As The Wrench Turns: Stories from the Shop

It’s funny how people’s perceptions and actual reality works out sometimes. We had a customer’s vehicle towed into the shop the other day. It had lost power and had broken down on the road. After opening the hood and inspecting the damage, we had found that an idler pulley bearing was failing. The pulley had locked up, causing the main fan belt tensioner to literally break and pull out of it’s mounting bolt holes in the oil filter housing. After making an estimate, I had also noticed they were due for their oil service, past due actually. The customer told me that they had already had the oil service done at some quickie lube place about a week ago. They said they had received our notification that it was due, but thought our price was too high and our hours to inconvenient.

Upon reflection, they found their perception to be false. After the oil service at the “cheap” lube center was performed, it was no longer the advertised price, in fact, it turned out to be more expensive than ours. Also, had they brought the vehicle into the shop, we would have noticed the pulley and told her about the pending failure of her vehicle. See, these are the only cars we work on. There is a reason for that: we know these cars. We could have told her abut the pulley being worn, how it was making noises it shouldn’t.

So, with our expensive oil service and inconvenient hours, they potentially would have been without the car for one day and a bill of about $600.00. Instead, they got the cheaper oil change that was more expensive, a vehicle that had broken down conveniently on the side of the road, then had the convenience of waiting for the tow truck, us having the car for 2 days with a bill that added $750 to the normal repair.

OK, we may not have the most convenient hours, but this is our job, just like you have yours. But in this world of instant gratification and convenience, be careful, some things are better with a little time, thought and inconvenience.

BMW History and Facts

After years and years of working on BMW's, I've amassed a fair bit of knowledge about the Bayerische Motoren Werke as it is known in Germany. These are a few little tidbits of info about our favorite German car company.

• Many believe the BMW roundel is designed after an airplane propeller spinning. Actually, it’s design is based in the Bavarian flag's blue and white checkerboard.

• BMW was originally an airplane motor manufacturer as well as motorbokes. After World War II, Germany was banned from building any vehicles that could be used for warfare. For survival, BMW bought the car company DIXIE and began building car engines.

• In the late 1920’s, an experimental train called "The Rail Zeppelin" used a BMW IV aircraft engine. On June 21st, 1931, the "Train" covered a distance of 160 miles in 98 minutes, reaching a speed of 143MPH, a record that was held for almost 25 years. The German National Railway deemed the propeller drive too dangerous. Due to the braking technology of the time, it was too difficult to integrate the "Rail Zeppelin" into the railway network. The "Train" was sent to the scrap yard in 1939.

• Most car advances that car manufacturers advertise have been on most BMW models for at least a couple of years. ABS brakes were standard on BMW’s in the late 80s’

For all of your European auto needs, come to European Autospecialist at 4121 S. 72nd E. Ave. in Tulsa, OK.

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Our Reputation

We have worked hard at European Autospecialist to build our reputation as the place to bring your vehicle for honest, quality repairs and maintenance. After more than 25 years, I don’t think we’ve done a bad job. I find some of the phone calls we get interesting. I hear a lot of “I just bought this car, and my friends tell me I need to come to you” or “I know a lot of people with the same type of car, and they all come to you for their service.” Ok, this alone says that our hard work has paid off, and we have lots of happy customers who are happy enough to spread the word.

And then I get the question “I’d like to get my car serviced, Can I bring it in today?” or “I’m leaving town tomorrow, Can I come down and get my oil changed?” When I have to, unfortunately, tell them no, they seem surprised. Then when I explain that I would not be able to see their vehicle for a couple of days, it’s amazing how many times I hear “Oh, you’re that busy?”

