Sweeney Complete Auto Service

Save Money on Car Repair with These Four Questions

2010-02-01T13:08:00.000-08:00

Automotive technicians are often compared to doctors. This comparison undoubtedly makes some techs smile and others grimace. But in the end, the two professions have a lot in common. It may surprise consumers to find that by choosing these professionals wisely, they can get better care at a better price.

When it comes to choosing a repair shop, many experts praise the virtues of the clean facility, a wall covered with ASE certificates or a coffee pot and some tasty snacks. While these items are important, these four vital questions tell most of the story:

Will the service advisor or tech take time to listen to your description of the car’s problem?
Can they explain things to you in laymen’s terms?
If necessary, will they test-drive the car with you?
Do they have the knowledge and equipment to diagnose and repair it the first time?

Back to the doctor/technician comparison. Some doctor’s are great diagnosticians. They can pin point a malady when their peers are coming up with empty charts. What’s the difference between that doctor and the people wearing white coats? Possibly his/her knowledge and perhaps equipment, but probably it’s listening skills that sets the really great docs apart from the good ones.

When choosing a professional, the variety that looks after your car or the variety that looks after your body, ask them the four-questions. In effect, audition them. See how the doctor takes care of your flu and how the tech deals with an oil change before visiting with something more serious.

Watch how they handle their time and be aware of how much time is allotted to you. Are they tuned into your problems and asking relevant questions? Are they providing an objective opinion based on information they’ve gathered during your discussion? Can they explain the problem and solution to you in laymen’s terms?

The bottom line is this, time is money. The less time these people are willing to spend with you often multiplies the amount of time needed on the back end. In the case of both the doctor and tech, the extra time spent having to fix you or your car a second or third time not only is expensive, it can be detrimental to the car or patient’s condition.

Here at Sweeney Complete Auto Service we only hire the best technicians and service advisors with the ability to handle any situation you have with your vehicle. That’s the reason we have built the reputation of being the most knowledgeable shop in the area. See more information at www.sweeneyautoservice.com.

Italian Side Dish Recipe

2009-12-16T11:50:00.000-08:00

A good Italian friend of mine (Matteo) came up with this recipe and authorized me to post it, this goes great with any meal especially around the holidays. Leave comments for him on my website sweeneyautoservice.com I'll be happy to forward them.

Also come and see us for any vehicle repair needs, we are always here to help you.

Patate alla Béchamel (Béchamel Potatoes)
In theory serves 8 people as a side dish although I’ve never seen it be enough.

Béchamel

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups warm milk
Salt
Ground nutmeg

Potatoes

8 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced
Mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
Rosemary
Basil
Salt
Pepper

Preparation:

Béchamel Sauce
Combine 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons flour in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk to make a roux. Remove from heat, let rest one minute, then whisk in warm milk. Return to heat, simmer 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened; season with salt and nutmeg while it’s simmering. Remove from heat.

Potatoes
Peel and cut potatoes into 1/4" thick slices. Place overlapping slices in buttered baking pan adding salt, pepper, basil and a pinch of rosemary to each layer.
Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on the top.
Pour the Béchamel on top covering all the potatoes with it.
Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.

Cover with foil and bake at 400° for at least 30 minutes, then uncover and continue baking until top layer turns golden brown (note: depending on number of layers and oven temperature cooking times may vary, for deeper dishes boil the potatoes first till tender).

Winter Weather Auto Tips

2009-12-04T16:22:00.000-08:00

When using your heating system, there are some tips to help keep you warm and your windows clear. When using your defroster, make sure you are using the fresh air from the outside of the car. Have you ever seen someone driving down the road and all the windows are fogged up? The reason is the car is using the inside air in the car and the system can’t get rid of the moisture in the air. And that’s why the windows fog up. Also, using the air conditioning in this mode helps too since one of the things the A/C system does is remove the moisture from the air and with the heat on you will keep the inside of the car warm. In fact some of the newer cars automatically turn on the A/C and use fresh air in defrost mode. If you don’t know about your vehicle, look in your owner’s manual, or just drop by and we will be glad to show you how it works.

Your wipers are also key to keeping your windows clean. Making sure you have the proper washer fluid that is ready for the cold weather will also help you do this. Having a snow brush in the car with an ice scraper will keep you prepared for whatever happens.

Keeping your tires inflated properly and make sure you have good tread will help you with traction and control. A lot of the newer cars have great things like anti-lock brakes and traction control which help with the bad weather. But these systems work much better when you have the most grip you can with good tires.

All of these things mentioned above are checked every time we service your vehicle because we want you to be safe while driving, especially during this time of year. If you would like to stop by we would be glad to check these things for you, or you can set an appointment at http://sweeneyautoservice.com .

Should I Flush?

2009-11-30T13:25:00.000-08:00

In the last few years a new service started to be recommended by quick lube places and some dealerships; This is the engine or transmission flush.
So I’m often asked if this is needed or not. Well let me explain what a flush is and then answer the question.

What is a Flush?

An engine or transmission flush is basically done by forcing cleaning fluids through the engine or transmission. Yes, I did say forcing; this is done with high pressure machinery.

Does a flush improve performance?

No, a regular oil and filter change or an oil change with a flush give about the same results in performance yet one costs about ¼ of the other.

Does a flush increase the life of your engine?

Keeping the engine clean does increase the life of the engine, that much is true, so in theory flushing the engine would increase its life but there is one problem with this: the moment you start forcing solvents under high pressure through anything you risk damaging it and if it does get damaged would you have increased its life? Probably not.

The truth of it is that a simple oil and filter change done regularly accomplishes the same end result (a clean engine) without risking damaging it.

Do car manufacturers recommend engine flushes?

Well Honda, Ford, GM, Nissan and many others actually don’t recommend it, in many cases they advise against it. Anything that your car manufacture recommends is covered in the owner manual of you car, if it’s not in there it’s not recommended.

So the next time you get told your car manufacturer recommends a flush, pull out the owner manual of your car and ask them to show you where.

For more information visit us at http://sweeneyautoservice.com

We have now added Tips for auto repair

2009-11-25T15:47:00.000-08:00

I found that people have questions about their auto repair needs. These include such things as "do I really need this repair done?", "should I just buy a new car?", "what do I need to do before I take a long trip?" and many others.
To help I have added auto repair Tips on our website. You can find the answers you need at
http://sweeneyautoservice.com/ , use the contact form to let me know of any other Tips you need.