Consumer Rights

By Dave Trux

We’ve all heard the horror stories about dishonest mechanics in the auto repair industry and how they’ve taken advantage of inexperienced and unsuspecting car owners. Fortunately, the vast majority of shops out there don’t work that way. Hopefully, you’ve selected a repair facility that you’re confident does business the right way, with complete honesty and transparency, which should greatly quiet those fears. On the other hand, having blind faith is never advisable when your hard earned cash is about to exchange hands, which is why it’s so important to understand your rights as a consumer.

Before you take your car in for its next service or repair, take a moment to review the following rights, which are your rights as a consumer.

1. Your right to a written estimate: When you first drop off your vehicle, you have the right to a written estimate, which should give you a general breakdown of the repairs that are expected to be performed as well as a cost of those repairs.
2. Your right to authorize or decline any or all repairs. No repair can be made without your authorization. The repair facility must get your verbal or written approval before making any repairs on your vehicle. If the repair facility fails to get your permission, you can contest all the unauthorized repairs done to your vehicle.
3. Your right to authorize or decline additional repairs. In our business, it’s fairly common to find additional damages beyond what is initially diagnosed. You have a right to know exactly what those damages are as well as the estimated costs to fix those damages.
4. Your right to your old parts. You have the right to request and receive your old parts, but you need to do it when you first authorize the repair and not when you come in to pick up your vehicle. Most smooth running shops will dispose of old parts immediately to stay clean and uncluttered.
5. Your right to understand the shop’s warranty. The industry standard is a 12 month or 12,000 mile warranty on repairs, but don’t make the mistake of assuming that your shop offers this because many do not. Be sure to have a conversation about the shop warranty with the person in charge, especially if you’re not adequately covered by the company that sold you your vehicle. My bottom line advice is simple: cover your assets and drive away smiling! 

Join us in our Walk to End Alzheimers

By Alika Salazar

We’re very excited to announce that our team here at iParts Repair will be participating in The Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s and we’re inviting all our friends to join our team. It’s happening from 9am to noon on October 1, 2016 at the State Capitol (South Steps) in Sacramento.

The Walk to End Alzheimer's is more than a walk. It is an experience for 3,200 participants in the Sacramento area who will learn about Alzheimer's disease and how to get involved with this critical cause, from advocacy opportunities and clinical studies enrollment to support programs and services. Walk participants also honor those affected by Alzheimer's disease with the poignant Promise Garden ceremony.

Alzheimer's disease is a growing epidemic and the nation's sixth-leading cause of death.  As baby boomers age, the number of individuals living with Alzheimer's disease will rapidly escalate, increasing well beyond today's more than 5 million Americans to as many as 16 million by 2050.

In addition to the 1 mile and 3 mile walks, participants will enjoy the emceeing of KNCI's Tom Mailey and CBS13's Tony Lopez, along with terrific music, great company and a special tribute to those who have experienced or are experiencing Alzheimer's.

Would you like to help individuals and families affected by Alzheimer’s? Great, you can join our team and walk with us by visiting our Facebook page and sign up at https://www.facebook.com/iPartsandPhoneRepairs/ or you can donate directly to this worthwhile cause. If you wish to make a donation, please stop by any one of our three stores and we’ll help you from there. Last year, this amazing organization raised over $350,000 from just one walk! With over 400 walks every year from all around the nation, this organization is making a huge difference. To learn more about disease and available resources, call the toll-free Alzheimer's Association 24/7 Helpline at 800-272-3900.

Introducing an old friend: Granite Transmissions

By Chris Barr

Just the thought of a “kitchen remodel” makes most homeowners turn pale – dust everywhere, strangers in and out of your house for weeks, doing dishes in the shower. There IS an easier, cleaner, faster solution that thousands of your Sacramento-area neighbors have found during the last twelve years: Granite Transformations.

Easier? Yes, lots easier in a couple of ways that will be very important to you. Granite Transformations is going to use your existing surface as the sub-top for your new counter, rather than ripping out all your existing counters and throwing them in the landfill. Our engineered surfaces are only one-quarter inch thick, so it doesn’t appreciably raise the height of your counters. Our counters bond to your existing surface and they are incredibly durable. Also, because the engineering process creates a product that’s completely non-porous, ongoing maintenance is significantly easier – in fact, there’s virtually none. Your counters never have to be sealed or treated with anything special or cleaned with anything other than soap and water. And that’s true of all of our surfaces – granite, quartz and recycled glass.

