Protect Your Car From Thieves

It is possible either you or somebody you know has had a car stolen. If not, you have been lucky. Auto theft is an estimated $7.5 billion business, according to the FBI. A car is stolen every 23 seconds in the United States with a total of nearly 1.4 million vehicles stolen altogether.

Statistically, theft varies according to region with the Southern States losing 35%, the Western States 28%, the Midwestern States 20%, and the Northeastern States 17%. Even though there aren’t any particular months were cars are stolen more, between January and July, crime rates increase slightly. The lowest percentage of auto thefts occurs in February and April, probably because of fewer days in the month.

Most auto thefts do not occur in small towns but more typically in larger cities. The urban reality is that more cars are parked on the street or in open parking lots than in secured personal garages or in rural yards. Add to that the sheer amount of cars in urban areas and statistics can’t help but go up. As for police, having a large city to search through in finding a stolen car, makes it even more difficult as there are thousands of similar looking vehicles in traffic.

Statistics show that an experienced car thief can steal your car in less than a minute. Some cars are hot-wired while other thieves may just smash the drivers’ window in. For the most part, cars are seemingly stolen for the value of their parts rather than resale or personal use. According to insurance companies, a $20,000 stolen vehicle can be stripped and sold into $30,000 worth of parts.

Here are some free things you can do to help prevent car theft:

• Park in attended lots. Auto thieves do not like witnesses and prefer unattended parking lots.
• If you park in an attended lot, leave only the ignition/door key. If your trunk and glovebox use the same key as the door, have one of them changed. Don't give the attendant easy access to your glovebox and trunk. Upon returning, check the tires, spare tire, and battery to be sure they are the same as those you had when you parked.
• Take Your Keys. Nearly 20 percent of all vehicles stolen have the keys in them.
• Lock Your Car. Approximately 50 percent of all vehicles stolen were left unlocked.
• Never hide a second set of keys in your car. Extra keys can be easily found if a thief takes time to look.
• Park in well-lighted areas. Over half of all vehicle thefts occur at night.
• Never leave your car running, even if you will only be gone a minute. Vehicles are commonly stolen at convenience stores, gas stations, ATMs, etc. Many vehicles are also stolen on cold mornings when the owner leaves the vehicle running to warm up.
• Completely close car windows when parking. Don't make it any easier for the thief to enter your vehicle.
• Don't leave valuables in plain view. Don't make your car a more desirable target and attract thieves by leaving valuables in plain sight.
• Park with your wheels turned toward the curb. Make your car tough to tow away. Wheels should also be turned to the side in driveways and parking lots.
• If your vehicle is rear-wheel drive, back into your driveway. Rear wheels lock on four-wheel drive vehicles, making them difficult to tow. Front-wheel drive vehicles should be parked front end first.
• Always use your emergency brake when parking. In addition to ensuring safety, using the emergency brake makes your car harder to tow.
• If you have a garage, use it. If you have a garage, take the time to use it rather than parking outside where your vehicle is more vulnerable.
• When parking in a garage, lock the garage door and your vehicle. By locking both the garage and vehicle doors, the chances of deterring a thief greatly improve.
• Don't leave the registration or title in your car. A car thief will use these to sell your stolen car. File the title at your home or office, and carry registration in your purse or wallet.
• Disable your vehicle when leaving it unattended for an extended period of time. Remove the electronic ignition fuse, coil wire, rotor distributor, or otherwise disable your vehicle anytime thieves may have extended access to it.
• Replace T-Shaped door locks with straight locks. Some vehicle doors have lock assemblies at window level that flare out in a knob or "T" shape. A thief can use various tools to gain access inside the vehicle, grab and pull the lock. Straight locks prevent this.
• Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). Stolen cars/parts are more easily traced when vehicle VIN numbers have been etched on car windows and major parts.
• Engrave expensive accessories. Engrave personal ID numbers on car stereos, cellular phones, etc., so the thief will have difficulty disposing of them.

