The CARCHEX promise is “Customer Experience Above All.” In everything we do, the customer comes first and we strive to deliver the best possible experience from start to finish. We achieve this by making the customer feel as comfortable and as educated about our product as possible. We want you to know that you are making a good decision, and that we will be serving you as a consumer advocate throughout all phases of car ownership. At CARCHEX, the customer is #1.

Jason Goldsmith, our CEO, prides himself on being available to any customer with a question, comment, concern, or complaint about their extended car warranty or CARCHEX customer experience. You can email Jason with any concerns at ceo@carchex.com and he will personally respond to your issue. In the video below, Jason explains what the CARCHEX standard “Customer Experience Above All” means to him.

Video Transcription
It means to me that we’re going to deliver the best possible experience start to finish for our customers. So that starts when they’re being educated on the product from that first call in or that first time that they submit their information on our website. We want to make sure that their experience is transparent. In fact, they can see everything that we see here in the office so whatever is on our protection specialist’s screen, you can see on your screen, your computer screen at home. Everything is transparent, so we want you to be able to evaluate, we want to be able to give you a consultative presentation of our product, we want you to be able to see all of your options, we want you to be able to change all of your options on your own, we want you to have the access to check out 24/7, 365 and make sure that you can review your plan at that time, we want to make sure that you don’t feel obligated to purchase, you understand the benefits, that you don’t feel like you have your arm twisted to buy. You don’t have to buy on the first call, you can buy whenever you want, or maybe never but we want to make sure that that experience gets delivered to you, is one where you feel comfortable, you feel educated and you know that you are making a good decision if you do decide to purchase from CARCHEX.

Checking your transmission fluid used to be as easy as using a dipstick, but these days it’s a little more complicated. In this video, Pat Goss explains why it’s not really a do-it-yourself job anymore.

Video Transcription
How do you check the level of the transmission fluid? Well, for all of those of you who are used to the old school where you had a dipstick, forget it! No more dipsticks these days. The majority of transmissions do not have a dipstick. The way you check the fluid level can be very complicated. In most all cases, it requires a scan tool to interface the computer on the car to look at certain temperature readings. Then, there is going to be a plug in the center of the pan on the bottom of the transmission that has to be removed to see if fluid runs out. If fluid doesn’t run out, then you have to add fluid to it until it does, but this all has to be done at a certain temperature, so not really a do-it-yourself operation anymore.

Spring cleaning usually refers to that time of the year where we roll up our sleeves to clean out and freshen up our home or office. To extend the life of your vehicle, you should try doing the same for your car. Here are some tips from How Stuff Works on spring cleaning for your car.

Get rid of the rubbish
Most vehicles need a really thorough interior cleaning at least once a year. Remove everything that doesn’t belong in your car such as extra winter coats, blankets, and garbage. Unused items can weigh the vehicle down, creating drag, low efficiency, and subsequently, greater emissions.

Image via scstandardmotors.blogspot.com

Vacuum and dust the interior
Once you have the extra junk out of the way, you can focus on the dirt and dust. Over time, most vehicles will have a certain amount of interior toxins which are emitted through its plastics, leather, and vinyl. These toxins often float around the vehicle and end up clinging to various points inside your vehicle, such as dashboard, windshield, seat, etc. To get rid of these toxins, you need to wipe down the surfaces in your car with a microfiber cloth. When you are done with all the top surfaces, take a vacuum and suck up all the dust and particles that have collected in the carpet over the winter.

Clean the windows
A dirty window can be a hazard because of the decreased visibility the dirt creates. You might notice in particular an oily residue on the front windows after using your defrosters all winter. Cleaning your windows correctly requires more than soap and water; you will need some type of cleaning solution. Also, remember to check the windshield wiper blades and fluid and replace them if necessary.

Wash the exterior
By the time spring finally rolls around, most cars need a good wash to get rid of all the road salt picked up over the winter. Road salts used to counteract ice and snow during the winter months can shorten the life of your car. Salt is corrosive and over time it can eat away the paint on your vehicle, lead to rusting problems on the frame, and even cause damage to the undercarriage.

Give the vehicle a tune-up
Many people get their vehicle serviced before the winter because it can be a particularly hard season on a car. But most people don’t know that the summer can be just as harsh. Heat can be a fierce enemy to any engine and the hot temperatures of summer can cause a lot of wear and tear. To make sure your vehicle is ready for the hot weather, make sure your air filter is clean, spark plugs are functioning properly, oil is changed, and that there is no excess material blocking air from gaining access through the radiator.

Follow these spring cleaning tips and you’ll be all set to enjoy the warm weather!

Gasoline usage and its effects on the economy and the environment are always a concern. Recently, some drivers have considered a switch to using ethanol to fuel their vehicles because it is more environment friendly. But, are there any downsides to using ethanol over gasoline?

Video Transcription
How does ethanol differ? Well of course, it’s an alcohol as opposed to gasoline. But the big thing is that ethanol is good for the economy. It’s good for our dependence on foreign oil in the sense that it cuts it down, but as far as the car goes, not so good. Ethanol attracts moisture into the fuel system of the car, and that has to be dealt with. If it isn’t, then you wind up with fuel system problems. Additionally, it cuts fuel economy. There’s not as much energy in a gallon of ethanol as there is in a gallon of gasoline. So the difference in that energy, because it deals with density and a number of other very technical things, but because of these differences, you will automatically see a drop in fuel economy when you use ethanol. The higher the concentration of ethanol, the lower the fuel economy goes.

It’s happened to everyone–accidentally locking your keys in the car. In this video, Pat Goss shares the most effective and safest ways to get them out without causing any damage.

Video Transcription
Your keys are locked in the car. Now what do you do? Well, I recommend that you don’t use a coat hanger, or even these professional tools. You see, modern cars have changed and there are all kinds of electronic devices inside the doors. Then you take the old trusted and true slim jim that just about everybody has had experience with over the years, jam it down in to a door, you may wind up setting off a side impact air bag or you could damage the keyless entry system on the car. There are all kinds of other things inside the modern door. If you insist on doing it yourself, this is a sample of what you need. This is a tool kit to open the doors on most cars and comes with, as you can see, a rather substantial instruction manual. You’d have to buy something like this additionally, because you need to get access to things which means you have to move the glass so you need a wedge. But you can’t put too much force on that, so you put this air bag in there, pump it up and it gently spreads the area, spreads the glass away from the metal so that you can get the tool into the door. So in most cases buying all of this stuff and learning how to use it for that rare situation isn’t necessary. You’re probably a whole lot better off just to call road service.