When your engine or transmission goes bad, you don’t have a choice but to get it fixed as soon as possible. It can be stressful dealing with problems of this severity since the repairs are typically costly. You have a couple of different options to consider. One will be cheaper upfront but likely cost more in the long run. The other will cost a little more now, but you most likely will not have any issues for a long time. Here’s what you need to know about rebuilding vs. remanufacturing vehicle engines and transmissions.

DeBoer’s Auto regularly works with insurance companies to help our customers end up in the best situation possible. When you bring your vehicle to us for an auto repair, we can determine whether an insurance claim is possible. There are a few different types of insurance to know about liability, comprehensive, and collision. 

Liability is the one you must have and kicks in when you damage other people’s property. Comprehensive insurance covers you in the case of theft, fire, and other types of damages. Collision insurance covers and indemnifies you when you have a collision with other items or vehicles. We will focus on comprehensive and collision to help you better understand what auto repairs might be covered under those policies. 

When you get the dreaded P0420 code, it means your catalytic converter is below a certain threshold where it can’t produce emissions properly going out of the tailpipe. The result is the check engine light illuminating and you won’t pass your state inspection until you get it fixed. The good news is you have a couple of different options for replacing your catalytic converter so you can pass inspection.

DeBoer’s Auto is excited to announce the addition of an electric vehicle to our loaner fleet! With the popularity of electric vehicles soaring recently, we have serviced many of them over the years. The one thing we have been missing is the ability to loan an electric vehicle to people, but that will change now. Here’s what you need to know about our EV loaner and how you can use it the next time you visit us.

Spark plug maintenance is often overlooked by vehicle owners. Many years ago, we used to do vehicle tune-ups, which involved points and condensers, caps and rotors, and ignition wires, which all connected to the spark plugs inside the engine. Nowadays with coil-on-plug ignition, a lot of the spark plug maintenance is no longer required. However, spark plugs are still present and need to be replaced to prevent potential vehicle damage. Here’s what you need to know about spark plugs. 

Not every vehicle has a timing belt. Some have chains and others have belts, so it’s important to know exactly what you have in your vehicle so you can maintain it properly. The problem with belts is they are made of rubber, which can break down over time and need to be maintained or replaced at factory-recommended intervals. The last thing you want to happen is to run into problems with your vehicle, so here is what you need to know about maintaining your timing belt. 

There’s a common misconception that when you take your car to an auto shop, they can simply run a diagnostics test and know how to fix your vehicle. So when customers receive their bill and see a charge for the diagnostics, they are surprised and often question it. The truth is there is a lot more to a diagnostics test than simply plugging in a device and knowing exactly how to fix a vehicle. We’ve dug into this a little deeper and provided comparative examples to make it easier to understand.

Most people have seen the check engine light in their vehicle come on. Some people react by immediately halting their driving and taking it to an auto shop urgently. Others will drive with the light on for hundreds of miles before getting it checked. There are thousands of reasons why the check engine light could come on, but we’ve discussed the top five reasons we see at our shop.

The brake lines in your vehicle are what connect your hydraulic brake fluid system to the brake calipers that are on the wheels which perform the stopping when you press the brake pedal. They are a very intricate and important piece of the braking system and need to be looked at and addressed if there are any problems. When you bring your vehicle into DeBoer’s Auto, we will always inspect your brake lines so you will have peace of mind knowing yours are in good shape or need attention.

DeBoer’s Auto takes a lot of pride in helping customers with their vehicles in more ways than they think they need. We can do this by identifying potential future problems in your vehicle and addressing them before they become more costly. The information and resources available to us are what makes it possible, but this information is in jeopardy. An important Act is in front of Congress right now called the Repair Act, and we could use our customers’ help in supporting us.