Don't Get Wrenched
Elayne Kling, owner of a downtown Manhattan auto repair shop for 20 years has no problem saying what´s on her mind.
As a woman (and single parent) in this crazy business, Elayne knows the particular ins and outs of the auto repair world. Over the years she's dealt with all kinds of crazy scenarios and her customers run the gamut of celebrities, NYPD, FDNY, churches, missions, to countless NYC dwellers. Elayne's brash, straight–forward NY, "take no crap", honest, in-your-face style has helped her dramatically over the years.
Elayne has prided herself for the special care she gives to women who are often mistreated in the auto repair world. Her business model is to treat all of her customers as if they were her friends (many of them end up being just that) and to deal with them honestly. She loves the idea of imparting her wisdom and helping women (and men) learn how to deal with their repair shop and be a more informed customer.
Know The Vehicle
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- Published on Monday, 12 November 2012 15:01
- Written by Elayne Kling
- Hits: 205
A new customer came in this week and told me a story about a previous situation she had. She started by thanking me for helping her through her issues and commenting
Sandy
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- Published on Tuesday, 06 November 2012 11:56
- Written by Elayne Kling
- Hits: 236
Oh what a lovely few days it's been. Here's what I wrote on my Facebook page.
“I'm living 2 different lives. By day I'm an affluent person who owns a business in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. By night I'm a pauper who lives in a hovel in the East Village with no power, cell, internet, hot water or heat!”
Winter
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- Published on Tuesday, 23 October 2012 17:42
- Written by Elayne Kling
- Hits: 221
Winter’s coming, so the inevitable “winter car tips” articles will be written.
I really don’t want to bore you with another one of those and frankly, I’d just
like to ignore that winter is coming. Unfortunately I’m stuck having to subject
myself, yet again. I guess I might as well remind you of what you need to
do to make sure your vehicle makes it through.
Classically Trained
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- Published on Tuesday, 02 October 2012 17:29
- Written by Elayne King
- Hits: 211
Many of our new customers have classic cars and are sent to us through other classic car owners. Classic car owners usually come with tales of woe about how the mechanic they’ve been using either is unable to fix something or just unwilling. Although it is essentially much simpler repairing a classic car, getting parts for it can be a real struggle. When classic car owners first come in and question our expertise here’s what I tell them. They may have a trustworthy mechanic whom they feel comfortable with and he may be able to repair their car but what they don’t get is ME.
Hit and Stay
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- Published on Thursday, 30 August 2012 15:21
- Written by Elayne Kling
- Hits: 272
My son had a little fender bender in with my vehicle this week and unbelievably he must
be reading my blog.
He stayed at the scene, called the police for a report and made sure the officer noted that
the accident was caused by the other driver.
The next day I called the Police department and obtained a copy of the report and sure
enough there it was in black and white, the other driver (veh #1) “states that he was driving
by vehicle #2 who had it's rear door open and he hit the vehicle while driving by”.
This made my life so much easier having this on paper. Not only did I not have to call
my own insurance company but when I called his and told them I had this report with
this proof they were much quicker to approve my repair. They still had to call their
insured to verify it and I still had to send the report over to them but there was no
issue other than that. Next was the issue of having the damage appraised. They
wanted me to go to their “drive-in” appraiser and I refused. They were pretty insistent
on this point but I was steadfast that I wanted the car seen at my mechanic's shop because
I trusted him. Now of course we all know that I own that shop but the truth is that if
you have a mechanic you trust then by all means have the appraiser go there. They will assure that ALL of the repairs are listed and you're not at the mercy of their appraiser's who are of course trying to keep it as cheap as possible. I also informed them that I would be having my mechanic do the repairs and of course this was another issue..they were quite forceful on this subject. It goes without saying but I'll say it anyway, they were no match for me and I won that issue as well. The point here is that they will do what is best for them, not what is best for you. I'm not saying the body shops they use are not good, they could be the best ones in your area, but if you have one that you KNOW is great then by all means, you can insist they pay
you and that you will use the shop of your choice instead. If you don't know of any in particular then find out who they're using and do some research on them, maybe you'll find someone else
that you prefer.
I've written on this subject in the past but let me reiterate my point. I know it's annoying
waiting for the police and I know that you can exchange info with the other driver without their
help but having it in writing and having the officer interview the 2 of you can be quite valuable.
Having an accident is a major pain in the butt, even if you can drive away after, like my son
did but taking the time to do everything correctly can save you countless time later on.
Don't be in a rush!
Questions:dontgetwrenched@gmail.com
Supply Side Economics
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- Published on Friday, 17 August 2012 15:31
- Written by Elayne Kling
- Hits: 258
I recently received an email from a reader and I'm posting it so that you, the consumer can see the thought process in the shop owner's mind. It's long but here goes, I'll comment at the end.
Hot Tip!
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- Published on Wednesday, 01 August 2012 19:43
- Written by Elayne Kling
- Hits: 276
Do you have AAA to tow your car? Have you had it for at least 3 years? If so,you should bump it up to AAA Plus. With AAA Plus you can get your car towed 100 miles for free. I can't tell you how many times I've asked those simple questions of a customer who was broken down. I tell them to call AAA and upgrade their regular AAA to AAA plus so they can get that free long distance tow.
Question: My mechanic called and said my cabin filter needed to be changed. Is that one of those scams, or should I actually do it?- Gloria
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- Published on Thursday, 19 July 2012 16:37
- Written by Elayne Kling
- Hits: 306
Answer:
Good question Gloria. Finally something I can say yes to. The cabin filter does exactly what the name suggests, it filters out the dirt from the cabin, i.e. the interior of the vehicle, or what's commonly known as THE AIR YOU BREATHE!
Quick Tip
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- Published on Thursday, 05 July 2012 16:49
- Written by Elayne Kling
- Hits: 284
Did you know that if your car starts to overheat in this summer heat the quickest way to get the temperature down is to first shut off your ac and then turn your heater on at full blast.
Watch the temperature and if it continues to raise, then pull over immediately and shut the car off. But if the temp starts going down, you may be able to drive to your destination. Keep in mind, there is an issue that needs to be addressed. DO NOT CONTINUALLY DRIVE YOUR CAR OVERHEATING, YOU WILL RUIN THE ENGINE!
Questions: dontgetwrenched@gmail.com
Bring it Back In
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- Published on Thursday, 07 June 2012 19:07
- Written by Elayne Kling
- Hits: 243
So just in case you're one of my avid readers and you got to thinking that I was so fantastic and always nice to my customers, let me tell you what just happened.
