Practical Ecommerce Features Motor Book Store Founder

Luis Hernandez, Jr., the owner and CEO of auto repair manual provider The Motor Bookstore, was recently interviewed by Practical eCommerce as part of their “Lessons Learned” series.

Hernandez first put up The Motor Bookstore back in 1995 and the initial service was basically an electronic counterpart of a motor bike repair and restoration magazine. Using this medium, he was able to sell some motorcycle books and then this retailing aspect just grew from that starting point. Hernandez managed to break into the e-commerce part of his business in 1997.

Hernandez fondly looks back on his first sale using the then-new e-commerce platform (which was still named MotorcycleBooks.com): “I still remember setting up the site, which was fairly easy through Viaweb,”Hernandez says. “The first order came in that same day, in the evening. I sold a Ducati book — MotorcycleBooks.com was a real business.”

The DeBary, FL-Based company grew enough to accommodate automotive-related material and books as well by 2002. That was when it became TheMotorBookstore.com. An estimated gross revenue of $2.2M was hauled in by the company in 2007, at its peak. Last year, the site grossed some $1.5 million in revenue.

“When we first started the magazine online, it was me, my ex-wife and one part-time employee. It was a little challenging of course financially, but since I am the kind of person who escrows for pretty much everything, I always had enough to cover all expenses and even save some money for future projects. That's how I was able to purchase my first office.

“We kept growing and at one point we had six employees. We’re now reduced down to four. As far as management, I subscribe to the theory of hiring tough and firing easy. We are like a family, where everyone is respected and allowed to do their job. Our people contribute to our goals because they know what we're about. The golden rule I've always had is to hire nice people. We can teach anyone how to sell technical automotive books, but we cannot teach them to be nice. That's something you learn at home.”

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Repair Manuals Online Prays for Japan

If you haven't heard already, Japan was struck by an offshore earthquake (Magnitude 8.8 or so) and then a tsunami hit.

Seriously, if you've watched any of the Live streaming footage, you'll see the extent of the devastation and the sheer brute force of nature. We pray for the safety of the survivors and hope that nothing major happens after.

Our prayers go out to all of the Japanese people and everyone who has been affected by this tragedy. Be safe, everyone. Minna, kiwotsukete ne.

Merc C-Class and C-Class Estate Online Manuals Now Up

Mercedes-Benz is really keen on providing online resources for its patrons. The German automobile manufacturer has just launched the interactive online manuals for two of its higher-end models, the C-Class compact executive sedan and the C-Class Estate station wagon.

The current-gen (w204) C-Class and C-Class Estate (s204) get the same online manual treatment as the previously showcased SLK’s. Viewers get detailed information about the vehicle, although you need to remember that the specifications have German standards in mind.

These online manuals are useful for many car owners who may have misplaced their printed copies. Of course, Mercedes-Benz puts it out there that these online interactive manuals aren’t really sufficient replacements for the real thing. There may be some info missing in the online version or some details can only be found on the printed manual.

Still, it’s nice to see Mercedes-Benz really putting customer service at the forefront of its operations. As an added bonus, enthusiasts who may or may not be able to afford the C-Class or C-Class Estate can still ogle the online interactive manuals and perhaps one day they (we? Haha) will be able to purchase the vehicle.

If you’re an owner of these current-gen C-Class vehicles and you’ve lost or misplaced your personal copy of the manual, you can always contact or go to your Merc dealer to inquire about getting a new copy. Don’t hesitate to do so—online repair manuals are good, but the actual owner’s manual is an indispensable resource you’ll need for the times when you have to repair or service your precious car.

Anyway, enough about all of this. Head on over to this link for the C-Class (w204) online interactive owner’s manual, or click this link to view the C-Class Estate (s204) online interactive owner’s manual. We hope you’ll enjoy it!

Online Repair Manuals are Here to Stay

Everything comes and goes. Even what's popular or famous today (The Los Angeles Lakers, Google, the iPhone, Rebecca Black) can be gone tomorrow. Still, we here at Repair Manuals Online firmly believe that our favorite web-based automotive resources, these online auto repair manuals, are certainly here to stay.

Fact is, a great many people really do own cars. And another fact is, most people would really want to save money by at least being knowledgeable enough to know what's wrong with their cars and maybe even be empowered enough to do something or other about the problem (this is, in essence, the DIY spirit). And online auto repair manuals are excellent tools for that job.

Very few things can compare to the convenience of having a readily accessible resource off the Internet, especially now that fast broadband connections are becoming the norm instead of the exception. This way, it's pretty easy to access online car repair manuals anytime and anywhere (or at least anywhere with a decent Wi-Fi connection that you can connect to).

