When a car is new, sitting on the dealer's lot awaiting its first owner, there's nothing broken, failed, or aged about the car. What incidental problems the car may have during the first few years are covered by the factory warranty and any failed components are replaced with new parts. Of course we buy cars to use them so it should be no surprise that these cars inevitably age and wear out as they are used to transport us and our belongings. The process of this aging and the wear that occurs is called entropy. It would be melodramtic to say that the universe purposefully and continually seeks to render a car useless. It's a human perspective, of course, and the universe means us no ill will, but never-the-less the rain errodes the paint, the sun fades interior, and friction wears out, among other things, the engine, brakes, transmission, axles, seat springs, glove box door, etc. It is impossible to avoid the natural tendency for all matter to evolve to a state of inert uniformity, and given time and use, your SAAB will decay.

We humans combat entropy in many ways, and we have the means to slow the natural course of entropy. There are two good ways to combat entropy: one is to make proative repairs before catastrophic failures can occur and the other way to fight entropy is to build with better materials using better designs that resist the natural state of decay.

As to fighting entropy by building a better vehicle, over the past three decades the automotive industry has commited to improving engineering and manufacturing standards. Most notably, improvments have been made in safety, emissions, and performance and generally these improvements have also led to increasingly reliable cars. These better made cars are lasting longer which allows owners to drive them longer. These improved cars are also more sustainable, and because of emerging technologies newer vehicles have increasingly smaller carbon footprints. There are some negatives to trends in modern automaking, and one is the use of inconsistent technology for on board systems. In an ideal world, an international standard for technology would exist, but at this time numerous manufacturers use their own propriety systems. Since 1996, the American government has required limited uniform uses of technology by establishing On Board Diagnsotics II, a protocol of fuel management technology that must be in place on all vehicles sold in the USA. While this and other measures have helped vehicles last longer, produce fewer emissions and simplify repairs, our cars still wear out so it is up to us as responsible drivers to maintain our vehicles. It is only through the use of maintenance and proactive repair that we, as car owners, can successfully combat entropy. In addition to buying a better built vehicles with improved technology, it is also our responsibility to keep our vehicles properly repaired so that they are more reliable, longer lasting, more sustainable, and more environmentally friendly.

The question then becomes: how can a car owner properly maintain a car? At what point does an owner replace or repair the wearing component in his or her SAAB versus leaving it in the vehicle to get the most use from it? Because entropy is a process of gradual wear and decay, how can an owner get the most out of the parts already on the car before they are replaced? How much wear is too much? When a part fails catastrophically, the anwers is clear: the completely broken component must be replaced in order for the car to work. The vast majority of the time; however, a part will slowly wear away and reach a point where a new part would greatly combat entropy and help restore the overall value of the vehicle. Also, neglecting or ignoring that ever-wearing part until it catastrophically fails will radically lower the reliability of the car. If the ignored system is fuel-managment related, then the car will not only be less reliable, but the car will also produce greater emissions. The car owner in this example not only courts being stranded on the side of the road, but every day he or she continues to operate a vehicle with a compromised fuel-management system is a day that the environment is harmed.

So, the trick is to find the right balance among all these complex variables and then make repairs at the right time. The goal of the responsible car owner is to get the most value and use from any component and not replace it too soon, but to replace it before it deteriorates and compromises reliabilty, safety, and emissions. It should be noted that replacing a part too soon might increase reliability, but it wastes the part and it wastes the energy that was required to make that part. This increases the carbon foot print of the vehicle and lowers sustainability. Good car repair requires consistent monitoring of the vehicle as it ages so that good decisions can be made as to when to repair.

Some good news among this maze is that repairing most cars is still less expenisve than buying a new one; however, navigating the often complex maze of auto repairs can be very difficult for most people.

Questions arise for the responsible car owners such as: which broken things should I fix first?; how can I differentiate the degree to which something is broken?; how can I prevent bigger and possibly more costly repairs with preventative work?; will my car still be reliable if I don't make this repair?; will my car produce more emissions if I don't make this repair?

