Free-Maintenance Programs More Popular

Automakers offering free-maintenance programs used to be few and far between, with BMW being one of the most well-known. Other luxury brands such as Jaguar are now adding them, but so are niche brands like Mini and, perhaps most impressive, Volkswagen.

VW has a reputation for being more expensive than the Hondas and Toyotas of the world, so offering free maintenance for three years or 36,000 miles narrows the total price gap. A 2010 VW Tiguan, for example, starts at $23,200 ($24,300 when equipped with an automatic transmission) versus a Honda CR-V starting at $21,545 which comes standard with an auto.

The same could be said for someone shopping for an efficient compact car. Mini is now offering free maintenance for three years or 36,000 miles as well. If you compare a Mini Cooper hatchback and a Honda Civic LX (the model with typical standard features like power windows and air conditioning), the Cooper's MSRP is $18,800 and the Civic's is $17,605.

Free service could definitely make that shopping decision more complex than the difference in monthly payments.

A list of current free-maintenance programs is below, and let us know if you would consider a program like when shopping for a new car.

NASCAR to Introduce Themed Carwashes, Campsites

What kind of self-respecting NASCAR fan would wash a car anywhere but in the driveway with a hose and a bucket of soapy water? The stock-car league is betting that fans will go out of their way to clean their cars at NASCAR-themed carwashes.

The racing league has made an exclusive licensing agreement with Utah-based 1903 Car Wash Co. to build 40 branded carwash locations across the country over the next five years.

Whatever your feelings about NASCAR, there is no denying that its fan base consists of millions of passionate followers, and slapping that logo on anything is going to help it sell. Still, will it matter to people where they get the winter road salt blasted off their cars?

Perhaps. But this isn’t the only branding in the works: This month, NASCAR will open the first 13 branded camping locations in conjunction with Morgan RV Resorts and Silver Cos., expanding to hundreds of RV resorts in the next few years.

NASCAR-Themed Auto Washes Coming Soon (Bloomberg News)

Trucks and SUVs Cheaper to Insure

When involved in a crash, some vehicles are simply less costly to fix, and the affordability of those fixes is a strong factor in how much it will cost to insure a vehicle. Trucks and SUVs tend to have an edge, according to a government report that tallies losses of insured vehicles for 2007-2009.

For instance, a Mercury Mariner is 59% cheaper to insure than the average vehicle, while the Chevy Traverse is 57% cheaper, making them the insurance champs of this report (although the Ford Econoline van is actually the top vehicle at 61% cheaper).

Ford is touting the list because it has a number of vehicles toward the top. Ford Vice President Frederieck Toney attributed this strong showing to Ford’s engineering prowess, saying in a statement, “We design our vehicles to be easier and more affordable to repair.”

The only car to make the list was the Smart ForTwo, which was 52% cheaper to insure than average.

Other notable vehicles include the Ford Escape (50% cheaper to insure than average), Jeep Wrangler (53%), GMC Acadia (47%), Ram 1500 (45%), Ford F-150 Supercab (44%), Kia Sorento (44%), Dodge Grand Caravan (40%) and Ford F-250 (40%).

Trucks Dominate List of Cheapest Vehicles to Insure (DriveOn)

Jaguar Launches Free Maintenance Program for 2011

Jaguar does not want consumers avoiding its cars because of high maintenance costs, and in order to dispel that (completely fair) notion, it will introduce “Jaguar Platinum Coverage.”

The new program offers a five-year/50,000-mile new-vehicle warranty, free scheduled maintenance and roadside assistance. It will also include free replacement of parts for basic wear and tear, including oil changes, filters, brake pads, brake discs, brake fluids and wiper blade inserts. That's a big difference from Jaguar’s last free maintenance program where owners were asked to pay for replacement parts. Jaguar killed the program in 2006, presumably because customers didn’t like paying for new brake pads and wiper blades.

The new program will start with the 2011 XJ sedan, which is slated to hit dealerships in May. The XF sedan and XK coupe will follow suit when the 2011 models debut in June, according to the automaker.

Michelin Makes Jump-Starting a Car Idiot-Proof

Jump-starting a car is one of those things everyone should just know how to do, but this is not a perfect world and incorrectly hooking up jumper cables can blow up your car’s battery. Michelin has come up with the Smart Jumper Cable that makes sure you’re doing it correctly.

When jump-starting a car, the jumper cable must be connected properly to the positive and negative terminals of both batteries, and the Michelin Smart Jumper Cable gives you an assist on this front. Rather than color-coded clamps, both clamps of the Michelin cable are blue, and you simply put one on the battery’s positive terminal and the other on a piece of metal.

