Here we stand in the middle of the toughest credit crunch in modern history, and on the one hand, we are informed that the worst of the financial part of the crisis is over. Unfortunately we are informed that unemployment is nowhere near its peak, and in the UK is expected to grow from the already historic high of 2.2 million, right up to 3 million.
In the current climate car owners are significantly reducing the mileage they do in their cars, therefore they require less and less servicing and wear parts, and as the credit crunch continues to take effect, especially when unemployment adds to it, there will be many people giving up their cars completely.
Therefore, if you’re an automotive retailer, which goods should you stocking in order to protect your profit, and so overcome the negative effect of the credit crunch on your income?
You’ll probably already know that, universal wear-parts and consumables are constantly excellent sellers, and as the credit crunch deepens, more and more people change over to doing their own simple maintenance tasks. This means that bulbs are a good item to stock. There aren’t too many different SKUs to fit the entire range of cars on the market. Wiper Blades are the same. Not too many sizes cover the whole market, they’re easy to fit, and frequently need replacing. It’s the same situation with items such as Oil and Air Filters, Spark Plugs etc., as drivers begin to do their own simple maintenance.
As a retailer, you’ll also see that sales of car care products such as quality car shampoo and Car Care Wax will increase as drivers move away from using car washes as they try to reduce costs, and take steps to better maintain the condition and value of their car.
Other items to stock in a credit crunch are upgrade or luxury items like in-car entertainment and Sat Nav Systems, as well as items for customising your car, like sports steering wheels, seats etc. These items cover a wide range of prices with the cheapest items starting at less than £10, being things like Gear Stick Knobs, performance Car Wipers or even retrofit Flat Wiper Blades. At the top of this range of products people will spend thousands on a customised interior, sports suspension, performance brakes etc , etc.
The paradoxical thing about a credit crunch is that sales of this type of product will hold up, or even increase. That’s because those people who are still in work often find that they have more money to spend. Interest rates tumble, reducing their mortgage payments, and many commodity prices also drop. However, because of uncertainty about their job security, these same people are unwilling to commit to major capital expenditure such as buying a new car. They therefore end up holding onto their car longer, and so they start to indulge themselves by spending their increasing disposable income on upgrading, updating or personalising their car.
Filed under Automotive by Josh
June 3, 2009
Car Care For Your BMW
Engine tune-up is a dying trade as a result of electronic ignitions and fuel injections. This paved the way for computers to become the main method of repair. While the older types of engine requires a certain amount of adjustments on a regular basis, these new generation engines require an advanced level of competency and a new set of equipment.
Here are some important things to remember when doing Cincinnati BMW service to ensure maximum engine performance. This involves the replacement and maintenance procedures that should be done when doing a good Cincinnati BMW repair.
The spark plugs will tell you the most about the condition of your BMW engine. You have to regularly inspect the spark plugs to determine the cause of the problems that you are experiencing in the performance of your BMW. The Cincinnati BMW service will check your car’s spark plugs every 30,000 miles. The inspection schedule must be followed in all types of BMW vehicles even the advertised low maintenance ones. Failure to follow the prescribed Cincinnati BMW service and maintenance schedule can lead to more serious problems that cost more money. When doing the spark plug inspection, take note of which engine cylinder the spark plugs come from in order to determine where the source of the problem. Make sure that you replace old spark plugs with the spark plugs that are made for your specific engine type.
The rotor and the distributor cap also should be checked regularly. These parts of the BMW car are usually made of plastic thus it is prone to deterioration as a result of continued operation. Existence of cracks in these assembly may allow moisture to come in which may cause more serious and expensive problems.
The wire that sets of the spark plug should also be inspected when doing the regular inspection of the spark plugs. Newer models of BMW are equipped with wire sets made of new materials and sizing to ensure top performance and reduced failures. The operating ranges have also been increased with|Increased operating ranges are the effect of} the use of electronic ignitions. When doing the regular replacement of the wire sets of the spark plugs, it is important that are examined for proper resistance. The wire sets are no longer replaced as often as the rotor, cap and the spark plugs.