If we were not doing something right, we would not have a lot of happy customers. If we didn’t have a lot of happy customers, the odds are, you would not have heard about us. Having a lot of happy customers means we’re busy and working hard to keep them. We also try to make new customers feel welcome and comfortable about having brought their vehicle to us for service. So, why are people surprised that we are busy? Or, why are people surprised to find we can’t just accept them at a moments notice? I don’t know, maybe the connection between being successful and having lots of customers doesn’t seem to exist in this line of business. However, if you knew of a really good restaurant or a good movie, you’d expect so see a line or at least be prepared for one. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not try to toot my own horn or pat myself on the back, I’m just trying to understand why people, after hearing that we are a good service facility, think that they would be able to drop in at a moments notice to get their car serviced.

Please don’t let my rant discourage you from calling. I always try my best to get you in as soon as possible and to keep your car for the least amount of time as possible. I understand you want your car back as soon as possible, and I work hard to make that possible. I promise, I will never tell you, “Sure, bring it right on down” knowing that there are 6 or 7 other cars waiting to be worked on.

Is it really for free?

Let me explain a little bit about how our shop operates. You bring your vehicle in with a complaint, then the technicians spend time figuring out what is wrong with the car and what it will take to repair it. As most of you know, this is called Diagnostic Time. An estimate is then written and you are phoned with what the repair costs are. Here is where some confusion comes in. I get a lot of people that ask, “If I have you repair it, will you take the diagnostic fee off?” or “Does that price include the diagnostic fee?” The answer to both questions is “No”

“Well JoeBobJimPaul Shop takes their diagnostic fee off if I have it repaired there.” Or you’ve seen the signs that say ‘Free Diagnosis’

People, there is no such thing as free.

Professional technicians are paid by the time they spend working on a vehicle. If the shop is slow and the technicians are standing around, they are not being paid. So, with that in mind, lets say you’re a technician, your boss gives you a car to diagnose, it takes you 30 minutes to figure out the problem but the customer declines the repair, does that mean you should not be paid for your time and expertise? And what about the fact that you are diagnosing 4-5 cars a day, that’s 2 to 5 hours a day you’re going to work for free?

Ok, let’s look at it from the shop owner’s point of view. Let’s say that you go ahead and pay you technician, but your not getting the jobs, or you’re giving the diagnosis time away “free”, so how are you making up that loss? Most “free” diagnostis fees get hidden in the price somewhere, I guarantee it.

At European Autospecialist, NOTHING is hidden from our customer. We try very hard to be fair to everyone across the board, customers and employees alike. Happy technicians do quality work for you, our customers. You, our customer, know exactly what we are doing and what you are paying for. For me, this is the easiest way to go. I’m honest with you so I can go to sleep at night and not have to worry about any sleight of hand that I performed for someone or any ‘stories’ I said that I have to remember.

There is nothing “Free”, it’s there, somewhere.

Oh, I stand corrected. We will occasionally replace your burnt bulb, without an appointment… For free.

The Internet and Misconceptions

The internet is a wonderful thing, really. It’s the worlds filling cabinet! Anything and everything can be found here. But, is it all correct? Now, we know there is no way for the human race to monitor, correct or clear up everything on the internet. The best thing we can do is educate! The more my customers know and understand about their vehicles, the easier my job is!

What I would like to write about today is a misconception about BMW automatic transmissions in vehicles that are 1994 and newer. Recently, I had a customer on the phone that unfortunately had a transmission that was failing. He was telling me that he had read on multiple forums that this was a problem with BMW’s. Well, that’s not really true. And the cause is not limited to BMW. The initial problem started with us, people and society. We didn’t like maintaining our vehicles, we didn’t like the cost involved, and we didn’t like the inconvenience of not having our cars. It brings to mind one of my favorite saying “Careful what you ask for, you may just get it.” As petroleum technologies advanced and synthetic fluids came into the picture, factories started filling their transmissions with “Long-Life” synthetic fluids and telling people that maintenance was no longer necessary. They said that the transmissions were filled with “lifetime” fluid. Well, this made people happy, something they no longer had to worry about right? Wrong, just like there is no such thing as a “maintenance free battery.”