To help clients at James Glass Automotive answer these questions, I have developed a system that categorizes repairs into three different classes. The details of this class system appear below, but the general goal of the system is to note all the repairs a car might need and assign them a priority level and then, depending on that priority level, determine the time when you should repair the problem. This allows the owner to get the most value out of existing worn parts, but still make repairs in time so the vehicle remains reliable and doesn't produce excessive emissions.

By using this repair classing system in conjunction with the First Contact Evalution, the owner will have a good idea of what is wrong with his or her car and furthermore, will have a good idea of when those failures should be fixed.

Of course, some failures are immediate and catastrophic regardless of proper maintenance and proactive repair. In those cases sometimes the vehicle can be broken to the point that it can't be driven, but this type of unexpected catastrophic failure is rare. Proper maintenance is the best often many repairs in aging cars are preventative. Every situation is different and any failure or impending failure is addressed on a case by case basis, but most of the time failures are predictable based on average life expectancy of various sub-systems and through the observation of aging components. CV joint boots, for example, that are very cracked, dry, and brittle are at the end of their useful life, and plans should be made to replace the boots before they spilt open. By taking this preventative measure and installing new CV boots, dirt and road debris can be kept out of the more expensive CV joint, thus preventing its destruction. This preventative repair not only saves the owner money, but axles that can be used longer means that energy won't have to be spent to make replacement axles thus reducing the carbon foot print of the vehicle.

The state of Virginia does have a safety inspection, but this inspection only addresses failures after they have happened and doesn't address non-safety systems of the car at all. In the above example, a CV boot that has cracked would pass the Virgina state inspection. Only when the axle was damaged beyond repair would the state inspector require a new axle be installed.

At JGA when a SAAB is in for repair, efforts are made to notice impending systems failures, and in conjunction with client feedback of problems they notice while driving the car, steps can be taken to make repairs that prevent the car from unexpectedly breaking down.

There are three level of repiars:

Class 1, which are typically discretionary repiars
Class 2, which are noticeable upcoming repairs
Class 3, which are repairs that require immediate immediate attention.

In addition to making the neccessary repairs to keep a vehicle running as the failures present themselves, it is absolutely vital that all schedule maintenance be carried out to ensure higher reliability and lower vehicle emissions.

Class 1 repairs:

Generally speaking, Class 1 repairs are small cosmetic or other incidental repairs that don't reduce the reliability of the vehicle or impair the operation of the vehicle.

Examples of Class 1 repairs:

1. fading paint
2. minor headliner sagging
3. broken or missing trim pieces
4. interior detailing
5. sound system repair
6. very minor engine, power steering or transmission oil leak (less than 10 ml in six months)

Class 2 repairs:

Class 2 repairs typically deal with systems that show signs of impending failure and it is obvious that the useful life of the aged component or system has nearly ended.

Examples of Class 2 repairs:

1. any minor cooling system leak (less than 50 ml in 60 days)
2. brake pads or rotors that are nearly worn out
3. an exhaust system that is on the verge of breach
4. aging cooling hoses
5. aging clutch systems
6. damage to the bodywork that could cause rust or prevent the successful operation of all exterior lights

Class 3 repairs:

Class 3 repairs are obvious because the vehicle either doesn't run, steer or stop properly. Under these conditions, immediate attention must be given these repairs as the the vehicle is either useless as transportation, people are in danger if the vehicle were to be operated, or the vehicle is producing excessive emissions.

Examples of Class 3 repairs:

1. the vehicle has no brakes or limited brakes
2. ball joints or tie rods are worn beyond nomial values
3. the vehicle does not steering correctly
4. the vehicle will not start and/or run
5. the vehicle will start but not consistently run properly
6. any compromise or failure in the emissions system
7. the exhaust system is breached