Thank you all!

Last week the Burlington Patch conducted a poll/survey looking for the Best Place for Auto Repair . Hometown Garage won. Thank you all.

We appreciate you trust & business. We strive to earn it each every time you visit.

We will be closed on Friday March 9th for training. Herb, Jean & Gary will be leaving Thursday night for Kansas City. They’ll be attending the ASA Vision Conference, the ASA’s largest (and best) training event of the year. While there they’ll have 3 days of training and probably some bbq. Just another example of how we stay High Tech

It’s that time again, time for our Open House & Pre-Holiday Travel Car Check

December 23rd from 7:30am – 3pm at Hometown Garage.

Our Way of Wishing You a Safe & Happy Holiday Season

Everyone Welcome, tell Your Friends and Family

Enjoy some refreshments & holiday treats while we:

• Check/Top-Off Fluids
• Check Tire Pressure & Condition
• Check Belts & Hoses
• Check Wipers
• Test Battery

We will be closed the week of July 4th – 8th. Our landlord will be doing some site work / excavation that will make access to the building impossible and to the parking lot very difficult. This has been in the planning stage for sometime and we are confident it will be completed in time for us to re-open on Monday July 11th.

Update Friday 7/8 – Site work is done. You can now have cars towed in  or dropped off for next week. We will be open on Monday 7/11.

You can make appointments for next week through the website or leave us a message.

Thanks for your help, patience & understanding during the construction.

Herb

We’ll they’ve refiled this foolish legislation again. Both sides are advertising and battling it out in the media. No surprise – they all lie. The simple truth is there isn’t a problem and if there was a problem it should be handled on a Federal level and not a state level. Anything that requires a manufacturer to something different in one state will certainly raise the cost of a vehicle in that state. Call or email your legislator and tell them you are against the so called Right to Repair Act.

More Info:

www.massautocoalition.org

Below is the post from last year – still relevant.

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Hometown Garage, along with the major  industry trade group ASA opposes the so called Right to Repair Act. We do not have a problem accessing trouble codes or vehicle systems. The information is available, for a price of course, and this Bill will not change that. Factory computers and service information is readily available. A factory computer & service information package  runs about $4000 per manufacturer, plus yearly subscription fees. So you can see Independent shops have to decide which is economically viable to invest in, based on the brands of cars they most service. This bill won’t change that.

Right to Repair Legislation has been defeated in the 23 (I believe it’s 23) other states that filed it. This type of legislation probably isn’t necessary and if it is it belongs on a country wide federal level. If the manufacturer has to do something different in Massachusetts it will cost you more to buy that car in Massachusetts, it’s basic economics.

This bill has been spearheaded by the discount auto part chains. They deny claims that the information they will get from the bill will make it easier for them to make knock of parts overseas and that they are funding it to help the independent shops. All I can tell you for sure is we don’t have a problem, so follow the money and reach your own decision.

I’ve talked to people from the MA Right to Repair Coalition. In my opinion they are extremely rude. About every other day I get a call from them. The called starts in with we need you to call your legislator and urge them to pass this. My answer is always the same, ” Why would I want to do that, we don’t support it?” They immediately hang up – click. If this bill were at all legitimate I’d expect to hear something like ” but you’re a shop, don’t you have a problem getting information? This is not a bill or group I want to support.

We urge you to oppose this legislation and let your Representatives and Senators know you oppose it.

Hometown Garage Earns Coveted Angie’s List Super Service Award

Award reflects company’s consistently high level of customer service

Hometown Garage has been awarded the prestigious 2010 Angie’s List Super Service Award, an honor bestowed annually on approximately 5 percent of all the companies rated on the nation’s leading provider of consumer reviews on local service companies.

“Our Super Service Award winners are the cream of the crop when it comes to providing consistently high quality customer service, as judged by the customers who hired them,” said Angie Hicks, founder of Angie’s List.

Angie’s List Super Service Award winners have met strict eligibility requirements including earning a minimum number of reports, an exemplary rating from their customers and abiding by Angie’s List operational guidelines.

Service company ratings are updated daily on Angie’s List, but members can find the 2010 Super Service Award logo next to company names in search results on AngiesList.com.

Angie’s List collects consumer reviews on local contractors and doctors in more than 500 service categories. Currently, more than 1 million consumers across the U.S. rely on Angie’s List to help them make the best hiring decisions. Members get unlimited access to local ratings via Internet or phone, exclusive discounts, the Angie’s List magazine and help from the Angie’s List complaint resolution service. Take a quick tour of Angie’s List and view the latest Angie’s List news.

Every so often someone comes in and says the oil light has been coming on and going off, often for several days or weeks. They can’t understand why, they’re just due for their oil change. The answer is, this light (or the gauge) has nothing to do with an oil change; it indicates the amount of oil pressure. The best analogy is to your blood pressure. If you have no or very low blood pressure, you have a very serious problem and may even die. If your car has no or low oil pressure, serious internal engine damage is eminent.

These warning lights (and the low section of an oil pressure gauge) are red, just like a traffic light RED means stop  now. Any indicator that is red means stop, yellow indicators tell you that you have a problem but it’s not as serious. There are only two reasons the oil light will come on. The oil pressure is dangerously low or there is something electronically wrong with the sensor or wiring. The only way to know which problem you have is to connect a mechanical oil pressure gauge to the engine in the shop. If the light comes on; stop, call AAA and have it towed to the shop.

Have you ever gotten a rejection sticker? How well was the rejection explained to you? Did they give you a brochure and did you read it? We see customers with rejection stickers every day. Most are misinformed about why they failed and what they should do next.

How many types of failures are there? The answer is two, Safety Rejection and Emissions Rejection. If it’s failed for Safety related items the “R” will be red, as in the picture above. If it’s an Emission failure the “R” will be Black.

If I get a rejection sticker I have 60 days to get it fixed, right? Maybe . This is probably the most often confused part of the sticker process. If it’s an Emission Failure you do have 60 days to get it repaired and reinspected. If it’s a Safety Failure “You must have the problem fixed immediately. You are not allowed to drive the vehicle until the safety issue(s) are resolved.”

Do I have to pay for the re-inspection? No, you have 60 days to get a free re-inspection but you have to go back to the same place that rejected it. If it still doesn’t pass you’ll have to pay for the next re-inspection.

Will my car pass with a Check Engine light on? No, this is how the state tests emissions. The days of a probe in the exhaust pipe are long gone. As you drive, your car’s computer is checking the emissions of your car. The inspection station plugs into your computer. The State’s computer talks to your computer, if your computer says everything is ok, you pass; if the Check Engine light is on it tells the State’s computer things aren’t right and you fail.

I don’t want to fix the cause of the check engine light, can’t I just disconnect the battery to erase the code and then go for a sticker? Fiction, they already thought of that. When the battery is disconnected or the codes are cleared through the computer it resets of series of tests called monitors. These change from  a state of complete to a state of not ready. If the State’s computer sees more than one “not ready”, 2 for 1999 and earlier vehicles, it knows the computer has been reset and won’t pass the vehicle. Sorry you can’t fool it. It then needs to be driven for 2-5 days while it goes through it’s self tests and the monitors return to the complete state.

If you’ve been rejected, stop in and we can discuss why you failed and what it will take to make the vehicle road worthy again. Even better would be to have the car maintained regularly.