Practice these few simple things and you may not be a victim of car theft.


David Etienne is the founder of FIX-A-DENT, the premier provider of Professional Paintless Dent Repair services in the United States. Established in 1993, FIX-A-DENT continues being the leader in Paintless Dent Removal (PDR), technologies, practices, and techniques. For more information, please visit http://www.fixadent.com

Texas Hail More Damaging Than Most

Hail Alley USA is what they call portions of Texas when between the months of March and June, when the state is assaulted by weather. Texas has earned this name rightly so as it is the hardest hit state in the Union by hailstorms and 40% of all homeowner claims in Texas are related to roof damage from hail.

According to the North Central Texas Council of Governments, these hailstorms won’t be getting any better. It was stated that "Over the next 30 years, the North Central Texas region will be hit by more than 200 tornadoes, more than 2000 hail events, and more than 100 significant wind storms..."

Is Texas the hardest hit? Since 1980, the country has averaged 3,000 hailstorms a year, with four states accounting for 42 percent of the total. Texas, 500 per year; Oklahoma, 400; Kansas, 225; Nebraska, 135.

Texas officials estimate that up to 40 percent of all homeowner’s insurance claims in that state result from hail damage. While the Midwest and Great Plains states have the most hailstorms, Colorado has the most storms with large-size hail (diameter greater than 1.5 inches). So even though Colorado has fewer storms, the storms that occur cause more damage. (The largest hailstone ever recorded -- more than 6 inches in diameter -- fell in Kansas in 1970.)

Hail losses can be overwhelming to homeowners and to the insurers that cover their homes. It is a lose-lose situation for both insurers and homeowners. While there is nothing you can do to stop hail; there are viable options for minimizing your exposure to having your belongings damaged by it or to at least having it repaired as soon as possible.

To start, look at having an estimate on your home’s roof. There are new products available called "impact resistant roofing". Having this type of roofing can reduce your homeowner’s policy by up to 35%.

Second, keep a good insurance policy with a company that won’t hassle you when paying out its claims. During Texas most recent devastating hailstorm, some insurance companies were on site to help people out. A good insurance company will help out immediately even when payout claims add up. Statistically, among State Farm insurance companies 25 highest claim payouts in history, eight involved significant damage caused by hail. The company's fifth-largest payout for a single catastrophic event occurred in 1992 -- about 68,000 claims totaling nearly $245 million resulting from a hailstorm in Fort Worth, Texas.

Damage to vehicles was also serious during the recent Texas hailstorm. GEICO regional vice president for Texas operations said, "We are aware of the serious damage that hail storms can inflict on vehicles, often making it difficult or impossible to use your car. We have added additional staff to make sure the claims are handled quickly, minimize the inconvenience to our policyholder's lives and get them back on the road as soon as possible."

If your vehicle has been damaged by the recent storms, especially if windows are broken, insurance companies recommend covering it with plastic or other material to protect it from further damage.

If you know a hailstorm is coming, there are a few things you can do to protect your vehicle, as it is one of the few things damaged by hail that can be moved.

1 - Park your car in a garage or under a roof before the storm begins.
2 - If you have to leave it outside, cover your car with a thick blanket to minimize the impact of hail.
3 - If driving, look for a covered safe place and wait for the storm to pass.
4 - If there's nowhere to go, stop your car. The impact will be stronger if your car is in motion.
5 - After the storm, assess the damage and call your insurance company.

Damage to sheet metal can cost thousands of dollars to repair and replacing a broken windshield can add up to hundreds of dollars. Again, you must have the proper insurance, such as comprehensive coverage, to pay for the damage. If you are covered, you have the right to get your car repaired to the condition it was in before the hail damaged it. Depending on the damage, your body shop will either hammer out dents and paint or use paintless dent repair.

Despite Texas reputation for assaulting hailstorms, if you know how to prepare and tackle the problem after it happens, you won’t be so left out in the cold.

