Customers I love!

The kind of customers I love are the ones that already have some knowledge about their cars. They check the simple things like fluids, maintenance on time, and they hear and feel their vehicle.

For example, this morning a lady came in. We’ll call her Sue. Sue had a 2005 Chevy Impala. Sue noticed abnormal noise coming from her car when she turned to the left side. She said it was a whining noise. I asked her to come with me for a road test. I was driving; while we were driving straight on the road I noticed the car did have the whining noise. When I turned slightly to the right, the noise disappeared, when I turned slightly to the left, the noise got loader. I then told her that she needed front-left wheel-hub-bearing. When I apply the brake I noticed a pulsation on the brake paddle. I asked Sue when the last time she had the brake job on her vehicle was. She told me a different mechanic changed the brakes for her. When the car was back in the garage, we planned on changing the wheel-bearing and inspect her front brakes. While inspecting the brakes we noticed that she had frozen brake caliper slide bolts. The other mechanic did not fix this problem when he changed the pads. This was the cause that bent her rotors. We then fixed everything and Sue left happy with no noise.

 

Brake Rotor and Calipar and Wheel Bearing

 

The reason for this example is that Sue knew there was a problem with her car, but she did not tell me what to do, she simply told me what the problem was. She left the problem to the experts.

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Trust your Mechanic’s Knowledge!

Most of the time customers come into my garage and they want to guide me on what to fix on their car. They feel like they already know what the problem is, especially when they get advice from a friend or neighbor. People like to compare problems, when they do they end up giving the wrong advice.

For example, a customer came last week. We’re going to name him Jim.  Jim had a no start problem on his SUV 2007 envoy. Jim asked me how much it would cost to change a fuel pump. I asked him if someone had already checked his car for the no start issue. Jim said that his cousin checked his car and told him that he had the same issue with his SUV and the mechanic just changed his fuel pump and his issue was solved. I then told Jim the price ranged from $600-650 (parts and labor) and that I would be more than happy to do it for him. Later that day the car was towed to my garage. I called Jim, asking him for his authorization to do a diagnostic on his SUV. A according to my knowledge and experience, a no start problem has more thousands of possibilities. A diagnostic would help us find the exact reason for his problem. But Jim said no, because there was a $60 fee for a diagnostic. I respected his reasoning, but I still did it for him anyways. I spent 45 minutes working on the car, and I found out that he had only a short in the wiring that was in the power to the fuel pump. The fix was simple, and the car started perfectly. I called Jim to tell him his car was ready. When he came to pick up his car he found out that his bill was only $75 which included that diagnostic fee. Jim later apologized for the tip he gave me and promised to let “trusted” mechanic do the job.

 

This is the fuel pump module and its location.

Most mechanics love people like Jim; they will do exactly what the customer tells them. That does not mean that the customer is always right.

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Our Remodel

I talked about my Castle last week and now I want to show you how my Castle started and where we are now...

Our outside changes included: adding a over-head bay door, reconstructed the showroom's windows, installed Automotive Castle's sign and Hankook sign over the bay door.

 

Since the factory was larger than I wanted, I cut it in half and reconstructed the half and turned it into my Automotive Castle, and used to other half for storage. Over 8,500sq ft auto repair area.

 

The inside changes included: epoxy the floor, repainted all the walls, added 4 hoists, and completely equipped the garage with state of the art tools and equipment.

 

I don't just fix cars, so I made sure my garage was large enough to fit a semi-truck.

 

 I'm a huge fan of going green, so I added an EnergyLogic waste-oil heating system. In the winter we recycle all our engine waste oil and use it to heat the entire garage. This helps save on waste and energy. As for the swere system, it seperates any kind of oil or chemical mixed with water when the garage floor is washed.

 

I am very proud of what my Automotive Castle has become. There are still more improvements to be made, but we gradually work on them everyday until my garage will be perfect. Please feel free to stop by and get a tour of my Castle.

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My Castle

As many of you may already know, America is my second home. I was born in Mosul, Iraq. My parents moved to Baghdad, Iraq when I was a few months old. My education was all done at a Catholic school. After high School, I went to Baghdad Oil Institute.  After finishing my college degree in Heavy Industrial Automotive and Engineering, I served three years in the military engineering branch. This was during the eight year Iraq-Iran war that started in 1980. I got married at the age of 23. At that time I worked in an oil refinery in Baghdad. After the oil refinery, I worked at one of the largest repair facilities for heavy trucks in the Middle East, specializing in oil and fuel transportation. I worked there till the Desert Storm War. I then took my family and ran away; we were refugees for 2 years. We lived in Jordan for a year and then Spain for another year, then finally arriving to Detroit, Michigan in 1992.  

