Mike owns an automotive repair business. He is a one man operation and has one assistant. He sees 5 to 20 customers a day and completes about 6 repairs a day. He is open 5 days a week. Closed on Saturday but spends most of his day inside his garage trying to catch up. He does great work and has more repeat business than he can handle. He does not want to expand. He has 5 cars in his repair bay at any one time and carries insurance in case of break ins and vandalism. It has happened and has cost him dearly in the past.
But unlike large repair facilities he doesn’t have a staff to handle the more mundane tasks of running a garage. So many times a car is dropped off, an estimate is given, a deposit is collected for parts and the car is repaired. But the owner does not approach back in a timely manner to pick it up. Usually this has something to do with finances and paying for the repairs. Mike spends his time trying to call and collect but the car just sits in his repair bay taking up valuable space and becoming a liability.
Recently Mike took a vacation. Not from work but from accepting new work. He spent two weeks doing nothing but cleaning his property of vehicles. He finished all the repairs that had been put on hold, he took in no new business and spent time collecting for outmoded business. When he was finished there were 5 cars left on the property. These cars had all been there more than 60 days and one almost a year. They were repaired and ready to be picked up. His investment in labor and parts was over $5000. A significant sum of money to a itsy-bitsy one man operation.
While visiting Mike one day we talked about these cars and what should be done. So a tiny bit of research told us that these cars could be declared abandoned and he could take title and sell them at a public sale to recover his costs. Seemed like a lot of work, cost and legal minefields to win through but it was a task he was determined to accomplish. While most states have abandoned vehicle laws and procedures for disposing of them each state is different and what Mike was able to do only applies to Alabama abandoned vehicles.
The AL statute that applies to abandoned motor vehicles is The Abandoned Motor Vehicle Act, Code of Alabama 1975, Title 32, Chapter 13. The act is designed to protect both novel owners of vehicles and also those to who vehicles are entrusted. There are a number of steps involved in getting title to an abandoned vehicle and those steps must be followed in order to complete the transaction and ensure a clean title for the eventual owner of an abandoned vehicle.
The first step has to do with determining whether a car can be declared as abandoned. For a repair facility this means either 60 days after it is left for repair when no time is agreed upon or 60 days after repairs are complete. These days are significant and must be noted by the garage in order to make sure that the vehicle will be declared abandoned by the Department of Motor Vehicles.
The second step is obtain a vehicle report from the state that shows the current owner and their address along with any lien holders on the title. Again very important to build sure that this report is obtained from the status and is accurate. Once this information is obtained the owner must be notified or attempts must be made to notify the owner and the lien holders of the vehicle’s location and the costs to recover the vehicle. You must also tell them that it will be for public sale and what date that sale will take place.
The garage owner must also space an announcement in the local paper or in the courthouse that gives notice of this sale. The notice must be posted twice at least 7 days apart and 30 days prior to the sale. Again the time and dates are very specific and must be followed to ensure a proper transference of title to any new owner. One the sale is complete there are several other state forms that must be completed prior to transferring title. These forms are not difficult but do require some time to make sure that they are done right.
So far Mike has gotten $3600 for his troubles and he still has 3 cars to go. He will recover his expenses and actually not accumulate burned when all is said and done. However, this lesson has taught him one of the great lessons of any business. Maintain gracious records, make apt decisions and follow up on all your current business.
Filed under Automotive Repair Insurance by on Mar 14th, 2011. Comment. 
Auto engine repair insurance is a exceptional way to save a lot of dollars when faced with high repair bills When the engine fails in your automobile, or truck, the bill can continue to climb as the mechanic continues to uncover complications Here are some very simple ideas to support you apply for auto engine repair insurance.
