Dear Just Be: I just moved here- any special tips for maintaining my car here?

Yes, living in Colorado can mean different car maintenance than you might be used to depending on where you have moved from. Though we are coming out of winter now, one thing to keep in mind for next winter is putting snow tires on your car, depending on where you live in Colorado, what type of vehicle you have, etc. We also do not have humidity nor do we typically have salt issues, so rust is not the same problem here as it is in other parts of the country.

If you do need to have your car serviced or repaired, it is important to know about the Colorado Motor Vehicle Repair Act (MVRA), which went into effect in May, 1997. In essence this law protects the consumer by requiring that the owner of the vehicle is made aware of information with regard to estimates, additional repair work, diagnostics, parts, etc. prior to work being done on their vehicle.

For example, NO repairs can be made to a vehicle without the written consent of the owner which includes an estimate of repairs.

The estimate MUST include:

• total cost of repairs (excluding sales tax and towing charges)
• completion date
• whether customer wants replaced parts returned
• cost of reassembly (if the customer chooses not to have the work done) and replacement of parts destroyed in disassembly.
  

For more detail information about this Act, please visit AAA Colorado.