Posts from — May 2009

It’s been about a month since the tornado on Good Friday shattered parts of Murfreesboro. It’s a day we will never forget, I’m sure. At the shop, Michael and Jeff hustled the customers and employees down to the oil change pit for safety. I remember a day I worked in the shop where there were tornadoes all around and Michael told me the shop is one of the safest places to be in a tornado- not only is the building reinforced with steel beams, but there’s the underground oil change pit to hide in.

Of course, Michael, ever the photographer, captured these pictures before heading down to safety. I’ve had several people comment on those who took the photos and footage of the tornadoes- they want to know why they weren’t hiding somewhere. I can personally answer that.

My husband, two of my children, and I were heading to the shop that day to replace a tire on my husband’s car. First, we had to make a stop in the Blackman community where my mother lives before heading to the shop. We were listening to the radio while heading up Fortress Blvd., about to turn onto Highway 96. News 2’s Lisa Patton was on the radio saying if you were in the area of Highway 96 in Murfreesboro, to take cover immediately.

Yikes!!

It didn’t seem that windy, and there was very little rain, so we quickly drove the 2 or so miles to my mom’s house to take cover. Eerily, there was nobody there. When we finally got ahold of my mom and dad, I found that they were at the doctor’s office near Clark and Broad Street. We watched the news on television for a few minutes, and then the power went out. When the power went out, I sent my kids to hide in the bathroom while we watched clouds swirl all around the house.

My husband said, “Ivy, come here.” I went to him and looked out the back window- the tornado had started practically in my parents’ backyard. My dad called the cell phone wondering why we didn’t pick up the home phone. “Dad,” I said, “I’m watching a tornado out your back window.” You know how a deer will stop in its tracks when confronted with headlights? I was the same exact way. I couldn’t look away.

My parents’ house escaped with no damage whatsoever to their house and only a few broken branches from trees. Mom and Dad were safe. my friends at Master Tech were all safe, and the building sustained no damage, even though as the pictures show, the tornado was close by.

After all was clear, I drove nearly two hours (what’s normally a twenty minute drive) through tornado ravaged areas, wondering if my house was still standing. It was. We were all lucky that day.

Of course, we have friends and church family who were not so lucky. We all have pitched in to help the tornado victims in our own ways. We are all committed to helping Murfreesboro rebuild and come back even better than before.

But none of us will forget that terrible day.

Manager Jeff and owner Michael are possibly evil twins. Guess which one is the evil one?

I talked to manager Jeff Ford recently about those free engine scans that many parts houses offer. I had been wondering whether or not it would be a good idea to have your car scanned by them first if your check engine light is on, before coming to an auto repair shop. Jeff had this to say:

“It’s not the same as a pinpoint diagnostic, it’s just a generic scan to give you an idea of what might be happening. Before you buy a lot of parts to take into a shop, I recommend having a shop that you trust [Like good ol' Master Tech Automotive in Murfreesboro, Tennesee, I must interject] perform a pinpoint diagnostic first. I had a customer come in just yesterday to have 430.00 of parts installed that a parts house had told him he needed. We performed a $39.90 diagnostic to make sure that was the problem, and found the problem was actually a burnt 30 cent vacuum line. So we repaired cleared the computer and let customer return his parts, saving him hundreds of dollars and a whole lot of time.”

It appears that having someone who both knows how to read the scanner and also knows what to look for can save you a lot of time and money. The guys at the parts houses know a lot about cars, but our technicians are ASE certified and have had extensive training on what to look for when doing an engine diagnostic.

I keep thinking of a bit of a show I saw recently, No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. In it, JLB Matekoni, owner of a car repair shop talks about why he prefers to work on older cars. He says that newer cars with computers only want to talk to other computers, while older cars are the sort of vehicle he can make friends with. He says, “We only look after cars we can make friends with.”

It’s a nice sentiment, really. Luckily, the technicians at Master Tech can make friends with cars both old and new. They take their own computer and have it talk to the car’s computer. They speak this computer language and can determine what’s going on with the car. If your check engine light is on, bring your vehicle on over so one of our technicians can make friends with your car.

None of us at the shop can decide if this video is hilarious or horrifying. Really, it’s a little of both. We take utmost care of our customers’ cars. Our oil change technicians have driven thousands and thousands of cars into the oil change bay, so you know your car is safe. Enjoy the video!