Gig Harbor Auto Repair

When your car breaks down in the Puget Sound area, or just needs some routine service, it can make you a little nervous. Because your car's so important to your life, you need to be back on the road as soon as possible. And, with the problem fixed right the first time. We've been checking into some of the training our technicians receive, and we're very impressed. It's amazing how much knowledge and skill goes into diagnosing and repairing a modern car. So it's not like when your uncle worked on his hot rod over weekend. Today there are four cylinder engines that make more power than the V-8's in luxury cars 20 years ago. A new V-6 Toyota Camry could beat Sonny Crocket's Ferrari in a race to 60 mph. Our engines are more and more powerful and at the same time their fuel economy keeps inching up. And they're so reliable. This is all due to engineering. But the advances come at the price of simplicity. Modern cars are so much more comp ... read more

So, everyone in the Gig Harbor area knows how great helium is - you know, party balloons, squeaky voices. But a lot of people around still haven't heard about the benefits of nitrogen in your tires, and how it can help your tires. Here's some great advice from AutoNetTV, brought to you by Mackert Automotive. Nitrogen has actually been around for a long time in the commercial sector, but it's just starting to catch on for private vehicles in the zip code area. Why nitrogen in your tires? Air is air, right? Actually, it turns out there is a difference. The heart of the matter is maintaining proper tire inflation. When your tires are properly inflated, they last longer, handle better and more safely, and save you money at the gas pump. The problem is that tires filled in with regular air can lose a pound and a half of air pressure every month. This just happens as the oxygen in the tire seeps out. So if you don't check your pressure for a month o ... read more

You may have found yourself in the following situation: You go to get your oil changed and the service adviser at recommends you get a new engine air filter. You say yes, but because you didn't know what an air filter is or what it does, but you were too embarrassed to ask. First of all, you did the right thing by getting a new one. And, you should never be too embarrassed to ask for more information from any of our staff. It's your money and you have a right to understand what you're paying for. Air is the focus of this discussion. What is the air like outside in right now? Can you see any smog? Is it full of pollen? How about dust? Anyone in with hay fever can tell you that there's plenty in the air that you can't see. Well, it's the engine air filter's job to clean that air before it goes into your engine, to mix with the fuel and be burned. Without an engine air filter, the inside of your engine would be extremely dirty from all the gunk that was burned in t ... read more

Today in the auto care blog, we're going to talk about oil change intervals. It seems that as engine technology advances, recommended oil change intervals have gotten longer for customers. High quality oil in a well-engineered engine has lead to extended intervals. But it's also lead to some confusion among drivers. The old mantra "change your oil every three months or three thousand miles, whichever comes first" once applied to every vehicle in your garage. Time and miles take their toll on motor oil. But now, you could have a different oil change recommendation for every car or truck you own. people are like everybody else, they have a tendency to put off all the oil changes to the schedule of the vehicle with the longest interval. Of course, that can lead to problems. For example, recently four of the world's largest auto manufacturers shortened the published intervals for several of their engines. They originally published i ... read more