Grand Rapids Auto Repair

This is what I found when I was searching for a quote for the sign in front of our business. I found two other quotes that I thought would be good and they are now up, and hopefully a little inspiring. But the “Page 1 of 365” stuck with me. I'm a list maker and goal setter. I have the plan laid out for the year. And I’m old enough to know that most items won't go according to plan, but yet, I still have a guideline and goals. Every year right about now, we start evaluating what we can do to improve as a business in the upcoming year. We have discussions with our technicians about training. We send our technicians to classes both in Grand Rapids and also out-of-state. That requires planning so we look at what we need to accomplish in the upcoming year. We also look at tools and equipment. What do we need? Customer service. How can we improve? We constantly evaluate, but the beginning of the new year causes you to take a look and set some goals. Realistically, long range ... read more

The past several weeks have been busy as people prepare their vehicles for long holiday trips. They've had any needed maintenance performed and potential issues addressed. This helps to alleviate some of the stress associated with a long trip by doing what you can to avoid a breakdown, is always a wise choice. It looks like the weather will be mild and continue that way through the holidays which makes travel plans easier. The shopping is done or maybe not. In that case, you'll run into me at the store Christmas Eve. The tree is decorated and the presents are wrapped and waiting for everyone to come over or be taken to your celebratory place. The menu is planned and you realize that with all the treats available, the new year resolution should include eating less sugar than you've been consuming lately. If you have small children, they may be worried about Santa being able to travel in his sleigh with no snow. You can tell them he has a Volvo wagon as a backup vehicle s ... read more

In our customer lounge area, there is a cabinet filled with model cars. The curio cabinet is an old 1980’s style cabinet that you don’t see much anymore. All the shelves are filled with the different make and models of cars. There are Corvettes, Mercedes Benz, Ferraris and Lancias. The cars are die cast models that Jeff collected with his dad, Arie, over the years. Arie passed away over twenty-three years ago. He and Jeff spent a lot of time collecting the cars together and each one has a memory attached to it. They are all vehicles that were rare. When they searched for cars, they looked for makes that either hadn’t been produced for very long or that had something unique that year. The doors, hoods and trunk or boot all are functional. They are at our shop because that is where they belong. Arie’s dream was to have an auto repair shop and to pass along all his knowledge to Jeff, who also loved cars. Collecting the cars with Jeff was something that they enjoyed doing toget ... read more

The search for the perfect Christmas gift is on, something the recipient will use and appreciate. It’s normally tough to find something in my world that both men and women would consider a great gift. I've been on tool trucks, and I don't really find items that make me think, “I've always wanted one of those!” They do have telescoping wands with a magnet on the end that I did get for my kids when they were younger. Technicians use them to get metal items that may have been dropped in the course of a job. A bolt that has fallen many times is unreachable without this tool. Not so high tech but necessary. Also a fun gift for little kids, as long as they stay away from the computer hard drives. Last year a vendor came in with a “newish” item. It's a box about the size of an e-reader. It jump starts a car and powers any mobile devices. We commonly use a jump box to start cars that have a bad battery or alternator, or to start a car that has been sitting for a long period of time. A ... read more

Cabin air filters are the hidden, forgotten, unloved car part. You can’t see them so you don’t really think about them. They are usually hidden in the area under your dashboard or close to your engine compartment. They clean the air inside your car. Is this an important job? I think it is. Have you ever noticed a musty, old smell inside your car? It may be that your cabin air filter needs to be checked. In the summer the air conditioning unit is on and drawing all that sneeze causing air into your car. Allergens float around inside your car like little uninvited hitch hikers. In the winter, the heat and defroster are on and they both utilize the air coming from the outside which goes through the cabin air filter. I mistakenly thought summer was the hardest time of year for your cabin air filter. I was reading an article on the importance of timely replacement of your filter and learned that winter is tough on them. Soot levels from the engine are increased as the weather co ... read more