Montpelier Auto Repair

Drop off at least 5 each of Peanut Butter, Jelly &/or Tuna Fish during the month of Feb. and you will get a chance to spin our 'Wheel of Savings'. The Montpelier Food Pantry serves emergency meals to individuals and families in the greater Montpelier area.  They assist people who are in need of life’s necessities and social justice.  They promote self-sufficiency and food independence through food education. Pantry Hours: Tuesday 10-12, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday 10-11. Located at Trinity Church, 137 Main Street, Montpelier, VT 05602 Serving the communities of: Montpelier, E. Montpelier, Calais, Middlesex, Berlin, Worcester & Adamant. To make an appointment, call

Help us support the Montpelier Food Pantry!Donate at least 5 non-perishable foods for the Montpelier Food Pantry and receive: 1.  FREE Brake Inspection  ( $47.00 value) 2. If we end up doing brake work on your vehicle, we will install FREE Premium Brake Pads &/or Shoes (if needed) as part of a complete brake job. Is the Brake Repair going to be absolutely Free? Of course not - BUT - this is the Best Deal you will get anywhere! #1) Save $47.00 for a Brake Inspection #2) You get Free Brake Pads &/or shoes #3) You help the Montpelier Food Pantry. Why not totally free?   No Cost Jobs would require us to use cheap parts and to do what we call in the industry                             a “pad slap” = throw on cheap pads as quickly as possible and not look at the rotors, calipers ... read more

In the United States, mechanics are not licensed. Anyone who goes out and purchases some tools can open up an auto repair shop or get a job at an independent shop or at the dealer. A specific shop or dealer may have a great reputation, but most drivers never know which mechanic will be working on their vehicle.  You rely on your car to keep you and your family safe and get to get you to work, school and all those other places that are a major part of your life without breaking down on the side of the road. Plus it’s getting crazy expensive to purchase a car, maintain it and replace any broken or worn out parts. Cars are also so technically advanced, that it makes it nearly impossible for you to be able to work on your car yourself. I call them computers on wheels. The mechanic or auto technician who is working on your car is essentially a car doctor.  You wouldn’t go to a doctor who wasn’t a licensed M.D. So, how can you be sure the car-doctor / a ... read more

You wouldn’t go to a doctor who wasn’t a licensed M.D., so why would you let an un-certified mechanic work on your car?   Before you hand over the keys, ask if your mechanic is ASE Certified in the specific repair or service your vehicle needs.   The National Institute of Automotive Service Excellence or ASE sets the industry standard with their certification program. This includes testing in eight different automotive systems: Engine Repair Certification Automatic Transmission Certification Manual Drive Train & Axles Certification Suspension & Steering Certification Brakes Certification Electrical Systems Certification Heating & Air Conditioning Certification Engine Performance Certification For each specialty exam that is passed, the mechanic receives a certification in that specific area. If all eight tests are passed an ASE Master Technician Certification is awarded. Master Techs are considered experts in aut ... read more

If you haven’t experienced it, I’m sure you have passed someone who has. You’re on vacation and the car is packed to the gills with all you need to make a home away from home. It’s 97 degrees outside and the humidity is thick and heavy. You notice the car’s temperature gauge is creeping higher than it normally does. You feel your heart begin to race and you beg your car not to overheat now. It’s a weekend and the road is jammed with bumper to bumper traffic. If the car overheats you will have to pull over to make multiple phone calls and wait for a tow truck to take you to a garage. Being a weekend you know it’s highly unlikely a garage will be open. Who knows how long you will be stuck in some dinky little town, and you may get taken advantage of, and the icing on the cake is… this is your vacation. You will be wasting precious vacation time getting the car repaired. RememberNEVER, NEVER EVER remove the radiator ca ... read more

Auto Craftsmen in Montpelier is giving away a brand new set of Cooper All-season tires on 3/31/16! No purchase necessary! Just bring in 10 non-perishable food items for the Vermont Food Bank, and enter your name in a drawing for the new set of tires.   Located on Route 2 West / next door to the Dairy Creme, This side of Waterbury! Open Mon. - Frid. 8 am to 5:30 pm. for more information call 80

I had the good fortune to travel to Hawaii last month and cruise around the beautiful islands on the Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America with my good friend Bogi Lateiner. Bogi owns a shop in Phoenix AZ, and is an ASE Master Technician. She is also one of the co-stars on the TV show ‘All Girls Garage’ on the Velocity channel. Somehow the two of us always get into trouble when we get together and on this trip we almost bit off more then we could chew. We decided that we should get a tour of the ship’s engine. Heck, we were both AutoGirls, love engines and Bogi is a TV star. We thought maybe we could leverage all this and get a tour. Every day we asked a different crew member about it, and started leaving letters requesting a tour in the suggestion box at the front desk. We were pleasantly surprised when returning to our r ... read more

Woman-Owned Business of the Year awarded to repair shop By Danny Monahan SBA Public Information officer Growing up in industrial Ohio, the owner of Auto Craftsmen says she has motor oil in her blood. “Cars were a big part of my formative years. My first boyfriend was a motorhead, my first husband was a mechanic and we opened two shops together,” said Amy Mattinat, who owns and operates Auto Craftsmen on State Street, Montpelier, Vermont. For 20 years Mattinat has been a part of Auto Craftsmen. She started as the bookkeeper in 1995, became a partner in 2004 and bought out her business partner in 2009. Auto Craftsmen has six full-time employees, a part time bookeeper and shuttle driver, and hires additional personnel in the spring and fall. Mattinat said her success is due to having exceptional employees, offering top notch service, having systems, checklists and an effective marketing plan. She continually invests in tools, equipment and ... read more

The 2014 Brakes for Breasts! Please join us in achieving our goal of raising $200,000 for the Cleveland Clinic Breast Cancer Prevention Vaccine in 2015 $10,000.00 Raised by 5 Independent Auto Repair Shops in the state of Ohio in 2011$32,848.84 Raised by 27 Independent Auto Repair Shops across 16 states in 2012 $66,499.29 Raised by 66 independent Auto Repair Shops across 27 states in 2013 $115,236.53 Raised by 136 independent Auto Repair Shops across 28 states in 2014.Total Money Raised = $224,584.66 over the Past 4 Years! For more information about the Breast Cancer Prevention Vaccine and how to get involved, go to the Brakes for Breast website You can also find a shop close to you who is also ‘Putting the Brakes on Breast Cancer

Auto accessory company Axius determined that on a 95 degree Fahrenheit day, trapped hot air inside your car can make the dashboard hot enough to fry bacon and eggs! The steering wheel can reach 159 degrees, and the seat, 162 degrees. To keep your car as cool as possible, try these tips: Park in the shade whenever possible. Cover your steering wheel with a towel when you park. When you get into a hot car, open windows and the sunroof to let out the hot air before turning on the air conditioning. Using sunshades, Axius says can reduce heat buildup by more than 48 degrees F. And NEVER leave a child or animal in a hot summer car… it ... read more