We Work With Our Customers

We encourage our customers to specifically explain their vehicle’s problems. Like a doctor, we need to hear all the symptoms in order to make an accurate diagnosis. By working together we can help you avoid multiple trips to the repair shop and having to leave your car longer than absolutely necessary.

Occasionally, your vehicle may have a computer related intermittent problem. With all the "specifics" it may be possible to find the problem without the vehicle "acting up". If not, we’ll ask you to work with us to get it solved and it is one time that we may ask you to leave your vehicle for more than a day.

Automobile Maintenance

Great Tips and "Service Signals"

-Oil Changes

One of the least expensive and best maintenance procedures for your car is to regularly change the oil. We'll send you a reminder every 3 months. We include a 29 point inspection with our oil change service to help find potential problems and keep your car on the road and out of trouble. We also offer a 36 point inspection to check your car's braking systems.

-Tune-up

Did you know that cars today have more technology than our first manned rocket to the moon? With that said, it's important to note that when you think a "tune-up" will solve a problem, it is likely that it will be solved in some other way. Virtually every part of your car is controlled with computers, actuators, solenoids and sensors. Many times a faulty sensor will be the cause of performance problems.

-Spark Plugs

If used beyond the recommended service interval for your vehicle, spark plugs can be a cause of losing gas mileage.

With today's gasoline getting more expensive, replacing the spark plugs could be a good investment and it's easy for you to check to see if your vehicle has begun to lose gas mileage.

Consider a vehicle that travels 15,000 miles annually and gets 20 miles per gallon (mpg). At 20 mpg the vehicle will use 750 gallons of gas at $3.49 per gallon equals $2,617.50 annually. If the miles per gallon go down by just one that increased the cost to $2,755.37 - $137.77 more.

A single misfiring spark plug will cause much more than a one gallon loss in gas mileage. Be sure to keep an eye on those "miles per gallon", it is another "service signal" to let us know about.

-Transmission Service

Like changing the oil in your vehicle's engine, replacing the transmission fluid in an automatic transmission will extend the life of the transmission. Today's automatic transmissions often contain more than 3,000 parts. Rebuilding will cost anywhere between $750 to $3,000+. At those prices, you can't afford not to change transmission fluid once every two years or 15,000/24,000 miles which ever comes first. We see well maintained transmissions last over 200,000 miles. We also see others that are gone at 60,000 miles.

-Cooling System Flush

Every two years or 30,000 miles whichever comes first. We will back flush the engine and heater core, clean the overflow bottle, test the radiator cap, and refill with a 50/50 mixture of antifreeze. Then pressure test the system to insure that there is no pressure loss and that none of the hoses will swell up or burst. New extended life antifreeze has a different interval of required maintenance.

-Alignment

We recommend having the alignment checked once a year. In addition, your "service signal" would be abnormal or uneven tire wear, or the car pulling to one side or the other. (Note: the problem could be tire related, too.)

-Tires

Proper inflation is imperative if you want to get the most out of your tires. If uneven tire wear begins to develop and the wear is down the center of the tire, the problem in over-inflation - if it is on both sides of the tire the problem is under inflation. If it is on one side of a tire, the problem is most likely alignment. If you are in need of tires, we sell american- owned Cooper Tires and other brands like Michelin at great prices - be sure to give us a call.

-Belts and Hoses

Should be checked at 35,000 to 45,000 miles and definitely replaced by 60,000. A neat idea we've read about and would like to pass on: Ask for the return of your old belts and radiator hoses, keep them in your trunk. If you should get stuck in a small town on a week end with a bad fan belt or a blown radiator hose, you'll be really happy you have these spare parts that fit just right!

COMMON CAR PROBLEMS

-Emissions Failure

Emissions failure means that your vehicle is sending too much fuel out of the tail pipe that is not being used by your engine. It is the same as a large gas leak! This can have several causes. If you fail because of high limits of hydrocarbons (HC), it means that raw fuel is being sent out of the gas pipe because the vehicle's engine is not completely converting the fuel into energy. This raw fuel can contribute to premature engine wear by washing off the protective layer of oil off the moving parts inside the engine. If the failure is because of carbon monoxide (CO) being too high, the fuel and air mixture is off - meaning that there could be incomplete combustion (burning of the air/fuel mixture) - the main cause coming from the fuel delivery system.

To pass emissions, your vehicle's engine & fuel delivery system must be properly adjusted to allow the gasoline to burn properly. In addition, any parts must be replaced that were ruined because the system was out of adjustment. This means that we first have to determine the cause of the problem and then see if the initial problem created more damage. We will test your vehicle, repair it - with your permission, and take it back through the testing lane!

-Shocks or Struts

Should only be replaced when they are leaking, broken or when you are unhappy with the ride they are offering. Normally, they last at least 50,000+ miles.

- ‘Hard Start– Extended cranking’ or ‘No Start - No Crank’

It's important to note the difference. A "no start - no crank" means that the engine is not cranking over at all and the problem is, most likely, in the charging area - battery, battery connections, starter, alternator or even a belt. If the engine "cranks" or "turns over" that is an entirely different matter and involves spark, compression and/or fuel. The information that you give to your auto technician/mechanic is going to set them off in a certain direction. Save time and money by giving the best information you can