Category: Certified Auto

Finding An Auto Repair Shop You Can Trust

Most People Assume Auto Shops Are Certified

AAA did a survey and found that two out of three U.S.A. drivers do not trust automotive repair shops! Why?

The top reasons that U.S. drivers do not trust repair shops are:

  • Recommending unnecessary services (76 percent)
  • Overcharging for services (73 percent)
  • Negative past experiences (63 percent)
  • Concerns that the work will not be done correctly (49 percent)

The survey also noted that older drivers trust auto repair shops’ more. Why?

  • Baby Boomers are twice as likely than younger generations to fully trust auto repair facilities in general, with one-in-five reporting they “totally trust” the industry.
  • Baby Boomers (76 percent) are also more likely to have a chosen auto repair shop that they trust compared to Millennials (55 percent) and Gen-Xers (56 percent).

What does this survey tell us?

  • It takes time to find a great repair shop…many times through trial and error.
  • Due to this, older, more established adults have found a shop they trust and they stick with them.
  • Driver’s happy with their repair shop aren’t “repair shop hopping” based on coupons, but stick with the shop they know will do a good job at a fair price each and every time.
  • The 75 million drivers who haven’t found a trusted repair facility need to ask for recommendations from those who have.

What does AAA recommend?

  • Find a shop you trust before you are in breakdown mode.
  • Start off your search by having a shop do small items first such as oil changes, tire rotations, and filter replacements.

There are a lot of great shops out there. Today it has never been easier to find one you trust! Read reviews and ask friends, family and neighbors. It pays great dividends in the long run.

Certified Auto Specialists: the friendlier and more helpful auto shop! Feel free to call 626-963-0814 with any questions, and we will be glad to help, or visit our website at CertifiedAutoCa.com.

Hometown Service You Can Count On!

Repairophobia

What is repairophobia, you ask? It is the fear of auto repair. I read this term just the other day and said to myself, “Yes, it is about time it had a name!” What are the reasons consumers have this dreaded condition?

Car Tool Logo
  • Many consumer news reporters love to feature a certain shop or auto repair chain routinely ripping drivers off. They go undercover and take a well-maintained vehicle into the shop and then share with the public the long list of repair items the shop claims are needed. This hurts all auto repair shops, not just the culprit who apparently can’t earn enough money being honest. The majority of auto repair shops are honest, hard-working individuals. The con artists are few and far between.

  • Consumers are worried that they won’t have enough money if they take their vehicle in for routine maintenance and the service advisor informs them they need a repair as well. They hadn’t budgeted for more than the routine service. Always ask for a price before you tell any shop to proceed with a repair. If you can’t afford to have it done right then, tell them you will have to come back at another time.

  • Consumers may be pressed for time and don’t want to be without their vehicle for very long. Even if the shop offer rides to and from home or work, they like the convenience of having their ride ready to go when they are.

  • Consumers aren’t experts in auto repair! They may be highly intelligent individuals, but this isn’t their area of expertise. Ask the service advisor to explain what is needed in layman terms. If they start spouting off phrases you don’t understand, tell them. It is up to them to make you feel comfortable. If you are at the shop when they are explaining, tell them to show you. If you are on the telephone, get an explanation you feel good about.

Our job is to take the phobia out of auto repair. You can count on us!

Certified Auto Specialists: the friendlier and more helpful auto shop! Feel free to call 626-963-0814 with any questions, and we will be glad to help, or visit our website at CertifiedAutoCa.com.

Hometown Service You Can Count On!

Remember When…

A handshake was your word?
You did what you said you would?
Honor meant everything.
You never questioned trust?
We respected our elderly and military?
Ethics had meaning.
Fun for young people was being outside all day and returning when the streetlights came on?

Hometown Service You Can Count On!

Our goal is to provide safe and reliable transportation for our customers, build a bond of trust, convenience, respect, and value.

Certified Automotive Specialists will never break the trust placed in us by our customers. For 42 years, Certified Automotive Specialists has kept its morals and ethics and will always provide value, convenience, as well as a safe and reliable car for you to drive. And yes, we still operate Certified Auto Specialist like the “good ‘ole days!”

