I take my car to Performance Unlimited because I know I’m in good hands when they’re on the job

I’ve always said that having a good auto repair shop where you can bring your car is only second in importance to having a good family doctor you can trust. An undependable auto repair shop can leave you stranded on the side of the road somewhere someday. Additionally, if you can’t trust your auto repair shop, how do you know when they’re digging too deeply into your pocket? You don’t.

Considering how much money you have invested in your car, as well as the cost of maintenance and repairs, who wants to cross their fingers and hope they’re getting a good deal when they bring their car into the shop?

I’ve brought my car to Performance Unlimited since 2009. That’s when I met owner Denny Norton. I had an immediate sense that this was someone who put business ethics before profit. That’s the essential first ingredient I look for in an auto repair shop; can I trust them?

The second essential ingredient is experience based knowledge of their profession. I’ve discovered that Norton and his staff are top-notch auto repair technicians. They know their way around a car the way a Hall of Fame quarterback knows his way around the backfield. In fact, Norton and his staff attend regular classes and seminars to ensure that they are up to date on the latest technology in the field.

I remember, some years ago, I had found an auto repair shop I felt good about. When I sold my car and bought a Volkswagen GTI, it had a problem with the brakes scraping. I brought it in to my trusted auto repair shop and left it over night. The next day, I paid what appeared to be a reasonable bill and took the car. I didn’t make it halfway down the block before I realized the car was still making the noise.

I brought car back and left it again. I picked it up again and it still made the noise. I left it again. Finally, after their third chance to fix the problem, and the problem persisted, I found a shop that specialized in Volkswagens. The auto repair technician there knew what the problem was when I explained what it was doing.

“You need to reset the emergency brake when you do a brake job,” he told me.

What I learned is that not all auto repair technicians are experts with all cars. What I’ve found with Performance Unlimited is that they’re as adept in repairing my father’s Lincoln, the Ford I sold last year or my current Dodge with the Mitsubishi engine. Before I purchased that car, as I considered what car to buy next, I checked with Norton: “Are you guys as good with Volkswagens and other cars.”

The answer was, “Absolutely.”

Toyotas, Volvos, BMWs, Jaguars: cars from any continent are equally at home when the auto repair technicians at Performance Unlimited are on the job. For me, knowing I’ve got Performance Unlimited ready to help if my car needs repairs or maintenance means that I have one less thing to worry about.

For more information about Performance Unlimited, call 815-728-0343 or visit www.4performanceunlimited.com.

Is your antifreeze safe from freezing this Richmond winter

You still have time to have it checked Well, there’s no denying it – winter tends to get chilly here in Richmond. We have to deal with snow and ice on the roads, scraping the same off our windows and windshield, and staying warm while we drive. Of course, you had your antifreeze checked before winter rolled into town. What?! You didn’t have your antifreeze checked before winter clamped down on Richmond? So, how’s your antifreeze doing? If you haven’t had it checked, there’s really no way of knowing, is there? This car has overheated in the middle of a Richmond winter. But, on the other end of the spectrum, the antifreeze can also freeze if it's not up to its job. Hopefully, you haven’t had a serious problem with your antifreeze already. If you did, you’d probably know. When antifreeze fails, it’s a potentially catastrophic condition for your vehicle’s engine. You could have hoses that have burst because of freezing antifreeze. Worse than that, your engine block may have crac...

Blocks of ice falling from cars in McHenry could cause accidents or damage

We’ve all seen those blocks of snow falling from behind the rear tires of a car when the snow rolls into McHenry . Fortunately, they’re just packed snow that will disintegrate under your vehicle’s tires as you simply drive right through them, right? Don’t count on it. Those blocks of snow are often packed so tight, condensed by the thaw-and-freeze cycle, that they’re anything but oversized snowballs . They’re often more like boulders. Hit one of those blocks and the collision between the block and one of your tires could send you careening off the road or into oncoming traffic. In some cases, they’re so solid you could pound them with a sledgehammer with little effect. They truly can represent a serious road hazard. The problem is that it’s difficult to tell how solidly they’re packed when you see them on the road, left their unwittingly by another driver. Either way, your best bet is to try to avoid them. But you want to be careful dodging blocks of ice in the road, too. You need...

Get out to McHenry Music Festival for a good time and music near to home

Some folks here in McHenry will load up the car and head out to Red Rock Amphitheater near Denver to see a show. Some will go to the MSG Sphere near Las Vegas. Some will go to the Bonaroo Festival Concert to see a show. That’s quite a bit of driving and you’d better make sure your vehicle is up to the trip. What happens, however, if something goes wrong – if your vehicle breaks down while driving there or back? What happens if the show is canceled, as happened this year with the Bonaroo Festival? We’re talking about some serious inconvenience, aren’t we? Wherever you go, whether your driving to Colorado, Nevada, Tennessee or anywhere else in this continent, you want to perform your due diligence and make sure the vehicle is up for the trip before you go. And it doesn’t really matter if you’re driving somewhere to see some live music or for any other purpose. A breakdown can be costly and may put you at the mercy of weather conditions or nefarious characters that come across you while y...

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