Yes, faithful Readers, I am back!
My calendar became rather full, rather quickly since we last met here. I went back to college! So I am now working 45-50 hours per week while carrying 9 credit hours at school. But I did make Dean's List with a 4.0 in the fall, and I am on pace to do it again for spring. Yeah! Unfortunately, I didn't even have time to write a post to mention going on hiatus. I do feel badly about that; I'm sorry.
Since I'm on Spring Break this week, I decided to put up a quick post for my loyal followers. Of the blue-million ideas that have filled my mind the past several months, I'll start with the latest...
Know Your Car's Name!
You may be asking, "What do you mean by that?" Well, I *don't* want to know if you named your daily-driver Mustang "Sally" to fit the song. When you contact your favorite quality auto parts store, you will need to tell the person helping you what you drive. What he or she needs to know, is the Year, Make and Model. You might also need to provide the Engine size (some may say Motor, same thing) and every once in a while all or part of the VIN may be needed.
NOTE: If you drive a Honda or a VW (or select other Makes), be prepared to supply the Engine Family Code. Both are notorious for having multiple Motors of the same size (often the 1.6 or 1.7 Litre for Honda's, 2.0 Litre for VW) but different designs. The EFC will be something that resembles alphabet soup... But more on that another time.
"What's in a Name?"
You might be wondering why I would use a blog article to discuss knowing what you drive. You might even ask, "Didn't we have this discussion before?" Okay, touche, we probably are having a deja vu discusson right now. But I am specifically covering the Model Name of your car for a reason! Knowing the correct model name of your car will result getting the right parts for your car. Providing the wrong model name - and some of them sound very similar! - will set you up for frustration
Counter Case: The Nissan Brake Caliper
A lady and her father came into my store needing a rear brake caliper for her car. They even brought in the old one for reference and exchange purposes. Fantastic! I looked up the part for the Nissan Altima she told me she owned. Problem: The caliper listed had a different casting number than the one they brought in. Dad complained the whole time about the last pace they went (one of the Red guys) trying to give him the wrong part - even though he had the old part on the couter for discussion.
After playing with the model year given, I confirmed for the third time that she had an Altima. Then, I went with my gut and looked up a Maxima for the original year. Guess what? The casting numbes matched! You should've seen the look on their faces when I broke the news about the model she actually owned - according to the part they brought in. We all had a good chuckle as I completed the sale on the in-stock brake caliper for her Maxima.
Good to Know, Great to Remember
Nissan seems to be the Maker of the more popular model-mixups, but there are non-Nissan examples as well. Here are a few common hiccups, just off the top of my head. Note that a lot of them are due to mis-pronunciation issues.
Nissan Altima vs Nissan Maxima
Nissan Sentra vs Nissan Stanza - actually even happens with repair shops on this one
Century (Buick) vs Sentra (Nissan) - Maker name helps to clarify which one
Honda vs Hyundai - some people proounce both Makers the same, but the model helps to clarify
Infiniti I30 vs Infiniti J30
Kia Spectra vs Kia Sportage - car vs SUV/crossover
Saturn SC vs SL vs SW - coupe (2-door) vs sedan vs station wagon
...And Knowing is Half the Battle!
I always loved that expression from the G.I. Joe cartoons when I was a kid. Truer words were never spoken. Know what you drive - the Year, Make and especially the Model - and you will be setting yourself up for success on purchases for your car. Better yet, write it down before you set out. All it takes is one moment of getting tongue-tied, and you'll find yourself as frustrated as the father-daughter team I mentioned earlier.
The Golden Rule: Applies to people, all creatures... and your auto, too!
~PPM