Certified Auto Specialists: the friendlier and more helpful auto shop! Feel free to call 626-963-0814 with any questions and we will be glad to help, or visit our website at CertifiedAutoCa.com.

Exhausted by Your Search for A Quality Auto Repair Center?

Car Talk

Many people assume that their local auto auto repair shop is staffed by certified technicians. In the state of California, workers that handle food need a Food Handler’s Certification. The hair stylist that cuts your hair and the beautician that cuts your nails are all state certified. However, there is NO certification required to open an auto repair shop.

This fact shocks most drivers, yet there is no mandatory certification required to own or operate an auto repair shop in California. All auto repair shops must be registered with the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR). A prospective owner can receive an automotive repair dealer’s license (ARD) by sending a completed application with business name, tax ID, and check for $200.00 to the BAR office. The person applying does not need any automotive experience at all! Furthermore, there is no proof of insurance or a set of standard equipment required.

All additional certifications, ongoing training, professional organizations, warranties on completed work, and specialized equipment is completely voluntary. Certified Automotive Specialists wants to offer you the best automotive repair, which is why we purposefully make all of the above part of our car repair shop. Although the state of California does not require any further requirements than a license for auto repair, our facility is a member of professional groups including ASCCA and iATN. We are an AAA Approved Auto Repair Facility – only 5% of auto repair shops in Southern California make the cut to be approved by AAA. We keep up-to-date on the latest equipment and procedures so our technicians can properly repair any vehicle. Our facility also voluntary participates in further licenses from BAR; we are a STAR Certified Smog Station, a Brake and Lamp Certified Station that can sign off on fix-it tickets, and a recognized Green Station.

Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) has become the industry standard and offers a series of 9 tests that a technician can take to become certified in different areas of car repair. Again, these tests are voluntary, not required. The tests are also written tests, and do not necessarily prove that someone has competence when working on a physical car. Certified Automotive Specialists requires all our technicians to be ASE certified, as many other shops do as well. We make sure our technicians are correctly trained and able to complete high-quality repairs. This is one area of the auto repair industry that we would like examined. Other professionals are required to have certification, ongoing training, and proper tools. Mechanics should have those requirements as well.

We do everything we can to offer our customers first-rate automotive repairs. Our hard work has earned us a A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. We understand the desire to save money, and some shops that aren’t certified may be cheaper. However, a low price now may cost more in repairs later. By trusting a knowledgeable certified technician to perform your repairs or service, you can save time and money in the long run. You can always ask a repair shop about their certifications and professional acknowledgments. If a shop’s estimated price lower than everyone else’s, there’s likely a reason. Get experienced, professional repairs by a certified auto technician at Certified Automotive Specialists. We offer a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty on all repairs because we stand by our technicians and our work. If you have any questions, call us at (626) 541-2149.

Offering Customers a Personal Touch

At Certified Automotive Specialists, we always aim to be more than some generic auto repair shop. We don’t want to be faceless entities going through the motions of getting the job done, and we don’t want our customers to ever feel like they’re just a number. That’s why one of our guiding principles is providing exemplary customer service. That service comes with a variety of personal touches so that our customers really feel like they’re part of the CAS family.

We’ve lived in Glendora as long as our shop has existed (we opened our doors in 1978) and we value being part of this community. If there’s anything we feel strongly about, it’s that local businesses operate as pillars of the community – a trusted place that locals can depend on. Our customers aren’t just people we work with. They’re our friends and family! Offering high-quality work is important to us, of course, but we find that it’s even more important to let our personality shine through so people feel at home when they’re here.

One of the way we like adding that personal touch is adding a little flair to the windows every season. In this YouTube video, you can see a time-lapse video of us creating a Thanksgiving window painting. We get to show off our sweet painting skills and personality! It’s so much fun to do projects like this that give us an opportunity to have a good time and do one more thing we enjoy. It makes the work day an absolute joy.

Our team is full of professional service technicians who know cars inside and out, but we’re also people with our own unique personalities and quirks. Being part of an independent business that’s been such a staple in Glendora over the years gives us the freedom to show off who we are! That personal touch is one of the things that keeps our customers coming back over and over again.

Do you like seeing some personality in the businesses you work with? Personally, we feel like it makes the place feel more welcoming. What do you think?