There are some things St. Peter motorists should know about St. Peter car service and repair. First and foremost, Autotronics of ST Peter cares about you and your family’s safety. And we really appreciate your business. Autotronics of ST Peter in St. Peter 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 knowledgeable service advisors that work for Autotronics of ST Peter need extensive computer training – not just how to run the diagnostic systems, but also searching for the right parts, networking with other service advisors 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 in MN and there is a huge commitment to on-going training every year. This training takes time and money. It contributes to business overhead. Average St. Peter or Le Sueur drivers may not realize the business and environmental regulations Autotronics of ST Peter must comply with. Of course that costs money too. Like any MN business, overhead is a big factor.

When you go into your favorite Cleveland 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 Autotronics of ST Peter. 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, St. Peter customers are happy to see them succeed as a MN automotive business.

Contact Autotronics of ST Peter to learn more about our extensive auto service training.
You can find us at:
111 Jefferson Avenue
St. Peter, MN 56082
Or call us at 507.934.9290

At Autotronics of ST Peter, we love to see our St. Peter customers whenever they come in, but we would much rather see them three or four times a year for routine maintenance than once a year on a tow truck. We want to work together with you to avoid breakdowns. Tell your Cleveland area friends and family to come in for their important scheduled maintenance too. That lowers our marketing costs and helps keep its labor rates down. That’s good for everyone in St. Peter.

Autotronics of ST Peter appreciates this great review of automotive service from AutoNetTV.

Most Cleveland folks worry about running out of gas or having a breakdown on the side of the road. That is why we practice preventive maintenance on our vehicles — that and to keep our repair bills down. But one important part of preventive maintenance that may get overlooked by St. Peter car owners is a periodic alignment inspection.

Poor alignment causes tires to wear rapidly, unevenly or both. This means they will have to be replaced early, and new tires are more costly than an alignment check in St. Peter. Bad alignment can also cause damage to suspension and steering systems, which can be expensive to repair in Cleveland.

Tire wear on misaligned wheels can also lead to blowouts, which are dangerous, can lead to serious accidents, and can seriously damage your minivan. Also, poor alignment itself can be the cause of an accident, since the minivan may not steer properly.

One or more wheels on your minivan can be knocked out of alignment by running over a curb or a pothole on a bumpy St. Peter street. An accident, even a minor one, that involves a wheel on your car can lead to misalignment. The small bumps and bangs of everyday Saint Peter driving can also gradually put your wheels out of alignment.

If you have had wheel damage to your minivan, or if you suspect that your wheels are out of alignment, you should get your alignment checked NOW. Any Autotronics of ST Peter technician will give you that piece of auto advice. But good car care suggests that you also get your alignment inspected on a regular basis. At Autotronics of ST Peter in St. Peter, we can take care of that for you.

Your owner’s manual or Autotronics of ST Peter service advisor can give you a suggestion on how often your alignment should be checked. If it doesn’t, then once a year is a good rule of thumb. However, if you drive a lot and especially if you drive on rough surfaces a lot, then you may want to consider a diagnostic examination more often. Ask your knowledgeable service specialist for a recommendation.

If your minivan is out of alignment, one or more of the wheels is not tracking correctly and will “pull” against the others. Thus, one sign of poor alignment is that your minivan pulls to one side when you drive around Cleveland. Also, if you are driving a straight path and your steering wheel is off-center, that usually indicates an alignment problem.

St. Peter auto owners should also check the wear on their tires. If they seem to be wearing out too quickly, or if you notice that a tire is wearing on one side more than the other, you should get your alignment checked.

When you get an automotive analysis, your vehicle will be put on a rack and all the parts of the steering and suspension systems will be inspected for wear or damage. The alignment of the tires will be charted and compared to the original factory settings. If no repairs are needed on the steering or suspension systems, the wheels will then be adjusted to bring them back into alignment.

This may seem like a lot of bother for Le Sueur car owners, but it’s a lot less trouble than a blowout or an accident. The old adage is good auto advice for all St. Peter residents: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

So keep on driving, and keep all four tires on the road.

St. Peter car owners’ current vehicles have over a century of engineering behind them. They have evolved into complex and powerful machines. Developments in their engines, however, have coincided with advances in many other vehicle components, including the fluids.

It’s vital for St. Peter motorists to always use the right type of fluid for their minivan. Your service advisor and your owner’s manual are resources for auto advice on exactly what types of fluid your vehicle needs. Improper fluids can damage your vehicle and void your warranty.

Some of the fluids that have changed significantly in recent years are cooling system fluid, brake fluid, transmission fluid and motor oil. Each of these comes in many varieties now, and it’s essential to know exactly which one your minivan needs.

Cooling systems were once made of iron, steel and rubber. One coolant could be used to protect all of these materials. But new cooling systems have components made from a variety of metal alloys and several kinds of plastic, and coolants now contain additives that protect these various materials from corrosion. Since the materials vary among auto manufacturers, they require different additives, which means there are now a number of coolants on the market. The type of coolant your minivan needs depends on the materials used in its cooling system.

Most vehicles used to require Dot 3 brake fluid. But now many vehicles need Dot 4 or Dot 5. Some St. Peter motorists mistakenly think the higher numbers reflect an increase in grade—that Dot 4 is somehow better than Dot 3. But the truth is, the numbers represent variations in formulation. The different formulas have evolved to meet the demands of newer and better brake systems. For a long time, transmission fluid came in two varieties: regular and friction-modified. But transmissions have come a long way recently, and so have the fluids that protect and lubricate them. There are several new types of fluid on the market, but your minivan is designed for just one of them.

Of all the automotive fluids, motor oils have experienced perhaps the greatest advances in engineering and technology. A number of new weights and formulations have recently been developed to meet the needs of modern engines, which have more parts and tighter tolerances than ever before. Engines have become more sophisticated and complicated, but they have also increased in power and fuel efficiency. Despite these changes, St. Peter auto owners still need them to be highly durable.

That’s the job of motor oil. Motor oil still has to perform its original, critical function—lubricating and protecting the engine. It is formulated to help clean the engine as well. Modern motor oil also has to be thin enough to penetrate small engine passages yet still be resistant to vaporization.

Specialized motor oils have also been developed for high-mileage vehicles. If your minivan has 75,000 miles or more on it, you might consider switching to one of these motor oils. They contain extra detergents that help clean older engines and vital additives that condition seals and gaskets that can become brittle with age. High-mileage motor oils come in weights and types just like regular motor oils, and St. Peter motorists should match the proper weight and type of high-mileage oil to their vehicle in the same way you would regular motor oil.

Over time, vehicles have developed in complexity and variety, and their fluids have developed as well. Each vehicle is matched to a set of fluids that meet its specific requirements. MN vehicle owners should take care to learn their minivan’s fluid requirements before topping off at home. A large part of preventive maintenance for St. Peter drivers is making sure your vehicle’s fluids are clean and adequate, but they must be the proper type as well. As our minivans become more sophisticated, car care becomes more sophisticated as well.

Learning about proper fluids for your vehicle will help you maintain its performance and prolong its life. Talk to us at Autotronics of ST Peter in St. Peter.