Auto Repair In Bainbridge Island

Vehicles are like us.  If you sit around, things don’t seem to work right. It is important to keep all the moving parts of your vehicle moving, especially here in the northwest. Just starting your engine and letting it idle for 5 minutes every other week is not enough. Keeping the engine moving is essential, but what about all the other moving parts? The brakes need to move otherwise they start to rust up and become seized.  The transmission has lots of moving parts, and moving them around is just as important.  These are just two of the many different systems of the drivetrain.  What about all those little things on the inside or the outside of your vehicle?  Most systems on a vehicle now days are controlled by electricity and a computer. What would happen to your laptop if you left it outside under cover for weeks on end without turning it on, using it or warming it up ... read more

Wow! The heat wave last month made me appreciate all the cooler temperatures we have in the Pacific Northwest. Your car seemed like a great place to hang out with the A/C blasting at full speed, especially if you don’t have A/C in your house. But what does the heat do to your car?  When your vehicle was new, all the components functioned well, and it was a very well-designed piece of machinery. But as it ages, components will begin to fail and require replacement. Your vehicle can be a cool place for you to be during the sweltering heat.  But what about your car, how is it doing?  Your vehicle is designed to work under extreme heat and still function to be able to give you reliable service and comfort.  Any time your vehicle is running, whether it is in the middle of winter or in an extreme heat wave, your vehicle is running at about 200 degrees. You should try open ... read more

Fluids will always break down over time from wear and tear, miniscule debris from parts and from heat.  All fluids in your vehicle will eventually need to be serviced.  Fluid maintenance is probably the single most important repair for getting your money's worth out of your car.  My trusty old Corolla had over 345,000 miles when I sold it.  The transmission fluid was still a beautiful red color and worked perfect, because at every oil change, I would drain 2 quarts out and refill it.   I always get a kick out of the car manufactures selling point “life time fluid”, it does not need to be changed. I still have yet to see a fluid that does not break down over time. Take a BMWs transmission, filled with BMWs signature lifetime fluid, do you want to know how many BMW transmissions I have seen fail? When I am asked about BMW’s lifetime fluid, my favorite line ... read more

My check engine light came on!    Don’t Panic.  A check engine light is a message from your car telling you that it’s not feeling right and it needs to be checked out to find out what’s wrong.  It is important to find out why that light came on and assess the severity of the issue.  Check engine light diagnosis can lead to extensive repair or a minor quick fix. The first step to getting rid of that pesky check engine light and making your car feel better is retrieving codes from the computer. This is achieved by hooking up a code reader.  You can use a basic reader, but there is a lot more information accessible when you use an actual scan tool.     The best way to explain check engine diagnosis is comparing it to looking at a road map. You are here on bea ... read more

Have you ever price shopped?  Looked for the lowest price on an item or some service for your car or house? There are times when price shopping may be worthwhile.  You know you want that 24-volt DeWalt drill and you shop around and find the big box store has a sale on it, but what about replacing the alternator on your car or reroofing your house?  While price shopping makes you feel good that you may have found the lowest price, did you get the best, or at least a good quality repair for what you paid? Not all auto repair shops offer the same quality parts or service. You can almost always find some shop that can replace your alternator for less, but what are you getting for less? Quality parts, proper training to make sure the job was done correctly?  Did you know that on some European vehicles you need to tell the computer&n ... read more

The importance of belonging to an automotive association.    We belong to ASA NW, the Automotive Service Association, Northwest Chapter. Being part of an association is an important key to our success and business model. Our membership not only holds us to a higher standard than other repair facilities, it is a network of other shops who are like minded and who also have the same values as us. We value ASA and the important services it provides to us and our industry.      The most important aspect of belonging to ASA NW, is the network of other like-minded people and shops. The comradery between ASA members is vital.  As a group we are able to put years of experience to use, and improve each other and our industry.  Every business has struggles, whether it is technical in ... read more