23 - Friday, April 13, 1990 - North Shore News AU TOM OT I ASK THE 69} ¥) EXPERT ASK THE Expert is a weekly column in the North Shore News’ Automotives section. Each week a reader's question will be answered by an expert from the British Columbia Automobile Association (BCAA). This week’s question is: In a recent News article, mention was made of catalytic converters, detailing how impor- tant they are and how many problems can be @ caused when they don’t work as required. However, our mechanic says the converter cannot be tested, and there’s no way of knowing if it’s working or not. Can you comment on this? (We drive an ’80 Volvo GLE). Karen Nelson, North Vancouver The catalytic converter is part of the exhaust system A. and is situated between the engine and the muffler. As exhaust gases flow through it a chemical action takes place that reduces the amount of harmful emissions. A catalytic converter doesn’! require any maintenance and it has proven to be a reliable emission contro! device. Most car makers, including Volvo, give a five-year war- ranty on the catalytic converter under normal use conditions. It has no definite life span and it very well may outlive the car if not abused. Other than leakage or damage to its casing, the main causes of failure are internal blockage or a reduction in its effectiveness to reduce exhaust emissions. Leaded gasoline i is generally the prime culpzit if there is an internal blockage in the catalytic converter. Never use leaded gasoline if your car is fitted with a catalytic converter. Excessively rich fuel mixtures, engine misfiring or oi! bur- ning problems can also damage the catalytic converter. A partially blocked catalytic converter has the same symp- toms as any restriction in the exhaust system. The engine generally idles fine but lacks power on acceleration. Acomparison check, with a similar model, of the amount of exhaust pressure at the tail pipe on hard throttle is another way to check for blockage. A test of the catalytic converter’s effectiveness at reducing exhaust emissions is not as easy. Special test equipment is usually required. Exhaust gas analyzer readings should be taken both at the tail pipe and at a port on the exhaust system between the engine and the catalytic converter. There are lots of reasons for poor engine performance or excessive exhaust emissions. The catalytic converter is way down on the list of probable causes. It’s also an expensive piece of equipment and should not be replaced without first eliminating the other, generally tess expensive possibilities. Bob McKugh, BCAA Consumer and Technical Advisory Dept. Try a classified ad in WHISTLER WHITEHORSE and 87 more BC. newspapers. All for just °165. You can get blanket coverage of BC. with a classified ad in 90 newspapers, for as little as $165. That's near! 3,000,000 readers. If youre BUYING, SELLING or simply TELLING, IT PAYS TO SPREAD THE WORD. For more information call this newspaper at 986-6222 Ted VONEE OF meOMrTN ang WELT tC OUVER 1845 Powell St. (at Victoria) Vancouver henlith SUNDAY + WEONETDAY - FRIDAY VY E s Consider depreciation when buying new car EVERYONE LIKES to get a great ‘deal’ when buying a new car. Consumers will often spend considerable time and effort negotiating a lower purchase price. However, one important factor is often overlooked: the effect of depreciation on the car’s value over time. Depreciation can shave thousands of doliars off a car’s value overnight, especially if a buyer pays an inflated price. The averagc new car depreciates about U(: per cent after the first yea: and 15 to 20 per cent th: next year depending on (ic mileage and condition. However, this is merely an average for all cars. Some cars can depreciate more than 30 per cent in the first year, while others may actu- ally retain their original value. The amount of deprecia- tion can make a huge dif- ference to a car’s resale value, and thus to the overall cost of owning a car. In order to discover which cars depreciate the most and which the least, I did a per- sonal survey of over one hundred different types of used cars and came up with some interesting and surpris- ing conclusions. Since the average con- sumer keeps his/her new car for a little more than three years, I concentrated on THE BOAT'’S IN! NEW SHIPMENT HAS JUST ARRIVED. 1990 SIDEKICK 4x4 $ * from: 11,995. plus freight & PDI D8850 THIS WEEKEND ONLY GREAT SELECTION...PICK YOUR COLOR! CONVERTIBLE SUZUKI SIDEKICK 4x4 1987 cars, comparing the 1987 factory delivery price {the price delivered from the factory in Canada, or at the port of entry for imported cars} with the average wholesale value today. It should be remembered that the resale value of any one type of car can vary widely depending on mile- age, condition, number of options, location (B.C. used cars are worth more than Ontario used cars), and even the color of the car. But certain trends clearly visible. . Perhaps the most obvious is that cars that depreciate the least are also the most popular type of cars in their class. Among imported cars that depreciate the least are the Acura Integra, Honda Civic, Honda Accord, Mazda 323, most Mercedes models, Nissan Micra, Nissan Stan- za, Toyota Tercel, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Camry, and Volvo 240. East European and Rus- are * hardtop extra Call 254-0811 15 minutes trom North Shore sian cars, such as Skoda and Lada tend to have the highest rates of depreciation, some as much as 60 per cent in three years. Though it is commonly perceived that domestic cars depreciate more than import cars, this is not always truc. The reason that comparable domestic cars often have lower resale values is because their original retail selling price was lower. For example, according to the Sanford Evans Gold Book of Used Car Prices, the 1987 factory delivered purchase price of a Dodge Shadow five-door hatchback with automatic transmission was $10,261. its average wholesale value today is $6,350, indicating a max- imum depreciation rate of 38 per cent. A 1987 Toyota Corolla LE with automatic transmission had a factory-delivered price of $13,138 and its average wholesale vaiue today is $8,150, indicating the same maximum depreciation rate of 38 per cent. Some domestic cars which have comparatively good resale values are the Buick LeSabre, Chevrolet Camaro, Beretta, Corsica and Thunderbird, Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais and Supreme, Pontiac Bonneville and Firebird, Mercury Cougar and Grand Marquis. Surprisingly, the domestic car that kept its value the best (out of the above cars) was the traditional V8- powered rear-wheel-drive Chevrolet Caprice. Domestic luxury cars, however, such as some Cadillacs and Lincolns, don’t hold their value as well as many bread-and-butter domestic cars. And while some European luxury cars, such as Mercedes, have good resale values, their high purchase prices mean that even a small amount of deprecia- tion can mean a significant drop in real dollars. As a general rule, cars that have been discontinued, sucht as the Oldsmobile Firenza and Chevrolet Chevette, tend to have poorer resale values. There are a few cars though, such as the Ferrari Testarrossa and Lam- borghini Countach, that ac- tually increase in value. But these cars are rare and will cost you an arm and a leg in the first place. Most cars depreciate, it’s just a matter of how much. Get ready for Summer Tune your Mazda! SPRING/SUMMER TUNE-UP Replace engine oil & filter. 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