Things are getting rough. All those safeguards are getting ready to expire, and while most people will do the right thing, we need to fight for what’s ours.
That means taking care of what’s essential. It means making yourself indispensable. It means making the right moves when the time is right. This is the theme behind this week’s show. Jeff Barker of Robert Bosch, LLC joins Steve, Felecia, Matt, Pk and Ryan for a lot of laughs and learning.
Episode Recap
FRIENDLY TAKEAWAYS:
- Stay safe on the roads by inspecting your car
- Bosch filters will extend the life of your car’s engine
- Talk to your landlord to avoid getting evicted
- Get the right price for your home
- Auto Safety Inspection and Accidents in Arizona
Steve couldn’t find his Islanders jersey, but the show still went on! Aren’t we all missing sports? It’s all repeats and highlights on sports TV. PK noticed that kids are still out playing in the ballparks. These days, though, kids are playing mostly video games — get back out there on the courts and fields!
We had a great guest today. Friendly Auto Centers is a Bosch certified dealer. Our guest today is Jeff Baker from Bosch, a real car guy. You can follow him on Instagram for great car info.
Arizona has the highest rate of vehicle accidents in the US — we’re number one! We’re one of the few states with no safety inspection. Many states have an annual safety inspection, which can really help reduce accidents and lower insurance rates. That can also help save money on repairs because you get things fixed before they become really expensive.
What do they check for? They look for tire treads and tire wear — no baldness, no bulges, etc. Brakes can’t be cracked or worn down. Wiper blades have to be good to go. No fluid leaks. Cracked windshields will fail your car, just like cracked lights or lights that are out. They’ll also check turn signals. Steering needs to be good to go, no leaks.
We need to implement this in Arizona. Licensed service stations would get behind this. This will make cars safer and reduce the amount of junk and debris off the roads. This is the exact reason that Matt covers the cost of oil changes, because it reduces claims.
The New Line of Bosch Oil and Air Filters
Drive Friendly became the CarFax Top Shop in Arizona!
Be sure to check out the show, The Blender with Jeffry O’Brien, on 1580 AM — our new channel. Great show.
In this segment we welcomed our guest Jeff, with Bosch. The latest and greatest with Bosch is their new line of oil filters. Just about every car has oil filters, but most people don’t pay much attention to them. Engines these days are much cleaner than they used to be. Older cars need to be changed every 3,000. Some newer cars can go 7,000-10,000 miles, but they need the right oil filter. If you’re using high-end oil and want to go 10,000 miles, you need a filter that can handle it. Lower-end filters have paper filters that get chewed up. The new filters have fiberglass filtering. The key is the pleats in the filter. The more pleats you have, the more dirt it can hold. The more filter you have, the less of a pressure drop you have going through the filter. It also gets out the smaller particles. That little hole at the top of the filter is the bypass. Old, used filters get all gunked up at which point it no longer filters the oil, as the oil gets bypassed. The only thing worse than dirty oil is no oil. It’s that ‘worn out’ oil we discussed in a previous episode. Poor filters can disintegrate and end up in the engine.
Friendly Auto is now offering these filters with the ultimate oil change. They also have the Bosch air filter, which really filters the dirt out of the air. Having a good air filter can really extend the life of other parts and sensors in the car. Some filters can even melt onto components, like oxygen sensors. That can show up as a bad sensor, when it really might just be an air filter. That’s the real price of a cheap air filter.
We’re seeing a lot of carbon buildup on 4-cylinder BMWs and Mercedes. It can be really expensive to get rid of that buildup.
How to Avoid Eviction During COVID
All over the news is people getting evicted. What happened to caring for each other? What can somebody do? PK Jordan shed light on that. It’s never been the case that you don’t have to pay your rent during COVID. If you can’t pay, talk to your landlord. You can agree to break your missed rent over several months. Pay what you can, then work it out with your landlord to pay the rest. Landlords must keep the key utilities running. Let’s say the A/C goes out, make a phone call to your landlord and follow it up with a written confirmation of what’s going to happen. That is a necessity, not a luxury.
The law that the governor passed says you can’t put tenants on the street during COVID. Now, there are still things a landlord can do to remove a tenant, but it can’t be COVID related, like doing repairs to the property. Have to give notice on that, though. They can’t just kick people out for non-payment.
Sometimes, leases can be negotiated, and there are other things that can be done. The key is that landlords don’t want a vacancy. Talk to your landlord!
There are options for small businesses, as well. You can use partial rent, free rent. Commercial landlords also don’t want a vacancy. Be a good tenant, so that they want to keep you. If you’re a trouble tenant, they’ll be less likely to work with you.
If you have to get out of a lease, negotiate the exit to save yourself money.
How to Get the Price Right When Selling Your Home
We are at the lowest level of houses being sold here in the Valley. Inventory is almost half of what it’s been at its previous lowest. And loans are available at incredibly low rates. People want to buy. There’s just so little inventory. It’s definitely a sellers market.
So, what do you need to do when you want to sell your house? Even with enthusiastic buyers, it can all change at inspection time. The inspection can really put the brakes on a deal or even just kill the deal.
Felecia recently had a buyer walk away because of the inspection. In looking at the inspection, there were a couple things that needed fixing. They fixed them and got full price after three days on the market.
There are four things to look at in your home:
The inside surface: floors, walls, kitchen, bedroom. This is the first impression inside the home.
Underneath: what does it look like underneath. Look at the plumbing, the roof, the A/C. These kinds of things will show up in the inspection.
Outside: You want curb appeal. Clean up the yard, get rid of debris, trim the bushes, mow the lawn. Dog poop can kill a deal. Check the facia boards.
There’s a lot more to the house than the eyes can see. We’ll talk more about this next week.
Wrap Up
Until next week, Drive Friendly Arizona! Oh, and be sure to check out the other shows on The Fanatic!
