It’s time for the April edition of the eResource Challenge Lite! Thank you to everyone who responded to last month’s challenge about city directories. It was enlightening to learn about some specialized resources, like Fold3 at the Carnegie Library Pennsylvania Department. Take a look at all the comments and feel free to add a comment with anything that was missed.
Congratulation to Norene R. who was March’s challenge winner! Give us your responses to April’s challenge anytime before the end of the month and you will be entered in the drawing to win another prize.
April’s Challenge:
My 1991 Ford Escort needs some major work. It needs new anti-lock brakes, clutch, transmission, and front and
rear suspension. The mechanic I go to charges $55 an hour labor, how much do you think I’ll be paying in labor costs? I paid $1500 for the hatchback model last year, how much would it have cost to buy this car new in 1991?
I went under the Find Articles and More Database. I selected Auto Information. I chose Auto Repair Reference Center. Once I was in Auto Repair Reference Center, I chose Find your vehicle. I found the 91 Ford Escort by clicking on the yr, make, and model. It brings up several kinds of Escorts like LX, GT, and Pony. If you click on the LX, GT, and Pony, it leads you to repair information.
Again, I went under Find Articles and More Database. I selected Consumer Resources. I chose Consumer Reports. I searched for 1991 and chose April. I found an April 1, 1991 article titled, “Summary Judgments of the 1991 Cars.” I scrolled through the article until I found the Ford Escort. It listed the prices. The prices are:
2 door Pony $7976
LX $8667
GT $11,484
4 door Hatchback LX $9095
4 door Wagon LX $9680
You can estimate repair costs through the Auto Repair Ref. Center too. After you “find your vehicle” and select the sub model, one of the items in the topics menu is “Labor Times”. You can search for things like clutch or brakes and then chose what best meets your needs. It will give you base times for factory, regular, or severe repair times. Use that, along with the price from your mechanic, to figure out how much your repair might run.
You can also get the original MSRP of a car at nadaguides.com. We have the paper copies, but this is good way to get prices for older models.