Welcome to the Gearhead Garage home page! We are Frank and Joe, two brothers with a two-bay shop and 30 years of experience between us fixing cars and light trucks, domestic and import. Frank has been turning wrenches since 1981 and Joe since 1987; we opened our own place in 1993 after too many years working for other people who didn't do things the way we thought they should be done.

What we thought was: fix what's broken, tell the customer the truth, and charge a fair price. That's it. That's the whole business plan. Six years later we're still here and most of our work comes from people who were sent by somebody we already fixed a car for, which we figure means the plan is working.

"We call before we do anything."
We look at your car, we call you, we tell you what we found, what it costs, and what can wait. Then YOU decide. Nobody at Gearhead Garage has ever done work that wasn't okayed first, and nobody ever will. If it's not broke, we won't fix it, and we'll tell you so.

Prices good through December 31, 1999. Most cars and light trucks; some models cost more and we'll tell you before we start. All work guaranteed 90 days or 4,000 miles, whichever comes first.

Oil changes are first come, first served. Everything else, please call ahead so we can have a bay open for you. Early drop-off: there's a key slot in the door, just fill out the envelope.

Phone: (555) 555-0123
E-mail: [email protected]
(Joe checks the e-mail once a day, usually at lunch. If your car is on the side of the road, call.)

We're on the east side of town on the state highway, just past the grain elevator. Look for the two big bay doors and the sign with the wrench on it.

It's the end of September. Don't wait for the first cold snap to find out your car isn't ready for it, because that's the morning everybody else finds out too and we've got a line out the door. Here's what we check on every fall service, and what you can check yourself in the driveway:

1. Antifreeze. Should be a 50/50 mix, good to about 34 below zero. We test it with a little tester that costs three dollars; you can buy one at any parts store and do it yourself. If it's rusty brown, it's time for a flush.
2. Battery. Cold weather is what kills a weak battery. If yours is more than three or four years old, have it load-tested (we do it free with any service). Clean the terminals; that white crust is not helping.
3. Wiper blades. If they streak, replace them. They're cheap and it takes five minutes. Fill the washer fluid with the winter kind that doesn't freeze.
4. Tires. Check the tread (if you can see all of Lincoln's head on a penny stuck in the groove, the tire is worn out) and the pressure. Tires lose about a pound of pressure for every ten degrees it gets colder, so top them off when the weather turns.
5. Heater and defroster. Turn them on now, before you need them. If the defroster doesn't clear the windshield, that's a safety problem, not a comfort problem.
6. Belts and hoses. Look for cracks, look for bulges. A hose that lets go in January is a bad day.
7. Lights. Walk around the car with somebody working the switches. Dark comes early now.

Fall special: antifreeze test, battery load test, tire pressure and wiper check free with any oil change through November. Just ask.

We've been asked this about a dozen times this fall, so here's our answer. Your car doesn't know what year it is. The computer under the hood counts engine revolutions and reads sensors; it has no calendar and doesn't care what the date is. It'll start on January 1, 2000 just like it started on December 31, 1999 (assuming it started on December 31, 1999, which, if your battery is four years old, see above).

Your clock radio, on the other hand, might have a bad night. So might your VCR. We don't fix those.

What we would worry about on New Year's Eve is the same thing we worry about every night in the winter: gas in the tank, air in the tires, a battery that'll turn over when it's ten degrees out, and a blanket in the trunk. Handle that and you're Y2K compliant as far as we're concerned.