Step 1: Search for Insurance FirmsThe Web has turn into 1 of the greatest tools for shopping and making comparisons between products and services Go to your web browser and open it up to Google Once there you can sort in auto engine repair insurance You will be presented with many distinct possibilities to select from.Step Two: Contact Insurance RepWhen you are purchasing auto engine repair insurance you must talk with 1 of the representatives Several times this is a requirement after an initial quote is made If there is not a phone number, there are on the web chat windows where you can effortlessly request to talk with an insurance rep Step 3: Fill Out FormsAfter you have talked with the representative you will be able to fill out the on line forms This details is standard info such as name, address, vehicle model, and age Anytime that you are filling out this data you ought to be as particular as feasible Step Four: Answer QuestionsOnce you have finished with the on the internet application you may perhaps be needed to answer extra questions A representative could possibly call you back to clarify some of the information and facts you gave to be able to supply you the ideal insurance policy for your dollars Step Five: Make PaymentAlthough talking with the insurance representative you have the choice of being able to begin the policy instantly This will need that you make a down payment, or the very first month’s payment in order for the policy to begin This can be performed by a credit card, or by way of a check payment over the phone Step Six: Renew InsuranceThe premium you are paying for the auto engine repair insurance goes towards protecting your self against big bills Most of the auto engine repair insurance policies are six months in duration This means that you will want to renew after six months .
Filed under Automotive Repair Insurance by on Dec 20th, 2010. Comment.
A statement in some recent Toyota commercials piqued my interest. The voice over says “80% of all Toyotas sold in the U.S. in the last 20 years are still on the road today.” I tracked down the source of that statement and it was Akio Toyoda president of Toyota Motor Company. It was part of a column written by Toyoda that appeared in the Washington Post on February 9, 2010. Essentially it is a mea culpa for quality control problems at the car maker and an outline for the path forward as envisioned by leader of the brand.
Two things struck me about Toyoda’s statement on his vehicles’ longevity. First, how very difficult it must be to verify that all those Toyota Carinas and Previas built around 1990 are still on the road. What is the mechanism to tally all the junk that goes to the shredder? The last time an automotive recycler pulled one from our lot to the great beyond the manufacturer name or miles driven seemed to be last things on his mind. He seemed more acutely interested in whether it rolled and whether any sparks were flying when it did. But then again maybe the statistic can be arrived at by just comparing last year’s national fleet registration by make and comparing it to this year’s figure.
The other thing that struck me actually got my head nodding in agreement. And that’s how many more miles owners are driving their cars. I tried in vain to come up with any kindly statistic that indicated the average life (in miles) of a vehicle in the U.S. The chat rooms and forums abound with personal accounts running up into the two millions of miles. The closest instance of a verifiable seven digit odometer reading was recorded in 2006 in an Associated Press article about Peter Gilbert’s 1989 Saab 900 SPG. The Wisconsin salesman drove the vehicle for 17 years and retired it to a museum after Saab verified the mileage according to the AP article.
Everyone realizes that Mr. Gilbert’s experience is an aberration, but it does point out what auto maintenance done right can achieve. I can personally offer more unverifiable anecdotal reporting of the longer life of our national speedy. Years ago (like the 20 years Mr. Toyoda references) a car in for repairs that had 125,000 miles on it was a rarity. Now a vehicle with over 100,000 seems to be mature and it is not at all unusual to see cars approaching or exceeding 200,000.
So what does this higher vehicle mileage mean for the average car owner? First, you have to give some credit to the car makers – their cars are better made. Once the vehicle gets over the shake- out period when all the flaws show up, necessitating recall, they are better. Equal credit goes to the consumer groups that have put enough pressure on the manufacturers to get them do their jobs better.
On the other hand, shouldn’t car companies’ manufacturing standards be raised as a longer vehicle life is anticipated? Remember you don’t have to driving the high mileage car to be involved in an accident caused by a rarely seen age related failure.
But car owners must expect higher upkeep costs as miles mount and acknowledge the need to perform due diligent inspections of the high mileage cars they intend to purchase. But most importantly they have to realize that at some point in a vehicle’s life there comes a point of diminishing returns. That’s the beauty of the narrative of Mr. Gilbert’s Saab. Regardless of his attachment to the vehicle, he took it off the road when he realized that the car’s rusted frame had compromised its safety.
The Associated Press, Car does 1 million miles, retires to museum, msnbc.msn.com
Akio Toyoda, Toyota’s plan to repair its public image, washingtonpost.com
Filed under Automotive Repair Insurance by on Dec 18th, 2010. Comment.
Most persons will nearly not ever buy collision-only insurance plan The laws of each and every state involve auto owners to show that they have legal responsibility insurance policies prior to license plates can be bought But, there are some excellent motives that you will want to make confident that you have collision insurance coverage.
