Pleasanton Auto Repair

When your Honda, Acura, Toyota or Lexus breaks down, or just needs some routine service, you might get a little nervous. Your car’s so important to your life in San Ramon , you need to back on the road as soon as possible – with the problem fixed right the first time. If you’ve ever checked into some of the technician training Precision Auto Repair professionals receive, you may be surprised at how much knowledge and skill goes into diagnosing and repairing a modern car. Let me give you some perspective. Today there are four cylinder engines that make more power than the V-8’s in luxury cars twenty years ago. I mean a new V-6 Toyota Camry could beat Sonny Crocket’s Ferrari in a race to sixty. Some cars have several networked computers controlling most of the engine functions and many other vehicle functions as well. San Ramon motorists take all of this sophistication for granted – but somebody has t ... read more

All pilots have checklists for every aspect of flying. They always use their checklists even if they only have two steps on them. They do this simply because a checklist is a great way to not forget important steps. It is also how you can assure a predictable outcome. That is why Livermore and San Ramon automotive service centers have procedural standards for each service they perform. Technicians are trained step by step. And they perform the procedures step by step, the same way each time. By training to procedural standards, centers can assure a quality outcome. The job is done right every time and you are happy with how your car performs. Each company trains its technicians to standards. The industry as a whole is very committed to standards of excellence and encourages individual service center operators to apply them to every vehicle they service. An example is how service technicians grade problems and communicate their recommendations. If a technician tells you that a repa ... read more

One might say the most challenging part of being an automotive service technician at Precision Auto Repair in Pleasanton California is diagnosing a problem before it can be fixed. Cars are made up of a bunch of complex systems. There usually could be a number of reasons for any given symptom. So it's challenging to track down the actual cause of the problem. And it can be frustrating for the vehicle owner because it can take time and money to get to the bottom of a problem. If it's not something obvious, it's easy for the customer to focus on the fixing and not the diagnosing. Let us introduce you to something we'll call Customer Detective Work – that is helping your Pleasanton California technician find clues to what's wrong. We start with the detective basics: What, Where and When. Play along with me. You come in to Precision Auto Repair and your car is making a funny sound. Do you see where we're going? You're gathering addition ... read more

Some Pleasanton motorists are confused by Precision Auto Repair charges for diagnostic services for a vehicle repair. Many services at Precision Auto Repair and other Pleasanton automotive repair shops include diagnostic fees. When you take your laptop into a Pleasanton computer repair shop for a problem you’ll likely have to leave a deposit for diagnostics. When we visit our Livermore doctor for a medical problem, we’re paying him to diagnose our ailment and of course for the tests that go along with it. So receiving a diagnostic charge at Precision Auto Repair for a tricky automotive problem shouldn’t be a surprise. In the Pleasanton area, automotive diagnostics can cover quite a range. If you hear a noise in your Honda, Acura, Toyota or Lexus brakes when you slow down in rush-hour traffic on a busy California expressway, you pull off the next off-ramp and take a quick visual check. That is usua ... read more

We find that a lot of Pleasanton service and repair at Precision Auto Repair are a little tentative when they talk with their automotive advisors. They want to ask questions, but don't want to be embarrassed or to seem pushy. Cars are very complicated and there's more to know about them than most of us have the time to learn. Maybe it's because cars have become so much more reliable that the average person just doesn't need to know as much to keep their vehicle on the road. You know, your local hospital has a Patient's Bill of Rights that they post throughout the hospital. We think our Pleasanton automotive service customers also have a right to ask any question they need to understand what is wrong with their car and what it will take to fix it. They need to feel free to ask the cost and benefits of recommended services. And they certainly have a right to understand the financial end of the transaction ... read more

When winter approaches, we break out the sweaters, coats, boots and mittens. We want to be ready for winter conditions. Your vehicle needs to be ready for winter as well. The last thing you want is to get stranded out in the cold. You need your vehicle to be safe and reliable. It's a good idea to get caught up on any neglected maintenance items anytime - but the stakes are higher in the winter. There are some specific things that we need to do to have our vehicle ready for winter. The most obvious is having the antifreeze checked. If the antifreeze level is too low, it can't properly protect your engine, radiator and hoses from freezing. If your car does not seem to be making enough heat to keep you warm, your antifreeze level may be low or you could have a thermostat problem. Get it checked out. If you are due for a cooling system service, now is a perfect time to have it done. In the cold months we always worry about being able to stop in time when ... read more