CARS (CONGRESS OF AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR & SERVICE) WITH NACE (National Association of Corrosion Engineers)

October 15, 2010 Utah Channel 3

10-13 October 2010 Las Vegas

The first vision on entering the Exhibit Hall was some beautiful new cars! All of the cars on the floor are green as much as possible and gas efficient, hybrid, or electric. It is a beautiful sight and they can certainly tempt many people to get behind the wheel. The American auto industry is on the road back.

There were several products at the Congress that will have particular appeal to Seniors. Many Seniors rely on their auto mechanic and never go further as far as checking out whether the charges are correct or even needed. There are now several on line sites that can help make that determination. The first useful site is: www.repairpal.com. This site checks on auto mechanics in your zip code or address area, provides approximate pricing for the service, and allows users to add comments. The later may be the most useful as other customers often provide useful insights. Price guidelines will help the consumer avoid traps and perhaps very costly unneeded procedures. Another site, similar in many ways, is: www.Car-Part.com. On this site the Seniors can check out the price of the car parts needed; the price is based on comparison pricing in the area the customer lives. This site can avoid being overcharged. The site can also provide information as to how often said part is needed (i.e., every 20,000 miles). www.verifactsauto.com is not necessarily a site for the consumer but can provide valuable insight in case the Senior is involved in an accident. The company monitors, teaches, and works with collision shops so that the consumer can receive the best service possible. WURTH , THE Assembly Professionals, have a great line of products with the best part of the line doing all kind of cleaning, i.e. windows, leather interior, engine, and other parts. The line, www.wurthusa.com is a useful site in dealing with car cleaning procedures. My favorite product is the Eco Window & Glass Cleaner Concentrate.

The rest of the Convention dealt with parts for auto repair, the actual repair process, the use of car paints and related procedures. The most fun was a sample auto auction!

The scope of the Convention was broad and the arena arranged in a most useful way. One line, we have all been exposed to, is: www.autonetTV.com. This site provides the

Lobby TV viewing in many of the auto shops. There were many other companies exhibiting that provide useful tools to help maintain a car as well as insurance information.

This entire convention, like so many others, demonstrated entire lines devoted to green products as well as helping the environment. It is very encouraging that both the auto industry producing our new cars, as well as the product lines helping us to maintain those vehicles are green.

The many workshops held will help auto repair shops do a better job for their customers. My hat is off to the staff that produced this show. We all owe them a vote of THANKS!

John Lustig, Senior Reporter

Troy Bailey, Field Reporter