Lowell's Toyota Times - Fall '04 Edition

This month Lowell’s celebrates a quarter-century in business.

In 1979, I was a contented service manager at Muncie Buick in Winchester. I had good pay, a new Buick to drive, a 40 hour work week, paid vacation, paid holidays and a good boss, Tommie Muncie. We lived in Madison county.

I have always been interested in business and while working at Muncie I started to buy old cars, fix them up and resell them. This had been going pretty well and was bringing in a little extra income. Our children were one- and five-years-old and we had just purchased our first home, incurring a sizeable mortgage payment.

One Sunday morning, Betty my wife was reading the Lexington Herald-Leader when she noticed a garage for rent on Mechanic Street in Lexington. We had two or three cars we were working on and thought this would help solve the storage problem we were having. We jumped in the car and drove to Lexington to check it out.

The garage was 4000 square feet, about five times the size we needed to store cars. We walked around the building and peeked in the windows. Bluegrass Automotive, Towing, and Repair was the current renter. Our business name was created by adding “Lowell’s” to the top of the Bluegrass Automotive sign. Voila! Lowell’s Bluegrass Automotive.

The next week I met with Louden Byrd, known as “Red” Byrd, the owner of Bluegrass Towing. I bought most of the equipment he had in the shop. Red assured me that with the repair customers he had and the towing business he owned, he would be able to supply me with all the “broken” cars I would need to make a fortune.

Now came the hard part. I had to tell Tommie Muncie I was leaving to start my own business. I can still remember standing in his office. He pointed out the rate of failure for new businesses and made me a couple of offers that were hard to refuse, but I had made up my mind. I was going to make the leap.

While at Muncie I had hired a 16-year-old, Danny King. Danny came with me as a mechanic to open Lowell’s. Note: Danny has stopped in over the years to say “Hello”. He is now a grandfather.

Lowell’s was scheduled to open on (I believe) the first Monday in October in 1979. In a panic my mother called me from Cleveland telling me I couldn’t open that day as it was Yom Kippur, a Jewish holiday. I wasn’t very observant at that time and didn’t know about it. So before we had a chance to open…….we closed. The following day we opened.

The string of cars promised by Red Byrd didn’t quite appear. Our current (2004) two-day sales are higher than our sales were for our first three months in business. We struggled in the early years. Danny would work on cars, and I would also work on cars and run the business. It would be over a year before I started drawing a paycheck. In 1980, my pay was $3500 for the year, and was $7800 in 1981. This was half what I was being paid at Muncie, and with no benefits. Danny worked six days, and I worked six days and came in on Sundays to do the books. I didn’t take a vacation until we had been in business for three years.

Gradually our sales increased, as well as the number of our employees. In the early 80’s I thought it would be a good idea to specialize. I decided on Toyota, Datsun, Nissan and Honda. At that time general repair garages, such as ours, were sending their “foreign” car customers to the dealers. I thought this was a good opportunity. We quickly dropped Datsuns and Hondas and would only take new customers if they owned a Toyota. It was hard to turn away sales, but in the end it paid off.

My family moved to Lexington in 1989, cutting our commuting time from 40 minutes one way to five minutes. We loved country living but Lexington has more to offer.

We are a true family business. Betty started helping part-time and her hours increased as our children grew up. Amy, our daughter, has helped us in the past, assuming many different duties. Brian, our son, has been working here officially for 12 years. Before that he would spend a lot of his free time here helping and tinkering with junk cars and parts we had lying around. He is now our service advisor, technical advisor, and computer guy. He spends the bulk of his time dealing with customers and technicians. Undoubtedly he has the most challenging job in the shop. Brian also has a great knack for diagnosing cars when technicians run into a difficult problem. My father (paid in coffee) helps with our letter and postcard mailings.

Over the 25 years we have employed 4 husband-and-wife teams, children of employees, and various brothers and sisters. We have attended weddings, births and funerals. I have been the best man at weddings (twice for one tech who was married twice) and Betty was the Lamaze coach for an employee.

Our years of owning our own business have and continue to be a challenge, a challenge on which Betty and I thrive.

Keeping Your Factory Warranty Valid

Q. Do I need to take my vehicle to the dealer to keep my new car warranty valid?
A. No, as long as you maintain your vehicle as recommended by the manufacturer your warranty is valid. The minimum maintenance required to maintain your factory warranty is outlined in your owner’s manual. Regular maintenance can be performed by any qualified shop (including Lowell's!) without the threat of losing your warranty coverage.

Q. My car is a leased vehicle. Am I responsible for maintenance?
A. Yes. Even if you lease a vehicle you are responsible for all maintenance and repairs required to keep the vehicle in good working order and condition as outlined in the owner's manual. If the regular scheduled maintenance is not performed, your warranty may not remain intact.

Q. Can Lowell’s perform warranty repairs during the factory warranty period?
A. No. Franchise dealers sell vehicles at a profit. Because of their relationship with their dealer network, the manufacturer requires a dealer to perform warranty repairs at a discounted rate when problems occur within the factory warranty period.

