Houska Automotive

Some Fort Collins motorists are confused by Houska Automotive charges for diagnostic services for a vehicle repair. Many services at Houska Automotive and other Fort Collins automotive repair shops include diagnostic fees.

When you take your laptop into a Denver computer repair shop for a problem you’ll likely have to leave a deposit for diagnostics. When we visit our Wellington doctor for a medical problem, we’re paying him to diagnose our ailment and of course for the tests that go along with it.

So receiving a diagnostic charge at Houska Automotive for a tricky automotive problem shouldn’t be a surprise. In the Denver area, automotive diagnostics can cover quite a range. If you hear a noise in your SUV brakes when you slow down in rush-hour traffic on a busy Colorado expressway, you pull off the next off-ramp and take a quick visual check. That is usually enough to know what needs to be done. If you’re having an intermittent problem with your SUV engine, Houska Automotive diagnosis may be much more involved.

Much of the Denver public’s confusion comes when the problem involves the check engine light. The check engine light comes on when the engine management computer has sensed a problem.

There’s a common misconception among Wellington, Windsor, and Loveland drivers that the trouble code tells the Houska Automotive technician exactly what’s wrong. Why then is there a diagnostic charge, the scanner just gave the diagnosis?

Reality is more involved than that. The computer monitors many sensors throughout the vehicle. When one of these sensors has a reading that’s out of parameters, the computer will record a trouble code and turn on the check engine light.

The SUV computer’s trouble code just tells the Houska Automotive technician what engine parameter is out of range – not what’s causing it. The technician needs to determine the underlying problem that’s causing the symptom.

There are many problems that could cause a troublesome sensor reading for Houska Automotive Fort Collins customers. The Houska Automotive technician makes a list of the most likely causes and begins tracking down the source of the problem.

Denver service centers subscribe to databases that document possible causes for a given trouble code. They outline procedures for confirming a diagnosis and provide the documented fix. These databases are specific to each vehicle and engine combination.

Some diagnoses are quick and easy. Others are more involved and difficult. Of course Houska Automotive wants to figure out what’s wrong with your SUV and get you back on the road as quickly as possible.

There are some things Denver consumers should know about Fort Collins automotive service and repair. First and foremost, Houska Automotive cares about you and your family’s safety. And we really appreciate your business. Houska Automotive in Fort Collins wants to build a trusting relationship that becomes the foundation for a mutually beneficial experience for years to come.

Building on that foundation, there are some things that would help you understand the auto service and repair business better. First, it can be really hard to fix cars. The days of shade tree mechanics are long gone. The majority of automotive systems are computerized. It takes a lot of training and very expensive equipment to diagnose and repair modern vehicles. The technicians that work for Houska Automotive need extensive computer training – not just how to run the diagnostic systems, but also searching for the right parts, networking with other technicians to help them with a difficult problem and pulling together a job order that makes sure that each step of the process is addressed.

The threshold for getting started as a technician gets higher all the time and there is a huge commitment to on-going training every year. This training takes time and money. It contributes to business overhead. The average Wellington or Windsor driver may not realize the business and environmental regulations Houska Automotive must comply with. Of course that costs money too. Like any business, overhead is a big factor.

When you go into a Denver restaurant you don’t value the meal by what the food would cost at the grocery store. The restaurant has rent, wages, insurance, taxes, utilities, professional fees, equipment, supplies – you get the picture. The restaurant has to charge enough to not only pay for the ingredients, but for all these other things as well while making enough profit to remain in business. If you value the meal and are satisfied with your dining experience, you’ll come back and tell your friends.

It’s the same for Houska Automotive. The value of its service is not the cost of the parts they replace, but in your satisfaction with the results. If they deliver a good product at a fair price, Fort Collins customers are happy to see them succeed as a Colorado automotive business.

