Grand Rapids Auto Repair

One of the biggest compliments we can get as a business is about how we made someone feel when they were in our facility. We pride ourselves on the repairs and maintenance that we perform. We appreciate that we can partner with our customers to keep their mode of transportation running, so they can accomplish their day-to- day obligations. Our business is repairing vehicles. Our goal is to do that well but at the same time, offer customer service we can be proud of. Having been in business for forty years has given us a deep base of customers, some who are third generation drivers just starting to use our services. We received an email last week from a long time customer who mountain bikes. He and Jeff have had many conversations about their shared interests. He had taken a bad tumble on his bike and emailed us to let us know we wouldn’t see him for a bit. He shared what had happened and knew Jeff would be able to relate to a crash on his bike, just not to the l ... read more

I’m fortunate to work with a great bunch of professionals that love what they do. Customers will sometimes ask about the technician that worked on their vehicle. I decided that I would do a Q&A with our technicians so our customers would get to know a little bit about them. I’m going to start with Gordon because he has been here the shortest amount of time and has also been in the automotive industry a short time. We hired him shortly after his graduation from the MTEC program at Grand Rapids Community College. He had previously been in a completely different industry for the past ten years. How long have you worked at Arie Nol Auto Center? I’ve been here for nine months. Why did you decide to go into the automotive industry? When I was young, I watched my Dad and my uncle work on my Uncle’s race car and that sparked my interest but I didn’t pursue it until I decided to make a career change. What would you tell someone in high school th ... read more

I try to attend two Zumba classes every week. It’s a fun way to stay in shape and doesn’t require anything more than comfy clothing and good shoes. I’ve learned over the years that I need to replace my shoes more often than I would expect. The reality is that the shoes I’m wearing for Zumba support not only my feet but the weight of my body as I jump, spin and dance around. I don’t pay a lot of attention to them until my legs or knees are sore after a workout. My first thought should be, “Maybe I need new shoes.” It never is. I always think of a myriad of other things it could be. Harder workout, different floor, etc. Customers will come into our shop and say, “I think I need new tires or maybe a wheel bearing is going out.” In reality, many times it is a suspension issue that needs to be addressed. When you think about what your suspension does on the road, it is easy to recognize why parts wear out and need to be replaced. Your suspension holds your car, that ... read more

It is National Preparedness Month in the United States. The idea behind the federal designation is that Americans will prepare for natural disasters. As of 2009 according to FEMA, only 57% of Americans are prepared with supplies in their home and only 44% of Americans have an emergency plan. While I wholeheartedly agree that we should be prepared for a natural disaster, I also believe that you should be prepared for an emergency while in your vehicle. As a lifelong Michigan resident I know that being unprepared for a vehicle emergency can make it, if not more dangerous, at least more inconvenient. These are several of my recommendations for items to be kept in your vehicle. Specifically, for the winter months: Boots and gloves – This I know from personal experience. US 131 southbound on New Year’s Eve and a young woman driving too fast for the conditions who decided my beloved Nissan Maxima would look better on its side in the center median. I h ... read more

Kevin, our go-to I.T. person is also a customer. He called because he was having immediate car issues. A while ago, I was having immediate I.T. issues and called Kevin. He had his young son Paul with him but came to the shop to fix the problem. I gladly entertained Paul while Kevin worked to diagnose and fix our computer issue. Kevin’s vehicle was towed in to be diagnosed and repaired. Paul, in the meantime, was worried about his Dad’s car. Kevin told him it was at Miss Debbie’s shop to be looked at. Kevin later told me that Paul said, “Miss Debbie will fix your car.” He had every confidence the vehicle was in good hands with Miss Debbie. While I love the fact that Paul believes I have the ability to fix cars, I do not. We are lucky to have a gifted and well-trained staff. They are the ones that diagnose, repair and maintain all of our customer’s vehicles. I work on the business and customer service side and understand a lot about automotive repairs but I’m not ... read more

Walk through any of the local stores and you will see the signs of back to school are everywhere. Backpacks and lunch boxes for the little ones and extra-long twin sheets for the dorm-bound college student. Along with all this busyness, getting your vehicles ready for students can be overlooked. College kids leaving with an older car and new drivers preparing for their first year of driving to school. Moms and Dads also have more driving ahead with school events, sports and music practice, etc. Before the college student leaves, get the oil changed, check the tires and have an inspection done for any needed maintenance. I recommend asking your service advisor about anything that may cause issues before the car returns home later in the Fall. Make sure your student knows how to handle certain scenarios. Car break downs, new noises, and changes in the way the vehicle drives are things that have to be addressed. Make sure they have a local towing company’s number ... read more

One of the things that many people ask is, “What is the number one thing I can do to prolong my car’s life?” The answer is to change your oil. Because I work in the automotive industry, I probably pay more attention to the messages relating to auto repair than the average consumer. I think sometimes people tune out the radio, online and magazine ads because they are inundated with ads to come to certain places to have your oil changed. If you asked your car, it would tell you to change its oil in the recommended increments with the recommended oil. It would tell you not to try to stretch your oil changes out too much, too often. Our family cars have a tendency to get in excess of 200,000 miles. Our 1999 Ford Expedition has 290,000+ miles on it. It went through three teenagers learning to drive and numerous biking and soccer trips. Sometimes it was not shown a whole lot of love in the maintenance department but it always, without fail, had the oil changed on time ... read more

We were! Every summer we have a company event where we can all get together with our families and have some fun. We feel very strongly as a company that spending time together contributes to the team atmosphere we have built. Getting to know family members is important for all of us for the same reason. Luckily Grand Rapids has some terrific options for entertainment. We’ve attended a Whitecaps game before as a group and decided to do it again this year. We have a mix of ages with some of our group having young children and some with teenagers. Or, the empty nesters, which Jeff and I have covered. While I’m not a huge sports fan I always have a great time at the Fifth Third Ballpark. The food is terrific, there are activities for pretty much everyone and there is always something happening on the field. Franky the Swimming Pig made an appearance and decided to shine up Jeff’s scalp, which we all thought was pretty humorous. Crash made his rounds and threw out it ... read more

When I started working here sixteen years ago, our kids were young. As with many small, family-owned business’, the kids did a lot of the behind the scenes things. Take out trash, clean floors, stock shelves, etc. As they got older, they still did these things but they also worked in the office and helped with customer service. Then they started college and their own careers. Two of them are in totally different businesses and, as many of you know, our youngest, Cameron, is one of the service advisors in the front office. Just when we were trying to figure out what our next step was to fill the now open position, we found out that Luke was looking for a job. He attended the same high school our kids did and we knew his parents. He started working for us a couple of years ago and left at the beginning of this summer for a full-time position elsewhere. His job description we joking referred to as our ‘minion’. He painted walls, cleaned bays, helped me clea ... read more

It’s summer time in Michigan! Beaches, barbeques and road trips. There are also a lot of car shows. A LOT of car shows. I have attended my fair share of car shows. This is what happens when you marry a car guy. In the early days of dating, I attended a lot of automotive related events. I asked a lot of questions like, “Why are there mirrors displaying the undercarriage of that car?” as well as, “Why is that guy carrying a car hood?” Turns out there was a race car driver autographing whatever you brought in to the show. Fast forward thirty years later and I now work with my husband in the automotive repair business and my life revolves around cars. I can appreciate a beautiful car and the hum of an engine but I don’t have the deep down love of the automobile that many people, including the ones I work with every day, do. Several weeks ago in Northern Michigan, my stepmom and I attended a craft show and were walking to a favorite local restaurant. There wa ... read more