Dave's Auto Repair

Your Toyota, Honda, GM, Ford, Chevy, Mazda, Subaru’s so important to your life in Petaluma: when it breaks down, you need it back on the road as soon as possible – with the problem fixed right the first time. If you’ve ever check into some of the training technicians at Dave’s Auto Repair receive, you may be surprised at how much knowledge and skill goes into diagnosing and repairing a modern car in Petaluma.

Our engines are more and more powerful, fuel efficient and reliable. This is all due to engineering. But the advances come at the price of simplicity. Modern cars in Petaluma are so much more complex from a mechanical and electronics standpoint that it makes your head spin. Vehicles have several networked computers controlling most of the engine functions and many other vehicle functions as well. Petaluma motorists take all of this sophistication for granted – but somebody has to fix it when it breaks.

It requires a high level of commitment on the part of the technician and Dave’s Auto Repair as well. In addition to the training, there’s the financial commitment by Dave’s Auto Repair to purchase the diagnostic and repair tools as well.

The ability to repair your Toyota, Honda, GM, Ford, Chevy, Mazda, Subaru requires a strong combination of training and resources. So try to relax next time you bring your vehicle in to Dave’s Auto Repair. You’re in good hands.

Give us a call:

Dave’s Auto Repair
1911 Bodega Avenue
Petaluma, California 94952

At Dave’s Auto Repair we install quality NAPA replacement parts.  To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

One might say the most challenging part of being an automotive service technician in Petaluma is diagnosing a problem before it can be fixed.

Cars in Petaluma 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 Petaluma 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 at Dave’s Auto Repair introduce you to something we’ll call ‘Customer Detective Work‘ – that is helping the 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 Dave’s Auto Repair and your car is making a funny sound…

• Where’s the sound? – ‘Around the right front wheel’.
• What kind of sound? – ‘Kind of a clunk, clunk sound’.
• When do you hear the sound? – ‘When I turn and accelerate.
• Right and left? Forwards and back?’

You see where we’re going. You’re gathering additional information to help your Petaluma technician at Dave’s Auto Repair know where to start. Based on your car and the tech’s experience, we’ll know where to look on you Toyota, Honda, GM, Ford, Chevy, Mazda, Subaru and can start with the obvious suspects.

You can see how that would be more helpful than dropping the car off with a note that says “making a funny noise“.

When you think you need to bring your Toyota, Honda, GM, Ford, Chevy, Mazda, Subaru in, make some notes about the problem it’s having. Rather than just saying “it’s leaking”, tell the tech the color of the fluid, and approximately where under the car you see the puddle.

Things like ‘the car is stalling or sputtering’ are often very hard to diagnose because they’re intermittent. They may not happen every time you drive and may not be happening when you actually bring the car in. So, it is a big help for you to describe what’s happening in as much detail as possible.

Your Petaluma technician at Dave’s Auto Repair will need to be able to duplicate the problem if possible so he needs to know details, like “It stalls after it’s been driven for about 20 minutes and I go over 50 miles an hour”.

If your Petaluma technician at Dave’s Auto Repair can experience the problem personally, he’s better able to make a diagnosis and repair. And, then test to see if the repair solved the problem.

Give us a call if you need to do some customer detective work in Petaluma California 94952!

Dave’s Auto Repair
1911 Bodega Avenue
Petaluma, California 94952

At Dave’s Auto Repair we install quality NAPA replacement parts. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

Some people in Petaluma CA are confused by charges for diagnostic services for a vehicle repair, even though many other services in life include diagnostic fees – things like computer service and appliance repair in Petaluma.

Even when we go into the doctor for a medical problem, we’re paying her to diagnose our ailment and of course for the tests that go along with it. So receiving a diagnostic charge for a tricky automotive problem shouldn’t be a surprise.

Automotive diagnostics can cover quite a range. If you hear a noise in your brakes, a quick visual check is usually enough to know what needs to be done. If you’re having an intermittent problem with your engine, diagnosis may be much more involved.

Some think that when the check engine light comes on, the engine computer tells the technician exactly what the problem is. The reality is much different. The trouble code just tells your Petaluma technician what engine parameter is out of range, not what’s causing it. Your Petaluma technician at Dave’s Auto Repair needs to determine the underlying problem that’s causing the symptom.

As you can imagine, some automotive diagnoses are quick and easy. Others are more involved and difficult. Of course, we at Dave’s Auto Repair want to figure out what’s wrong with your vehicle and get you back on the road as quickly as possible.

Give us a call:

Dave’s Auto Repair
1911 Bodega Avenue
Petaluma, CA 94952
707.763.8365

At Dave’s Auto Repair we install quality NAPA replacement parts. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.