Our Services
Forest Automotive is a NYS inspection station and a full service automotive repair facility including alignments. Some of our common services include:
Oil Changes We normally use semi-synthetic and full synthetic motor oils from NAPA, which we've been told is rebadged Valvoline, but you can tell us what oil and filter you prefer and we will make that happen.
Factory Maintenance Schedule Advising We recommend that each customer stay on top of factory maintanence by referring to the scheduled factory maintenance schedule. Over the life of your vehicle and your visits to Forest Automotive, we will keep track of what maintenance has been performed and when, and advise what is due next, if you ask. Keeping up to date on factory maintenance is the most effective way to get the most life out of your vehicle, and we make it a point to help you stay on top of it. Timely maintenance is the best way to keep long term vehicle ownership costs as low as possible. That and not crashing into stuff.
Air Conditioning Service Air Conditioning repairs are generally more expensive than most customers realize ($1,000-$2500). If your AC system no longer works, you either have a leak in the system, or a mechanical failure (like a failed compressor clutch). For systems with refrigerant leaks, we will generally diagnose the issue in stages. The first stage (which costs between $150-$250) involves a system recharge with dye, and the second stage (which is free) is when you come back days, weeks or months later when your AC stops working again, and we have a chance to use the dye we injected previously to find the failing component. No matter what the failure is, 90% of the time the final repair cost will exceed $1000. Our usual advice is to abandon hope of a cheap AC fix, and only start the diagnostic process if you're prepared to spend the money to have it repaired properly.
Tires While we keep no tires in stock at the shop, we can source nearly any tire brand or size, either that same day, or within a few days. Our tire prices are not as low as the large tire retailers, but we are honest and we do our best to only sell tires when people need them. Most of our tire sales are to our general customer base, who already come to us for the rest of their service needs. For most of our customer's, it's less about price as having a shop they trust handle their tire needs.
Please note that Forest Automotive will not install new tires we didn't sell. The big online tire retailers, like TireRack and Discount Tire, have made an effort over the past ten years to normalize the sale of tires without installation. This amounts as an attack on the small repair shop, as half of the money we make on tire service comes from the markup on the tire itself, and the other half from the labor intensive installation. It's a bad deal for us to lose out on the markup, so we decline to install tires purchased online. Customers should know that there are tire shops out there that do not have our objections, and some that even partner with the online tire retailers. I'll leave it to you to investigate, if that's your inclination.Transmission and Glass Forest Automotive is not a transmission shop, and we do not replace windshields. Generally we refer customers to glass specialists such as Glass America when a windshield is needed, and usually the glass shops will be able to replace your windshield at a location of your choosing. In the past we've subcontracted transmission repairs, but experience has shown that transmission shops are generally unreliable and we cannot endorse any tranmission shop for your transmission needs at this time. If you find a good transmission shop, we'd really like to know about it!
Used Car Evaluations Would you like an honest evaluation of a car by that you are thinking of purchasing? Forest Automotive can give you a thorough inspection in about thirty minutes and provide a comprehensive overview of obvious future mechanical issues. Generally an appointment is made at the shop by a customer, then the customer meets the seller (of the used car) at the shop for the appointment and half an hour later the inspection is finished and the seller leaves. After the seller leaves we give the customer our report and let them make a decision.
Timing Belt Service An overdue timing belt replacement (in vehicles that have timing belts) is something that a shocking number of owners are not aware of. If there is one maintenance point that can ruin your vehicle in a hurry (besides engine oil neglect), its allowing a timing belt to snap. Forest Automotive specializes in timing belt and water pump replacement and usually have this service finished the same day.