Unless you are confident in your abilities as an automotive mechanic, there is really only one rule when purchasing a flood-damaged vehicle: don’t do it. Unfortunately, sometimes sellers aren’t particularly straight-forward with their used cars. Many will try to hide the fact that it’s been damaged by floodwaters at all or try to convince potential buyers that the car is in fact fine. “It has gone months with no issues” or “technically it is flood-damaged but” are two red flags, and while it isn’t impossible for a flood car to be fine, it’s altogether a good idea to stay away.
Getting your vehicle washed and waxed on a regular basis is one of the easiest ways to preserve its paint and keep it looking nice. It makes you feel good when you’re driving in a clean vehicle. Removing other environmental contaminants such as salt, tree sap, and bugs also goes a long way to make your vehicle’s paint last longer.
At Oliver Automotive in Novato, CA, we see our fair share of warning lights and dashboard notifications. If your ABS light is illuminated, here’s what you need to know.
As cars become more technologically advanced, the importance of your vehicle’s battery becomes more important. In the old days, a car battery essentially worked, or it didn’t; if it was good enough to start the car, it was good enough. Moderns vehicles are a different story. A faulty battery can cause a variety of issues, including engine codes, sensor failures, irregular transmission behavior, and the list goes on.
Battery failure often causes issues that are commonly misdiagnosed, and in the hands of the wrong auto repair shop, a mechanic may spend hundreds of your hard-earned dollars chasing problems that don’t exist. At Oliver Automotive in Novato, CA, our mechanics are familiar with modern vehicles and the problems that accompany them.
These days, it seems like the oil options for your oil changes are limitless - full synthetic, blends, conventional, high mileage, and the list goes on and on. We are frequently asked if it's okay to switch between oils, and how you know what is okay to use? At Oliver Automotive in Novato, CA we're here to help you answer that question. When it comes to engine oil, the answer to this question can be as complicated or as simple as you want it to be!
At Oliver Automotive in Novato, we know how annoying a dead battery can be. Here’s some information on the subject, that will hopefully help you understand your battery issues a little better.
When driving around town, your vehicle's engine needs clean air to burn the fuel – and it needs a lot. In fact, a typical vehicle needs about 216,000 gallons of air for every tank of gas. All that air passes through a filter that catches the dust and dirt. Eventually, the filter gets completely full, and because the filter can only hold so much, dirt starts getting through. At Oliver Automotive in Novato, we want to help you get the best air quality in your vehicle, but first, we want to explain the process of where this dirty air is going.
7417 Redwood Blvd
| Novato, CA
(415) 893-9056
MON-THU | 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM
FRIDAYS | 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Weekends | Closed