As clearly stated in the Cincinnati BMW service and maintenance, regular changing of filters is necessary for proper function in the engine.
Don’t forget to have your oil switched out every 3,000 miles. The oil filter is needed to remove nastiness from the engine oil. A properly maintained air filter protects the fuel injector of new BMW models and the carburetor of the older BMW models.
Filed under Automotive by Josh
May 13, 2009
The Bulk of Reconditioned And Upgraded 6.0 Liter Engines have no Built In Problems Anymore
Ford truck engine
If you have felt the pain of owning a Ford truck with a 6.o liter Ford diesel engine, than it is comforting to know the factory defects have been eliminated at the factory or if you buy one of the rebuilt and updated Ford engines that a competent company has refreshed. Finding the company that builds confidence in it’s customers by only selling rebuilt and updated Ford engines is not that hard. If you want to take my advise go to GotEngines.com.
Lots of folks have been bitten by the 6.o liter Ford diesel engine bug. The ones with factory defects that the factory knew well about, but would not admit or take care of until tons of complaints were levied on them (Ford Company). Only then did they admit to some factory defects that need to be taken care of for free by the dealer.
The factory would not admit to the problems for a long while. As the trucks with the 6.o liter Ford diesel engine option started to pile up at the dealers with a lot of angry customers demanding an explanation.
built in problems
The problems with the 6.o liter Ford diesel engine line ranged from spark plugs blowing right out of the heads to serious fuel injector problems. Some of the other factory defects had to do with weak internal support components like pistons, rods and crankshaft issues due to making more power with less cubic inches or liters.
Almost anytime you modify a 6.o liter Ford diesel engine to produce more power, the factory defects show up in abundance if the factory defects are not eliminated. this is because more stress is being put on certain critical parts and those parts can’t handle the extra power without eliminating the factory defects.
One of the 5.4 liter Ford engines with the factory defects still in place blew a spark-plug out of its hole with so much force it dented the inner firewall. The problem is that the factory does not use a metal insert in the aluminum headed spark plug hole. Apparently there are not enough threads in the spark plug holes from the factory to stop a spark plug from blowing out periodically. They should metal insert the spark plug holes from the factory, thus eliminating these type of factory defects.
Another issue with spark-plug blow out is the factory recommended 100,000 mile tune ups. I would expect the plug threads to last longer if one removed and replaced them every 20,000 miles and used an anti seize compound and a torque wrench to re install the plugs.
Realistically speaking the factory should admit the problem and metal insert the spark plug threads. FYI, Harley Davidson figured this out many years ago when they had the problem, Harley figured it out fast and fixed it.
late factory used Ford engines
If it comes down to needing a replacement 6.o liter Ford diesel engine, I would do my research first. It would be like shooting yourself in the foot to buy another 6.o liter Ford diesel engine full of factory defects.
That being said there is probably not much cost difference either. The way GotEngines.com insures that a 6.o liter Ford diesel engine comes withot the factory defects is to do some homework. New and rebuilt engines have engine codes on them that represent when they were built. Some of the later models of these motors are updated from the factory. But finding rebuilt and updated Ford engines is easier if you do business with a company that outperforms the competition by doing the homework first.
Realistically speaking, only a top notch-on the level company sells rebuilt and updated Ford engines that you don’t need to be concerned about. You will feel like you stayed in a Holiday Inn last nite. Much Smarter!!
Not to say the other manufacturers do not have problems with engines and transmissions that have factory defects. but the evidence and amount of complaints levied against Ford for the 6.o liter Ford diesel engine outnumbers the other manufacturers by quite a large figure.
The great thing is that modern technology and qualified engine remanufaturing company’s have all but eliminated the factory defects, form the 6.o liter Ford diesel engine family. Therefore giving you the ability to purchase one of the rebuilt and updated Ford engines and keeping your confidence level high in terms of your engine.
Filed under Automotive by Josh