David Etienne is the founder of FIX-A-DENT, the premier provider of Professional Paintless Dent Repair services in the United States. Established in 1993, FIX-A-DENT continues being the leader in Paintless Dent Removal (PDR), technologies, practices, and techniques. For more information, please visit http://www.fixadent.com

Driving And The Holidays

Most of us don’t like driving during holidays but when it’s your only time off of work, you do what you have to do. If you are one of those people who have to travel during holidays and peak driving time, there are ways to keep yourself a little safer. Besides the standard of going the speed limit and wearing your seatbelt, here are a few more ideas to give you that safety edge.

1. Drive Predictably - Be predictable! If you find that you are too close to your intended off-ramp (or turn) to be able to signal normally and slow down gradually, then forget making any sudden corrective moves and go on to the next exit, or to the next block. Turn back, or go around the block to get back where you wanted to be.

Have you ever seen a driver fly down the left lane of an expressway, then at the very last second, veer across all the lanes and onto an off-ramp (usually cutting off a number of other vehicles in the process)? Driving instructors call that a "kamikaze." It's probably the most extreme example of unpredictability, the kind of unexpected sudden movement that results in many traffic deaths each year.

Being predictable is part of planning ahead and paying attention -- for the freeway exit, you should change lanes long before your exit ramp, getting yourself into position early so that others have plenty of time and space to react and adjust.

If you are confused about where to turn, or looking for an address, be careful not to stop dead in the road when others aren't expecting your sudden stop. Instead, pull off to the side or into a parking lot until you figure out what to do. Pay attention to your turn signals. It is not unusual to see a driver whose signal doesn't auto-cancel happily motoring along, unaware, for many blocks.

2. Practice the Two Second Plus Rule - Create space between you and the other driver and never allow yourself to get "boxed in." Adequate space creates time and helps you avoid collisions. Maintain at LEAST two seconds of following distance, more if you can. Adjust your position in traffic as necessary to avoid driving in others' blind areas. Don't allow yourself to be tailgated—change lanes or adjust your speed to encourage tailgaters to pass you.

Many of us were taught to use the car-length rule for following distance (one car length for every ten mph). That rule is no longer recommended because car lengths are difficult to visualize, impossible to visualize when moving, and the rule didn't provide enough space in the first place. For example, 6 car lengths at 60 mph provide roughly 108 feet of space. At 60 mph, the average alert reaction time eats 60 to 130 feet (and in the real world, closer to 135 feet for many), leaving little or no time to act. Two seconds of following distance at 60 mph, on the other hand, gives you over 176 feet of pavement to react and respond. Even at two seconds of following distance, you must respond quickly, but it can be done under normal circumstances.

How do you apply the two-second rule? Watch as the vehicle ahead passes some object—I often use shadows or marks on the road surface—then count "one-thousand-one, one thousand two." If you pass that same spot before getting to "two," you're too close—back off!

3. Don’t Make Assumptions About the Other Driver - You can never rely on what the other driver will do. While you are driving, keep a wary eye on the other guy and leave yourself plenty of room. Anticipate the mistakes he might make and be ready for them. Eventually, he will! Because he's just like us! When you are driving on "autopilot," you have turned control of your vehicle over to those other drivers - you are at their mercy. Their fate is your fate.

4. Be Aware of Blindspots – Every car has blindspots, yours and others. Don’t drive in other people’s blind spots just as you don’t want them to drive in yours. It's a good idea to adjust your position relative to other traffic to stay out of other drivers' blind spots whenever you can. Some drivers habitually change lanes without checking their blind areas for other vehicles so beware of those types of drivers.

Where are your blind spots? That depends on the vehicle. A car typically has blind areas at the sides near the rear of the vehicle, meaning you cannot see anything in these areas by looking in your correctly-adjusted mirrors. Other vehicles may be blind to anything that is directly behind them. Vehicles in which the driver sits very high may have forward-quarter blind spots—they may not be able to see anything low to the ground in front or to the sides near the front.

