Car Repair Estimate Website

Hi All,

Welcome to a weekend edition of the reference blog! We hope you are having an enjoyable weekend - especially with this nice weather!

I was driving to work this morning and as usual I passed many, many car repair stations. I got to thinking about the prices that repair shops charge when fixing cars. It can be pretty expensive to fix car problems. And then I thought about the current economic malaise the country undergoing. I put two and two together and thought about some online resources that the library offers. I then thought of a good website: what if consumers could compare costs for auto repairs. Bingo!

RepairPal - Car Care Confidence is a useful and interesting website. Click here to link to RepairPal. So, what does the site do? Simply put the site gives users independent and unbiased repair estimates, user ratings, and free car care advice.

For example I chose to get a price for an engine overheating diagnosis for a 2006 Ford Taurus in Farmingdale (zip code of 11735). RepairPal gives the user a price range for the repair ($87-$110) along with a list of repair shops and dealerships (on the right side of the page) that can service the car. Contact info is listed as well. In addition, some brief info about the repair shop is included.

A good segueway follows from RepairPal.com...did you know that the library subscribes to a FREE ONLINE DATABASES CALLED THE AUTO REPAIR REFERENCE CENTER?

Click here to access the Auto Repair Reference Center. The Auto Repair Reference Center is a free online database that helps DIY'ers (do-it-yourselfer's) fix cars. The resource has repair tips, helps users troubleshoot problems, inlcudes service bulletins and wiring diagrams for domestic AND imported cars. Cars manufactured since 1954 - present are covered so the database is very comprehensive!

For car buffs and at-home mechanics, the database is easy-to-use, free and goes a long way to replacing the Chilton Repair Manuals. Users can print out specific instructions, diagnostic information and repair information all at the click of a computer mouse.

Finally, users can access the ARRC (Auto Repair Reference Center) anywhere you have internet access and your library card number! The database is intuitive, easy-to-use, and has good help features when needed. How is that for responsive and cost effective?

Regards - and we hope you enjoy the database!

Stu