Q. Can Lowell’s perform repairs under an extended warranty insurance policy?
A. Yes and no. Extended warranty contracts are a type of insurance policy. The majority of these policies are managed by third parties. Examples include GE Capital, Ryan Warranty Services, AAA, and various credit unions. Lowell’s can handle a claim under these policies. Some dealers also sell extended warranties underwritten by Toyota itself. These proprietary contracts typically require that the vehicle be taken to a Toyota dealer for repairs. You might want to keep this in mind when buying an extended warranty. Be sure to purchase one that gives you the most flexibility.

Still have questions? Give us a call at (859) 233-1173!

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Clark Howard on Factory Safety Recalls

The U.S. Department of Transportation has a division called the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The job of the NHTSA is to protect you from safety defects in cars and any other related safety issues. Clark Howard was astonished to hear that automakers no longer want to report safety issues to car dealerships, something that has been required by law for years. Car manufacturers have been complaining to politicians in Washington D.C. about how much money it costs them to fix repairs. Now, amazingly and sadly, the DOT has bought it. Automakers were able to convince politicians that they should be able to file a simple notice with the government about recalls, without having to tell car dealerships about them. In other words, manufacturers can keep it a secret that there is a defect in their cars.

Clark Howard wants to do something about this absurd decision. Therefore, every other week, he will put a link to any recent auto recalls in the Clark Said newsletter for your convenience. If you see your car on the list, you'll have to tell your dealer because they won’t know anything about it. So, if you want to know about these recalls, sign up for the newsletter here.

Another disturbing detail is that after we get as notice about a recall, only one in three of us gets our vehicles fixed. So, check the newsletter for any recalls, and GET THEM FIXED!

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Of Check Engine Lights & Fuel Caps
Have you ever had the “Check Engine” light pop up on your dashboard?

This light can come on for a number of different reasons. When your car’s onboard computer sees a problem in the fuel or emissions system, it will turn the light on. Most people aren’t aware of it, but something as simple as not tightening the fuel cap fully can prompt the light. When the fuel cap is loose, the computer "thinks" that there’s a vapor leak in the fuel system and will turn the light on. To help prevent this situation, make sure that when you get gas you tighten the cap until it clicks. Of course, if your “Check Engine” light is on and you haven’t recently had a fill-up, then it may be on for a different reason. If so, just give us a call and we’ll schedule a time for you to bring your car in to have it checked.

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A Word About the Prius and Fuel Mileage
How you drive is just as important as what you drive

While many hybrid car owners are thrilled with the fuel mileage of their new purchase, especially considering soaring gas prices, others are less than excited. Posts from hybrid owners have begun popping up on the Internet, with some complaining of getting less than 40 mpg.

Sensing a need, Toyota began distributing a four-page pamphlet back in April. It explains hybrid fuel efficiency and offers tips on optimizing fuel mileage. This document is available from Toyota dealers upon request. According to Toyota, cold weather, certainly a factor in the Bluegrass, can reduce the Prius’ fuel efficiency by up to 35 percent. Also, not allowing warm up time in the morning can hinder fuel mileage.

Other tips from Toyota engineers include coming to a complete stop, instead of simply slowing then taking off again. Not coming to a complete stop robs the Prius of the benefits of regenerative braking. Regenerative braking captures the energy from slowing the car and uses it to charge the battery. If the battery’s charge falls below a certain level, the Prius will rely more on the gas engine than the electric motor. Fuel mileage will consequently suffer.

One tip comes from a Prius owner, who happens to be an engineer. He recommends using moderate acceleration and then coasting, instead of long, slow acceleration. Also, he relates, his mileage suffers greatly if he drives over 70 mph.

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Lowell's Toyota Tidbits

More Prius news... Toyota will begin building Prius sedans in China next year. Toyota is also considering building the Prius and other hybrid vehicles in the U.S.

Who would have thought... Toyota Motors began as a division of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, a major manufacturer of weaving machines. The name was changed from "Toyoda" to "Toyota" for several reasons: to separate the founder's work life from his home life, because "Toyota" is easier to pronounce in Japanese than "Toyoda", and because it takes eight strokes (considered lucky) to write "Toyota" in Katakana, one of the Japanese writing systems.

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Ever made an appointment using our Web site?
If not, here are 5 reasons why you should:

You can review your car’s maintenance history online, and select those services you need, based on your current mileage.
We’ll confirm your appointment via email, verifying the maintenance/repairs we have you scheduled for.
You can access your maintenance history and make an appointment anytime, day or night.
No waiting on hold.
It’s quick, easy, and painless! All you need is your Vehicle ID number and current mileage. If you don't know your Vehicle ID number, don't fret! You can find it in two different places. It is printed on your last repair order, in the upper right-hand corner by your vehicle information. Your number is also on your Lowell's key tag. If you still can't find it, or don't have a key tag, just give us a call at (859) 233-1173 or email us. We'll be glad to help.

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Lowell's Toyota Times is published by Lowell's Bluegrass Automotive. Opened in 1979, Lowell's is the the only independent repair shop in the Bluegrass specializing in the maintenance and repair of Toyota and Lexus vehicles.

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