Automotive News & Information - A-Ford-Able Auto Repair & Tire Service

When you are having trouble with your car or truck starting and you open the hood up to take a peek to see this....you'll see what an overly corroded battery looks like. This happens naturally over time on vehicle battery terminals. If you are like 99% of normal St Augustine drivers, you don't check your oil or your battery so you don't keep an eye on the amount of corrosion that's building up on your car or truck battery. Here at A-Ford-Able Auto Repair & Tire Service, we do and there are solvents that we can use here in the shop during a battery maintenance service that will help slow the corrosion process but nothing that can prevent it 100%. Way before it gets to this point, we will be suggesting you consider replacing the battery.

Sometimes it is EASY to see if your car or truck needs to come into our shop for professional repairs!
1. You see steam rising from the engine!
2. The Check Engine Light is on!
3. The engine starts, but there is an odor that is not right.
4. You hear grinding or thumping noises.

Here at A-Ford-Able Auto Repair & Tire Service in St Augustine we often do diagnostics and sometimes the problem is obvious after hooking the car up to the computer and reading the codes. However, sometimes it isn't obvious during a test drive or after hooking it up to all those computer programs! You know there is a problem and a Check Engine Light is on with the fleet customer telling you the car has been having issues starting and the light has been going off and on depending on several factors. No pattern, no simple answer but the problem becomes obvious when you start following the "threads of the issue" thanks to all that ASE Technician training.

Kristi DeRossett

Customer Review

★★★★★

My family and I have been with A-Ford-Able Auto for YEARS. We would never even consider going to another mechanic. It is so difficult to find one that you can TRUST! Jim, Danny, Jenny, and the crew have always been nothing but kind, HONEST, generous, and beyond helpful. Is auto-repair work expensive? Sure. Absolutely. But they have never overcharged us and have taken care of us like family for nearly two decades. They tell you exactly what's going on with your vehicle and what your options are. They do not push at all ~ they simply give you information and your options and they let you decide what's best for your budget at the moment. Their work is always top-notch but if on the off chance, there are any issues with a repair, they take care of it immediately. A-Ford-Able Auto sets the bar and standard extremely high. I'm so grateful for them and always will be. I have so many instances where they've gone above and beyond - like helping a family member get back home when his truck broke down out of state! I've lost track of the number of times I've called to describe a noise or something I thought was an issue and Mr. Jim very patiently explained what it most likely was and every single time he was correct. For example, I was backing out of my driveway early one morning... my brakes ground pretty audibly and I was concerned that I needed new brake pads. I called Mr. Jim and told him what I heard and he explained that it was more than likely just the coating of rust that had formed overnight grinding off. He told me to just pay attention that day and if it continued to happen to come on in and they'd check it out. Well, he was right and it didn't happen anymore. Now, if he was of a dishonest sort he would have had me bring it in any way and charge me for new brake pads that I didn't need. I love A-Ford-Able Auto Repair and I'd never go anywhere else.

Are there bad cars or just badly maintained cars? It's a fact that preventive maintenance is the basic ingredient to a long-lived, reliable vehicle. Never cheat on maintenance. Improper maintenance means prematurely worn parts and high repair bills. Proper maintenance provides reliability, longevity, and peace of mind.

The Car Care Council has developed a service interval schedule to provide general guidelines for the regular maintenance of passenger cars, minivans, pickups and SUVs. Intervals are built around an oil change every 3,000 miles, an accepted recommendation for the majority of motorists. Always consult your vehicle’s owner’s manual for specific recommendations by the car maker.

Manual transmissions have been around for a long time and if you have ever driven a manual you know how exciting they can be. Manual transmissions have also been referred to as standard transmissions, stick shifts, manual gearbox, or a simple gearbox. No matter what you call it, manual transmissions are fun to drive, better on fuel, reliable, and somewhat safer. So what do you know about manual transmissions; where did they come from, and how do they work? A-Ford-Able Auto Repair & Tire Service in St Augustine, FL knows, and now you will too.

There comes a time in the life of every fleet vehicle or commercial truck when you have to decide - is it time to retire that truck or van, or should you put the money into fixing it? At A-Ford-Able Auto Repair & Tire Service in St Augustine, FL, we’re here to help.

If you operate a fleet or commercial trucks, you’re no stranger to the check engine light. There are probably vehicles in your fleet right now that have a warning light or two illuminated on the dash. What do they mean, and how do you make them go away? A-Ford-Able Auto Repair & Tire Service in St Augustine, FL has the answers.