As you’re driving your car back home from your repair shop with a smile of satisfaction, does it occur to you that you’re repair needs have just added to the environmental woes of this planet?

That’s right. Approximately 200 million gallons of oil are drained in the sewers every year while just 1 gallon of oil can contaminate 1 million gallons of drinking water. This is a dangerous threat to ourselves and our surroundings.

Therefore, it’s important that we make eco-friendly changes in our lifestyle and habits which applies in this case too.You can avoid this by opting for those auto repair shops that carry out eco-friendly practices.

If you’re a car repair dealer, it’s a choice you can make in support of a greener and better environment. So, before the situation rolls out of control, you can take a few steps to make an eco-friendly statement. Incorporating measures such as recyclable windshield wipers, recycled motor oil, biodegradable engine additives, VOC-free paint or non-toxic shop cleansers can help you make the right start.

Here’s a list of 5 things you can do to ensure that your auto repair shop operates in strict compliance with environmental policies.

1. Offer eco-friendly tune-ups

Include in your services those tune-ups that are specifically designed to conserve resources by improving gas mileage and the life of your customer’s vehicle.

2. Stop using hazardous chemicals

Paints, thinners, antifreeze chemicals, scrap metal, batteries, fuels and acids that are generally used by repair shops pose many health threats such as cancer, respiratory problems, skin disorders and so on. Therefore avoid using these chemicals. Instead, you can use environmentally-better substitutes available in the market.

3. Improve your waste management practices

Keep a check on your waste management and disposal practices. Use dry-cleaning techniques to minimize the use of liquid cleaners and grease removals which also have some level of toxicity.

4. Encourage your customers to use bio-diesel

Assist your customers with diesel conversions and encourage them to switch over to bio-diesel. You can also keep special offers on repairing services for hybrids and electric cars as a means of supporting the use of eco-friendly cars.

5. Go paperless

Minimize the use of paper in your business. Instead use online systems for management of documents, maintaining customer records, payment details and storing files. This is one strong step towards embracing eco-friendly practices for your auto repair business.

When it comes to cars and auto-repairs, it’s no longer a man’s world. Don’t believe us? Take a look at these facts collected by Harvard Business Journal, Forbes and Nielsen Ratings:

• 68% of decisions with respect to new car purchase are made by women.
• In the US, over $200 billion is spent by women each year on new cars and vehicle servicing.
• Women account for nearly 65% of requested service at dealerships.

With an increasing rate of women customers flocking the auto-repair shops, they need to tweak their customer service policies quite a bit to earn more customers and to keep them coming. While it does not require a major overhaul in terms of infrastructure, there are a few ideas that you can adopt to make your car-repair business more women-friendly.

Here’s a roundup of 5 tips to retain female customers and to keep them happy:

1. Be polite

There’s no match for politeness when it comes to dealing with a woman. Bring out the gentleman in you and your employees, attend to your female customers right from the time they step out of their cars and hear them out with patience and a smiling face. These gestures are sure to make your female customers feel comfortable right from the beginning.

2. Keep it clean

Women are a sucker for cleanliness so make sure that your shop and your workspace is clean and uncluttered. Pay special attention to the floors and walls of your repair shop. Wipe out any liquid, grease or oil from the floor on regular intervals. Women with heels are very likely to trip over a messy floor and you definitely wouldn’t want such a mishap.

3. Make it a little special for her

Women love to be treated special and a gesture in that direction goes a long way in ensuring that she feels comfortable every time she walks into your repair shop. Many repair shops keep latte machines to let their customers enjoy a hot cuppa. You can walk an extra mile by serving the beverage in a coffee mug instead of a Styrofoam cup.
Also make sure to keep some good women’s magazines on the shelf and yes, keep buying the new editions every other month, if not every month. You can also stock your restroom with diapers, wet tissues and tampons.

Trust us, your efforts will be hugely appreciated.

4. Explain issues without jargon’s

While explaining her what might have gone wrong with her vehicle, do so in a simple, jargon-free language. There’s nothing that puts off a woman more than having to ask for a clearer version of your car talk every time you break into a conversation laden with jargon’s and technical terms.

5. Follow-up after repair

This is an important step to ensure that a woman customer is happy with your service and is not facing any further problems.

Before you rush to drive home your dream car, there’s just one more level for you to complete. It’s called the Vehicle Inspection Service or VIS. So, why are these services so important? Read on to find out.

What is VIS?

For those who are not yet aware of this concept- VIS is a service that’s meant for monitoring the safety, maintenance and the general condition of your vehicle. There are various types of services that fall under the category of VIS. Safety inspections, emission inspections, pre-purchase inspections etc.

While it’s important that you avail these services before buying a car, you must also carry out regular follow-ups of such services even if you’re already owning a car.

These are some of the car parts that you should normally get inspected:

• Brakes
• Seat Belts
• Steering, Front End, Suspension, Chassis, Frame and Wheel Fasteners
• Tires
• Windshield, Wipers and Blades
• Horn
• Lights
• Mirrors
• Fuel Leaks
• Emissions
• Engine light

Why do you need VIS?

Here’s a roundup of the top reasons for you to rush to your nearest vehicle inspection service provider:

Your car’s life gets extended

Proper maintenance goes a long way in ensuring that your car runs like new for longer. Therefore, taking your car to regular trips to a professional VIS provider helps.

You spend less on repairs

A regular VIS ensures that you don’t have to take your cars for frequent repairs. This means you save a lot of money that would have otherwise gone in paying for repair services.

You get the best deals for pre-owned cars

If you are willing to zero in on a used car, VIS becomes a mandatory step. VIS is important to ensure that the car you are about to buy is free from any technical problem.

You follow the safety rules

It is important to have your vehicle tested regularly at a reputed VIS provider to maintain optimum levels of safety when you’re driving it. This way you also comply to the road safety rules and other legal aspects of driving.

What’s more important is that VIS doesn’t break your bank. So, by spending a little, you ensure that your car runs not just safer but longer too.

There’s hardly anything more important than maintenance when it comes to cars. This is one aspect that decides the how long you are likely to enjoy its ride. While we would love to keep our cars forever, not many of us do the needful in terms of maintenance. Here’s a list of 3 expert-backed tips that’ll ensure a long life for your car.

Tip #1

BE PATIENT WITH YOUR NEW CAR

If you’ve bought a new car, it’s advisable that you give it some time to settle in it’s new life before going overboard with your driving trips. Here are some ways in which you can optimize your car’s performance during its break-in period-

While driving the first 1,000 miles, keep your speed under 55 mph

Choose light to medium acceleration by keeping the engine rpms below 3,000 when you’re taking your car for the first few rides.

Take your car out for drives regularly. Keeping it idle would generate pressure that might prevent the oil to reach to all the parts of your car engine.

Avoid loading your car heavily during its break-in period.

Tip#2

TAKE CARE OF YOUR CAR EVERYDAY

If you are one of those who reserve weekends to take care of your car, this tip is for you. Experts advise that driving your car with care everyday is the best way to maintain our car by yourself or getting serviced from any automotive service provider.

Do not speed-drive your car in its initial days. Avoiding this is a surefire way to add years to your engine’s life.

Avoid accelerating abruptly. This puts your car engine under lesser amounts of strain.

Instead of short trips, try getting your things done in one round.

Tip#3

AVOID GETTING THE FILL IF YOU SEE THE TANKER

If you notice that your local gas station is getting its tankers filled with gasoline on a particular day, choose a different station or come back the next day. The reason is: when the underground tanks of the stations get filled, there are chances that the sediments might be stirred up. This sediment might clog fuel filters and fuel injectors of your car leading to possible hiccups while driving.