Mission Viejo Auto Repair

Photo by Pexels on Pixabay   Planning Your First Long Road Trip of 2022 It’s time, Mission Viejo!   Summer 2022 is here, and you may be preparing for your first long road trip of the year. It’s so fun to plan the food, the sites, and the adventures–but let’s take some time to talk about the less glamorous stuff. Whether you’re headed across the USA or on your way to Laguna Beach, you should plan for any situation. Doing a quick check of all the vitals helps keep you safer, it gives you peace of mind. Before heading out, make sure to consider:   Gas stations. Planning for gas stations may seem tedious, but it’s essential. This is a crucial consideration if you’re going on a more extended road trip. Make sure you have the gas stations you want to stop at figured out because there may co ... read more

Photo by webandi on Pixabay   Washing Your Car By Hand Again For Spring Spring weather can be… unpredictable. The warmer weather entices us to go on a long car ride with the windows down, while the impending rain deters us from touchless car washes. It becomes a Catch 22. On pretty days, you want a pleasant drive with a clean vehicle. But why spend money on a professional car wash if you know rain is in the forecast?    Thankfully, these concepts aren’t mutually exclusive. You can show off your hotrod without paying for a touchless car wash every few days. If you choose to hand wash your vehicle, you’ll save a little money and get to spend a little more time outdoors. It’s a win-win! Simple Hand Washing Tips  Handwashing doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t need any fancy tools or products (though they certainly don’t hur ... read more

Photo by Fritz_the_Cat on Pixabay   Do you remember The One That Got Away?    With Valentine’s Day approaching, we thought that we’d take a look at some unrequited loves in our lives– those cars that we always had a fascination for but never had the money to purchase when they were new. These dream vehicles linger on in our imaginations, taking us back to a simpler time in our lives when we first dreamed of a car of our own.   A friend of mine wished to own an MG convertible all of his days. Another has always had a deep love for the Pontiac Fiero, despite knowing that they are impractical deathtraps. Another has a deep-seated passion for the 300 series of Mercedes-Benz. And I’ve met many fans of old Volkswagens, particularly Volkswagen buses. Everyone seems to have their primal preference, short or long, skinny or roomy. Some have never fe ... read more

Photo by Filip Mroz on Unsplash   Welcome to 2022! We are now deep into winter, and although Mission Viejo doesn’t see snow, there’s plenty to be had to the North and the Northeast. The Rockies are full of thick powder this time of year, and if you’re going to vacation in it, you should do your best to anticipate the worst to come.   If you haven’t done any ‘winterizing’ of your vehicle this year, don’t worry! It’s not too late. We don’t even offer a formal service for it here, as there’s very little to do except pass on some good advice. But if you find yourself needing to travel Nort ... read more

Photo by Jared Tomasek on Unsplash   Welcome to another December in Mission Viejo! As the year winds down, we're pleased to have had such a great one to look back on together. We hope this year has been the best yet for you and your family.   We wish you safe journeys and happy holidays if you are traveling out of the area for Christmas. While there are loads of winter holiday events outside of Mission Viejo, we thought we would feature some of the in-town events that promise a very magical holiday season this year:   South Coast Repertory's "A Christmas Carol" Dec. 1st, 12 PM – Dec. 26th, 6 PM PST ... read more

Photo by Marisol Benitez on Unsplash   Sunny days and Hollywood-style perfect conditions are the norms in Mission Viejo, but as December creeps closer and closer, rainy winter conditions might be on the horizon. Now is the perfect time to examine the preparations we can make to keep our family safe on the road when dangerous conditions rear their ugly heads.   California drivers spend more than their share of time in perfect driving conditions, making the rougher conditions even more dangerous. Many new drivers face their first winters at the wheel each year, with no previous experience driving in rainy conditions. With winter weather rounding the corner, now is the time to educate our newer drivers and give ourse ... read more

Photo by Ivan Shemereko on Unsplash   Being so far south, Mission Viejo feels safer from the wildfires that have become an annual issue in California. The dry heat of August in the American southwest turns our wild growth into fuel, ready to ignite. And it appears to be a problem that is growing for our state.   At the time of writing this, the Dixie Fire is still raging in the north. The fire that concerns Mission Viejo would be either the Antonio Fire south of Los Angeles or the one that hasn’t been named and won’t be named until someone is careless in an already bad situation.   When an emergency arises, as it did last year, you never know when you will have to pack up and evacuate. If the pandemic ha ... read more

Photo by BigBearCabins from Pixabay   With summer here and travel restrictions lifting, people are making the trips they have put off for two years as a family. It’s great to see people being social again and having road adventures.    But then, not everyone can get away right now. The pandemic was brutal on small businesses, and for some people, this is just not the right time for a week’s vacation across the country. They need to stay close enough to home that they can head back in a hurry. We’re in a climate where a business can go under that fast, and people have had to adjust their holiday plans accordingly.   If you and your partner are looking ... read more

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash   At Larry’s Independent, we're pretty excited about this summer and people traveling to new places for the first time in two years. We hope you and your family are having a wonderful time this summer. If you’re planning on traveling, and it’s been a while, we wanted to offer up a vacation travel checklist of things to remember. If it’s been a long time since you took a break, it may be helpful to have a reminder.   Whether it’s a planned out trip or a spontaneous adventure, don’t forget to pack the essentials. We’ve created a checklist of items to pack for your trip: Travel pillow: Road trips can be long and tiring. If you’re sharing the ... read more

Photo by Edwin Hooper on Unsplash   Welcome to the June blog! Larry’s Independent Service hopes you and your family have held out, followed the rules, and are ready to enjoy a summer of fun travels!   It’s interesting what the shutdowns, quarantines, and self-isolations did to the United States over the past year. Those who could do so began to work from home, with just a small portion of society still manning the walls of services we need (like health services, contract building, and auto repairs).   With many people abandoning the office commute for home offices, few cars were on the road. With people driving their car less, many people who play the game of “I’ll fix it when it breaks&rdquo ... read more