Car repair near Elmvale Acres

Down St. Laurent from the shopping centre

If you live in Elmvale Acres you already know the drive. Head south on St. Laurent Boulevard past the Elmvale Acres Shopping Centre, carry on to Russell Road, and follow it to Sheffield Road. Blackwell Street is the short industrial strip off Sheffield, and Unit 112 has the red and white sign over the bay door.

It is about 3.5 km and seven minutes outside rush hour. At 8am the lights on St. Laurent slow it down a little, but there is no highway on the way, so a crash on the Queensway does not decide when you get here. The shop takes cars from 8am, and the last one in for the day should arrive by 4pm.

Brakes on a road full of lights

St. Laurent Boulevard, Smyth Road and Russell Road are stop and go for most of their length. Every red light is a full stop from city speed, and that heat goes into the pads and rotors. Cars driven mostly on these roads wear brakes faster than the odometer suggests.

The signs are familiar. A squeal that goes away after the first few stops, a grinding noise, a pedal that pulses when you slow down. Our brake repair begins with an inspection billed at $120 an hour, where the pads and rotors are measured and you see the numbers before deciding on anything.

Batteries that give up in January

Elmvale Acres is close to almost everything, which means most trips are short. That is hard on a battery. The starter takes a big draw on a cold morning, and a five minute drive to the store does not give the alternator long enough to put it back.

When a car clicks or cranks slowly, the battery gets blamed, but sometimes the alternator is weak or something is drawing power with the key off. Battery, starter and alternator testing checks all three together, so you are not buying a second battery in March.

Pulling to one side after a pothole

The side streets off Smyth Road and St. Laurent take a beating every spring. One hard hit at the edge of a patched crater can knock the alignment out, and you notice it as a steering wheel that sits off centre or a car that drifts when you let go.

A wheel alignment starts at $125. It is done on a Daytona four post lift with a camera based system, and you get the before and after numbers on paper. If a part is bent or worn, we tell you before setting the angles, since aligning around a loose tie rod is wasted money.

Selling the car or handing it down

Plenty of Elmvale Acres cars eventually get sold privately or passed to someone in the family. In Ontario, transferring a used vehicle to a new owner who wants to plate it usually means a Safety Standards Certificate, which is now issued electronically through the DriveON program.

The Ontario safety inspection is $200, and if the car needs work to pass you get a list with prices and decide what happens next. You can book it online any time of day, then bring the car to 2595 Blackwell St, Ottawa, ON on a weekday.