Basically what that says is, use it until it fails then buy another one from me and I can make a bigger profit, faster. This applies to almost everything around us, we have become a use- it-and-buy-a-new one society, and we are getting worse. But I regress. Transmissions require service if you plan on keeping and driving you car for any real length of time. Transmissions should have their fluid service approximately every 60,000 miles. We see a lot of cars with transmissions failing around the 80,000 to 100,000 mile range. Hey, guess what? That’s the “lifetime” of a transmission that sees no service! We have long-time customers on their second or third BMW with over 150,000 miles on them. You know how many transmission problems they’ve had?? None, why? Because we have serviced them. On the basics of transmissions, nothing has changed. They still wear, the fluid still breaks down, but because the damage doesn’t happen for a much longer time, the factories don’t care. Let’s face it; they want you to buy a new car every 3 to 5 years anyway. No machine lasts forever, or your “lifetime” without maintenance, unless you’re prepared to use it, throw it away and buy a new one.

Don't Just Take Anyone's Word For It

We have worked hard to be one of the best service facilities where you can bring you car. We hold ourselves to high quality service and repairs. One of the areas we’ve held true to is, we do not work off of other people’s diagnoses, and this includes the Dealership’s. Everyone makes mistakes/misdiagnoses, including us, we are human. One thing I get a kick from is a tow truck driver’s diagnosis. Have you ever had the unfortunate luck of having your car break down on the road, requiring the service of a tow truck and had them tell you what wrong with car as they are loading it onto their truck? Really? If these gentlemen really knew what was wrong with your car, why are they tow truck drivers? We spend a lot of time and money to keep up with the technology that goes into these cars. Our technicians go to classes yearly to keep up with the changes these car manufacturers come out with every year. We focus on only the cars we work on. We purchase diagnostic equipment from the factories and the people who build the vehicles, not a generalized version of diagnostic equipment, to give you the best possible service we can.

I get a lot of phone calls where someone has gone to an auto parts store that will give you a free diagnostic reading of your ‘CHECK ENGINE’ or ‘SERVICE ENGINE SOON’ warning lights. These generic OBD II readers are just that, general reading. For example; one of the most common complaints I see and hear is: you go in with a ‘CHECK ENGINE’ light and the store reads the code. The code comes up as an oxygen sensor fault or failure. You have the oxygen sensor replaced, but the light remains on and the fault returns. How can that be? You were told that was the problem, or was that really the problem? The fault is more than likely the result, not the cause. Oxygen sensors on the cars we work on have come a long way and do not fail that often. Usually what we see is this: your ‘CHECK ENGINE’ light comes on, we check for the faults, and the fault comes up with an oxygen sensor fault or failure. After running a diagnostic check of the system, we find that the fault is a ‘lean running condition’ or too much air in the air to fuel mixture and the oxygen sensor cannot adjust the ratio because it is outside of its parameters. Further investigation will probably find a vacuum leak or old and cracked intake induction boot allowing too much air into the engine, and THAT is the problem, not the oxygen sensor. This is why, no matter what kind of car you drive, you should always find an independent shop that specializes in your car that you like and trust. Let them look into you problem, this is what they do, this is their job.

Please Don't Ask

I understand that economic times are hard everywhere. I understand that everyone is looking to either save money and/or getting the best they can for the dollar. No one can be criticized for this. But, when cutting corners, I personally don’t understand why your car’s service and repairs seem to be an area people seem to think are a good one to cut. Yes, some service and repairs are expensive. Yes, there are repair shops that are less expensive than our business. These shops use aftermarket, less expensive parts and may allow you to take your own parts in. We don’t do this. I know this may sound harsh or elitist, but we do have good reasons. First is quality. We use factory parts; we know they’re going to fit properly; We know they are of high quality; we know that if there is a premature failure, there is no problem with warranty and the factory is backing their own quality. Now, I understand that if you buy a part from the dealer, you would think, “I bought the right part, why won’t you install it for me?” That is our policy. We stand behind everything we do. If we were to compromise in one area or policy then you could ask yourself, what’s to keep them from compromising in other policies or areas?

