This seemingly-impolite question can defuse tense situations in the shop or auto parts store.
HOT OFF THE PRESS
January Automotive Horoscopes
We read the astrological signs and predicted your automotive future.
It’s totally fine to run your fuel tank down to empty
Stop telling your customers otherwise—modern fuel systems don’t care.
LOF PSA: Don’t forget the lube job
Engine oil is a lubricant, but that’s not what the task’s title is referencing.
SHOP STUFF
Auto care news and advice you can use.
Dust Cap Tool Explained (VIDEO)
How many times have you seen a hub dust cap with ugly dents from a sloppy installation? A dust cap tool is a handy tool for installing caps on customer vehicles without damaging the cap’s appearance.
Serviceability Hall Of Shame: captive chassis mounts
When released from captivity, these things will give ya a case of the spins.
Are stainless cars (finally) having their moment?
Rust-resisting stainless steel cars are back. Will they have better success than their predecessors?
Don’t do dangerous stuff: a reminder to be safe in the shop
I was raised in times and places where it was considered a mark of pride to get the job done, no matter the risk to your own body. That, friends, is bunk.
The fastest way to remove valves from a cylinder head (VIDEO)
In my salvage yard days, I learned a trick I still use today that’s the fastest method in the world, hands down.
ABOUT SHOP PRESS
Shop Press is the news and idea hub for everything related to working on cars and trucks, focusing on repair, technology, and wrenching lifestyle. With interesting stories from around the world, features on creative people and solutions, and all kinds of other stuff that’ll make you use your mind and your hands.
SHOP STUFF
Auto care news and advice you can use.
How do you inspect a serpentine belt for wear?
Inspection of a belt goes beyond the old standbys of checking for cracks and fraying.
Boomerang business cards: a quick sales tip
Here’s an easy guerilla marketing trick to get your customer counts up by selling on your days off.
What kind of car is that? A primer on esoteric body styles.
Everyone knows about sedans and pickups, but what about shooting brakes and pony cars? Here’s an incomplete guide to the rarer designs on the road.
Take it from a moron like me: giving customers advance notice of preventive maintenance works!
Giving customers like me a heads-up about recommended maintenance will help us, and yourself.
Should a repair shop be liable for fixing a vehicle involved in a hit and run?
A new bill in Pennsylvania would create an alert system that service centers would need to regularly check.
VIDEOS
How accurately can you torque a fastener? (VIDEO)
Torquing accurately without a torque wrench is harder than it sounds, as you can see we learned in this contest in the Dorman Proving Grounds.
Hidden external speakers are changing the soundscape of our streets
One of the most noticeable changes we’ll experience with more electric vehicles will be the noises from their acoustic vehicle alert systems, or AVAS.
Automotive technical schools just saw the largest graduation drop in a decade
Troubling new report from TechForce Foundation shows that fewer and fewer people are graduating from technical schools with automotive degrees.