How to go for Green Auto Repair Shops

As you’re driving your car back home from your repair shop with a smile of satisfaction, does it occur to you that you’re repair needs have just added to the environmental woes of this planet?

That’s right. Approximately 200 million gallons of oil are drained in the sewers every year while just 1 gallon of oil can contaminate 1 million gallons of drinking water. This is a dangerous threat to ourselves and our surroundings.

Therefore, it’s important that we make eco-friendly changes in our lifestyle and habits which applies in this case too.You can avoid this by opting for those auto repair shops that carry out eco-friendly practices.

If you’re a car repair dealer, it’s a choice you can make in support of a greener and better environment. So, before the situation rolls out of control, you can take a few steps to make an eco-friendly statement. Incorporating measures such as recyclable windshield wipers, recycled motor oil, biodegradable engine additives, VOC-free paint or non-toxic shop cleansers can help you make the right start.

Here’s a list of 5 things you can do to ensure that your auto repair shop operates in strict compliance with environmental policies.

1. Offer eco-friendly tune-ups

Include in your services those tune-ups that are specifically designed to conserve resources by improving gas mileage and the life of your customer’s vehicle.

2. Stop using hazardous chemicals

Paints, thinners, antifreeze chemicals, scrap metal, batteries, fuels and acids that are generally used by repair shops pose many health threats such as cancer, respiratory problems, skin disorders and so on. Therefore avoid using these chemicals. Instead, you can use environmentally-better substitutes available in the market.

3. Improve your waste management practices

Keep a check on your waste management and disposal practices. Use dry-cleaning techniques to minimize the use of liquid cleaners and grease removals which also have some level of toxicity.

4. Encourage your customers to use bio-diesel

Assist your customers with diesel conversions and encourage them to switch over to bio-diesel. You can also keep special offers on repairing services for hybrids and electric cars as a means of supporting the use of eco-friendly cars.

5. Go paperless

Minimize the use of paper in your business. Instead use online systems for management of documents, maintaining customer records, payment details and storing files. This is one strong step towards embracing eco-friendly practices for your auto repair business.

5 Tips to Retain Female Customers for Auto Repair Shops

When it comes to cars and auto-repairs, it’s no longer a man’s world. Don’t believe us? Take a look at these facts collected by Harvard Business Journal, Forbes and Nielsen Ratings:

  • 68% of decisions with respect to new car purchase are made by women.
  • In the US, over $200 billion is spent by women each year on new cars and vehicle servicing.
  • Women account for nearly 65% of requested service at dealerships.

With an increasing rate of women customers flocking the auto-repair shops, they need to tweak their customer service policies quite a bit to earn more customers and to keep them coming. While it does not require a major overhaul in terms of infrastructure, there are a few ideas that you can adopt to make your car-repair business more women-friendly.

Here’s a roundup of 5 tips to retain female customers and to keep them happy:

1. Be polite

There’s no match for politeness when it comes to dealing with a woman. Bring out the gentleman in you and your employees, attend to your female customers right from the time they step out of their cars and hear them out with patience and a smiling face. These gestures are sure to make your female customers feel comfortable right from the beginning.

2. Keep it clean

Women are a sucker for cleanliness so make sure that your shop and your workspace is clean and uncluttered. Pay special attention to the floors and walls of your repair shop. Wipe out any liquid, grease or oil from the floor on regular intervals. Women with heels are very likely to trip over a messy floor and you definitely wouldn’t want such a mishap.

3. Make it a little special for her

Women love to be treated special and a gesture in that direction goes a long way in ensuring that she feels comfortable every time she walks into your repair shop. Many repair shops keep latte machines to let their customers enjoy a hot cuppa. You can walk an extra mile by serving the beverage in a coffee mug instead of a Styrofoam cup.
Also make sure to keep some good women’s magazines on the shelf and yes, keep buying the new editions every other month, if not every month. You can also stock your restroom with diapers, wet tissues and tampons.

Trust us, your efforts will be hugely appreciated.

4. Explain issues without jargon’s

While explaining her what might have gone wrong with her vehicle, do so in a simple, jargon-free language. There’s nothing that puts off a woman more than having to ask for a clearer version of your car talk every time you break into a conversation laden with jargon’s and technical terms.

5. Follow-up after repair

This is an important step to ensure that a woman customer is happy with your service and is not facing any further problems.

