Shop Talk- Calendar nominations, road trip tips, and an indestructible kitten

MonthlyNL- ShopTalk

Call for Nominations- 2014 Tom Dwyer Charitable Giving Calendar!

Christmas-Calendar-buttonWe always feel a little silly this time of year because, even though you’re finally enjoying the sun for the first time in 8 months, we’re about to ask you about New Years.  For the last three years we’ve created a shop calendar featuring community-minded non-profit groups nominated by our clients.  To have the calendar here by November 1 we have to start in August, which means now is when we have to ask for your nominations.  Is there a group you work with, care about, or benefit from that you’d like to see included in our calendar?  Nothing against the big national charities, but we’re looking for small, unnoticed, local groups that could benefit from letting Portland know about their existence.  If you can think of any, please email our Calendar Coordinator Charles at Charles@tomdwyer.com.  Do it now while you’re thinking about it, but if you forget we’ll ask again in the next newsletter.

2012 Jun- Feature- ComeInNowOur biggest tips for a worry-free summer road trip

You know you’re planning a road trip this summer, so here’s our biggest tip to make it a success… BRING YOUR VEHICLE IN NOW, NOT THE FRIDAY BEFORE YOU LEAVE!  We’ve had several clients schedule appointments recently on a Thursday or Friday when they were planning on driving on the weekend or Monday.  No problems so far, but there are several reasons this is a bad idea…

  • Last minute appointments can be hard for us to accommodateSummer is our busiest time, and we sometimes book a couple weeks in advance.  Don’t let that put you on the road unprepared.
  • Quick turnarounds don’t leave any room for the unexpected–  If any unanticipated problems pop up under the hood there’s no time to deal with them without moving your start date.
  • You’ll need a couple days to make sure the repair worked–  No matter how good we are, mistakes can happen.  Bad parts, a missing screw, whatever… plan some time to test drive any repair
  • Advance planning is important, but don’t “risk it” if you see a problem coming–  If it’s a choice between calling with not enough time or not calling at all, call us.  We may or may not be able to help you, but we’ll do our absolute best to get you in or at least tell you what to watch out for.
  • Rely on us if you DO run in to problems on the road–  If something does go wrong, call us.  We have all your vehicle repair and technical information here if needed.  Plus, if you’re not sure the local mechanic is giving you good advice, we’d be glad to offer our opinion.
  • Give us a call if you have ANY questions–  We want to be an advantage to you in every phase of your driving life.  Please call if you have ANY questions you think we can help with, and our salaried Service Advisors will be glad to talk you through your problem.

FREE Carwash SeasonPopcornFreeCarWash

Don’t forget that Free Carwash Season is going on now.  To make up for the summer dust in our lot we offer free coupons to WashMan car wash.  We don’t do it for just oil changes, but for larger purchases you can count on a clean ride on us.

Miracle KittenShopTalkKitten

Last month’s “Rodent of the Month” made for our most popular Shop Talk ever.  OK, now we know what you like, so check out this story about what happens to an adorable fluffy kitten that takes a 1000-mile trip… INSIDE a car’s engine.  (Spoiler Alert: the story has a happy ending.)

And our newest recurring feature… AUTO RECALLS!

Automobiles aRecallListButtonre just like any other product; occasional flaws in manufacture or design can cause problems once they leave the factory.  When an issue is identified the manufacturers and government work hard to bring the vehicles back in for refit or repair, but not all recalls make the front pages.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration  maintains a constantly-updated list of recalls from every manufacturer.  The last month’s recalls are below, but clicking the button at left will take you to the full list at the NHTSA website.

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