Get Dad Out from Under the Car

When the CarMD was sent my way, it was supposed to be for a possible Father’s Day feature. The more I thought about it (and played with it), the more I realized this is a Dad AND Mom must have.

Made to plug directly into the port of any car (cars made in 1996 or later only) the CarMD does what the name implies – acts like a doctor for your vehicle. Check out the lights right on the device, and it will tell you if there’s a problem with the car.

Take it back to your computer and power up the net, and the handheld machine turns your computer into a mechanic’s. Voila – a diagnosis.

Since having my daughter, her safety has been paramount – and that includes inside our car (I vaguely remember asking my husband if he thought we could get a good trade-in value to buy a tank on the way home from the hospital . . . I was kidding . . . sort of). Considering the economy AND the stress of taking the car into the shop and having to sit there for hours with your kids turning the waiting room upside down, the CarMD helps you plan things out – how much is this going to cost, and how long am I going to have to wait? Long enough that I should be calling for a ride to take the kids home? Long enough to hire a sitter?

Get one for Dad, and it will keep him from spending all Saturday morning under the car trying to figure out what’s wrong with the thing. And if your family’s the one that would just call the mechanic and pay the piper – only to find out nothing was wrong – the $99 could save him more than time.

Get one straight from CarMD.

And check out more Father’s Day goodies:

• Spit Up: LEGO Dad’s Wrists

• 7 Days of Dad

• When Your Guys are Hardcore