IMPORTANCE OF VEHICLE INSPECTION SERVICES

Before you rush to drive home your dream car, there’s just one more level for you to complete. It’s called the Vehicle Inspection Service or VIS. So, why are these services so important? Read on to find out.

What is VIS?

For those who are not yet aware of this concept- VIS is a service that’s meant for monitoring the safety, maintenance and the general condition of your vehicle. There are various types of services that fall under the category of VIS. Safety inspections, emission inspections, pre-purchase inspections etc.

While it’s important that you avail these services before buying a car, you must also carry out regular follow-ups of such services even if you’re already owning a car.

These are some of the car parts that you should normally get inspected:

  • Brakes
  • Seat Belts
  • Steering, Front End, Suspension, Chassis, Frame and Wheel Fasteners
  • Tires
  • Windshield, Wipers and Blades
  • Horn
  • Lights
  • Mirrors
  • Fuel Leaks
  • Emissions
  • Engine light

Why do you need VIS?

Here’s a roundup of the top reasons for you to rush to your nearest vehicle inspection service provider:

Your car’s life gets extended

Proper maintenance goes a long way in ensuring that your car runs like new for longer. Therefore, taking your car to regular trips to a professional VIS provider helps.

You spend less on repairs

A regular VIS ensures that you don’t have to take your cars for frequent repairs. This means you save a lot of money that would have otherwise gone in paying for repair services.

You get the best deals for pre-owned cars

If you are willing to zero in on a used car, VIS becomes a mandatory step. VIS is important to ensure that the car you are about to buy is free from any technical problem.

You follow the safety rules

It is important to have your vehicle tested regularly at a reputed VIS provider to maintain optimum levels of safety when you’re driving it. This way you also comply to the road safety rules and other legal aspects of driving.

What’s more important is that VIS doesn’t break your bank. So, by spending a little, you ensure that your car runs not just safer but longer too.

3 Tips to Extend Your Car’s Life

There’s hardly anything more important than maintenance when it comes to cars. This is one aspect that decides the how long you are likely to enjoy its ride. While we would love to keep our cars forever, not many of us do the needful in terms of maintenance. Here’s a list of 3 expert-backed tips that’ll ensure a long life for your car.

Tip #1

BE PATIENT WITH YOUR NEW CAR

If you’ve bought a new car, it’s advisable that you give it some time to settle in it’s new life before going overboard with your driving trips. Here are some ways in which you can optimize your car’s performance during its break-in period-

While driving the first 1,000 miles, keep your speed under 55 mph

Choose light to medium acceleration by keeping the engine rpms below 3,000 when you’re taking your car for the first few rides.

Take your car out for drives regularly. Keeping it idle would generate pressure that might prevent the oil to reach to all the parts of your car engine.

Avoid loading your car heavily during its break-in period.

Tip#2

TAKE CARE OF YOUR CAR EVERYDAY

If you are one of those who reserve weekends to take care of your car, this tip is for you. Experts advise that driving your car with care everyday is the best way to maintain our car by yourself or getting serviced from any automotive service provider.

Do not speed-drive your car in its initial days. Avoiding this is a surefire way to add years to your engine’s life.

Avoid accelerating abruptly. This puts your car engine under lesser amounts of strain.

Instead of short trips, try getting your things done in one round.

Tip#3

AVOID GETTING THE FILL IF YOU SEE THE TANKER

If you notice that your local gas station is getting its tankers filled with gasoline on a particular day, choose a different station or come back the next day. The reason is: when the underground tanks of the stations get filled, there are chances that the sediments might be stirred up. This sediment might clog fuel filters and fuel injectors of your car leading to possible hiccups while driving.

Tips to prolong the life of your car

1) Keep the engine clean - Car owners dread engine deposit build-up as it not only hides serious problems ( like leaks) but also hampers car’s performance. A clean engine will also run cooler. There are engine cleaners and degreasers to help you keep your car’s engine clean.

2) Drive with care - Accelerate slowly when you start the drive. Don’t race the engine during the start. Idling is not an effective way to warm up your vehicle. Ten seconds of idling can use more fuel than turning off the engine and restarting it. And when you start your engine, don’t step down on the accelerator, just simply turn the key to start. To know more check this page.

