Primping your ride

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Primping your ride

Our cars, trucks and SUVs represent major investments and lifestyle choices. Investing money in keeping them running well and looking great is a wise decision.  We take pride in our vehicles and baby them to keep them in optimal condition:  washed, waxed, oiled and aligned, accessorized with custom sound and alarm systems, new tires and window tints.  A wide range of Valley businesses stand ready to primp our ride.  Vehicle dealers like Hacienda Ford with its Quick Lane and Clark-Knapp Honda cater to numerous drivers, of course.  But given that the average vehicle in the Rio Grande Valley is 12 years old, the region’s care car companies see a lot of customers.

Pueblo's employees are skilled in balancing, alignment and tire rotation.
Pueblo’s employees are skilled in balancing, alignment and tire rotation.

Pueblo Tires  & Service may have started as a tire business doing a little mechanical work back in Brownsville in 1972, but it has expanded to 100 employees and 11 locations, including Kingsville. “We have grown to where we can do anything mechanical,” said Pueblo operations manager Ben Valdez from company headquarters in McAllen. Alignment, shocks, brakes, tires and fluids are part of everyday car care. “We offer a one-stop shop, so you don’t have to run around town. We fix everything except broken hearts.”

Still owned by the founding Ivey family, Pueblo is remodeling its McAllen corporate store and has plans for future growth.  The company holds property on the expressway in San Juan and in a Corpus Christi suburb that will eventually be store locations.

“In today’s economy, people are aware they need their vehicles in good shape to get to work. Research show they would rather invest in their vehicles because they need them. It’s costly to put things off,” Valdez said.  Pueblo’s customers get emails and mail-out reminders for preventative maintenance and services that keep them in the loop.  The open line of communications contributes to the steady stream of repeat customers.  “There are a lot of free things they get from doing business with us, like free rotation and balancing. We sell package deals and have competitive prices.  Nobody loves them more than Pueblo.”

Most Cheap Auto Glass customers pay out of their own pocket to replace cracked and shattered windows and windshields.
Most Cheap Auto Glass customers pay out of their own pocket to replace cracked and shattered windows and windshields.

After Eloisa Hurtado’s 2010 Toyota RAV4 was hit by flying gravel on the Expressway, she took the vehicle to Cheap Auto Glass.  A side window had been shattered and the windshield cracked. Yet Darren Tiffin, who launched Cheap Auto Glass 27 years ago, said the incidence of expressway windshield problems probably has decreased from previous years.  “Now all the on-ramps are at least a half mile away from caliche roads (which gets kicked up as vehicles speed down the road.”  That change in traffic reduces breakage as does less construction. Of course, Tiffen benefits from both sides of the pie.  He repairs the windshields of the road contractors’ equipment, which get broken by vandals, as well as private and commercial vehicle windshields which have been broken by roadwork debris.

Cheap Auto Glass used to primarily work with dealers and insurance companies, but no longer,  Tiffin said.  “With insurance companies, after a while, I was lucky to make two or three percent over cost, plus paperwork and the wait for payment.  It wasn’t worth my time. I went after the cash market, and we grew so fast.” Given that most deductibles today are $250 or $500, Tiffen’s customers are paying out of their own pockets for replacement windshields and windows.  The fact that the average Valley vehicle is 12 years old also impacts who will be paying for glass replacement.

Cheap Auto Glass crew installs only Dow glass. “I want to know when I put in glass, everyone’s going to be safe,” he said.

Las Brisas Handwash and detailing, including a carpet shampoo, can make a 12-year-old vehicle look nearly new.
Las Brisas Handwash and detailing, including a carpet shampoo, can make a 12-year-old vehicle look nearly new.

When your car needs more than the rapid wash that grocery or gas station drive-thrus deliver, it is time to visit a popular neighborhood hand wash and detailing business, like Las Brisas Handwash.  A top to bottom, inside and out, clean and polish job, complete with Armor All, that would cost $50 in Washington, D.C., costs $20 at the Harlingen company operating from a repurposed gas station. Oscar Ortega heads Las Brisas’ seven-man crew which never gets to slow down on Saturdays, catering to both the date night and Sunday church crowds.  In contrast, the newest car washes in the region are the three  self-serve Blue Wave Express locations.  They pride themselves on using only 35 gallons per vehicle and recycling the water and reclaiming the cleaning products.

At Oil Can Harry's, Danny Martinez drains the used oil before performing courtesy checks on tires and fluid levels.
At Oil Can Harry’s, Danny Martinez drains the used oil before performing courtesy checks on tires and fluid levels.

Oil Can Harry’s, the quick oil change chain locally owned by Hollon Oil Co. of Weslaco, has locations in Edinburg, Harlingen, Pharr and Weslaco.  Michelle Hollon Wilson said the company recently addressed the questions of what women want to see and how they want to be treated when they come into Oil Can Harry’s.  Nicer bathrooms, waiting room décor that is less utilitarian, and more available information were among the answers that the oil change facility has applied.

The company’s courtesy checks of filters, tire pressure and fluid levels reassure drivers that their vehicles are roadworthy.  While the days of changing car oil every 3,000 miles are gone, most motorists faithfully come by for 5,000-mile oil changes, as their manuals recommend.

D-Tronics enables drivers to have some fun with their rides.  Custom sound systems are available in a wide range of configurations.  Car alarms are another popular type  of “sound equipment,” as drivers aware that a car is stolen every 26 seconds in the  U. S. Top targets for thieves are Ford, Chevy and Dodge pickups.  Texas summers bring in customers for window tints, which does more than make the owners look cool.  The film protects interiors, deflects as much as 72% of ambient heat, reduces glare and deters break-ins.

Preventative maintenance not only helps your vehicle last longer.  It gives you one less thing to worry about.

See Harlingenautoglassservice.com, pueblotires.com, d-tronics.com, Oil Can Harry’s at 781-6457 or 969-0049, and Las Brisas at 364-3499. 

September 2014 cover story by Eileen Mattei 

Freelance writer Eileen Mattei was the editor of Valley Business Report for over 6 years. Her articles have appeared in Texas Highways, Texas Wildlife Association, Texas Parks & Wildlife and Texas Coop Power magazines as well as On Point: The Journal of Army History. The Harlingen resident is the author of five books: Valley Places, Valley Faces; At the Crossroads: Harlingen’s First 100 Years; and Leading the Way: McAllen’s First 100 Years, For the Good of My Patients: The History of Medicine in the Rio Grande Valley, and Quinta Mazatlán: A Visual Journey.

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