5. Beware of the One Car Crash - When many people think about what the most "dangerous" collision is, they don't always come up with the correct answer on first guess. Many think it is the "T-Bone" (a 90 degree impact at an intersection), or a head-on. But time and again, the statistics show that the collision that kills more of us than any other is the single vehicle, off the road collision.

If you think about their causes, then the ways to prevent them become obvious -- they happen when we lose control for one reason or another. The driver might be distracted for a moment, or fatigued and drift off to sleep. A one-car crash can occur with a loss of traction (and an uncontrolled skid, or even with a tire failure.

The "classic" one-car crash results when a vehicle does a slow drift to the right, and hits the dirt, or perhaps the rumble strips on the right shoulder of the road. Typically, the driver gets alert at this point, and overreacts, jerking the wheel left to bring the vehicle back onto the road. That "jerk" to the left causes the front left tire to strike the raised edge of the pavement at a fairly sharp angle -- often causing a rollover or a swerve into the oncoming lanes to the left. Why "classic?" Because investigating officers will tell you they see this type of mishap so often, it is now a cliché.

If you find yourself drifting off the right edge of the pavement, release the accelerator and let the vehicle slow as you continue straight ahead along the shoulder, then use the steering wheel to bring the vehicle smoothly back onto the pavement. You can use the brakes while slowing, but be careful not to apply them too heavily, and make sure you are not trying to turn while braking.

If you practice all of these simple techniques, you will have safe holidays and happy traveling.

David Etienne is the founder of FIX-A-DENT, the premier provider of Professional Paintless Dent Repair services in the United States. Established in 1993, FIX-A-DENT continues being the leader in Paintless Dent Removal (PDR), technologies, practices, and techniques. For more information, please visit http://www.fixadent.com

Getting Around On Biofuels

There has been a lot of discussion about biofuels these days. With the cost of fuel increasing in price and decreasing in availability, the need for an alternative fuel is on the rise. Many have heard the term biofuel but knowing what it means, well that can be tricky.

Technically, biofuel is any fuel that is derived from biomass-recently living organisms or their metabolic by-products, such as manure from cows. It is considered ‘green’ because it comes from a renewable energy source, unlike other natural resources such as petroleum, coal and nuclear fuels.

Agricultural products specifically grown for use as biofuels include corn and soybeans (primarily in the United States) as well as flaxseed and rapeseed (primarily in Europe).

Biofuels can also be made from waste. For instance, straw, lumber, manure, sewage, garbage and food leftovers from industries like agriculture, forestry and households can also be used to produce bioenergy.

There are pros and cons when it comes to the various types of biofuels. One of the largest discussions now is regarding the use of fuel made of corn. This is often called the "food vs fuel" debate. Some of the cons in harvesting corn for fuel is the amount of carbon emissions levels, having enough corn to create a sustainable biofuel production, deforestation and soil erosion that comes with growing more corn, impact on water resources, turning potential food into fuel and its human rights issues. But corn is only one source of making biofuel.

What material can be used to make biofuels? Conventional ethanol is made from sugar cane, corn, and sweet sorghum. Soybean and rapeseed oil are often used to make biodiesel. Algae is also used to make biodiesel.

Trees, grass, agricultural residue, and municipal solid waste can also be converted into biofuel. Cellulose makes up the majority of a plant’s structure and can be broken down into sugars, which can then be fermented and made into ethanol. Recent research is making this process less expensive and more energy efficient.

As the world’s top producer, Brazil uses sugar cane to make ethanol. Many other developing countries, such as those of southern Africa, produce large amounts of sugar and also have potential to become ethanol producers. The Midwestern United States relies on corn to produce nearly one-quarter of the globe’s ethanol, and China is quickly emerging as the third largest ethanol supplier.

Other countries with limited fossil fuel resources are examining the prospect of producing domestic fuel supplies. Thailand has an aggressive policy to make use of tapioca and sugar cane for ethanol production. Other countries are ramping up biodiesel production as well. The Philippines recently mandated incorporation of coconut oil biodiesel into diesel fuel, the first time coconut oil has been used as a motor fuel.