3) Park your car in garage - Park your car in garage always, however, if it’s not available then park in the shade of a building or a tree. It will minimize the damage from sunlight and harmful UV rays. Also, it will prevent evaporative emissions. You can also use car shades.

4) Check the tire pressure once a month - It’s estimated that U.S. drivers collectively waste two billion gallons of fuel per year due to low tyre pressure. Over-inflation as well as under-inflation cause tyres to overheat and increase the risk of blowout.

5) Use the right oil - Right oil ensures better reliability and improved performance. The main function of your oil is to protect the metal surfaces in your engine from corrosion and wear and tear. Also, premium – quality oil prevents dirt build and deposit build-up. We’ll be posting more such tips. So, keep watching this space!

6 Ways to Maintain Good Relation with a Truck Repair Mechanic

Finding a good truck repair shop is difficult. However, when you find one, you need to ensure that you maintain a good relation with the auto mechanic. Here are a few important points that will help you do this easily:

1. Maintain your loyalty towards the auto technician: When you find a good auto repair shop, do not visit other auto motive repair centers for truck repair. Understand automotive technicians offer honest and quality work to their patent customers. Maintaining your loyalty to automotive technicians will make you benefit in the following ways:

  • special service incentives
  • discounts

2. Show trust on your auto mechanic: In most cases, during heavy truck repair auto technicians can encounter some other major faults in the automotive. As good and genuine auto mechanics, they will communicate the problem to you. Do not panic or take this as a trap to add up to your billing. Remember showing distrust on good auto mechanics will create a bad impression on them. Before you jump to any conclusion, remember the auto mechanic has not caused the problem in the truck; he has just informed you (which again is the trait of a good auto mechanic).

3. Do not try to hide things from your auto mechanic: If you want an easy and quick servicing of your truck, be honest to tell all the problems you are facing in the truck. Often truck owners believe that hiding some of the truck problems will help them save a few dollars. Do not do this mistake. Understand saving few dollars now (by not communicating all the problems) can later drain your wallet. Wonder how? Read further - Hiding minor problems in the truck now can turn to major problems later. As a result – you will have to pay more the next time you go to the truck repair shop.

Truck Repair Mechanic 4. Be sure to share all the details about the truck: Often many truck owners are not clear about the exact problems they have faced in the truck. Such a habit can make it difficult for the auto mechanics to repair the truck properly. Tip: to avoid missing out on essential details, make a list of problems in your truck. Take this list with you when you visit the mobile truck repair shop. Important details you should always tell to your auto mechanic are:

  • If you notice strange noises while driving the truck.
  • If you see fluid under the truck etc.

5. Maintain your truck: auto mechanics do not like to cater to customers who are careless about proper maintenance of their automotive. They want customers to bring their trucks for regular maintenance and service check. Remember maintaining your automotive regularly will prevent you from costly repairs. In addition to inexpensive repairs, it will also extend the life of your truck.

6. Do not forget to refer the truck repair shop: As a sign of gratitude, you can always refer the truck repair shop to your friends and colleagues. Auto mechanics will always appreciate the fact if you bring in more business for them.

If you stay in Calgary/Toronto and are looking for a genuine truck repair shop, then we have the perfect solution for you! We are one of the trusted names for truck repair in Calgary and Toronto. Contact us to know more about our truck repair services.

How to Choose a Good Automotive Repair Shop

Do you always struggle to get you car properly repaired? Are you tired searching for the best automotive repair shop? If yes, then you have come to the right place!

In what follows is a list of factors you need to consider when selecting the best automotive repair services. Take a look -

1. Do not wait for you car to have a breakdown: Yes, you read it right! Often most of the car owners do not start searching for automotive repair providers until their car has a major breakdown. DO NOT DO THIS MISTAKE. Understand it is quite difficult to make a wise decision when you have a broken car in the middle of the road or in your parking area. To choose the best car repair facility in your area, it’s important to evaluate several important factors (that often takes time).

2. Google your best friend: Search on the internet about the local auto repair shops. Check out their websites to find detailed information about their services. Note down the contact details, and plan your visit to these automotive repair centers.

3. Professional automotive repair associations: According to the automotive experts, it is advisable to choose auto repair shops that are members of professional automotive repair associations. Membership of an automotive repair center in an esteemed automotive association is a testament of its high-quality services.

