When your vehicle’s check engine light shows up, it can be alarming. With a variety of components in your engine, many different things can cause the check engine light to go off. However, it is difficult to determine what exactly is going on with your vehicle simply by looking at a light.

Mechanics often use computer programs to diagnose problems in vehicles not easily identified with the naked eye. Computer diagnoses are usually the most efficient and least expensive way to diagnose a vehicle’s problem, especially in today’s microprocessor-controlled cars and trucks. Here at Jim’s Automotive, we have the latest technology and are able to diagnose problems quickly. Once we diagnose your vehicle’s problem, we will provide you with a fair repair quote.

When your check engine light shows up or your car simply isn’t running as it should bring it to Jim’s Automotive. Our expert team can quickly and accurately diagnose what is going on with your vehicle. Once we have diagnosed the problem, we’ll give you a fair estimate (both monetarily and temporally) for repairs. Come by our shop today!

Diagnostics is often a misunderstood term. People often think that charging to look at something is wrong, and it very well can be depending on the problem at hand. However, looking at something and diagnosing it are two completely different things. Any doctor can look at a shark bite and quickly realize it’s a shark bite. But, if you go to a doctor because you’re sick they cannot tell you why you are sick or what made you sick just by looking at you. The doctor will always check your vitals and run test (labs, x-rays…) on the affected areas of the body. Vehicles are no different. Diagnostics are the process of testing to find the root of the problem so it can be properly repaired. Modern vehicles require expensive equipment and extensive training to be properly tested. It also takes time to setup the equipment, monitor the data and test the affected systems.

It’s always better to replace the bad part and fix it right than it is to replace multiple parts that weren’t bad in a failed attempt to fix something. Sometimes things are obvious and easily identified as the problem. Often the problem is not inherently obvious. Proper diagnostics save everyone time and money when done efficiently by a trained technician.