Saskatoon Auto Repair

Each year motorists are left stranded after they have headed out on holidays. There are many reasons for this but the main reason is the vehicle is not prepared for the trip. A car that feels like it runs and drives well around town suddenly has issues 3 or 4 hours from home at the start of a 2-week vacation. All the heat and stress created from the trip makes the “weak links” show up at inopportune times. Now you need to find a repair shop, hoping they can get you in and out quickly so the holiday won’t be ruined. You can virtually eliminate this from happening with a preholiday inspection scheduled for at least a week before you leave. Keep in mind this is much more than a basic oil and filter change, as the inspection will identify what condition the vehicle is in and if it’s ready for the trip. The following is from Car Care Canada after a recent vehicle inspection campaign.Did you know?Results from Car Care Canada’s vehicle inspection events found 85% of vehicles needed some form ... read more

It makes a person feel good the first time they drive away from the dealership in their new vehicle. That new car smell is in the air: at least for a few months, it makes you feel great! Unfortunately it doesn’t stay new and you will need to look after it so it doesn’t depreciate too fast. Routine maintenance is part of the cost of transportation and looking after your vehicle properly is a sure way to help lower the cost of transportation because a properly operating vehicle uses less fuel is much more reliable to get you where you need to be and get you back home. Performing the recommended services on time allows you to keep your vehicle for many years, reducing your overall cost of transportation. So what should you do about servicing your new vehicle or even one you’ve had for a while? What does the owner’s manual say? Does it say you have to go back to the dealership you bought it from or can you go to the repair shop of your choice? What it will say, is that you need to perform ... read more

First, a little trivia about the life of struts and shocks; research by manufacturers shows that on the average road (not Saskatoon’s pothole roads) each strut or shock on your… car cycles (stops and starts moving) 1100 times per kilometer. That works out to be 88 million times in 80,000 kilometers! That’s 88 with 6 zeros added, WOW! When they get worn out they cycle even more. Your vehicle feels the wear, a vehicle with as little as 80,000 kilometers can take an additional 3 meters or more to stop than a vehicle with new struts and shocks! That can be the difference between making a quick controlled stop, or panic and possibly an accident. Struts and shocks are the components on your vehicle that control the up, down and rocking or sway movement of your vehicle. The struts and shocks don’t hold the vehicle up, that’s the job of the springs. When a vehicle is new, the struts and shocks allow us to have a safe controlled ride. Over time, the struts and shocks are slowly wearing and most ... read more

Start your summer vacation off on the right foot; have your vehicle properly serviced and ready for the trip ahead. Hot weather and cold weather have one thing in common, your vehicle doesn’t like either one. Ever notice the vehicles sitting on the side of the highway are usually a long way from home? That’s because the shorter trips we normally take don’t get all the moving components up to temperature like a longer trip does.Even a 1 or 2 hour trip to the lake can be enough for some vehicles to succumb to the heat and pressure created from an extended drive. Belts, hoses and cooling systems take a real beating with the added heat generated which can leave you stranded for a few hours or days if you haven’t been fortunate to stop in time, ending up with a serious mechanical failure and your car undriveable. Cooling system failure can happen very fast with devastating results, this is also a major cause of engine damage; and that’s never cheap to repair.While you are driving be sure to ... read more

A little trivia about our head Technician, Dave WiebeDave is one of Saskatoon’s premier automotive technicians; he has competed against the best and won. In spring of 2003, technicians from across Canada and the USA were invited to enter a contest to see who the best technicians are. This contest, “Technician of the Millennium III”, tested knowledge, speed, accuracy and cleanliness of the technicians. Technicians across all of North America could enter the contest. The firs…t part was a written exam; Dave had the highest mark in Canada. After this the top 10 in each of the 8 regions competed against each other in a “hands-on” contest. The vehicles they worked on were brand new with 5 “problems” simulated to reflect real life. Each contestant had an identical car and only 2 hours to repair it correctly. Dave excelled and won the title of “Western Canadian Champion”. Dave was the only one to repair all 5 issues correctly. In October of 2003 Dave competed in Las Vegas against the 7 other ... read more