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4B Fall Home, Garden and Car Care The Altamont Enterprise – Thursday, September 27, 2012 ...Maintenance a key to car’s longevity (Continued from Page 1) be brought to a mechanic as soon as there’s a problem. He also said that many car owners work under the “misconception you have to go to a dealer if you have a brand-new car.” Willsey went on, “Independent shops are cheaper.” He charges $70 an hour for labor while, he said, many dealerships charge $100 per hour and also mark up parts 150 percent. “My parts are marked up 30 percent,” he said. Foley said the rate in his shop, at $60 an hour is, similarly, less than at dealerships. Willsey echoed Baldauf’s sentiments when he advised, “Keep it maintained.” He said car owners should find “someone you’re comfortable with” to do repairs. “There’s nothing personal in the automotive industry anymore,” Willsey said. “They treat you like a cookie cutter. I know my customers. I know their smiles and cares.” The days of the backyard mechanic are over, or at least severely limited. Do-it-yourself is no longer a money-saving option as cars have become so much more high tech. Baldauf gave the example of a brake caliper, which is hydraulic, and is something a backyard mechanic used to be able to handle. “You used to be able to push it in,” he said. “Now you need an electronic scan tool…It’s still The Enterprise — James E. Gardner Portrait of an icon: Robert King, a retired dentist, painted this portrait of John Foley who at 74 has been repairing cars for more than half a century and is still going strong at John Foley’s Garage on Depot Road in Guilderland. Owners of independent shops, like Foley’s, say they provide quality work at better prices than dealerships as people try to stretch their dollars in hard times. The Enterprise — Michael Koff 8688 High-tech check: A mechanic at Advanced Auto Repair Service in main · (5 Voorheesville holds a scan tool to get data from a car’s computer. 8688 main · (5 8688 main · (5 hydraulic but the ratcheting mechanism has to be electronically released with a scan tool through a computer.” A nationwide shortage of qualified mechanics, trained in the new technology, has also led to increased costs in some regions. Shifts in training Foley, who quit school on his 16 th birthday because he knew he wanted to be a mechanic and was good at it, hasn’t had a problem with staffing despite reports of fewer young people entering the ever-changing field. When Foley started his business, he worked with two mechanics, each of whom stayed with him for 41 years and, since then, he’s had long-time staff as well. When asked if it has been hard to find mechanics well versed in computers and electronics, Foley said, “We always have one guy that does everything to a T.… Now we’ve got three guys at the top of the rank.” Willsey, who just turned 30, has an associate’s degree from the auto service program at Hudson Valley Community College. He has been working on cars since he was 16. “I started off working on hotrods,” he said. He now collects Chevelles, Mustangs, and Chevy trucks. “I’m a car collector. I like old stuff,” said Willsey. “That’s my hobby. I like taking something you pass every day and the next time you go by, you turn your head and say, ‘What is that’ “I had to learn all the computer stuff,” Willsey said. “The day 861-8274 fa 18) GENERAL 861-8274 fa CONTRACTORS · CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS GENERAL CONTRACTORS · CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS New Construction New Construction ** Additions Additions & & Remodeling Remodeling 861-8274 fa Pre-Engineered Metal Metal Buildings * Electrical & Excavation & Excavation GENERAL CONTRACTORS New Construction · CONSTRUCTION * ExcavationMANAGERS New “Building Construction Additions “Building Quality ** Additions Remodeling With Integrity” With & Integrity” Remodeling www.vinnick.com Pre-Engineered Commercial Metal www.vinnick.com Buildings * Electrical & Excavation 518-861-8688 Snowplowing Free Estimate 518-861-8688 “Building Quality With Integrity” www.vinnick.com 518-861-8688 “Building Quality With Integrity” Fully Insured 18) 18) PAVING We Take Pride in the Homeowner RESIDENTIAL-COMMERCIAL FULLY INSURED-FREE ESTIMATES Levernois & Sons, Inc. 4204 Albany Street Albany, NY 12205 456-6364
The Altamont Enterprise – Thursday, September 27, 2012 Fall Home, Garden and Car Care 5B … ‘The day of the carburetor is over’ as mechanics hone new skills of the carburetor is over with. Everything is electronic. You have everything from electronic parking assist to fly-by wire accelerator pedals.” Willsey explained that cars like the new Lexus can parallel park themselves with the push of a button. And next year, Cadillac plans to market a car that can steer itself with super cruise control. Accelerator pedals these days — not just in high-end cars like the Lexus or Cadillac but in middle-market cars like Toyota — no longer have a hard cable. “It’s all electronic,” said Willsey. “I saw the evolution.” “They’ve converted the car too much into an electronic beast,” he said. It used to be, Willsey explained, there was one wire for the spark plugs, there was a fuel supply line, and you turned the key to start a car. “Now there are 30 sensors,” said Willsey. “It has phased out all the older mechanics” — at least the ones who haven’t kept up with the changes. Mechanics, he said, are learning all the time, often from each other. “Nobody knows everything,” said Willsey. “There’s always someone that knows more than you.” Baldauf and his partner work with three “technicians,” as he calls them — one has been with the business for four years, another for 10 years, and the third for 17 years. Baldauf, a former mechanic himself, has worked in auto repairs for 30 years and is now occupied managing the business end of things. “You can’t do both,” he said. While his technicians frequently get training in the latest electronic and technical advances, Baldauf said, he goes for management training. “You have to update your equipment to go along with the developments,” Baldauf said. “We can do 95 percent of what’s out there.” Part of the reason Advanced Auto Repair Service can’t handle the other 5 percent, he said, is because “dealers have proprietary interests.” Associations of independent shops “are always fighting for more so we can be on the same playing field,” he said. Baldauf believes the reason fewer young people are going into the auto repair industry is “because it’s difficult.” He explained, “It’s labor intensive, and it’s dirty at times. Other technologies are easier. If you can make money in front of a computer screen, that’s what the latest generation is interested in. With us, there’s more than just the screen. There is interpretation. There is diagnostics. “I saw the evolution. I started work in the seventies…The sophistication has made it easier to diagnose. You still need a knowledge of electronics.” Baldauf also said, “People open the hood of a car and see how complicated it looks; that probably scares them.” He concluded, “We all want something better for our kids. There’s a stigma with auto mechanics. I’ve called them technicians for 20 years.” Willsey, too, attributes the lack of young mechanics to societal attitudes. “Our society says, unless you’ve got a desk job, you’re no good. They’re kids coming out of school that think they can’t be a laborer or a carpenter or a mechanic…using your hands is what it comes down to.” Willsey, though, says that a good living can be made repairing cars. “I do all right,” he concluded. The Enterprise — Michael Koff Some tasks are still done the traditional way: Art Frey at Advanced Auto Repair Service reaches up to check a car’s front suspension, using a bright light and a keen eye. Guilderland Center auto ServiCe Bruce Halsdorf — owner/proprietor with over 30 years experience Complete Service on All Foreign & Domestic Vehicles • Computerized Tune-Ups • Complete Brake Service • Starters & Alternators • Front End Service • Fuel Injection Repair • Exhaust & Mufflers • Transmission Service 167 Main Street • Major Engine Service Guilderland Center Mon.-Fri. 7 a.m.-6 p.m. 861-5657
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