Looking for a good repair shop? Every so often I receive recommendations and have included them as space permits. I printed this letter many years ago and have never forgotten it, as Edward’s experience tops them all:
Q. While vacationing in my 1982 Tioga motor home, the belt that drives the smog pump, alternator and water pump failed. The engine overheated, causing one of the cylinder heads to crack. At about 9 p.m. I was towed to Larry Keesler’s Auto Service in Hot Springs, S.D.
Mr. Keesler said there was nothing he could do until morning, so he hooked me up to his 110-volt power supply and water for the night. Because neither my wife nor I had eaten dinner, Mr. Keesler loaned us his 1973 low-mileage Corvette to drive the three miles into town for dinner. The next day he ordered a used cylinder head from a local salvage yard.
Unfortunately, the head that was delivered was the wrong one. So, he called Rapid City and tracked down the correct head. The next day his wife went to pick it up (60 miles each way). Because it was taking so long for the repairs, he loaned us the Corvette again. While he had the Tioga, we toured Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park and Rapid City in the Corvette.
On the third day, he finished the repairs. But, leaving town that evening, while going uphill, the motor home lost power, so we took it back. The problem turned out to be a broken spring deep in the bowels of the carburetor. So while his son and daughter-in-law fed us a chicken dinner, he rebuilt the carburetor — at no extra charge.
If any of your readers have automobile problems while in South Dakota, by all means take it to Larry Keesler’s Auto Service. I can’t guarantee you will receive as good as I got, but I can promise you will get an honest and fair mechanic who knows his business.
—Edward B., San Jose
A. Wouldn’t it be nice if we all had a Larry Keesler in our town? Like my peers in automotive education, I try to plant a little Larry into each student, teaching them to treat every customer as if they were their mother’s best friend, and care for each vehicle as if it were their own.
A good technician also verifies every vehicle complaint before working on it, and forges an efficient plan of action, using every resource available.
The customer is then consulted, and offered one or more effective repair options. After receiving approval and performing the repair, its success is verified before returning the vehicle to the customer.
How do you find a top-notch repair shop? Referrals are generally the best way, as well as looking for a shop that is an ASC (Automotive Service Council) or BBB (Better Business Bureau) member, is AAA (American Automobile Association) approved, and-or hires ASE (Automotive Service Excellence) certified technicians. My No. 1 criteria would be how well they listen to my concerns.
Brad Bergholdt is an automotive technology instructor at Evergreen Valley College in San Jose. Write to him in care of Drive, Mercury News, 750 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, Calif. 95190; or e-mail to under-the-hood@juno.com. He cannot make personal replies.
