Ft. Collins Auto Repair

When you are pointing your vehicle straight down the street, it should go straight.  That’s pretty straightforward, right? Sometimes, though, you may notice you have to keep adjusting the steering wheel to keep going straight.  While that could be caused by many different issues, one possibility is that you have a failing or bent control arm. Another sign is that when you brake, your vehicle pulls to one side or the other.  Sometimes your suspension may sound noisy, especially when you’re traveling on rough surfaces.  A damaged control arm may also make it almost impossible for you to get a good wheel alignment.  The control arms are part of your suspension, and some vehicles have upper control arms and lower control arms.  Not all have the same number of control arms, but one thing is important: If you have worn bushings on your control arms or a worn-out ball joint, the control arm on the other side should also be replaced.  The rubber ... read more

We recently lost one of our favorite customers, Frank Johnson. Following are reflections from our years of doing business with a great man. Sending love, thoughts, and prayers from All Tech Automotive to Frank's family and those who knew and loved him! Frank was a long-time customer at our shop, and an outstanding example of a wonderful businessman and family man. Frank's 1999 Ford Expedition saw over 360,000 miles - not because it was that reliable of a vehicle, but because Frank cared for it that well. Oil and filter changes. Pre-trip inspections. Suspension repairs. Tune-ups. Transmission replacement. Engine replacement. Failed emissions diagnostics. A lot of work, over a lot of years. He loved that truck and was most excited about taking it back to the cabin in Montana, it seems. He took care of his family in the same manner. We practically watched his grandson Austin grow up at the school down the street and then into multiple jobs, and multiple cars along the way. We h ... read more

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

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