OWNER’S STATEMENT RE’ COVID:

 

* I don’t get to see this in person because our VERY CAPABLE office manager, Jimmy has banned me from the premises while the shop is open due to my age 74 and past cardiac arrest risk factors. However, the security cameras tell me our clients are compliant with mask, sanitation and social distance protocols. THANK YOU! We have kick-ass wi-fi and I wish our waiting room was available again for the occasional circumstance where “while-you-wait” is viable. Someday….

 

* Don’s Automotive has been proactive with rules to minimize risk long before any directives from our politicians. We have sanitizer, we have masks for the asking.

 

* Because I have been banned from public exposure I can not fill in for Jimmy on Friday and hours are 8:00- 6:30 Mon. – Thurs. at this time. Look forward to going back to 5 days/week with the men working four 11 hr. approx. days staggered as we did pre-Covid. Don’t forget to leave a voice message when we are closed as support and appointment setting will be available.

 

* If you believe wearing a mask is an infringement of your freedom, your are objecting to an infringment of your freedom to facilitate the spread of this horrible virus. You are welcome at Don’s Automotive regardless but safety protocols are non-negotiable.

 

* I am afraid we are in for a long haul. All we can do is be patient and consider the health of everybody. I have two family members who have survived Covid, but months later still have significant health issues.

 

* Again, I can not stress too much: THANKS FOR YOUR COOPERATION AND STAY SAFE!

 

* Donald Lewis, ornery owner.

Triumph of prolonged consistent marketing has convinced the public these names signify top tier quality and value and products superior to others that are not as well known.  But do they?  The failure rate of Intel PC processors in miniscule.  The failure rate of PC processors made by AMD is equally miniscule and they cost less.  Is there any objective reason to trust the “Man from Orkin” more than any other exterminator?  A friend of mine was incredulous when I told him it sounded like the battery in his car had failed.  “It can’t be the battery!  It’s a Die-hard!  That’s supposed to be a good battery!”  There are only two automotive battery manufacturers of any significance in the United States.  Globe-Union and Johnson Controls make batteries for Sears, Interstate, and most everybody else.  Some batteries come from overseas.  Don’s Automotive buys batteries from a distributor who does not deal in sufficient volume to have a trade name like “Die-Hard” molded into the case.  You need the volume of somebody like Sears for that.  “Die-Hard” and Interstate “Mega-tron” batteries fail young in Texas heat just like any other.

Mobil 1 is a high quality motor oil that is 100% synthetic and is certified to meet the newest and most rigorous American Petroleum Institute standards and those of ILSAC: The International Lubricant Standardization and Advisory Committee.   So are many other brands of motor oil, many of which you have never heard of.

If you have a headache will it be reduced sooner with Bayer aspirin as opposed to HEB house brand aspirin at 25% the cost?

It pays to be cynical when it comes to massive advertising campaigns.

Don’s Automotive keeps Mobil 1 engine oil for those that request it.  We don’t consider it a great value and use full synthetic oil of other brands in our own cars.  I recently went online and verified that “Pureguard” motor oil is certified to meet the most rigorous API and ILSAC standards.

If the rack & pinion steering gear in your Camry starts to leak we could replace it with a genuine Toyota branded “remanufactured” part.  Or we could use a Maval “remanufactured” steering gear with a two year warranty — Toyota’s warranty is one year — for a lower cost.  Guess who supp[lies Toyota and Lexus with “remanufactured” steering gears?

 

In this year of 2017 I was was using archaic technology for the web site that I wrote. It wasn’t too bad viewed on a PC, but HORRIBLE on a smart phone. So now it has all been ported over to Word Press by a Word Press guru. At the same time i went after bad links, did a little editing, etc. Comments welcome: EMAIL DON. Next is to do something about the Facebook page! Thanks for looking!

Recently a friend of mine who is not at all impoverished was seduced by a Groupon deal for a silly cheap oil change.  He was 50 miles out of town going to a hiking trip when the oil pan drain plug fell out and he had to have the car towed back to Austin.  He was at highway speed so by the time he pulled over the perfectly good engine in his Toyota Matrix was destroyed by running with no oil.  For reasons that I will never understand, he agreed to pay $750 for the junkyard motor the shop installed at no labor charge.  I later informed him that any legitimate shop carries a “garageman’s liability” insurance policy that should have provided him with a replacement engine of equal or better value installed at no cost to him whatsoever and the use of a rental car until repairs were complete.

Several years ago, being an avid cyclist, I foolishly used a Groupon deal for a cycling fitness evaluation.  The means of evaluating VO2 Max, overall fitness etc., were obviously based on very unsound methods and of no scientific credibility at all.  At least no harm was done and when I raised objections the two “Bike gurus” gave me a full refund cheerfully.

My wife and I would like to forget a gruesome meal we had at a new restaurant with the Groupon deal she found.

I am far more comfortable paying a fair, not exorbitant, of course, price for all goods and services I receive.

A viable business will not be so desperate as to offer services way below cost just to get bodies in the door.

In the automotive field there is a far too prevalent practice of pricing oil and filter changes at far less than they can be carefully and ethically performed for.  Of course, this means they will be performed by a person of minimal skill and ethics and accompanied with high pressure attempts to “upsell” totally unneeded services.

“Free towing when we do the work,” “free diagnosis” in this age of electronic controls where proper diagnosis can require considerable skill, equipment and time typically end up being quite costly.

Don’s Automotive and Don personally want no part of this.