Sometimes people ask us why we do vehicle inspections to their car when they bring their car in for routine maintenance/service or to fix a specific problem. Most people like the fact that we are looking out for them by making sure their car is safe and trouble free so they can have confidence that they won’t have any problems. A lot of people ask us to do inspections on their vehicles especially if they are taking a long road trip soon or there is a change of season happening now or right around the corner.
Some people look at it as a way for us to make more money, similar to the way most businesses operate these days like the TV cable/internet companies or the cell phone service providers. They always get you to upgrade to a better package after louring you in with low numbers for monthly rates that hardly even include the basics. People are used to these kind of tactics these days and are constantly on the lookout for needless up-selling.
We do Vehicle Inspections because we care about you. We care about the vehicles that take you and your family and friends and co-workers and your neighbors’ kids, everyone, to and from wherever you go. If there are problems or concerns that you need to know about, we are obligated to let you know. Most people are so busy these days that they don’t have the time to even think about what’s going on with their car. A lot of people don’t keep track of the required maintenance that their car needs or keep a log of what needs to be done and when. Today’s vehicles are made in such a way that it is difficult to know when something is on the verge of breaking down without visually inspecting mechanical components or reading information from the vehicle’s electronic systems to evaluate their state of health. Some people don’t even realize they need gas until an amber light tells them from the instrument panel (that’s me sometimes).
We do Vehicle Inspections because we don’t want you to pile a ton of money into a car that is ready for the junk yard. Sometimes cars arrive here on a tow truck because it’s broken down of course. The owner obviously wants to fix it so he or she can get back on the road ASAP. When we inform them of our inspection procedure, sometimes they reply with something like ” I don’t want to know anything else about the car, just fix the breakdown problem and that’s it”. Nobody likes bad news. Some people don’t want to go to a doctor when they are sick or it’s time for their annual check-up because they don’t like bad news. Nobody does! I totally get it when people tell us that. But if we do a $1000 repair on a vehicle that is over 10 years old with over 150,000 miles on it and it has an engine that’s on it’s last leg, or a transmission that needs rebuilding, or has brake fluid leaking from brake lines and other components, or has fuel leaking from an old rusty gas tank, or the structural part of the vehicle is all rusted out and compromised, (the list goes on and on), then the customer will be very upset when they have found that they just spent a lot of money on a car that is useless or will be very soon.
We do Vehicle Inspections because we need to know whether or not your car will be safe and dependable in the coming weeks, months, or years. We need to make sure that the vehicle that is entering our shop area and being test driven by our service team is safe and runs without safety concerns for our personnel. Our insurance company highly recommends doing vehicle safety inspections on EVERY car that comes to us for service. We all know how insurance companies are these days. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
The best part of our Vehicle Inspections is they’re FREE. That’s right, FREE!
So call us today and make an appointment for us to do a 60 point Vehicle Inspection so you car is ready for winter. Beat the rust that will be upon us when it gets cold and nasty outside.
Thank you for taking the time to read my 1st blog and enjoy the rest of this beautiful fall.
Mike Larson
Owner/Technician
