Just 3 1/2 weeks away and the Tee Sheet is filling up!!!! We have team spots left and would love see them get filled. So far we are ready for great success with this event. Contests during the tournament will win great prizes. A putting contest and shootout after the tournament will bring yet another chance to win. With food and drinks provided and an auction during dinner it will be a complete day of fun!!! All proceeds will benefit the Beyond Batten Disease Foundation. A local charity determined to fight genetic diseases in children.
Sign up today at www.brakespecialistsplus.com.
Hit the tournament button and use the online checkout at beyondbatten.org. If you have any questions on playing, sponsorships or want to know more about the event and how to participate email me at
jamey@brakespecialists.com
Sign up to Play in The Charity Golf Tournament
August 23rd, 2010How Do I know I am getting quality parts installed during repair?
August 9th, 2010The auto repair industry reputation ranks right up there with used car salesman, insurance and attorneys. OK, maybe not as bad as attorneys but needless to say it has gotten a bad rap. This bad reputation has the honest repair shop struggling to compete with all of the ” too good to be true” advertising on the radio and television.
Good rule of thumb is if it is too good to be true, it usually is!! There are fair deals to be made out there but be careful how good a deal you are being offered. When a shop offers a low price, lifetime warranty with in and out service something has to give. No one is in business to lose money so how are those shops making money? They either bait and switch with a low advertised price or they use cheap/inexpensive low quality parts and charge premium for them.
Quality parts are not hard to come by if you know what your looking for and trust your vehicle to a competent shop. There are cheap parts out there and honestly they are pretty scary!! Amazing as it may seem auto parts are not held to any quality control regulations like you may think. Don’t mistake a warranty for quality. Most poor quality parts have a lifetime warranty. Shops using these parts will happily replace these parts and charge labor each time. What good is a lifetime warranty if it continues to wear out or fail and requires replacement. Take brake pads for instance. you may think a safety item like brake pads would be federally mandated to pass some kind of testing procedure. Wrong. They require no testing what so ever. Scary stuff.
Key is to ask questions when quoted a repair. Find out where shops are buying parts and if they are OE equivalent parts (original equipment). Understand that Autozone, Orielly, Carquest, Napa, etc do not manufacture parts. Not even the manufacturer makes these parts. They just bolt them all together. These parts are manufactured by someone else and distributed through these retailers or distributed to the manufacture to assemble. Parts from these mnanufacturers are OE and will be labeled and marketed as such. Parts come by many names and descriptions so you must rely on an honest shop to find quality parts and perform a quality installation. A shop that offers premium parts and labor with a warranty will never be the cheapest shop, but you will pay a price that reflects what is actually going on your vehicle. So ask questions and be careful of the “Too good to be true” deals.
2nd Annual Brake Specialists Plus Charity Golf Tournament
August 4th, 2010Six Weeks from now Brake Specialists Plus will proud to sponsor our 2nd Annual Charity Golf tournament!!! Thursday September 16th at Grey Rock Golf Club will be a special day filled with contests such as hole in one par threes with cash prizes, longest drive, closest to the pin, hit the green and beat the pro holes. Afterward we will have a putting contest and $1,000,000 shootout!!! Lunch and dinner will be provided for all players and volunteers. During dinner a silent/live auction will be available to pick up cool items, trips etc. The tournament will be benefitting The Beyond Batten Disease Foundation located right here in Austin, Texas. Please feel free to visit their website at www.beyondbatten.org to learn more about their foundation. Brake Specialists Plus has taken great ownership of this cause due to some close friends that have a child suffering from this genetic degeneratic neurological disease. Beyond Batten started here in Austin over 3 years ago was founded by a local Austinite with a child suffering from Batten as well. Beyond Batten with the hearts of their friends and families have successfully raised over 3 million dollars for research, treatment and care for these affected children. Please go to www.beyondbatten.org and sign up today. There are a few sponsorships still available and we will take as many teams to play until we Grey Rock throws in the towel!!! Come join us for a day of fun and support a great cause!!!! Hope to see you there!!!
Where to Perform Warranty Work
February 2nd, 2010Q: Is it true that I can take my car to you guys for warranty work. My husband said I HAVE to take it to the dealer, but I heard it’s not true. Can you set us straight on that?
A: If your vehicle is under the Manufacturer’s Warranty, then the dealership associated with the brand of vehicle you own must perform the repairs needed. Be aware, some manufacturers offer 36,000-, 50,000-, or 100,000-mile warranties. These warranties are only valid if the vehicle maintenance is done on schedule and complete. The maintenance required can be performed at your repair facility of choice. If you purchased an Extended Warranty beyond the Manufacturer’s Warranty, that warranty can be performed at a repair facility of choice as well. Refer to your owner’s manual for warranty duration and your sales contract for extended warranty service you may have purchased.
Keeping up with Maintenance
January 25th, 2010Q: I haven’t done a great job of keeping up with maintenance on my car. I know I need to, but afraid I’ll need a ton of stuff all at once. Where should I start?
A: Maintenance shouldn’t be scary and it can be done all at once or separated into multiple visits. Maintenance is like getting a physical. If you miss a check up, just catch up on the next visit. With that being said, cars are not built to last forever so the better you maintain it the longer it will provide you with reliable service. Making sure fluids are changed and mechanical parts are lubricated or replaced due to wear is essential to maintaining the integrity of a vehicle. Some vehicles will require services to be performed at different mileages. Please refer to your manufacturer’s schedule and plan an attack. Use the 30,000- and 60,000-mile services as catch up if you missed some needed maintenance. Remember, you can do what you want and save some services for another visit if it doesn’t fit in your budget.