Your Check Engine Light is part of what’s called the OBDII engine management/diagnostic system.  Although part of the reason for its design is to reduce emissions, the light comes on for a multitude of possible reasons.  For example, if your engine is misfiring, the light will come on (or flash).  A misfiring engine can cause permanent damage to your catalytic converter(s) and the cost of replacement is typically several hundred dollars.  That’s an expense you can avoid by not ignoring the Check Engine Light.  There are many similar examples of why it’s important not to ignore that light.  If the Check Engine Light is on, you need to have a service professional find out why and correct the issue.  Even if you find out that the light is on for a minor problem, it’s important to repair it because, if a serious problem arises, the light is already on and you’ll have no idea about the second, more serious, problem.

Simply knowing the malfunction code stored in the computer is typically not enough information to make an accurate repair estimate; further diagnosis is usually necessary.  For example, an oxygen sensor code that tells the ECM (computer) that the voltage is incorrect could be a faulty oxygen sensor but it could also be a poor electrical connection between the sensor and the ECM.  It could even be a fault with the ECM itself.  So, to properly estimate a repair, the car requires some further diagnosis in addition to knowing the malfunction code.

Properly diagnosing a problem with any vehicle is the most important step in any repair.  Replacing the faulty component is typically the easier part of the repair.  At Wolfson Automotive LLC, as with any other professional service shop, we don’t guess or replace parts without first confirming that they are at fault.  Our diagnostic labor time is billed out at the same rate per hour as our repairs (except for certain types of involved electrical troubleshooting which bills at a higher rate).  Doctors don’t diagnose diseases “for free”; we don’t diagnose cars for free either.  Sometimes a complete diagnosis only takes a fraction of an hour.  Complex or intermittent problems (or systems) can take much longer to properly diagnose.

We warranty all repairs for 12 months/12,000 miles.  This covers the parts and related labor.

There are a number of reasons we don’t install parts provided by our customers.  One reason is that parts quality varies greatly.  We warranty our work and we have a reputation we’d like to uphold.  Many lower priced parts (and sometimes parts that aren’t low priced) have corresponding low quality.  May parts sellers offer a “budget” version of a part for much less money.  We only want to provide and install parts that are of high quality (that are equal to or better than what came on your car originally) to maintain the performance, safety, and reliability of your vehicle.  At Wolfson Automotive LLC, we know what brands and types of parts are good enough for us to stake our reputation (and your safety) on.  Another issue is our warranty.  We can’t warranty a part that we did not supply.  Furthermore, if you provide a part that fails, we can’t warranty that part.  We don’t wish to be placed in a situation where we can’t stand behind our work.

Decades of automotive service experience have taught us that used parts are a gamble that isn’t worth taking.  Most salvage yards do not test or adequately test used car parts.  Whatever can be saved by getting a used part is usually lost when the part either fails to work or fails prematurely.