Category — Check Engine Light

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.