4. Check out the automotive repair shops: You will never want to take you car to an auto repair shop that is poorly maintained. This is precisely why you need to personally inspect each auto repair center before you choose one.

Automotive Repair

Here are a couple of questions you need to ask yourself:

Is the automotive repair shop clean and organized? Do you find enough space in the repair center to accommodate several cars? Talk to the customers in the shop: Ask them about their experience of getting their automotive serviced there. Look for answers such as the following:

  • They provide affordable automotive repair services.
  • They offer several deals and offers on their services.
  • They service the car on time.
  • They are a trusted name in automotive repair services
  • They listen to customer concerns and explain the car problems patiently.

Note: All the above-mentioned answers carry enough credibility.

5. Is the automotive repair shop certified? Remember choosing an automotive repair center that is not certified can be a major risk. Be sure to ask for certifications when you visit different automotive centers.

6. Are the mechanics qualified? Do ask about the qualifications of the mechanics when you visit them. A mechanic trained from a reputed automotive training institute will be better in handling simple and complex automotive repairs.

7. Be sure to choose an auto repair shop that has state-of-the-art equipments. If in case of a doubt, do not hesitate to ask the auto mechanics about the type of equipments they use. Remember modern tools are important for the right diagnosis of your car.

If you stay in Calgary and are looking for an automotive repair and maintenance service provider, then help is at hand! We are one of the trusted names for automotive repair in Calgary. Contact us to know more about our automotive services.

Truck Maintenance: Important Points To Know

Truck is a major investment; it is used for transporting goods and supplies to short and long distances. To ensure that your truck continues to give good mileage, you need to maintain it properly. I have jotted down a few points to ensure that your truck functions without complications -

1. Oil Check: Do you know oil prevents your truck engine from wearing out early? According to the automobile experts, it is important to keep a regular check on the engine oil. Wonder why? Read further - Continuous exposure to air, moisture and heat affects the engine oil which leads to oil degradation or oxidation. As a result - engine oil becomes thick and less effective to lubricate the engine properly. Oil thickening takes a toll on the engine. By checking the truck’s oil regularly, you ensure to change the oil on time before it starts damaging the engine.

Do you need to take extra care for heavy trucks? Yes, there are certain additional factors that you need to consider with heavy trucks. Grease the moving parts in the truck’s engine once a week. Consider the number of hours that you are driving. Change the fluid levels accordingly. For instance:

  • change engine oil after 250 hours of driving
  • change automatic transmission fluid after 500 hours of driving
  • change the fluid of the rear differentials after 600 hours of driving
  • change standard transmission fluid after 1000 hours of driving
  • change power steering fluid after driving 1000 miles.

Truck Maintenance

2. Tire Inflation: Monitor the tires regularly for appropriate gas mileage. Do you know by keeping your tires properly inflated, you can save 3.3 percent on fuel cost? (source - U.S. Department of Energy). Driving overinflated tires is a big risk. They can blowout on the road. How can you avoid this? Well, find the proper tire pressure for your truck. Examine the rim of the tire or read the truck company manual for the right tire pressure.

3. Engine Belt Check: There are strong rubber engine belts in a truck that helps air-conditioning compressor and alternator to perform smoothly. These rubber belts wear over time and are required to be replaced. Many truck drivers do not take engine belt replacement as an important part of the truck maintenance checklist. Do not do this mistake. Remember if the engine belts break while driving, they can permanently damage some of the truck parts including the truck engine.

Tip: Check the engine belts after driving 25,000 miles. Ideally they should be replaced after driving 50,000 miles. Don’t ignore the minor problems. Take the vehicle to truck repair and maintenance center as soon as you spot something out of order. If you live in Toronto, then you can visit us. Mobile truck repair in Toronto. Simply Google truck repair Toronto or mobile truck repair Toronto to get a list of reputed truck repair and maintenance providers.

Our Mission

Our staff is here to provide you a friendly and carefree experience. We will treat you as family, ensuring that your safety comes first. We understand that your vehicle is important to you and we will do anything in our power to fix it in a timely fashion and right the first time. We look forward to serving our community for many years to come!

Description

We do repairs and maintenance on all types of Heavy Trucks, Trailers and Automobiles. We do alignments on all kinds of trailers, trucks big & small, cars and holiday trailers/motor-homes. We are a licensed inspection facility. We perform commercial vehicle, out of province and insurance inspections.