FEATURES To£e 3, Tfie ^Utfieia Beware of Car Repair Rip-Offs By Anita Allen Staff Writer I was attending a uni versity hundreds of miles from home. My car was constantly overheating, so 1 haphazardly found a for eign car repair service. They fixed my thermostat. Gradually, I noticed the gears becoming increas ingly difficult to change, and I called this same place to inquire what could be wrong. The secretary looked up the service rec ords and diagnosed over the phone; that without a doubt, 1 needed a $300.00 clutch repair. Because I was suspicious and broke, 1 didn’t drive my car until I returned home. Upon my arrival, my cousin discov ered a pair of vice grips locked onto my clutch cable. After he removed my “$300.00” problem, my car was fine. This is my story about car repair rip-off. Yes, it can and does happen fre quently. Especially vulner able are females and young people in general; but any one naive in auto mechan ics is “free game” to a dis honest mechanic. Robert Sikorsky made atrip across America to get an idea of just how many dishonest and/or inept garages there are. His disheartening results were published in The Reader’s Digest. Mr. Sikorsky would loosen a spark plug wire and drive into the garages to ask for assistance. Only 28% of the time were the diagnoses correct. Three out of four times he was denied service, delayed for hours or days and/or was charged for unnecessary or incompetent repairs. Most people, he states, spend thirty-two cents of each dollar spent on car repair for inessential work. Unfortunately, most motorists lack the knowl edge to diagnose and re pair their cars, or to pre vent auto repair deception. Mr. Sikorsky gives some helpful advice. He got bet ter service at local small town garages than at ur ban chain service centers. Beware of technologically advanced tools and free coffee. Always get two esti mates and be courteous - your attitude makes a dif ference. I have interviewed several students about lo cal care repair garages. Shane Marsh said, “Mobile Medic has done repair work for me. They did quality work for reasonable prices, and the service was friendly.” “I currently have my car at the Exxon garage here in Black Mountain. They are courteous and their prices are fair,” states Krista Nielsen. Several students who wish to re main anonymous recom mended not to go to Black Mountain Tire and Serv ice. By the way, don’t de spair if you do drive an older American-made car. It may break down more, but the cost for parts and service is considerably less than for newer and/or foreign Cont. on Page 8 New Band With A Twist By Scott Ward StaffWriter In today’s world of poppy dance, weird alter native, and headbanging speedmetal, sometimesyou just need a break from the monotony. Sometimes, for instance, even the biggest headbanger on campus (me) has to have a break. Up until recently, I had to get the Led out, or get my “Piece of Mind” in order to escape the constant dredge of things. Until recently that is. Rachel Rachel is a new band with a twist. This hard rockin’, tune pumpin’ band is composed of five young ladies who, frankly, could give Petra a run for its money. Combining the sounds of Kansas, Boston, and yes, even a little Petra a la 1983, Rachel Rachel puts out a sound that sends an old rocker, like myself, back a decade or two. The highlight of the album is a cover of “Carry On Wayward Son,” origi nally done by Kansas. Even Kansas’ original guitarist, Kerry Livgren, makes an appearance in the video, complete with the Radi- caster that fans of Livgren have recognized for years. The only disappoint ment about this album is that it’s mostly ballads. There’s a few hard tunes on it, but in all it’s mostly a slow-going record. Even with its down falls, Wav to Mv Heart stands out among Chris tian music as a good album done by some extremely talented musicians.