For Your Baby

A great radio needs a great sound system. The Kicker Subwoofer Kit (estimated $500 US) will give you strong booming base. Double that with Kicker Premium Front and Rear Speakers (estimated $280 US), and you will have the envy of all custom car accessories.

Throw in either an All Sales Flame Rearview Mirror ($90 US) or All Sales Polished Billet Oval Rear View Mirror ($80 US), and DUB Custom Edition Floor Mats ($80 US for set) for those finishing touches.

The exterior of your Chrysler 300 should be treated as much with quality auto accessories parts as the interior. Installing an E&G Classics “Phantom” Style Grille for $800 US would turn heads with its stainless steel design. However, this luxury item only fits the 2005 and 2006 models of the Chrysler 300.

A silver Xenon 6-piece Fascia Auto Body kit will have your car looking sleek and sporty for around $1800 US. Add on a Vertical “Lambo” door kit from JT Auto Style to make sure you avoid dings and scratches when opening your doors in tight spots. Both these custom auto accessories need professional skills to install and some minor body adjustments for a perfect fit. Remember, not all of the best deals are found at your local dealership. Visit a few auto accessories parts stores and look online for great deals before you spend money on the first item to catch your eye.

For more information on genuine i pod car accessories give our main web site a visit. For the lowest prices and fastest delevery on body kits and car parts visit the online car parts page.

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Car maintenance

when you are buying car maintenance you want to make sure that you receive what you paid for. A good example of this is that if you frequent a dealership and you purchase their 15,000 or even 30,000 mile maintenance service, there are a lot of things that are supposed to be performed on these checklists.

The 15,000 or 30,000 mile service is usually very expensive and includes many important car safety checks. If you are going to shell out $400 for a 30,000 mile service. Please take the time to review what is supposed to be accomplished During this expensive service.

How to buy car maintenance

A good way to verify that some of these vital safety checks were performed is to ask the dealership to provide information about some of the individual items that are checked. For example, there maybe a spot on the service that requires a brake inspection. Ask the dealership to document the percentage of the brakes that are remaining. In yet another example if the tire inflation is to be checked, again ask the dealership to document the tire pressure in all four tires as well.

As a mechanic that has worked at dealerships for more than 23 years, I can tell you that the technician is paid on a flat rate or percentage basis. The mechanic is motivated to move as fast as he can and may take some shortcuts. This means you have not received a good value for your car maintenance dollar.

Take some time to review, what is included in the individual car maintenance service and ask lots of questions about each item to your service adviser. This will put the dealership service department on notice that you are very hands on and involved in what is being done to your car. This will also make the dealership more likely to complete the maintenance service properly and to cut corners and rush on somebody else’s car.

Car maintenace tip

If your service includes a tire rotation take a minute to mark each tire with a crayon. So that you can verify the tires were rotated during the service. Also when the technician sees these marks on the tire.

He is immediately informed that you are watching him and is more likely to perform all the steps that are included in the maintenance service that you have paid hard earned money for.

Would you like to read more stories about car mechanics and what might happen during your auto service

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Auto repair scam artists

I can’t help but break into a story about one of the sharpest most evil service advisor’s I ever met. This man would go through your vehicle and find out as much as he could about the vehicle owner.

He would look for bank statements past due bills and any thing he could get his hands on to find out what your financial position was. He would go through the trunk, the glove box under the seats he was relentless.

One time he came out to my bay and started going through a vehicle and I asked him what he was doing. His reply was making us money. Then He yelled out bingo. I said what did you find.

He said the best thing of all a baby seat and baby toys. He then said this vehicle needs brakes. I said I didn’t look at the brakes yet. He said it didn’t matter what it needed it only mattered what they were getting.

Most people are scammed at some point by the auto repair business

Now in this case the brakes were about 25% remaining so selling brakes to this person didn’t hurt anyone. But the service adviser asked about the baby to set up the sale for family safety reasons.

If the customer hesitated to buy, the service adviser would explain it was for the safety of the baby and how if she performed an emergency stop the vehicle would take longer to stop with worn brakes and he was looking out for her baby. This guy was a shark and pulled down more than $100,000 a year just for selling service.

I tell you this story so you can be on guard if you run into a shark. The shark will start asking you personal questions while you are waiting for the vehicle to be brought into the shop. Not because he cares about you. He is trying to paint a picture of you so he can find the button he needs to push to make a sale. And do not forget to clean out the inside of your car including the glove box. You must protect yourself!

Here is a perfect example of the auto repair business hard at work taking money for unneeded repairs. View one of my online auto repair stories here

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About ASE certified mechanics.

The national Institute for automotive service excellence or ASE is a nonprofit organization founded in 1972 for the purpose of improving the quality of automotive service and repair through the voluntary testing and certification of automotive mechanics. Currently there are over 400,000 professional certified automotive technicians.

ASE certification recognizes the knowledge and experience of professional auto mechanics. Taking and passing the ASE certification tests also demonstrates the employers commitment to professionalism. Becoming an ASE certified technician can mean better compensation and increased employment opportunities as well.

ASE, not only certifies technicians for competency. It also promotes the benefits of technician certification to the motoring public. Repair shops, an employee at lease one ASE certified technician can display the ASE sign. Established auto repair centers, where 75% of the technicians are certified with at least one technician certified in each area of service offered by the business are eligible for the ASE blue seal of excellence program display sign. ASE and urges consumers to patronize the auto repair centers that take this extra step towards the commitment to excellence.

How to become an ASE certified mechanic.

To become ASE certified, you must pass at least one ASE exam and have at least two years of related work experience. Technicians that pass, all tests in a series earned the master technician status. The ASE certification is valid for a five-year period of time after this time has elapsed. You must retest to retain certification, demonstrating that you have cut up with the changing technology in the automotive repair field.

The ASE tests consist of 40 to 85 multiple-choice questions. A panel of technical experts writes test questions from vehicle, parts and equipment manufacturers, as well as working technicians and technical automotive educational instructors.

All questions have been tested and quality checked on a national sample of technicians. The questions are derived from information presented in the task list, which details the knowledge that a technician must have to pass an ASE certification exam. This task list periodically updated by ASE in response to changes in auto repair technology and car repair techniques.

For more stories good and bad about mechanics visit my page about auto mechanics I have worked with.

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