Shop Owner Staff

Mike Pederson, owner of Mike’s Automotive Services in Somerville, MA, has always tried to take advantage of all the latest marketing offerings that are available for small businesses. The shop has a website, a blog, a Twitter feed and a Facebook page. In October, the shop ran a coupon on Groupon for $10 oil changes. They sold 1,705 oil changes.

The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) has announced it will switch from written to all-computer-based testing starting in July.

Hickory Flat Highway Automotive in Canton, GA, is giving away a 1995 Honda Civic to a person or family that is in need of a reliable means of transportation. Employees of the shop repaired the Civic using parts that were supplied by their local parts store.

CCAR has named eight auto repair facilities in Florida, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina and Washington State as receiving its “GreenLink Shop” recognition in February.

A new Alignment catalog for Raybestos brand Brakes – a member of the Affinia family of brands – is being released this month. The new catalog includes alignment parts coverage for domestic, import, passenger car, light-duty trucks, SUVs and hybrids, with model coverage as late as 2011.

April is National Car Care Month and there is no better time to improve your customer relationships while at the same time growing your business. Each year, $50 billion in vehicle maintenance and repairs go unperformed. That’s a lot of service, repair and parts sales sitting on the sidelines because so many consumers don’t know what needs to be done to their vehicle and why it’s important.

Legislation has been proposed in the Georgia House of Representatives that would create a sales tax on many services of small businesses. If passed, the bill, House Bill 385, would create a new sales tax on the labor costs on services performed by automotive repair facilities.

Federal-Mogul’s comprehensive “Smart Choice” promotional campaign now includes a special offer that can save consumers up to $20 on a set of Champion automotive replacement spark plugs.

Bosch’s new ACS 620 and ACS 625 Digital A/C Refrigerant Handling Systems are fully automated, accurate and user friendly, and are fully compliant with the J2788 standard. Featuring a swivel control turret housing with an LCD display and easy-to read gauges, the new R134a refrigerant recovery/recycle/recharge systems are equipped with a large 6 CFM vacuum pump, an easy-access refrigerant filter for quick maintenance and patented manifold assembly that increases machine uptime – and therefore shop revenue.

Federated Auto Parts and Standard brand are proud to announce Dale Reed of Reed Tire Center, Stanley, VA, is the grand prize winner of the second annual “Dream Car Sweepstakes” promotion for authorized Federated counterpersons and professional technicians.

The new Honda Odyssey (No. P76415M) and Acura TL (No. P76421M) in-tank modules deliver factory-specified fuel pressure and flow and match the dimensions, electrical connections and inlet/outlet locations of the original equipment units, according to the company. In addition, each Carter fuel pump and module is 100-percent tested for proper performance before shipping.

The owner of Mobile Tech of Ohio in Heath, OH, was recently charged with one count of theft for reportedly taking more than $1,000 from a customer for transmission and power steering pump repairs that were never completed.