Contact Houska Automotive to learn more about our extensive auto service training.
You can find us at:
899 Riverside Avenue
Fort Collins, Colorado 80524
Or call us at 970-482-0156

Your Fort Collins service center loves to see its customers whenever they come in, but they would much rather see them three or four times a year for routine maintenance than once a year on a tow truck. They want to work together with you to avoid breakdowns. Tell your Denver area friends and family to go in for their scheduled maintenance too. That lowers the service center’s marketing costs and helps keep its labor rates down. That’s good for everyone.

Houska Automotive appreciates this great review of automotive service from AutoNetTV.

One might say the most challenging part of being an automotive service technician at Houska Automotive in Fort Collins Colorado is diagnosing a problem before it can be fixed.

Cars 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 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 introduce you to something we’ll call Customer Detective Work – that is helping your Fort Collins Colorado 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 Houska Automotive and your car is making a funny sound.

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

Do you see where we’re going? You’re gathering additional information to help your Fort Collins Colorado technician know where to start. Based on your car and the tech’s experience, he’ll know where to look 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 a vehicle in, make some notes about the problem. 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 usually aren’t 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 Fort Collins Colorado technician at Houska Automotive 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 the tech 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.

We’re going to be talking about the ethics of automotive repair. It seems like news outlets really like hit-and-run reporting; they hit everyone from groceries stores to retail to physicians. And the Fort Collins automotive service and repair industry hasn’t been given a pass either.

Unfortunately, every profession in Fort Collins has some bad actors that hurt the reputation of everyone else. On the automotive side, industry associations and professional licensing organizations are very committed to high ethical standards.

Yet some people remain uncomfortable with Fort Collins automotive service and repair. It may start with the fact that our vehicles are a big investment and we rely on them for so much in our lives. That alone guarantees our attention. And how well we understand the recommendations really impacts our comfort level.

If we understand what’s recommended and the benefits of taking care of the work – and the pitfalls of putting it off – we’ll have more trust in the recommendation. So communication is key. It’s like going to the doctor; If she’s using medical jargon and takes a lot of basic medical knowledge for granted, we have a hard time following her train of thought. It can be like that with your Fort Collins service advisor too. He’s so familiar with all things automotive, he may forget you don’t know a PCV from an EGT.

If you don’t understand what your doctor’s talking about: ask some questions. If you don’t understand what your Fort Collins automotive advisor’s talking about: ask some questions.

Let’s go back to those ethical standards; when we hear a repair recommendation, we always ask ourselves, “Is this really necessary?” Well, here’s the industry standard:

If a technician tells you that a repair or replacement is required it must meet the following criteria:

1. The part no longer performs its intended purpose
2. The part does not meet a design specification
3. The part is missing

For example, it you take your car in for a grinding noise when you step on the brakes, you may just think you need new brake pads. After the inspection, the technician at Houska Automotive says that you have a cracked rotor and need to replace it.

If you tried to get him to simply put new pads on, he would say that if you didn’t want to replace the rotor; Houska Automotive would ethically have to refuse the repair.

To just put pads on a cracked rotor would have been very wrong. The brakes could’ve failed at anytime and needed to be repaired – not just have a band-aid slapped on them.

Now, looking at something not so serious, the technician may suggest repair or replacement if:

1. The part is close to the end of its useful life – just above discard specifications or likely to fail soon
2. To address a customer need or request – like for better ride or increased performance
3. To comply with maintenance recommended by the vehicle’s manufacturer
4. Based on the technician’s informed experience

Of course, the technician has the burden of making ethical recommendations and properly educating their customers. For the customer, if you are uncomfortable with a recommendation, ask some questions. More information is always a good thing.

All pilots have checklists for every aspect of flying. They always use their checklists even if they only have two steps on them. They do this simply because a checklist is a great way to not forget important steps. It is also how you can assure a predictable outcome.

That is why Wellington and Windsor automotive service centers have procedural standards for each service they perform. Technicians are trained step by step. And they perform the procedures step by step, the same way each time. By training to procedural standards, centers can assure a quality outcome. The job is done right every time and you are happy with how your car performs.