Think about it, your car is the third highest expense in your life (The first being children and second being your home), and a very important necessity. You need your car to go to work (to make your hard earned money), to go to the store for food, to protect you from inclement weather while you are taking care of your responsibilities. Your car is something that you depend on. Are you really wanting to compromise with its dependability? What if you were hurt and had to go the emergency room? You wouldn’t take a bottle of whiskey with you because it’s cheaper than the Hospital’s anesthesia? It’s amazing how many phone calls we get from people that want to bring their own parts in, parts that have been purchased online, at an auto parts store, from the salvage yard, etc. Ask yourself this question; “Why is that part cheaper?” I could give you at least 50 different reasons why. I mean why buy a diamond wedding band when a cubic zirconium looks just as good, right? There is truth in the saying “You get what you pay for,” and it works both ways. Sometimes the “cheap” way is even the most expensive way. I personally learned this with a washing machine. Keeping your car dependable and in top condition, that’s what we do, that’s our job, our focus. It’s what we do best, allow us that privilege and I promise, we won’t come to your job, bring our own stuff and ask you to compromise your quality.

What's Its Worth?

Unfortunately, if a car needs and expensive repair my job involves not only delivering the bad news, but also delivering what the cost of that repair is going to be. Over the years the change has been from “How much?” to “The car’s not worth it!!” Ok, let’s think about this a minute. How much is a car worth? That really is a big question. Most people today base the value of the car on the resale price, how much can they get for it. So, if your car is broken and you need an expensive repair, do you think you are going to get market value for it? Let’s say you do, now what? You now need a car, right? Are you going to buy a brand new car? If you are, then this article is not for you. New cars are expensive! So if you’re going to buy a used car, what kind of car are you going to get with the money that you got from selling your car? Why are those people selling their cars? Does it need repairs? Probably. What kind of service history does that car have? Did the previous owner take good care of it? Did it get regular scheduled maintenance? Hmmmm.

So, let’s take another look at our broken car. First, is it paid for? It’s nice not having a car payment! Insurance and tag costs are cheaper. Believe me, maintenance and repair costs on an older car are going to be less expensive over the years than the new cars! You probably already know the condition of your car, what repair it needs and services that are coming up. Is that large repair looking cheaper? Let’s say, for example, the repair is $3,500. If you were break that down, that’s less than a year of car payments. You don’t have to keep paying for another four or five years for repairs on top of a car payment. I have seen customers make $4,000 and $5,000 repairs, and come out with basically a new car that last them many more years, saving them thousands of dollars in the long run.

Information and the Internet

It amazes me how fast we all are to believe in young and fragile technology. Although, when you look at history, mankind has always been a little too trusting. Do you know that at one time doctors thought that if you traveled in a car faster than sixty miles per hour that you would die? Interesting what people thought one-hundred years ago. Public Internet is now just a touch over twenty years old and look at how much faith we blindly put into it. Websites like CARFAX are a great idea, but won’t really be dependable for at least another 5 or 10 years. Why do I say that? Remember the sayings about computers? “Garbage in, garbage out” or “A computer is only as good as the information that’s put into it.” As the years go by and more systems are tied together, I have no doubt that these types of informational websites will be factual and trustworthy. But as of now, they don’t get all the information. They are only as good as the information that is given them. Do you think we upload all our customers’ services onto a public information database? How many shops or dealerships do? Right now only title transfers and accidents are reported (well, accidents that are reported through insurance companies).

As computer technology progresses in cars, you won’t even need the internet. Even now, the later model cars have “pods” instead of keys; these “pods” carry the vehicle service history within them. As of yet, only the dealerships are allowed to have readers for these “pods,” but as cars and technology get older, the information will be released to the independent shops. Newer cars e-mail information to the dealership when some problem comes up, they call emergency services when they are in an accident and even tell them where the accident is.

