News – Page 5 – Marinelli Auto Service

A Letter to Floridians from a Michigander

Dear Floridians,

I’m a Michigander at heart. I admit that I had no desire to leave my home of more than 25 years, especially to live in Florida, but alas, here I am and here I’ve been for 8 years. I’ve married a Floridian and we own a business in Florida, so we’re not planning on leaving anytime soon. My son will probably live years before he has any memories of snow. My heart is broken. I love snow…and yet I live in Florida!

For those of you who get to head up north with the advent of the holiday season, I’d like to share with you my experiences of driving in snow. The one downside of the majesty of a wintery wonderland is that it’s not easy to drive in as, unlike rain (wet is wet), there are many variations of a snowy road from black ice to slush (wet snow), and frozen snow to powder and everything in-between.

Here are my top 5 tips for driving in below freezing temperatures:

Conventional or Synthetic Oil?

When I got my first car, I knew nothing – I mean absolutely nothing – about cars. All I knew was that I needed to keep it full of gas and that I should get the oil changed according to the sticker in my windshield. I remember going to the oil change for the first several years (yes, several!) and having no idea what kind of oil to put in my car. The guy would ask which weight I wanted and I had no clue what he was even talking about. I didn’t know anything about weight, grade, or manufacturers. If I had a good mechanic, I should not have had to. However, here’s a very basic run-down of a very complicated aspect of your vehicle’s regular maintenance. Hopefully it will save you from some of the confusion I had as a young vehicle owner.

Regular or Premium Gasoline?

A friend recently sent me a photo of the gas options offered at a fueling station and said, “Help! Which one do I use?” There were FIVE options at that particular pump. No wonder she was confused. I have since spent a lot of time researching different gas grades and I finally have an answer for her. What is the right answer for you?

The True Cost of Vehicle Ownership

We’ve all experienced that moment when someone providing a necessary service for you tells you the price on the final bill and your heart plummets into your stomach. Your heart continues to beat heavily way down there while you are mentally reviewing your bank account. How am I going to pay for this?

Business & Family Defeat Challenges

2017 has started as a very interesting year for our shop. Andrew and I welcomed our son, Arthur, into the world on February 8th. On February 12th I ended up in emergency surgery and then in and out of ICU for nearly 3 weeks with a severe infection. This meant that, not only was I no longer working at the shop, but my maternity leave was prolonged and much of Andrew’s time was spent away from the shop and a lot of dependence was placed on Mike to keep things moving for our customers. Thankfully, we’ve had really understanding and compassionate customers. Several of you even stopped by with cards or gifts for us and the baby for which we’re really grateful.

The Meaning of “Family Business” Success

When we say we value our customers we mean it…and we try hard to show it without being overbearing. We truly care about each individual customer. Most people do not expect this from an auto repair shop and, it seems by people’s reactions, many people have not experienced this previously at an auto repair shop. We don’t just care because you bring us your business (which we do really appreciate!). We actually truly care and that is why we’re in this business. When your child or pet is sick or you’ve lost your job or whatever, we actually want to know and will make an effort to ask you about it. We want you to drive a vehicle that is safe and sound so you can get your kids to school, your pet to the vet, or so that you have a way to get to work. We feel grateful to be a part of your life in this way.

Getting Your Car Ready for the Road Trip to Grandma’s

Some of my fondest childhood memories involved piling in the car with my parents and siblings to drive down to Nana and Papa’s house. My sister, the youngest, usually sat between my brother and I. Maybe this was because she was smaller, or maybe because it reduced the amount of, “Mom! He’s touching me!” and “Mom, tell her not to…”. I can’t say the car rides were enjoyable, but the anticipation of being with family made them a faint memory compared to the visit itself.

The Difference Between a Mechanic and a Craftsman

On every corner of every street in every city across the country, you will find an automotive mechanic. Each has his own reason for going into the industry. Each has his own reason for staying in the industry (not an easy thing to do!). Each has his own training and experience from which each takes away his own skills, his own ability, his own work ethic, and his own ambitions. At the end of the workday, they’ve all been servicing vehicles. They are all mechanics. Or is that all they are?

Challenges and Changes in a Mom and Pop Shop [We Like Mike]

May was an exciting but frightening month at Marinelli Auto Service. Business in the auto repair industry tends to ebb and flow in seasons. April was quite slow…maybe due to people focusing on paying their taxes? Then May came and BAM! We had more work than we knew what to do with. We knew we needed to make a change because we wanted to provide the same level of service, or better, to what we’d been providing over the previous 17 months of the shop’s existence. Increased customer needs meant long work hours and little sleep for Andrew. I was doing everything I could to support him as I continued to learn everything I could about this new industry. I’ve never worked harder in my life!

Three Things New Drivers and Concerned Parents Should Know

I hopped in my parents’ minivan with my high school friend, Liam (not his real name – we’re still friends and I want to keep it that way!), on a crisp Michigan November afternoon. I was a little nervous but also pretty excited. It was one of my first times driving without my parents or another adult in the car. Liam and I were headed to my Grandparents’ house to help clean out their basement. I felt sooo grown up!

As we headed down the scenic M-22, snaking around Grand Traverse Bay on Lake Michigan all seemed to be going fine. The tires were humming slightly, which my mom told me was because they had just put snow tires on the car in preparation for winter. I nervously engaged in conversation with Liam, still not a fully confident driver, as the humming grew slowly louder. I kept saying, “I think it’s getting louder. Do you think it’s ok?” to which Liam assured me it was like my Mom said, just the snow tires gripping the road. It came to a point where we had to yell to hear one another and I said, “I think we should pull over just to be sure.”

“It’s fine, just keep going.”

I kept going. It was LOUD!

I pulled into my Grandparents’ retirement community and people walking their dogs on the sidewalks stopped and stared. “Liam, why are they looking at us funny?”