Taking advantage of a recent equipment purchase, MasterTech Auto Repair of Plano, Texas, is enhancing its prestige in the community and attracting potential patrons through the door by providing the motoring public with free alignment checks.
The idea for the promotion came about when owner Bill Mertz bought “the most accurate alignment equipment available” in the form of a state-of-the-art HawkEye WinAlign unit from Hunter Engineering.
“In the past, alignments were a case of trial and error, with repeated adjustments and re-measurement,” Mertz recounts. “The HawkEye system uses a combination of high-tech cameras and sensors, with sophisticated software, so the alignment can be done right the first time,” he notes.
“This is great for our customers, who can leave with confidence their vehicle has been restored to factory settings,” adds Mertz.
“This new equipment allows MasterTech to offer free alignment checks,” he says. A graphical color-coded detailed printout is provided to the customer along with recommendations, if needed, on how to rectify the issue.
“With more than 12 years of experience, we take the time to educate our customers about their vehicle,” says Mertz. The company has won the Plano Star Courier’s Reader’s Choice Award as “the best auto repair facility in all of Collin County.”
The free alignment check arrangement helps solidify that reputation as Mertz publicizes the importance of the procedure by contacting local media outlets.
“Four-wheel alignments are important for reduced tire wear, better gas mileage, improved handling and safer driving,” he points out. “Research indicates that the average car is driven about 12,000 miles per year. A car with toe alignment just 0.34 degrees (0.17 inches) out of specification has dragged its tires sideways for more than 68 miles by the end of the year.”
An alignment is especially important, he explains, if a car displays the following symptoms:
• Excessive or uneven tire wear
• Steering wheel pulls to the left or right
• Feeling of looseness or wandering
• Steering wheel vibration or shimmy
• Steering wheel is not centered when car is moving straight ahead
With the new piece of equipment, “an alignment can be completed in as few as three trips around the vehicle,” according to Robert Bruce, Hunter’s advertising manager.
“In addition to establishing new performance benchmarks, the HawkEye system also sets new standards for versatility and adaptability,” Bruce reports. “HawkEye sensors not only accommodate a wider range of vehicle sizes and adjustment heights, but also offer shops precision, high-speed alignment in less bay space.”
For more information, visit www.mastertechplano.com and www.hunter.com.
