All of our professional Technicians are ASE certified! There is no job we won’t tackle. No job we have not seen before and more importantly, no customer we will not satisfy! Our only goal is to make sure that your car is back on the street in a timely manner, running better than before. There is no written estimate that we cannot beat! It’s funny how a seemingly simple operation, such as and oil change, can still get sideways when the wrong person is performing the service. Vehicle owners tend to overlook the value in performing a proper oil change. Because of convenience and pricing, many people choose “quick lube” shops for all of their oil changes. There is nothing wrong with taking your vehicle to a quick lube shop for oil service. But, at least every other oil change should be performed by a certified trained technician. There are several inspections that the manufacturer recommends when you change your oil. These items are not usually addressed when a “fast food” oil change is performed. At quick lubes the techs are paid to perform as many oil changes as possible in a given shift. They are often new techs just getting out of school and starting their career. Because these service shops tend to offer extremely discounted oil changes, the techs are often pushed to meet quotas on “up selling” easy items like flushes and filters in order to pay their rent. There are many new channel studies that you can watch on YouTube that investigate this behavior. Some of the problems we see in our shop that are the result of poor oil changes are: loose and leaking drain plugs, damaged drain plugs, loose and leaking oil filters, over filled system, under filled system, residual oil mess from not properly getting cleaned, or even the wrong type of oil used. Most of these things can be avoided with the technician taking the time to do it right. Our service technicians will test drive and inspect your vehicle from head to toe before the service. You will get a detailed report on the over all condition of your vehicle so you wont have surprises down the road. We will even take the time to walk you through the inspection on your vehicle so you can see for yourself. When we refill the system, we will only use the manufacturer’s recommended weight and type of oil. When we’re done, we will clean up any mess made under the car from draining. Then we will set your tire pressures and recheck the operation with an “after service” test drive. In the unfortunate event that you have an issue with the last oil change from somewhere else, we do have the ability to steam clean, oil pan repairs, drain plug repairs, and even engine replacement. Lets always hope it never comes to that last one. Be careful, that if you don’t get an oil change today could cost you a $6,000 engine later!Smog Testing and Repair
As a Star Certified Smog Repair and Service Facility, Marin Express Lube has repaired thousands of Vehicles considered un smoggable. Why go to another test only station and fail a smog test, when Marin Express Lube can help you pass the first time!Oil Changes
Our oil change policy is as follows:
We’ll check your fluids to see if they still have the protective properties for your car’s various operating systems. Cooling, air conditioning, power steering, braking, automatic transmission, engine, and others. Fuel Injection Service Coupon Guaranteed to Save Gas Improve your vehicle’s MPG Direct clean of injectors to remove carbon build up. Remove throttle plate intake boot and clean throttle plate to avoid sticking. Road test vehicle at completion. For some fluids, just draining the old fluid and replacing it just doesn’t cut it. Often it is more effective to completely flush out the old fluids, clean out the system and then refill it with clean and protective fluids. We provide this service for all your automotive systems. From diagnostics, to complete engine rebuilding, we can do it all. We use superior parts and expert service technicians to give you the best brake jobs around. With our parts and service, your car can stop up to 15 feet sooner. From Transmission services, drain, flush and fills to complete transmission overhaul, we do all things Automatic Transmissions. We utilize state-of-the-art equipment and contemporary standards to diagnose your car’s troubles. Coupled with our experience and our industry computer resources, we quickly diagnose and repair your car and get it right the first time. Your steering system requires periodic inspection and service to help it keep your car safer. The system has many moving parts and is protected by power steering fluids that can break down and erode internal parts. Our experts can help. Your suspension is critical to a smoother drive and more importantly better handling. When your suspension has problems your car become unsafe because it may not handle well in emergency situations. Shocks and struts do