Q: What do you call a couple of women in the front seat of a car?

A: Air Bags.

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Oh, this is outrageous and my intention was not to offend anyone but to relate it to a story of how times have changed and how we do business here at Holzhauser’s.

One rainy morning back in the early 1980s I was driving to work when a tractor trailer pulled out on me and cut me off.   I had two choices – either hit the tractor trailer or swerve to the left and hit a curb.   Since my car was a compact, I figured the lesser of the two evils was to hit the curb.   The tractor trailer driver went on his merry way and I ended up with a bent lower control arm and shifted subframe.

Fortunately, I had just began dating Joe several months before.   I took my car to the dealership where I purchased it to get it repaired.  Back then, being young (just barely 20) it was a whole different environment when it came to women and car repair.   I was totally intimidated by the service manager who was old enough to be my father.  He assured me they would “take care of me.”   After a couple of days in the shop, I picked up my vehicle and it didn’t feel just quite right.  Joe drove it and put it up on the lift at the shop where he worked.  He told me they did replace the control arm but that was it!   They did not pull the subframe or align the car to make the vehicle drive straight down the road.

Being armed with this information, I went back and told them that the subframe had shifted and the car was still drifting to one side.   They assured me that they knew what they were doing and, in no uncertain terms, told me that I did not know what I was talking about.  After I began explaining to them the problem in more “technical terms” thanks to Joe’s Auto 101 Crash Course, they finally listened to me and fixed the car properly. 

When Joe and I opened Holzhauser’s Auto in 1995, that scenario played over and over in my head.   I vowed to never treat anyone, particularly women, who came in to have their car repaired with such disrespect.  It was an unwritten rule in our shop then and now that everyone, male or female, would be educated in lay terms on what the problem was with their car, given an explanation on the best way to fix it and any questions they had were answered.

Now that we are celebrating our 20^th Anniversary in business, I believe that my experience has made a difference in the way we do business.  We appreciate all of our customers - young, old, male or female -and we do our very best to make you comfortable when you come in for service.  After all, you are what keep us going and we hope for another 20 years of serving you!

Keep checking our blog for the latest news and tips from Holzhauser’s Auto!

The Flowers

The Flowers

A new business was opening and one of the owner’s friends wanted to send flowers for the occasion. They arrived at the new business site and the owner read the card; it said “Rest in Peace”. The owner was angry and called the florist to complain. After he had told the florist of the obvious mistake and how angry he was, the florist said. “Sir, I’m really sorry for the mistake, but rather than getting angry you should imagine this: somewhere there is a funeral taking place today, and they have flowers with a note saying, “Congratulations on your new location!”

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August 1, 1995 was a big day for us!  That was the first day we hung out our shingle and opened for business as Holzhauser’s Foreign Car Service on Rts. 136 and 543.   Let me back up a bit.

We moved to Harford County in 1990.  Our son was a year and a half.  Joe was working at a shop in Essex and I was working in Towson at a law firm.  My parents watched our son and we commuted to work every day, pretty much like most Harford County folks did.  In 1992, our daughter was born.  I transferred to the law firm’s downtown office and Joe took both of our kids to my parents’ house.  Every day it was out of the house at 6:45 a.m., home at 6:00 p.m., dinner at 6:30 p.m., kids in bed at 7:30 to 8:00 p.m. and mom and dad not long after!

Joe always had the idea of owning his own business that was close to home.  Fortunately, a garage not too far from our house had an open lease for August 1^, 1995.   We pooled all of our resources, got Joe’s brother on board as a technician, decided that I should continue working at the law firm (hoping that one steady income would support us while we built up the business) and cleaned up the building to give it a fresh appearance to attract customers.

I remember how exciting it was that first day – Joe’s sister and I were still painting the office when a gentleman pulled up in a little red convertible Mercedes and asked if we could fix a flat tire!  What??? A flat tire?   Of course we could!  After that initial customer, who continued to patronize us until he passed away about 12 years ago, we knew we could do this.

With Joe’s expertise in auto repair (especially air cooled Beetles) and his brother’s help, we began to have a steady stream of customers.  In 1997, I was able to quit my job at the law firm and join Joe in the business.   We made a great team – he remembered the cars and what was done to them and I remembered names and addresses of customers.

In 2006, we purchased the property on Route 40.  In 2007 we started construction on the building and on Labor Day Weekend, we opened the doors and renamed our business Holzhauser’s Auto Service. 

We have built many friendships and relationships over the years and we believe we have the best customer’s in town!  Of course we have had our ups and downs but through perseverance and the right team, we continue to build our business.

I am proud to say that we still have some of the same customers from our first year in business but, whether you are a new or old customer, you are important to us and we appreciate your business!.

Keep checking our blog for the latest news and tips from Holzhauser’s Auto!

Just How Important is Maintaining Your Car

Motorist: When I bought this car you told me it was rust-free, but underneath it's covered with rust.

Dealer: Yes, sir. The car is rust-free. We didn't charge you for it, did we?
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That was a joke we found on the internet but did it make you laugh?   Most people don’t get warm and happy thoughts when they think of having to get their car repaired.  It’s tough when we have to call people to explain costly repairs.   We don’t like doing it and you don’t want to hear it.   Here is a simple thing you can do to avoid getting that “bad news” from us:  Follow your manufacturer’s recommended maintenance schedule.  It’s as simple as that!

You take care of your body by eating properly, exercising and making good life choices.   So why not do the same thing for your car? 

Maintenance is one of the most important things you can do to keep your car running properly.  The manufacturer provides a maintenance schedule for every vehicle.  Maintenance helps prolong your car’s lifespan, keeps the parts running smoothly, prevents you from breaking down but, most of all, helps preserve your car’s value. 

Here are a few simple things you can do:

•         Change the oil regularly
•       Change fluids – power steering/brake/transmission
•       Rotate tires to promote even wear
•       Check your brakes
•       Check belts and hoses

It is routine, at Holzhauser’s Auto, that we perform a courtesy check each time your car comes in for service.  That means we do a checkup on your car from head to toe (or we should say bumper to bumper) to ward off any future problems and to advise you of something that may need attention.  A lot of times we only see cars in the shop when they are not running properly.  Putting off regular maintenance services may cost you more in the long run.

Educating you on maintenance is what we would rather do to build our relationship.  After all, we want you to come into our shop with happy thoughts!

Keep checking our blog for the latest news and tips from Holzhauser’s Auto!