SERVICING DOMESTIC AND IMPORT VEHICLES
1996 AND NEWER
One of Portland’s oldest and most trusted auto repair shop goes completely digital. Bradshaw’s Service Center has taken there perfected auto repair business model and made it completely digital. Choosing an auto repair shop that is right for you should be a simple task. Yet customers compare taking there car in for repairs as being more painful than going to the dentist. That is not the case when bringing your car to Bradshaw’s Service Center. We have been working on cars for over 75 years and are constantly updating our auto repair system to help our customers have a raving experience. One thing we have learned is that a lot of car owners really don’t know how to take care of there car and what that really means. After personally having a tooth pulling experience bringing in my new Jeep to the dealer I realized what a great system we have at Bradshaw’s and want to share with everyone. Bringing your car to a new shop can be very intimidating and we know that. We are set-up to communicate with you via email, text, phone, or in person. You choose your communication preference so that you control how you want to be contacted. We also can provide you with an estimate of needed repairs and or maintenance items emailed to you before you even bring your car in so you know exactly what is being done to it and the estimated cost. One of the biggest mistakes I see customers make is taking there car to a shop with out a plan. “Fail to plan, plan to fail.” I see customers having fluids flushed, belts changed, and filters replaced that are not due yet. When bringing your car to Bradshaw’s we have a mobile app that our customers can log into and see there vehicle history of what has been done, what maintenance services are due at what mileage intervals, and book appointments through the app as services are due. We also have automatic oil change reminders, and maintenance reminders based off your driving mileage and habits. Yes we have gone to a completely digital shop system. All of our techs have tablets that have there work schedules for the day, multiple vehicle inspections, diagnostic tools, maintenance intervals, recalls, and TSB’s for your vehicle at there fingertips. By doing this we are able to maintain a higher level of consistency through-out are shop. So when a tech finishes his inspection or diagnostic it is sent to the service advisor and then can be forwarded directly to the customer for there review with pictures and needed repairs. The inspection report can be emailed to you, or sent via your smart phone. This allows you the customer to review on your own time and make an educated decision on what repairs and maintenance items to have performed. Want a better experience? Want a better maintained car? Want to control how your car is maintained? Then try out Bradshaw’s Service Center to feel the difference. “OLD SCHOOL SERVICE, NEW SCHOOL TECHNOLOGY…” Happy Earth Day, The Bradshaw’s Team
Fresh Oil Is the Key To Your Car’s Future Health. Yes it sounds too simple to be true, but an oil change is the single most important maintenance procedure you can do for your car. It is not uncommon today for owners who follow good auto maintenance to get 150,000 to 250,000 miles on their cars! Plus every time we change your oil we do a safety inspection on your vehicle. Car Manufacturers have increased their suggested oil change intervals to as high as 30,000 miles. Do they have some secret in their engines that all other companies don´t have? The answer is NO. It sure sounds good when they’re trying to sell you a new car. Oil Companies offer lifetime guarantees on your engine, but only if you change your oil every 3,000 miles for regular oil, and 5,000 miles for synthetic. So who do you think is right? Automotive engineers, oil companies and top auto service technicians (who aren´t trying to sell you a car) all agree. The 3,000/5,000 rule is still the best and safest policy for your car, no matter what make or model you have. Automotive professionals follow these simple rules and you should too. Routine Maintenance Schedule: – Change regular oil every 3,000 miles. – Change synthetic oil every 5,000 miles. – Replace antifreeze every 2 years. – Replace your brake fluid every 2 years. – Replace transmission fluid every 36,000 miles. – Perform scheduled maintenance at 15, 30, 60 and 90,000 mile intervals. – Full vehicle safety inspections every year to catch potential problems before they happen. At Bradshaw’s we can send you email and or text reminders for oil changes. Call or book your next oil change online to see why everyone is raving about . our business. It´s Your Car, Your Choice: Perform scheduled maintenance on time or do no maintenance and pay a lot for towing & repairs later. It´s your choice.
Welcome! Welcome to Bradshaw’s Auto repair Blog we have started this blog to educate our customers on the best way to keep your vehicles properly maintained. We will share real life car stories that we see at our shop to educate you on “Why” it happened and how you can take preventive action to make sure this doesn’t happen to you. Enjoy your time on our blog and feel free to contact us at anytime. Cheers
Not every vehicle is equipped with a timing belt, some vehicles have a timing chain. A timing belt engine has a timing belt that is made out of a rubber material similar to your serpentine drive belts. Timing chain engines use a metal chain rather than a rubber belt similar to a chain on a bicycle. Timing chain engines do not have a recommended replacement interval and generally will last the life of the engine or will start making a lot of noise before breaking. Timing belt engines do have a recommended replacement interval set by the manufacture generally between 90,000-105,000 mile intervals or every 8-10 year. We recently had a customers vehicle towed in for stalling while driving. The vehicle would not restart, engine cranks over but will not start and run. The customer explained that her mechanic neighbor friend replaced the timing belt over the weekend car ran beautifully all week until stalling and now won’t restart. Fast forward to the result after taking apart the front of the engine we found that the timing belt tensioner had broke allowing the timing belt to jump teeth on the cam gears and caused internal damage to the engine. The estimate to repair the now damaged engine exceeded the value of the car and our customer decided it would be best to buy a new car. Our customer saved a couple hundred dollars having their neighbor perform the timing belt job but it ended up costing her a lot more in the end. At Bradshaw’s we follow our motto “THERE IS NO FIX LIKE THE RIGHT FIX.” When we estimate a timing belt job we include replacing the timing belt, belt tensioner, hydraulic tensioner (if equipped), water pump(if powered by the timing belt), idler pulley(s), cam seal(s), front crankshaft seal, thermostat, drive belt(s), and coolant. The little amount of added costs for the labor and parts is well worth having to do the job twice or in this case causing damage to the engine. This is why it is important when comparing estimates from shop to shop that you are comparing apples to apples. Get an itemized estimate that shows everything that is included in the estimate. Need an estimate for your timing belt job? Contact us .