Cars, trucks, and farm machinery can all run on low-volume biofuel blends without any alteration. Current car warranties cover operation with ethanol-blended gas of up to ten percent. Flexible Fuel Vehicles (FFVs) operate on any combination of ethanol and gasoline. FFVs are being sold in the U.S., Brazil, and China. As ethanol has a higher octane, it is used as a gasoline additive to improve vehicle performance. In fact, many international racing teams use ethanol because of its high performance qualities. Biodiesel blends of 20% show similar operation in conventional diesel engines as regular diesel fuel.

Will biofuels replace are dependency on foreign oil? It may be too soon to tell but it certainly is a fuel worth looking into.

David Etienne is the founder of FIX-A-DENT, the premier provider of Professional Paintless Dent Repair services in the United States. Established in 1993, FIX-A-DENT continues being the leader in Paintless Dent Removal (PDR), technologies, practices, and techniques. For more information, please visit http://www.fixadent.com

Hail and The Damage It Causes

We have seen the pictures of hail the size of softballs. But it doesn’t take hail that large to cause a lot of damage. According to statistics damage from hail is close to $1 billion a year in the United States alone. Much of the cost from hail damage is reflected on crops as even the smallest amount can shred plants to ribbons in a matter of minutes. Damages for other items besides crops include vehicles, roofs of buildings and homes, and landscaping.

How hail will fall and in which direction is dependent on what is going on inside the thunderstorm. Hail falls when it becomes heavy enough to overcome the strength of the updraft and is pulled by gravity towards the earth. Hailstones bump into other raindrops and other hailstones inside the thunderstorm. This bumping slows down their fall. Drag and friction are also factors and then hail is shot in all sorts of directions.

What exactly is hail? Hail is precipitation that is formed when updrafts in thunderstorms carry raindrops upward into extremely cold areas of the atmosphere and freezes into ice. Hailstones grow by colliding with supercooled water drops. Thunderstorms that have a strong updraft keep lifting the hailstones up to the top of the cloud so they continue to grow. The hail falls when the thunderstorm's updraft can no longer support the weight of the ice. The stronger the updraft, the larger the hailstone can grow.

Hail is different from sleet in that sleet forms from raindrops that freeze on their way down through a cloud. There is no thunderstorm updraft involved in the formation of sleet or snow. And sleet doesn’t cause damage as it comes down in smaller sheets. As for hail, the largest hailstone recovered in the U.S. fell in Aurora, NE on June 22, 2003 with a diameter of 7 inches and a circumference of 18.75 inches. Since its weight could not be determined, the hailstone that fell on Coffeyville KS in 1970 remains the largest on record at 5.7 inches and 1.67 pounds, with a circumference of 17.5 inches

Scientists have tried many techniques throughout history to lesson the damage of hailstorms. The most well known technique involved "seeding" large thunderstorms with silver iodide. The theory was that the resulting small hail would probably melt and therefore not cause any damage. Unfortunately other experiments using this technique were not successful, and hail suppression remains elusive.

Because science hasn’t figured out a way to keep hail from becoming a nuisance, one is left doing the best they can to just fix the damage and move on. So if you have had an automobile damaged by hail, he are some steps from an insurance company on what to do to begin repairs.

1. Call your insurance company immediately to report the damage.

2. Discuss your repair with your insurance company and your body shop. Hail damage to sheet metal may need to be hammered and painted. However, trained technicians may recommend paintless dent removal (PDR), which involves using specially molded metal tools on the underside of a damaged part that won't disturb the factory finish. This method is often utilized by manufacturers and dealers to repair new vehicles and will not invalidate paint warranties. PDR cannot be performed if the dents are too large, if there are too many dents or if the paint finish is damaged. Prior body damage that required plastic fillers or bonding may also make PDR difficult. Your insurance company will be able to determine the severity of your damage and consult with you and the body shop on which repair method makes the most sense for your vehicle.

