Ft. Collins Auto Repair

Let's talk about the elephant on the table - coronavirus is fundamentally changing the way of life for all of us, all around this world. Business as usual? Hardly. Back to normal? Probably, never. What WILL remain for us as a constant though, is what we do - we fix cars. From oil changes to engine exchanges, under the hood and under the car - we fix cars. Brake repairs? No problem. Starter motor replacement? Yes, we can. Check engine light or other diagnostics required? We've got this. Radiator decided to put all it's coolant on the outside of your engine, instead of on the inside? We'll whip it into shape. Because that's who we are. It's what we do. And when the times are tough like they are now, we continue to come to work, every day - because we love the customer service side of our business almost as much as we love cars. We're here to help, and we're here to stay, no matter what the future looks like. Give us a call today at 970-482-3971. &nbs ... read more

The Good News: We have been allowed to remain open as an essential business. We are here to serve you in the best ways we can.The Bad News: This pandemic is likely worse than we thought. No one is invincible. It is paramount that everyone remain as healthy as possible while we figure this out. Effective immediately: Our waiting room is closed in the interest of social distancing. We encourage vehicle drop-off and pick-up at arm’s length; use drop-off envelopes or toss your keys through the bay door slot. Essential communication will be handled by telephone, email, and text. Our shop information is: Main telephone with voice mail: 970-482-3971 Main email address: [email protected]   Pat’s cell phone: 970-219-2722 (text encouraged) Jeff’s cell phone: 307-223-6245 (text encouraged)   If helpful we can make arrangements to pick up and drop off your v ... read more

Smoke got you down? Just wait until your car or truck start to react to the smoke and ash. There is one and maybe even a second air filter in your vehicle. The first and most critical is the air filter which removes dust, dirt and ASH that is in the air the engine breathes. The other (and sometimes there are two) are called cabin air filters which filter the air that comes into the cabin of the car and with which we air condition and breathe. Make sure you have these critical air filters checked to ensure your car and your lungs can operate at full capacity. The last big forest fire we had here in northern Colorado we pulled out lots of really dirty, black filters and expect to see more soon. For top performance, you need all the air you can get into your engine and not have it restricted by smoke and ash residue. Same for your lungs

A customer came with us complaining that a headlight in his 2001 Lexus IS300 was out. He stated that he had replaced the bulb (retail cost $100.00!) without success. We determined that the ballast that fires up that pricey bulb was the problem and when contacting Toyota (maker of Lexus) we were informed that the whole headlamp assembly would need to be purchased for $1,000.00. Fortunately, we were able to locate a new ballast and when installed including labor the cost was a more affordable, yet very expensive $570, half part and half labor to remove the headlight assembly, replace the ballast and reinstall the assembly. The moral is that when you see a fancy new headlight or taillight assembly, it sure looks great, but if you should bump a pillar or pole in a parking lot and break one of these, you will be singing the blues. Progress? I think not

“It is unwise to pay too much, but it is worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money – that is all. When you pay too little you sometimes lose everything because the product you bought was incapable of doing the job it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot – it cannot be done. If you deal with lower price, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.” —- John Ruskin For every product made or service rendered, there is a person who will make that product or sell it a little cheaper. For every consumer, there is one searching for a little cheaper buy