require periodic replacement too. Periodic inspections of your Air Conditioning system can prevent expensive repairs. If you’ve noticed decreased cooling abilities, bring it in sooner rather than later. It could save you money. Our ASE Master Technicians have the skill to service or repair your clutch or manual transmission expertly. Our shop has some of the most skilled technicians that have diagnosed electrical problems that others could not. We have the experience, the certifications and the real life skill to track down any electrical problems. We have the technology that allows us to test your battery to see how much life is left. This way you know you can depend on it. We preform a bumper to bumper safety inspection every time we put a vehicle up on a lift. We are very careful not to let any of our customers leave our facility in an unsafe vehicle.Fluid Inspection & Top-Off
Fuel Injection Services
Comprehensive Fluid Flushes
Engine Repairs, Engine Rebuilding, Engine Diagnostics, Engine Replacements
Brake Repairs, Brake System Service, ABS Brake Repairs
Automatic Transmission System Repairs & Service
Check Engine Light & Computer Diagnostics
Power Steering System Service
Suspension, Shocks, Struts, CV Boots and 4 Wheel Drive Repairs & Service
Air Conditioning and Heater Service
Manual Transmission and Clutch Service
Complex Electrical Diagnosis
Battery Inspection & Life Test
Complete Safety Inspection
Your vehicles manufacture has established specified intervals and levels of service for your vehicle. For the most part we agree with what your manufacture has specified for your vehicle. However we do not agree with most oil change intervals specified by the manufacture. And with good cause and for the following reason: The quality of synthetic oils have gotten far better over the years and they don’t really deteriorate easily – they just get dirty with carbon particles. Oil filters have gotten smaller and load up faster and have reduced filtering capacity. The result is that they load up quicker and a bypass check valve opens at higher engine speeds to allow unfiltered oil pass through the engine with carbon particles in the oil to wear out your engine faster.Factory Scheduled Maintenance
There are many reasons for a “Check Engine Light” or in the case of BMW’s a “Service Engine Soon” Display. Most check engine light codes are generated from problems in “The Evaporation Control System”. Pulling Check Engine Light Code No ChargeCheck Engine Light and Service Engine Soon Display
The problem can be as small as a fuel tank cap that didn’t get tightened down properly after refueling.
Drive-ability problems arise from three areas: AND THE MOST VALUABLE LESSON HERE IS:Drive-ability Problems
Engine Performance, Transmission Performance and problems in Suspension Performance. Because we specialize in your vehicle and see many of them we apply “Pattern Failure Analysis” to reduce the diagnostic time on your vehicle AND save you money in the process! So what is “Pattern Failure Analysis” you might ask! Simply put – because we specialize, we have seen the same pattern failures in many of the same vehicles – therefore reducing our diagnostic time and saving you money.
It’s not the hourly rate the shop charges, it’s the level of expertise and how quickly they can get to the root of your problem that should be your concern.
We handle all aspects of computer diagnostics on your vehicle. From module programming to communication problems between modules on the CAN Data Bus System (basically a network communication within your vehicle) We identify communication problems between modules (small computers) and re-establish communication between them. Your vehicle will preform better with communication paths restored.Complete Computer Diagnostics
There are questions you need to ask yourself – are you shopping for price or quality or both. Is the shop your are getting the price quote from using OEM Parts or aftermarket parts? Make sure you are shopping apples for apples when getting price quotes. And this includes not only the parts being used, it includes the competence and quality of the work from the person working on your vehicle. Nobody wants to pay too much for service or repair, however, buyer beware of the lower price quotes. You can’t get OEM parts and “Factory Trained Master Technicians” working on your vehicle for the lowest price quote. SOMEWHERE IN THE MID RANGE OF QUOTES IS WHERE YOU SHOULD BE SHOPPING! if shopping for a specific service or repair! Shopping for a diagnostic quote is near impossible. Here you should be shopping for expertise and not hourly rate. Please see our explanation under DRIVABILITY PROBLEMS. At Main Express Lube offers to qualified applicants auto repair financing. If you cannot afford your auto repairs let us know and you can apply for financing.Service & Repair Shopping 101
Auto Repair Financing Available