Thomas Torbjornsen - How to Make Your Car Last Forever: Avoid Expensive Repairs, Improve Fuel Economy, Understand Your Warranty, Save Money

How To
Make Your Car Last Forever

By Tom Torbjornsen

First published in 2010 by Motorbooks, an imprint of MBI Publishing Company, 400 First Avenue North, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA

Copyright 2010, 2011 by Tom Torbjornsen

All rights reserved. With the exception of quoting brief passages for the purposes of review, no part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written permission from the Publisher.

The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without any guarantee on the part of the author or Publisher, who also disclaim any liability incurred in connection with the use of this data or specific details.

We recognize, further, that some words, model names, and designations mentioned herein are the property of the trademark holder. We use them for identification purposes only. This is not an official publication.

Motorbooks titles are also available at discounts in bulk quantity for industrial or sales-promotional use. For details write to Special Sales Manager at MBI Publishing Company, 400 First Avenue North, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA.

To find out more about our books, join us online at www.motorbooks.com.

ISBN-13: 978-0-7603-3796-7

Digital edition: 978-1-6106-0994-4
Softcover edition: 978-0-7603-3796-7

Editor: Chris Endres
Creative Director: Michele Lanci-Altomare
Design Manager: Jon Simpson
Designer: Danielle Smith

Printed in China

Contents

Acknowledgments

Throughout the writing of this book, many people came to mind, people who have encouraged and supported me throughout my life. They taught me not only the ins and outs of everything automotive, but also how to persist and work toward fulfilling my dreams even when times get rough. There isnt room to name them all, but I want to express my deep gratitude to key individuals who were responsible for teaching me the ways of automotive zen, broadcast, and media.

Don Moquin gave me my start in automotive repair. He gave an aspiring, young, impressionable youth with a dream of being an auto mechanic a chance when I wandered into his gas station in 1972. Thanks, Don.

Bob Loringer saw something in me that I didnt see in myself. Bob entrusted me with the keys to his business, his tools and service bays, and most important, his customers cars. I learned a lot at Bob Loringers Sunoco.

Sheldon Siegel taught me the importance of meticulous and vigorous maintenance practices. Sheldon taught me that any car could go 100,000 miles or more if you maintain it properly.

John Mitidieri was my first real mentor in automotive repair. He taught me everything he knew, put up with my idiosyncrasies, trusted me with his toolbox, taught me how to swing a hammer like Thor, and brought me into his home. He was a great friend as well as a teacher, and I sorely miss him.

Mr. Jensen, my auto mechanics teacher at Burlington County Vocational and Technical High School, put up with a difficult kid like me and persevered until I got it. I also thank the faculty at the high school for their contribution to my education. They equipped me well.

Merrill Rosen believed in me when I came to him with the cockamamie idea of starting an automotive radio talk show 20 years ago. Merrill taught me the ropes of broadcast and media.

Bob Carey saw in me Americas premier automotive radio talk show host. Bob took Americas Car Show from local to national status and taught me about national radio.

This work would have never been published without Kathleen Augustine, my editor. She has the uncanny ability to make sense out of my chicken scratch and bring flavor and personality to the words I put down. Thanks, Kath.

Photo credit: Shutterstock

Introduction

I was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1956. As a child I ran to my bedroom window every time a loud car passed by on the streets below. One unusually hot summer evening I stared out the window, mesmerized by the image of a 1966 Pontiac GTO as it sat at the light waiting to turn left. The car whined and roared as the driver revved the engine.

In retrospect, the sound of that revving engine was like a large piece of juicy bait, and I was a famished large-mouthed bass in a raging stream. I was hooked. I would pursue cars in every way I could, starting with 1/24th scale slot car racing. I purchased cars, worked on cars, and raced cars well into my early twenties. To support this habit I had to work to earn money. Somebody told me once to choose my vocation based on what I love to do. The decision was easy. I would work on cars for a living.

In 1970, I got my first job working on cars at a gas station in the small town of Willingboro, New Jersey. I stayed in and around the auto repair industry either as a technician, a service manager, or an auto service center manager until 1989, when I started my own business as a tool and equipment dealer. I sold tools in a territory in New Jersey for about a year, and then decided to move to western New York to the small city of Jamestown.

One day in late 1990, I walked into a repair shop and saw the owner wringing his hands, upset because he had to make a call to a customer. He had given the customer a quote to replace a timing belt in her car. The car, a 1984 Ford Escort with a four-cylinder engine, was equipped with an interference engine. When the timing belt breaks with this type of engine, the valves collide with the pistons and cause major engine damage. This is exactly what had happened to her car. The technician was terribly distressed because he quoted the customer $225 to replace the belt when, in fact, the repair would cost the customer more than $2,000 because the engine had to be replaced.

As I watched this fellow pace the floor, wrenched with anxiety over a phone call, I had what I like to call an a-ha! momenta realization that there was a need for a better relationship between the public and the auto repair industry. I decided right then that a radio show, designed to educate motorists on auto repair and maintenance, would meet that need. Such a radio show would be a great public service to those who listened to it. So in January 1991 Americas Car Show with Tom Torbjornsen was born. The mission statement of the show was this:

To educate consumers and bridge the gap between the auto repair industry and motorists in an effort to build understanding between the two and soften relationships across the service counters.

Nineteen years later, the show is nationally broadcast on Sirius-XM Satellite Radio and the SSI Radio Network. I am an automotive journalist registered with the International Motor Press Association (IMPA), and I write for AOL Autos, Edmunds.Com, CNN, and many other entities on the web.

During the course of my career, the single most-asked question floated to me over the years has been, Tom, how do I get the most out of my car? So when I was asked to write a book, I decided to write