It was a family brake repair. A local man brought in his niece to replace the brake pads on his vehicle. She (the niece) actually did most of the work. Little did we know, she is a driver for midget car group out of Ventura, CA.
She knows her stuff…
They both smiled spending time together saving money by changing their own brake pads!
The Salish Sea MINI Motoring Club stopped by to see just what Self Serve Garage is all about. One owner changed the shocks and springs on his 2005 MINI Cooper S. He noted:
The stock height MINI will fit over the scissor lift, but there will be a clearance of about 1/2″ at the front lift pads. The rear pads won’t be on the lift, but the frame rides on the lift, so it’s still quite safe when you lift.
Members watched him do the repair and even heckled him a little. The total job took him about 5.5 hours, but was about 25% the cost when compared to taking everything to a retail shop, for almost the same length of time.
He smiled when he realized how much money he saved by fixing his own car!
Learn more about Salish Sea MINI Motoring Club
April 14, 2011
4:00pm – 6:00pm
Please join us as Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke performs the ribbon cutting ceremony at the new Self Serve Garage, the Pacific Northwest’s only Do-It-Yourself Auto Repair Garage.
“I already felt helpless at the gas pumps and then I get a $600 repair quote that included $400 for labor alone. It was time for me to take control of my repairs and start saving money!”
George Patterson, Founder of Self Serve Garage
Come out and see the Pacific Northwest’s only do-it-yourself auto repair shop. There are six bays that can be rented by the hour, the day, or longer if needed. Do-it-yourself mechanics will find hydraulic lifts, tools, diagnostic equipment, and resources available. You can even rent a mechanic if you need someone to help you through a tough repair. Free monthly repair seminars are available to teach car owners how to change their own oil, repair brakes, basic tune-ups, and other auto repairs.
Here is a gentleman with a semi oldie but goodie, a 1998 Ford F150 with over 304K miles in for a regular schedule oil change.
This gentleman has been a victim of the quick lube gone wrong. They oil filter on incorrectly, and he ended up with oil all over his under carriage. Now, he rents a bay at Self Serve Garage and changes his own oil. Besides saving money, he enjoys looking under his vehicle while doing his oil change. Using the lifts here gives him that opportunity without getting on the ground.
Rent a bay at Self Serve Garage for your next oil change!
Performing regular oil changes on your vehicle will help extend the life of your engine. Of course, one question is how often should we change our vehicle’s oil? Tom Torbjornsen, Maintenance Editor for AOL Autos, wrote a great article titled, “Oil Changes: How Often?” where he discusses the frequency of oil changes.
Yes oil is much better than it used to be, engines are better protected with today’s new lubricants but the same old logic still applies to the oil filter: always use a good quality filter when having the engine oil changed. The filter is the storehouse for dirt in the engine and when it doesn’t do its job, the engine suffers internally. When dirt and grit are allowed to circulate over, within and on the engine bearing surfaces, cylinder walls, crankshafts, piston rings, camshafts and virtually all metal mating surfaces, they are damaged resulting in wider oil tolerances, lowered oil pressure and ultimately premature engine failure.
His recommendation is “change regular petroleum based oils every 4-5 thousand miles and synthetic every 5-7 thousand miles.” Our recommendation is to save money by renting a bay at Self Serve Garage and changing your vehicle’s oil yourself. We have a Oil Change Special Rate! You’ll smile knowing you’re helping your vehicle last longer and saving money at the same time!
We hold Repair Seminar’s where you can learn how to perform maintenance (including oil changes) on your vehicle. Click here to read about our next Repair Seminar’s. Can’t wait until the seminar? Click here for information on how to do a Oil Change.