Collision an insurance policy will shell out to have your auto repaired.If you are in a vehicle wreck, your car or truck will desire repairs or replaced If you are not hit by another person who has legal responsibility insurance policy coverage, you will demand collision policies to cover your losses After your deductible and possibly depreciation, collision insurance policy will spend to either restore or replace your motor vehicle.You might need collision car insurance to cover a family car that you hire.When you hire a family car, you are expected to show that you have collision insurance policy coverage to fix the car and truck in the event of an accident With no this style of protection, you will have to pay money for the health care insurance from the car, truck or minivag rental enterprise Though it is not too highly-priced to acquire for a couple of days, it is extremely over-priced insurance plans If you plan to lease the family car for fairly a great many days, the charge can be rather higher.To secure a car and truck that you are not presently in a position to drive, you are in need of collision health insurance policy.If you have a motor vehicle that is out of service, you can potentially be tempted to drop all of the insurance plan on the van Even so, if it is hit by a hit and run driver or rolls into some thing and gets broken, you will might need collision insurance coverage to restore it If the truck is not becoming driven, the charge of the an insurance program is very low.When you drive a car, truck or minivag belonging to one more individual, you might need collision an insurance program.Whilst the owner of the car should certainly have full protection on the automotive to take care of them in opposition to a loss, it may perhaps not legally guard you The own personal will probably nevertheless expect you to spend for any damage that you trigger to the truck By buying collision car insurance, you can shield your finances even though you are utilizing a further person’s motor vehicle.You demand collision policies to pay back off excellent debt towards the vehicle.Plenty of new and late model vehicles have an excellent mortgage towards them If the vehicle is totaled in a wreck, you will demand collision insurance policy coverage to assist you spend off the mortgage Although most vehicle loans exceed the worth of the sports car in the initial couple of months of ownership, collision car insurance will pay back off most if not all of the excellent debt.Banks and lenders involve you to have collision health insurance policy to grant you a mortgage.Due to the fact automobiles stand as collateral for loans, banks and other lenders have to take care of their financial interests in your car or truck To do this, they usually call for you to show that you have collision insurance cover plan on the automobile The insurance protection provider is needed to advise the financial institution if the an insurance program is allowed to lapse At that time, the financial institution will add the charge of a higher priced collision coverage to your mortgage payment quantity It is usually cheaper to preserve your own personal collision insurance policies in force.You can possibly select to pay for collision-only insurance plans on an more costly car and truck if you can present sufficient assets to satisfy your state’s legal responsibility policy specifications with out insurance plans.If you are very well off, you might probably be ready to qualify to use your personal wealth in place of legal responsibility insurance policy to satisfy your state’s vehicle insurance cover necessities Nonetheless, it is doable that you have sufficient worth in your fleet of overpriced autos that it would be wise to actually buy collision only an insurance program to give protection to your investment.If you hardly ever drive the auto on public streets, you possibly will be capable to shop for collision-only insurance protection.Farm automobiles and other autos that are by no means licensed or driven on public streets do not have to be insured You may possibly discover it necessary to nevertheless look after the worth of these autos with collision-only insurance plans This style of protection will take care of the costs that could perhaps be incurred if you wreck the car or truck at the same time making use of it.Collision-only insurance plans could quite possibly be the correct selection if your motor vehicle is becoming employed by one other particular person who offers the legal responsibility protection on the car or truck.There are times when somebody will make a semi-permanent mortgage of a vehicle to a person else The other human being will ought to hold the family car insured with a legal responsibility coverage to meet the state needs But nevertheless, it would be in your ideal interests to preserve a collision-only coverage to restore the truck if it is in an accident.Obtain collision-only insurance plan when your car is currently being transported and could be broken in an accident.Even when you will want to read the fine print to make confident that your family car is covered, you will want to have collision insurance cover plan on a auto that you are shipping across country The carrier need to have policies to cover this loss, but it might not be sufficient to pay out you the worth of the automobile Having your own personal collision coverage in force is the only way to be positive that your assets are insured .
Filed under Automotive Repair Insurance by on Nov 6th, 2010. Comment.