Forums are a great place to meet people with similar interests. You can share experiences, problems and solutions with each other. But even here, information can be misleading. People claim that a particular car manufacturer has a problem with something when in reality; it’s not a true problem at all, but a result of change and is now a normal part of that cars life. BMW cooling systems are a great example of car manufacturers trying to make components lighter for emissions and fuel economy and less expensive to manufacture, etc. Most of the cooling system components are made of polymers (plastics) and have a shorter life expectancy. Radiators were once made of brass. Did they ever have failures? Not that I know of, not unless a hole got punched in them. Today, in the life of a car, you can expect to replace your radiator at least once or twice. Some problems are regional, shops on the northern east coast see problems we never have, and some of the problems we have are only seen in this region.

Not everything out there is true or correct for your car. It is for these reasons that I have decided to post “My Soapbox” blogs. I would like to do my best to educate, clear misconceptions and confusion about the cars we work on. The more you know about your car, the easier my job is and the easier it is for you to understand what we do to keep your car in top condition.

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Locally owned, European Autospecialist has been serving customers for over 27 years! We have loyal customers in Tulsa, Jenks, Owasso, Broken Arrow, Bixby and all over Northeastern Oklahoma! We service Mercedes Benz, BMW and Mini Cooper because we love them. It’s that simple. We are one of three auto repair shops in the state of Oklahoma that own GT-1—BMW's factory diagnostic computer. The other two are in dealerships. If you are in need of service for your air conditioning, exhaust, electrical, engine, suspension, transmission, brakes or just want to know more about our tune-ups, restoration, service, maintenance, diagnostics, or performance parts, give European Autospecialist a call today! We are experts in car repair for all of your European vehicles. If you need your automobile checked out by an automotive expert who is factory trained or ASE certified, look no further. http://ping.fm/YYf39

Welcome to Our Blog!

European Autospecialist is the best auto repair shop in town that specializes in European cars such as Mercedes Benz, BMW, Mini Cooper and more. Our technicians are ASE Certified and factory trained in automotive repair, so you know that your prized automobile is being taken care of properly. We work on all aspects of car repair including air conditioning, exhaust, electrical, engine, suspension, transmission, and brakes. We also have specialty services and products such as tune-ups, restoration, service, maintenance, diagnostics, and even performance parts! We service vehicles from all over the Northeastern Oklahoma including Tulsa, Jenks, Owasso, Broken Arrow, Bixby and everywhere in between.

Locally-owned, European Autospecialist has been serving customers for over 27 years! We have loyal customers in Tulsa, Jenks, Owasso, Broken Arrow, Bixby and all over Northeastern Oklahoma! We service European cars like Mercedes Benz, BMW and Mini Cooper because we love them. It’s that simple. We are one of three auto repair shops in the state of Oklahoma that own GT-1—BMW's factory diagnostic computer. The other two are in dealerships. If you are in need of service for your air conditioning, exhaust, electrical, engine, suspension, transmission, brakes or just want to know more about our tune-ups, restoration, service, maintenance, diagnostics, or performance parts, give European Autospecialist a call today! We are experts in car repair for all of your European vehicles. If you need your automobile checked out by an automotive expert who is factory trained or ASE certified, look no further.

Do you own a European automobile such as a Mercedes Benz, BMW or Mini Cooper and live in Tulsa, Jenks, Owasso, Broken Arrow, Bixby or anywhere else in Northeastern Oklahoma? As experts in all of these makes, we can provide you with tune-ups, restoration, service, maintenance, diagnostics, and performance parts such as exhaust, air conditioning, electrical, engine, suspension, transmission and brakes with better service, more experience and for less money than the dealerships can. Why go to any other auto repair shop for car repair? We’re cheaper than the dealerships and we provide better service, all without voiding your warranty. Visit the ASE certified, factory trained automotive enthusiasts at European Autospecialist. We can service a variety of vehicles for less. We’d love to work on all of the cars you own. Stop by our shop, visit us online at www.europeanautospecialist.net or give us a call at 918-627-2002 today!