Faster? Yes, way faster! Forget about that two or three weeks stuff. For a typical kitchen, Granite Transformations will complete your entire project, including your new back splash, replace the sink and finish the plumbing in just one day! We do all the fabrication in our own shop here in Rancho Cordova, so your installation team will arrive that morning ready to transform your kitchen before you’re ready to start dinner that night.

Cleaner? Absolutely! And that means we do all the messy stuff in our shop, not in your kitchen or garage. Customers often write us afterwards to say we left their homes cleaner than when we arrived. (Honest – just ask and we’ll show you hundreds of reviews.) Oh, and did we mention that they’re absolutely beautiful? There’s simply no need to compromise on beauty to get the ease and convenience. We’ll be exploring lots of other aspects of the business in the months ahead – for example, that all our products are made in the USA – but we thought this might be a good introduction to Granite Transformations: easier, cleaner, faster and beautiful. Your first in-home meeting with one of our design consultants is completely free and without obligation. Call the showroom today to schedule one at your convenience.

Forgive and Remember

By Bob Cox

Whenever I used to hear a phrase repeated enough times, I had an annoying tendency to accept it as absolute truth. Among the many I've accepted over the years has become a well known cliché; forgive and forget. On the surface, this old saying has the appearance of sage advice, but several years ago I strapped on my psychological scuba gear and was amazed to discover its inherent flaws as I descended into deeper waters.

Here are three common myths associated with forgive and forget.

Myth 1: The value of forgetting. Human interaction is a complex and dynamic fusion of motives and personalities. When one person's actions trigger a negative response in the other, it’s seldom all one persons fault. Usually both parties have contributed something negative to produce the final disastrous results. If someone has caused you to be angry and you're anything like me and replayed the event in your mind over and over until you've become exhausted and sick of yourself, welcome to Club Dysfunction! In all seriousness; however, it's during those moments where you have a great opportunity to learn, grow and change as you review all of your poor responses. Prior to entering my second marriage over 18 years ago, I vowed not to make the same mistakes that contributed to the downfall of my first marriage. Instead, I promised to make all new ones and I can say that I have succeeded admirably in both!

Myth 2: Forgiveness only benefits the forgiver. I do agree with the absolute value of forgiving others and yourself for previous transgressions. When you hang onto anger and refuse to let go because you’re determined to punish your wrongdoer, it’s like wearing a bomb-vest. Sure, the closer you are to the person, the more damage you’ll do to them, but look at how you’ve blown yourself to bits, if you still can! When you choose to forgive another with total authenticity from the heart, not only are you free of the weight of the grudge, you open the bridge of possibilities, where future positive and mutually beneficial interactions can happen and everybody wins.

Myth 3: The roots of anger are sadness about feeling hurt. While that is often the case, especially when there’s a large gap between expectations and results between close relationships like spouses, siblings, parents and their children, it’s not always about sadness and feeling hurt or diminished. Sometimes the roots of anger have nothing to do with hurt feelings and everything to do with feeling disrespected. Regardless of which root system has become toxic, the best possible course of action is to reestablish healthy boundaries and then truly forgive both yourself and the offending party as soon as you are able so that you can begin the process of rebuilding the relationship on healthier ground.

And just one more thing: If you choose not to do this, I will never forgive you!

Is Your Body on Fire?

By Dr. Beth Blakely

The fire I’m referring to cannot be smothered with the popular maneuver (stop, drop and roll) or extinguished with a raging river of ice cold water. The fire I’m referring to is the silent but deadly fire that’s burns inside of us. Millions of American’s suffer from systemic and chronic inflammation, a condition that’s wreaking havoc on our overall health and well being.

According to neurologist Dr. Perl Mutter M.D., extensive medical research has proven that our brain health is dependent on our digestive health and the nervous system and the digestive system are intimately linked. So, people can have inflammation and other issues with their digestive system for years and have no idea because they often don’t feel it. Meanwhile, their brains are deteriorating. They’re getting Alzheimer’s, M.S., Parkinson’s, anxiety and depression. And despite all this is amazing medical research over the last 20 years, it’s unfortunately a slow trickle down process before it becomes incorporated into the medical field. It typically takes 10 to 20 years before they get on the bandwagon with what their own research says.

For these reasons, it’s very rare to find an M.D. that practices functional medicine, which is a method that thoroughly addresses overall health. I do think they’re starting to come around because more of them are recommending probiotics, but there’s so much more that can be done to prevent what we think of as age related brain deterioration. The pharmaceutical industry is now injecting anti-inflammatory products into the brains of Alzheimer patients and they’re seeing improvements!