Starting off in Detroit was very difficult and finding a job as an engineer was extremely frustrating. Although my degree proved I was an engineer, it was not from America therefore I had to go back to school and renew my education. Since I was married with two kids, I didn’t have the money or the time to go back to school. I needed to find a job and support my family. I used my knowledge and experience in automotives and got my certificate as an Auto Technician. I moved from job to job for a while, till I settled at 18 & Dequindre Shell. I worked there for 5 years and moved across the street to 18 & Dequindre BP for 6 years. I then moved to 17 & Rochester Shell, which is where I started my own business. I called my business “Fred’s Auto Service Center”. As much as I loved running my business, I knew it was too good to last. After about 4 years, the city widened Rochester and Wattles road. The gas station had to get demolished and I was out of a job and business for almost a year and a half.

I was lucky enough to have saved enough to buy a piece of land from MDOT. I made my monthly payments for almost 2 years just to get preapproved for my construction loan. I couldn’t wait for my new garage to be finally up and running. It was a dream that I would have never believe to come true. I was done with the building architect and engineering and everything was so close to being finalized, when in October of 2008, the economy fell. All construction loans were canceled including mine. All the money I had spent was gone.

I had no choice but to start looking again. I searched for a location for almost a year and a half until I found an old factory on Rochester road between 14 and 15 mile. It was vacant for almost 10 years. After giving the building more than a $100,000 in renovations, it became my garage…my castle. That’s when I decided to name my business, Automotive Castle. I wanted to start fresh and have everything top of the line. I want absolutely nothing but the best for my customers. The business has been running for 2 years now, and I love everyday of it. There are still hard times but I’m a fighter, nothing is going to stop me from making dream. I know better days are coming.

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Check Your Tires!

Do you have your tire maintenance check list?

1.       Check your pressure: Underinflating can lead to tire wear.

2.       Alignment: Newer cars have four-wheel alignment; you have to check them periodically!

3.       Tread: Unusual wear can reduce the ability of tread to stop on bad conditions. Check the tires for uneven wear.

4.       Rotation: Rotate your vehicle's tires regularly (at least every other oil change)

5.       Know your correct tire size: You can read the right tire size from the sticker located on the driver's side door. Now look on the sidewall of your tire, do you know how to read it and what it means? Example..."P215/65R15 89H"

1.       P= Passenger car tire

2.       215= Width of tire in millimeters

3.       65= Ratio of height to width

4.       R= Radial

5.       15= Diameter of wheel in inches

6.       89H= Load index & Speed Symbol

 

Here's a picture for another example...

 

 

I hope this list helps! A lot of times my customers come in upset, feeling like they didn't get enough use out of their tires. These are the tips I give them. You have to follow these steps in order to get the best use out of your tires.  

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Winter Weather Tips!

 

 As we all know our wonderful unpredictable Michigan winter is just around the corner! We all need to prepare our cars and make sure they are ready for that sleek, snowy, windy, harsh winter. Here are a few things to check up and prepare:

· Make sure your tires have good traction on the road. Also, check the tire pressure.

· Turn on your heater make sure it’s working, if not BRING IT IN!!!! It would be awful once it gets really cold and it won’t work when you want it too.

· Check the engine coolant, if it needs to be flushed. Otherwise, if the coolant is not good for lower temperatures it’s going to freeze inside the engine. It will blow the engine!

· Check the battery voltage, and AMPs. Cold harsh weather will reduce the capability of the battery. When you need to start your engine it won't if it's not good.

· Check all of your oil levels, and the condition of the oil for:

oEngine oil

oTransmission oil

oPower steering fluid

oBrake fluid

· Check your windshield wipers and washer solvent.

I hope these tips will help you prepare for the coming winter!! If you need any help with any of these tips please stop by!!! Also, please like our page on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AutomotiveCastle and follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/AutomotivCastle

See you soon!!!

Fred :)

For more info visit automotivecastle.com

I take cars PERSONALLY!

This Blog will help me get closer to my customers. I will be posting tips, interesting facts, and stories that I have personally shared with my customers. Some stories will be from my past and some stories will be more recent. There will be tips for my lovely female customers who have the normal everyday problems with their cars. This blog will also help me help my customers take care of their cars and learn to love them as if they were part of their family. We all take care of our family and pets and make sure they take their daily vitamins; well cars are the same way. As a certified mechanic, I take cars personally, and I hope that soon you will too.  

Please like us on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AutomotiveCastle and follow us on twitter at https://twitter.com/AutomotivCastle

For more info visit automotivecastle.com