MOUNTAIN VIEW AUTO REPAIR

So many people have asked me why I am working in the auto repair industry and what brought me here, so here is a part of my story

I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to keep up with your vehicle’s routine maintenance services! Watch my video below where I share my thoughts! Just as it is wise to take good care of our bodies, investing a little time to pay attention to the needs of our cars will result in our cars living a long life for multiple 100′s of thousands of miles. Just changing the oil, although that is critical!, is not enough. Especially with the latest technology being used in modern vehicles, it can be easy to forget regular check ups, so make sure that wherever you do take your car for service has a reminder program in place to help you remember. Your car may seem to be running just fine. But ignoring recommended services at the proper mileage intervals can result in expensive repairs you could have avoided. Of course, the chances for success are greater if a good car regimen begins when your car is new, but starting now is better than not starting at all

If you have an older car that needs a lot of work to keep it running, you may be thinking about buying a new one. When that is not financially possible for you, a good alternative is to buy a newer, used vehicle. There is always a risk, however, that a used car may end up needing just as much work (or even more) than your current car. To reduce that risk, when you find a used car you want to buy, take it to a trusted repair shop and have it checked out. But before spending money on multiple vehicle inspections, you can do some inspecting on your own. Here are my recommendations: 1. It is usually better to buy a vehicle from a private party than from a car lot. Especially if the car is being sold by the original owner and they have records of the vehicle services that have been done. Vehicles that are sitting on used car lots generally were purchased at auction and will not have their service history with them. 2. Buying the vehicle from the owner also allows you to see/observe ho ... read more

A new customer recently called us whose friend had observed his vehicle’s tires bouncing “like basketballs” down the freeway! He wondered if this was dangerous. Yes, this could very well become a dangerous situation. If your vehicle’s tires are not staying in constant contact with the road, control of the vehicle is seriously compromised. What would cause something like this? Most likely, the bouncing tires indicate worn out or broken shock absorbers. Unfortunately, shock absorbers are one of the most overlooked wear items on vehicles, even though they are the next most important safety items after your brake system. The purpose for shock absorbers is not just to provide a more comfortable ride, but to serve to control the suspension movement so that you, the driver, have more control of your vehicle when braking or steering. Here’s what can happen if your shock absorbers need to be replaced: 1. Body roll (side to side movement) which adversely impacts handling and control ... read more

If someone’s air conditioner is not blowing cold enough, we are often asked if it’s because they are low on refrigerant, and will adding more refrigerant to the system solve the problem? Our answers? Not necessarily, and No! There are many reasons why your air conditioner may not be working correctly. For one, temperature controls may not be functioning as they should, which has nothing to do with the system charge (refrigerant level). If the system charge is low, there is most likely a leak somewhere in the system. This leak allows air and moisture to get into the system as well as loss of refrigerant. If the cause of the leak is not repaired and the air and moisture are not purged from the system, the refrigerant will mix with the moisture and create hydrochloric acid. This acid will deteriorate the components of the system from the inside out. Not good! If your air conditioning system is not performing correctly, please have it examined by a professional with the correct e ... read more