I think what we’re going to find out is that people taking medications are destroying their digestive systems. Think about it, you swallow a pill, where does it go? What people don’t understand is there’s only one layer of cells between your small intestine and your blood stream. So, if there’s something that slips past your digestive system and into your blood stream, it poisons you. I think what we’re going to find out is that medication destroys our digestive systems. But who knows how long will it take? Another 20 years? We don’t have that kind of time.

So, we in the medical field have become acutely aware that we have raging fires burning in our internal systems, so what can we do to get rid of it? I provide functional medicine, which also incorporates nutritional support where it’s needed. I’m not a big fan of guessing what’s wrong with a patient, which is why I do my best to find out the first time I meet someone what they need by asking them to fill out a very thorough questionnaire before our initial consultation. I’ve worked with a lot of neutraceutical companies that make different formulas for calming down the digestive inflammation and I think I’ve nailed it down to some of the very best products that are available to make sure my patients get exactly what they need.

Friendliest Car Wash in Town

By Bob Cox

When Claudia Lopez first came to the United States from Mexico at the age of 19 with her husband, she was both excited and nervous. Growing up poor, she was excited about the opportunity of creating a better life for herself and her family. At the same time, she was nervous because she was moving to a foreign country and didn’t speak the primary language, English.

Armed with an amazing and enduring outlook on life, Claudia found seasonal work in the fields of Maxwell, CA. A few years later, she and her husband took another leap of faith by moving to Woodland, CA to seek better opportunities, a bold move which paid off for the adventurous young couple. He got a job in the auto body industry and she found work at a local full service car wash.

Her employers were immediately and consistently impressed by her infectiously positive attitude, her desire to excel and ability to genuinely connect with their customers, so she quickly moved up the ranks until she became the general manager. Raising a family of four children while holding down a full time job didn’t allow her time to go to school to learn English, so instead of giving up, she chose to learn the language while she was working every day.

When Claudia was given the opportunity to manage a brand new car wash in Carmichael called Carmichael Car Wash, she decided to once again go for it. I spoke with Claudia recently about her latest adventure.

Q: Can you tell us about Carmichael Car Wash, formerly known as 5 Minute Express Wash?

A: We are now offering full service car washes and detail services in addition to our express drive through wash service. Many of our express wash customers wanted full service, so we listened to them and are now providing full service car washes, which includes complete interior and exterior car washing. For those that just want to vacuum their cars, they can stop by and vacuum their car for free, without having to buy anything.

Q: What makes Carmichael Car Wash different and unique?

A: I like making customers happy. I’m very friendly and I like to have a good relationship with them. I try to remember all my customer’s names and that’s very important to me. I like to hear about them and if they have any concerns about the service, so I can fix the problem immediately. Fortunately, that almost never happens. My first priority is my customers and the high quality service we give to them.

Q: On those rare occasions when a customer is unhappy, how do you typically solve the problem?

A: I don’t want my customers to get mad and just leave. I want to help them by listening to their concerns, staying calm and then fix the problem. Our employees do the same thing. They provide quality work and they are also friendly and hard working.

Q: It’s been clear to me from the minute I met you that you’re a very friendly and optimistic person. Has that helped you to recruit and hire other positive thinking people?

A: Yes. I really love what I do and I try to find other people that also love washing cars and interacting with our customers.

Q: What’s the best deal you offer for people with very limited budgets?

A: We offer a package of unlimited express washes for just $14.99 per month. This is an exterior wash only, but they can also vacuum their car for free. Best of all, many of our customers who used to wash their cars at home tell us their cars are now cleaner by using our express wash.

Q: How did you develop such a positive outlook on life?

A: I love my job and I enjoy the people that work here as well as our customers. Before I started washing cars for a living, I helped my husband by vacuuming, cleaning and detailing his cars. That’s when I first realized that I loved washing cars. I’m always happy because I really enjoy my work. I also have three of my four children working here and they love it too. I’ve taught them to always stay positive and believe that they can do whatever they want in life. My son is going to college on a scholarship because he’s a very good student. I’ve always told him to fight for his dreams and I’m very happy for him. Whenever I do something new, I always try to stay positive, because if one is negative, nothing gets done.

Q: Is there anything else you want to let everyone know about your car wash?

A: Yes, many of our customers don’t know that we are now offering full service car washes and detailing. We have several employees that speak both English and Spanish. We’re also excited to announce that we’ve recently remodeled our waiting area and now have lots of comfortable seating, a big screen TV, massage chairs, free popcorn and coffee, so we want to invite everyone in to give us a try.

Editor’s notes: For more information about Carmichael Car Wash, visit their facility at 6505 Fair Oaks Bl. in Carmichael, CA (Just north of Marconi Ave.). Their phone number is (916) 488-3274 and their website is www.yourcleanride.com.