Then an electronic box detects whether you’ve made a complete circuit and gives you a thumbs-up via an LED light. After connecting the second battery, the box automatically determines the polarity and changes it as needed. This way, there is no wrong connection.

A set of these jumper cables costs $30-$40.

Never Blow Up Your Battery with Michelin Smart Jumper Cables (Autoblog)

'Car Talk' Lists Reasons Drivers Should Pull Over Immediately

When Tom and Ray Magliozzi went about drawing up a list of 10 situations when a driver should pull over immediately, the “Car Talk” hosts discovered they had to include more than 10. The result was a top 10 list with 12 reasons that you might want to pull to the side of the road right away. From lack of visibility to sudden unexplained car odors, pay attention in case you find yourself in one of these situations.

Top 10 Signs You Should Pull Over Immediately (Cars.com)

The Best and Worst Cities for Car Repairs

The website AutoMD wants to empower consumers looking to get a fair price for their car repairs, and as part of the site’s overall makeup, it has included a study on the best and worst cities to get your car fixed.

To create the Advocacy for Repair Shop Fairness Report, AutoMD sent mystery shoppers to 600 repair shops in the top 50 markets to compile quoted prices for a repair. AutoMD then judged the facilities of each city based on affordability, price disparity and shop integrity.

The results saw Memphis, Tenn., as the top city for a fair repair, followed by Jacksonville, Fla.; Omaha, Neb.; San Antonio; and Austin, Texas.

As for the worst, Raleigh, N.C.; Washington, D.C.; Albuquerque, N.M.; and Honolulu fell 46-49 in the rankings. And yes, here at KickingTires we were dispirited to find our hometown of Chicago in 50th place, otherwise known as dead last.

Follow the link to find out where your city ranks.

AutoMD.com Ranks Best and Worst Cities for Auto Repair (AutoMD.com via Autoblog)

Driving Habits Directly Affect Car Maintenance

Drivers often underestimate how hard they’re being on their cars and fail to take into account these severe driving habits when following a maintenance schedule, according to AAA.

In a recent poll, AAA found that only 6% of motorists actually felt as if they did a bulk of their driving under severe conditions. But when motorists were asked about their actual driving behaviors, AAA found that 62% unwittingly admitted they drive in or create severe operating conditions 62% of the time.

Common behaviors AAA says are considered severe include:

• Driving on short trips of less than five miles in normal temperatures or less than 10 miles in freezing temperatures
• Driving in stop-and-go traffic in hot weather
• Driving at speeds of less than 50 mph for long distances
• Driving on roads that are dusty or muddy or have salt, sand or gravel spread on the surface
• Towing a trailer or transporting items on a roof rack or in a cartop carrier

AAA notes that manufacturers have differing maintenance recommendations for severe driving conditions and that under these conditions, drivers should change the vehicle’s fluids and filters and inspect certain components more often.

Most people don’t understand how hard they are on their vehicles, so it’s important to take an honest account of your driving habits, learn what your vehicle’s manufacturer considers severe conditions and then schedule maintenance appropriately.

Driving Habits Alter Car Care Need (Detroit News)

Goodyear Raising Tire Prices

In this tough economy, many consumers are holding onto their cars longer and investing in them instead of buying a new car. Routine maintenance for any car requires replacing the tires when the tread wears down, and we haven’t met anyone who likes to pay for new tires. However, Goodyear isn’t helping matters by raising prices on all of their consumer tires by up to 6% effective Dec. 1.

The company is citing increased raw materials costs but wouldn’t specifically say which ones were driving the increase.

Goodyear raises tire prices by up to 6% (USA Today)

VW Adding Free Maintenance in 2009

Volkswagen is really going all-out to buoy its flagging U.S. sales. Starting with its entire 2009 lineup, the company will add a Carefree Maintenance Program at no charge that will pay for all scheduled maintenance for the life of the new-car warranty: three years or 36,000 miles.

Interestingly enough, this includes just three services at 10,000, 20,000 and 30,000 miles. The new Routan minivan will have more maintenance intervals — at 6,000, 12,000, 18,000, 24,000, 30,000 and 36,000 miles — all of which will also be covered.

VW is also adding a new “courtesy vehicle check” that allows owners to bring their new car back to the dealer within 90 days or 6,000 miles for a review of the car’s features and to have it checked for any mechanical issues.

Many luxury automakers offer similar programs, but with just three services included for most models, VW might have found a winning formula. It won’t cost the automaker much to perform three services, and the program will sound great in commercials.

Update: VW has confirmed that it will reduce its comprehensive new-car warranty to three years or 36,000 miles for the 2009 model year compared to the current four-year or 50,000 mile warranty for 2008 models.