Here’s the one thing we just can’t help with

Sometimes a client will come in for an oil change (or more precisely, our Minor Interval Service) and leave happy until a few days later when their “maintenance” light comes on.  Understandably, even our most loyal and trusting clients will call us asking “Hey, my vehicle was just in for service.  What did you miss?  What did you do?”  Rarely, we either made a mistake or a new problem has developed that needs to be looked at, but more often the light is on for the oil change they just had.

Modern vehicles are supposed to keep you on track for the critical maintenance of your vehicle so they’re programmed by the factory to alert you at recommended intervals to get oil changes.  If you wait for the light to come on and THEN call us for an oil change then we can turn the light off when we’re done.  BUT, our goal is keeping your vehicle healthy for the long term, not keeping it healthy until the warranty is up, so our recommendations often don’t match up with the manufacturers’.  If you’re a little “off” on your factory service schedule and come in before your vehicle thinks it’s due, then there’s no light for us to turn off and no way for us to tell the brainless computer that we changed the oil.  You leave, but the computer is still counting down to when it thinks your oil is “due” and *BING* the light comes on when the counter hits zero.  It’s a quick and easy fix; all we have to do is hook up a scanner and turn it off.  But it does mean another inconvenient (but free!) trip to the shop.

Modern technology is great but it does have glitches to be aware of.  This coordination between reality and what your vehicle thinks is reality is one of them.  It’s common and annoying but it’s an inconvenience rather than a serious problem.  We can’t do anything to make it better, but we can make you aware of the possibility in advance. 

Comment of the Month

This month’s Comment comes from client Kay P. on her Post-Service Comment Card…

“Many years ago I was trying to decide about repairs on a car we were bringing in my wife’s car for service.  I asked about if getting my car repaired was worth it.  I was told no-  I’ve always appreciated the honesty.”

Thank you Kay, that’s one of our biggest values to our clients.  Many shops will do any repairs their customers want, and that’s not necessarily unethical.  After all, if you just want brake pads put on a jalopy then someone will do it and it might as well be the shop that benefits.  But, like we said above, we’re here for the longterm benefit of our clients and their vehicles so a “one and done” sale is not for us.  We’ll tell you “no” when “yes” is not in YOUR interests, and that’s a feature our clients rely on year after year.

You don’t have enough coffee mugs.  Come get your FREE Tom Dwyer mug!

In Oregon, one thing you can count on is that you’ll have an ever-increasing collection of coffee mugs.  No matter how complete your collection is, though, there’s one you don’t have yet… a TOM DWYER mug!  Don’t limp through life without a Dwyer mug… come pick yours up FREE at the shop while supplies last!

We have a couple ongoing offers you might find valuable…

Carbon Neutral Program–

Our company’s commitment to the environment led us to partner with Bonneville Environmental Foundation to create our Carbon Neutral Program in 2007. Client members offset the carbon production of their vehicles for one year AND save 10% on Labor Charges here at the shop! It’s a win for you AND our environment and it’s been very successful… since we instituted the program our members have prevented over 1.9 MILLION POUNDS of carbon from being dumped into our air!

Referral Reward Program

Year after year, referrals from our existing clients are our greatest source of new clients, so we’ve tried hard to think of some way to appropriately reward people for their referrals.  Our solution is  our Referral Reward Program, where we make donations to the non-profit group of your choice to say ‘thanks’ for your generous referrals.  Here’s how it works…

And just a couple other things to know…

Your reviews and referrals matter

We’re constantly grateful for the supportive and loyal clients we’ve developed over the years.  Your comments and appreciation keep us on the right road to providing the superior automotive service you deserve.  Your reviews and referrals are not only the highest compliments we can receive, but they’re the lifeblood of our new business.  If you like what you’ve found at Tom Dwyer Automotive Services, please tell a friend or write a review on Yelp, Google, or the review site of your choice. Thank you!

Latest Automotive Recalls

Automobiles are 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.