Each company trains its technicians to standards. The industry as a whole is very committed to standards of excellence and encourages individual service center operators to apply them to every vehicle they service.

An example is how service technicians grade problems and communicate their recommendations. If a technician tells you that a repair or replacement is required it must meet the following criteria:

1. The part no longer performs its intended purpose
2. The part does not meet a design specification
3. The part is missing

The technician may suggest repair or replacement if:

1. The part is close to the end of its useful life – just above discard specifications or likely to fail soon
2. To address a customer need or request – like for better ride or increased performance
3. To comply with maintenance recommended by the vehicle’s manufacturer
4. Based on the technician’s informed experience

Here are some examples:

An exhaust pipe has rusted through and is leaking. Replacement is required because the part has failed. If the pipe were rusted, corroded or weak, but not leaking, the technician may suggest it be replaced because it is near the end of its useful life and replacing it now may be more convenient for the customer.

Suppose a customer wants to improve his car’s handling, but his shocks haven’t failed. The technician may suggest replacement of the shocks to satisfy the customer’s wishes.

Under these guidelines the service center must refuse partial service of a required repair if the repair creates or continues an unsafe condition. Let’s say a customer has a cracked brake rotor. This is a dangerous condition that must be repaired. If the customer does not want to replace the rotor, but instead just wants new brake pads installed, the shop must ethically refuse the partial repair. That can be an upsetting conversation, but understanding that service centers operate under service standards and procedures is comforting. You want your service to be done right and to have confidence in your technician’s recommendations.

The automotive service industry and Houska Automotive want the best for you and for you to keep coming back. AutoNetTV is committed to providing automotive maintenance information to help you be confident in your service decisions.

New car dealership closings are all over the Fort Collins news. Nearly 800 Chrysler dealerships canceled. About 1,100 GM dealers’ contracts were not be renewed after October 2010. And record numbers are just shutting down because they aren’t selling enough cars and trucks to stay in business.

It’s estimated that some 40,000 dealership service bays could be taken out of service in the next year or so.

Of course, this is a tragedy for those who work at our local Fort Collins dealerships and the owners that risk losing much of their life’s work. Our Fort Collins communities will lose some of our best corporate citizens. Think of all the youth sports team, service clubs and Fort Collins community events that have been sponsored by our local new car dealers.

One question we hear a lot at Houska Automotive is, ‘Who will service my car?’ Fort Collins folks are concerned that they will not get the care and attention they need. They’re wondering where they will find trained technicians in the Fort Collins area. Will they be able to get quality replacement parts for their vehicles?

Fortunately, the Fort Collins automotive aftermarket is ready to fill the need. As one of over 200,000 independent service and repair facilities in North America, Houska Automotive is here to help. Houska Automotive has been the backbone of the automotive service and repair industry for Fort Collins and will continue to provide this vital role.

Houska Automotive has the latest diagnostic and repair equipment, access to parts and repair databases, and a commitment to the highest standards of technician training. The reality is that our independent service center in Fort Collins is ready to service all your vehicle’s needs – and we always have been. We don’t have to ‘step up’ to the task – we’re ready now.

Many consumers in Fort Collins have known this about the local Fort Collins independent service and repair industry and have used it for all their non-warranty work. And they have enjoyed greater convenience and have saved quite a bit of money along the way: The average independent service and repair center in Fort Collins costs 34 percent less than the dealership.

And of course, Houska Automotive has access to the very same replacement parts as your Fort Collins dealership as well as a selection of superior parts for greater reliability and enhanced performance. And we can source parts that may help with a tight budget as well.

So in the midst of uncertainty surrounding dealership closings, know you can turn to your local Fort Collins independent service center to take care of your family’s safety and to keep your vehicles performing well. You’ll save some money too. And that’s good news in these times.

Houska Automotive
899 Riverside Avenue
Fort Collins, Colorado 80524
970-482-0156