Automotive and diesel
Preventative Maintenance
Scheduled service is the cheapest work a shop does and skipping it is the most expensive. We follow the factory interval for your vehicle and tell you what we see while it is up. If you have been told your warranty requires a dealer for this work, that is worth reading about below, because it is generally not true.
What it usually turns out to be
You do not need a diagnosis to call. Describe what it is doing and we will tell you whether it is a shop job.
The dealer told you the warranty requires their shop for routine service
Generally not true, and it is worth knowing why. Under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, a manufacturer cannot void your warranty simply because routine maintenance or repairs were done somewhere else, and the Federal Trade Commission, which enforces it, says so plainly. Routine maintenance means the ordinary things: oil changes, tire rotations, belts, fluid checks and flushes, brake pads, inspections. If a manufacturer wants to deny a claim, the burden is on them to show that the outside work actually caused the specific failure. That misconception is common among owners and, honestly, among some dealers too.
You are not sure which service is actually due
Bring the book or the record and we will read it with you. Manufacturers publish intervals per model and per engine, and the 30, 60, 90 and 120 thousand services are not the same list of work on every vehicle. We would rather do what your manufacturer specifies than sell you a package that is close.
Something changed and you cannot say what: a noise, a smell, a feel
Say it anyway. A vague description plus the vehicle up on a hoist is worth more than a precise description over the phone. Scheduled service is the moment we have the whole vehicle in front of us, which is the cheapest time to find anything.
You keep topping something up
Anything you add repeatedly is going somewhere. Oil, coolant and power steering fluid all leave a trail if the vehicle is up and somebody looks. Tell us what you have been adding and how often, because rate matters as much as the fact.
It has been sitting, or you just bought it and do not know its history
Treat it as everything due and let us tell you what actually is. Fluids age on a calendar as well as on a odometer, and a vehicle with no records is not a vehicle with no needs. This is also the right moment for an honest look at what you have bought.
What we do
- Oil and filter changes
- 30, 60, 90 and 120K scheduled services
- Transmission fluid service
- Cooling system flush and exchange, with technical bulletin lookup
- Belts and hoses
- Battery change-over and charging
- Tire rotation and wheel alignment
- Windshield wipers and headlight aiming
- Safety inspection
What we do not do here
- We follow the manufacturer's interval for your vehicle rather than a shop schedule. If our recommendation ever differs from your book, we will show you why and you decide.
- For warranty repairs, recalls and manufacturer software updates, go to the dealer. Those genuinely are theirs, and a shop that tells you the dealer is never necessary is arguing with you rather than advising you.
- We are not going to tell you a percentage you will save. We do not publish one, we have not measured one, and any shop that quotes you a figure like that is quoting somebody else's prices.
- Keep your receipts and your records. That is what makes the law above easy rather than an argument, and it costs you nothing.
- We do not sell you work you did not come in for. If we find something while the vehicle is up, you get told what it is, what it costs and how urgent it honestly is, and then it is your call.
Before you call, have this handy
None of it is required. It just gets you a real answer on the first call instead of the second.
The service book, or whatever records you have
Even a folder of receipts from somewhere else is useful. It tells us what has been done, when, and what is genuinely due rather than what a mileage chart guesses.
The mileage and roughly how you drive it
Short trips, towing, long highway runs and mountain grades wear different things at different rates. Manufacturers publish a severe-service schedule for a reason and a lot of driving around here qualifies.
Whether it is still under a factory or extended warranty
Worth knowing before we start. It changes nothing about the work, but it changes what we document and what we hand you afterward.
Anything you have noticed, however vague
The vehicle is going to be up anyway. A noise you cannot describe is much easier to find when somebody is already underneath it.
Questions
Questions we get asked
Will having you service it void my new car warranty?
No. A manufacturer cannot void your warranty just because routine maintenance was done outside a dealer. That is the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and the Federal Trade Commission enforces it. Keep your receipts and the record of the work. If a manufacturer ever wants to deny a claim, the burden is on them to show that the work we did caused the failure.
So I never need the dealer?
That is not what we are saying, and we would rather be straight with you. Warranty-covered repairs, recalls and manufacturer software updates belong at the dealer. Routine maintenance does not have to.
How do you know what my vehicle needs?
The manufacturer publishes it, per model and per engine, and we follow that rather than a generic package. Bring the book if you have it. We also look up technical service bulletins for your vehicle, which is how we catch the known issues rather than rediscovering them.
Do you work on RVs and diesel trucks as well as cars?
Yes, all of it, which is unusual. Same building, same crew, and four of the bays are sized for large RVs. A lot of customers have a car and a coach and would rather deal with one shop.
Are you open Saturdays?
Saturday mornings, 8:00 to 12:00, plus 8:00 to 5:00 Monday to Friday. Most shops around here are closed weekends, and Saturday is when a lot of people can actually bring a vehicle in.
What happens if you find something else?
You get a call before anything else happens. We tell you what it is, what it costs and how urgent it honestly is, and nothing gets done that you have not said yes to.
Is it worth doing scheduled service on an older vehicle?
Usually more worth it, not less. Older vehicles are where the cheap thing prevents the expensive thing, and where deferring it compounds. If a vehicle is genuinely at the end, we will tell you that too rather than sell you a service it will not outlive.
Talk to someone who works on these
Call the shop and we will tell you the soonest realistic date rather than book you and hold your rig. Mon-Fri 8:00 - 5:00, Saturday 8:00 - 12:00.