AutoWatch service catches on

When your car breaks down, finding a mechanic you trust becomes your top priority. You might ask friends, neighbors -- even people you don't like -- whether they know of someone to fix your car.

The horror stories I've heard over the years run the gamut -- cars sitting at mechanic shops for weeks with no work being done, personal belongings stolen from cars, vehicles left damaged or scratched.

These kinds of worst-case experiences make me appreciate Dave Henderson's business.

Henderson owns AutoWatch (www.autowatch.com), a Web-based business in Michigan that allows a customer to keep an eye on his or her car as it's being repaired.

Henderson sells auto-repair shops the software and equipment they need to install cameras. Twice a day someone in the shop takes photos of each vehicle and uploads the pictures to the AutoWatch Web site. If requested, comments are provided on the repair process. Customers can go online any time to see the pictures and e-mail questions or comments.

Here's the good part: Customers pay nothing. The shops cover the costs, seeing the service as a way to build customer loyalty and generate new business.

"In general, people don't trust car places," said Lori Roberts, an estimator at Johnson Body Shop in Durham, which has AutoWatch. "But when they get to see the repair online, they know we're being honest and fixing it the way we said. They are less suspicious."

The idea is catching on. And the service recently got a big boost when Nationwide Insurance made AutoWatch a requirement for many of its auto-shop affiliates. Nationwide has about 1,100 shops signed up, including 66 in North Carolina.

"We are always looking for innovative ways to interact with our customers," said Terry Fortner, a Nationwide spokesman.

"Customers can see what is happening to their car, versus wondering, 'Have they started on my car yet?' "

Since Nationwide introduced the program in January, Fortner said that customers have reported getting their cars back more quickly, among other improvements.

Another benefit of having a photo log of the entire repair process is that it can help settle insurance claims by providing more evidence of the condition of a car.

The service could have prevented some of the horror stories I mentioned earlier.

So the next time I need a mechanic, in addition to asking someone to recommend a good shop, I'll find out if the shop has the AutoWatch service. If it doesn't, I'll just drive on by.

Many readers contacted me about last week's column that explained the importance of checking out a used car before you buy it.

Many rightly pointed out that the color of clean engine oil is honey brown.

But I stand by bright pink radiator fluid.

Here's the deal: Radiator fluid can be pinkish, orange-red or green, depending on the type of car.

Ronnie Hartsfield, owner of Hartsfield & Son, a mechanic shop in Raleigh, said that Toyota makes a pink antifreeze that is used in some of its newer models. And both GM and Toyota use an orange-red antifreeze, Dexcol, in its newer models.

Still, a lot of older cars use green antifreeze.