3. Find a reputable facility. Save time and money by asking your insurance company if it has a preferred PDR provider. If you choose a repair shop on your own, contact the Better Business Bureau or get referrals from friends. Ask the shop how PDR works and how they access hard to reach places to make the repair. The preferred method is to pull the dents from the outside rather than drilling holes to access the dent from beneath the panel.

4. Find out how long the repair will take. Paintless dent repair is an efficient and effective technique for repairing damage to your vehicle, and may be completed within a day.

5. Make sure your vehicle is repaired to your satisfaction. Before accepting your vehicle, look at the surface in fluorescent lighting and from several angles so that you can see all the details. Check for any remaining dents before you take your vehicle home.

6. Ask if the shop guarantees its work. If you notice a flaw in your vehicle's repair, you should be able to have it fixed at no additional charge. Know how your body shop will handle any problems you might have with your vehicle after the repair. Get guarantee and contact information in writing. Ask your insurance company if it guarantees the work of its preferred body shops.

Follow these steps and you can then at least, mitigate the damages to your vehicle. As for your house or crops, well, that will be another story.

David Etienne is the founder of FIX-A-DENT, the premier provider of Professional Paintless Dent Repair services in the United States. Established in 1993, FIX-A-DENT continues being the leader in Paintless Dent Removal (PDR), technologies, practices, and techniques. For more information, please visit http://www.fixadent.com

Fixing Dents and Increasing Your Cars Value

We all have them, well most of us. Small dents in our vehicle, dents that possibly came from parking lots, grocery carts, hail – you name it. And then there are the big dents, small collisions with the garbage can or a tree. However you acquired your dents, you can be sure that each and every one of them takes away from the value of your car. Try using the Kelley Blue Book and you will quickly discover a rating system based on your car’s condition. The difference in price between your cars condition of Fair to Excellent is sometimes quite significant.

There are other ways you can determine the increased value of your car when fixing dents. For starters, it just makes your car look better. A car that looks good is naturally worth more money than an identical car that has dents or dings marring its appearance. A car's value is higher when it remains closer to its original brand-new condition. A dent-free car also shows that you have maintained and cared for your car. When trying to sell a vehicle, this is an important impression to make. A car that has numerous dents and dings gives the impression that the car has been abused and/or neglected.

Fortunately, there are many ways to remove dents from your vehicle, which include a simple paintless dent removal processes to having the body shop to an all out dent removal.

If you have never heard of paintless dent removal or PDR, it is the process of removing small dents (usually the size of a dime, quarter, or half dollar), which often occur on a car's exterior as a result of door dings or hail damage. Technicians use specialized tools to push the metal back into its original shape from behind the dent and depending on the location of the damage, sometimes the panel is accessed by removing trim pieces, through window openings or by removing inner panels.

The paintless dent removal has become a popular solution for consumers and auto body repair shops due to the many ways it can save the consumer money. First of all, it takes much less time to repair a car with this system than it does when a car has to have pieces replaced or has to be repainted. With the paintless system, there is no sanding, body filler or repainting necessary.

Another benefit of paintless dent removal is that insurance companies recognize its value and therefore often refer customers to shops that provide this service. Insurance companies see how the process is efficient, cost-effective and a value-added service, which in turn keeps premiums down for their clients.

Last, because the paintless dent removal system is a process that takes less time than a full auto body repair, you do not have to be without your car for as long of time. If the repair is small enough, sometimes a repair technician can come to you. This of course means you don’t have to drive your car to a shop, leave it, have someone drive you back home and later drive you back to the shop to pick up your car.

Whatever system your auto body technician chooses in repairing your car’s dents, one thing is sure, the beauty and value of your car will be improved, which means more money and savings for you.


David Etienne is the founder of FIX-A-DENT, the premier provider of Professional Paintless Dent Repair services in the United States. Established in 1993, FIX-A-DENT continues being the leader in Paintless Dent Removal (PDR), technologies, practices, and techniques. For more information, please visit http://www.fixadent.com