Wikipedia is popular for a reason. It has loads of information available within a click or two. The same goes for online car repair manuals. They offer specialized info for DIY mechanics, and there really aren't a lot of resources that can compare in terms of depth and coverage. It's just a matter of finding the perfect one for your vehicle.

So there you have it. We believe that our beloved online auto repair manuals are here to stay. As long as there's a person who needs to have automotive information available at his fingertips, these web-based resources will have demand. And as long as service providers are willing to serve up this demand, then we'll always have high-quality and reliable online vehicle repair manuals at our beck and call. Count on it.

Share Your Online Repair Manuals Story

We've received a couple of e-mails telling how people experienced some problems with their cars and found the solution in online auto repair manuals. We'll be bringing them out to the forefront when we post them and discuss them on a future date, but now we'd just like to tell everybody that we welcome any and all e-mails as long as you tell us about your own story involving online car repair manuals.

It can be any story—from a repair job that you've had where you consulted your trusty online car repair manual or when you opted to go for a subscription so that you can really get into the DIY mechanic mode properly. Regardless, we'll be taking a close look at it and then we'll showcase it in a post all its own just so the rest of the world will know your story.

Questions and suggestions are also welcome, so don't be shy and just fire away. We'll answer anything you want to know with everything that we have, and we'll try to give you solutions and consider any suggestions you want to give us. It's a free world, after all, and all we want to do is serve you guys better and provide you with the best possible resource when it comes to online auto repair manuals.

So don't hesitate to hit the e-mail! Or you can simply drop us a line using the comment forms on any of our posts. Don't worry—we'll make sure to reply as soon as possible so that your story gets published and your queries get answered. Here's to more online auto repair manual stories in the future!

Online Auto Repair Manuals FTW

Never take things for granted, guys. If you have a subscription to any of the premium online auto repair manuals out there, then make sure you maximize each and every kilobyte of data. Learn the ropes in and out. Study what needs to be studied. Get to know your vehicle by using the manual, so that you won't have much of a problem when a, uh, problem arises.

Mastering DIY can be a pretty challenging and not to mention daunting task. But it is certainly doable, and you can manage it easily with the help of a reliable online auto repair manual at your disposal. When something happens to your car, the online car repair manual is the one you can turn to for help. Of course, you can also consult your trusted mechanic, but it will definitely save you loads of money if you can do tasks yourself.

It doesn't even have to be a big, complicated task. You can just learn basic things like servicing and keeping your car in top condition. Preventing setbacks can be a pretty good way to maintain the good performance of your vehicle while saving some dough in the process. If you can keep your car in excellent shape, then you won't have to pay bloated fees from independent repair shops or from your dealership.

You'll be able to see the difference when you set out on a repair or maintenance task and you don't have a trusty online auto repair manual available for use. The task will definitely be much easier to perform, and you'll be more confident doing it since you know you are backed by the kind of information that even dealership mechanics sometimes don't have. It's a win-win situation for you, since you have a perfectly working vehicle while still maximizing your savings since you did the job all on your own.

Alternatives to Online Auto Repair Manuals: Mobile Apps

the AutoMD iPhone app

So you don't want to bother with online auto repair manuals, huh? We understand—sometimes the sheer unfamiliarity and the inaccessibility of the content found in these beloved resources can hinder certain DIY mechanics in terms of growth and training.

Well, the good news is that there are plenty of alternative options that you can turn to should you find auto repair manuals (especially those of the online variety) unsatisfactory or not to your liking. For example you can always turn to applications or apps that can be installed in mobile phone operating systems.

One good example of a reliable mobile app is the AutoMD app for iPhone, iPad tablet, and the iPod Touch media device. You can find the app at this link. It's a good all-around tool; there are still many quirks in the app's current version, but most of it is pretty serviceable. The app offers repair estimates, a shop finder, how-to guides that are linked to the AutoMD website, TSB and recall information, and some other stuff that you can access. It's a free app, anyway, so do give it a try if you like. We'll come up with our own review sometime. Maybe when the next version is released, to be fair.

Additionally, some automakers do provide customers with mobile apps that are focused on particular vehicle models, so you get the power of a manual in the comfort of your own mobile device. Plus, most of these are optimized to be written in a language that many will find relatively easy to understand.

If you own a vehicle, you can look up your ride's manufacturer's web site and check if they offer manual information online (like Mercedes-Benz does). You can also check your respective app store to see if the manufacturer also provides mobile apps. We'll tackle more alternative options in the future, so do stay tuned!