Turlock Auto Repair

While the best practices of Preventative Maintenance can help you avoid most roadside breakdowns, sometimes, emergencies and accidents are just unavoidable. Do you know the steps to take if you are in an accident? There are some things you should do before you get in an accident: Consider a Roadside Assistance Membership Plan. Groups like AAA are very helpful to be in when disaster strikes, and are often included in tiers of your car insurance. Have an emergency kit. This is especially important if you decide to drive through snow in heavy winter. A first aid kit and a reflective vest would be good investments. Check for your insurance card. Make sure it is up to date and just include a copy you can give another driver in an accident. Get a good solar flashlight. You can leave one of these in your back window and let it charge all the time, and when you need power, it will be there for you. We can recommend the Goal Zero 250 for its roadside flashing settings. Once you find yourse ... read more

At Nona’s Auto Center in Turlock, we repair over 40 different makes of automobile. But one niche of the market we’re in seems to have a lot of love from our customers, and that’s Asian vehicles (Acura, Daewoo, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Isuzu, Lexus, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, Suzuki, and Toyota). This month, we thought we’d take a look at Asian vehicles and ask, why are they so popular in the U.S. and in California? Here’s five guesses: They’ve got style. Asian vehicles are not a very hard sell. They’re just plain sexy. Even their utility vehicles feel more stylized and interesting to drive. It’s a small wonder that their affordable compacts often wind up as street racers when better engines are available. Asian cars look like racers and feel like them, too. They're practical, efficient, dependable cars. We’re looking at Honda really intently here. People seem to love Honda cars and t ... read more

Do you know what one of our favorite things about cars is? You’re going to laugh when you find out. One of our favorite things about cars is the clever marketing that goes into their commercials. There are some fantastic car commercials that will make you burst out into laughter, make you cry, or touch your heart. That is why, in this month’s blog, we thought we would share our five favorite car commercials of all time. Lucky for us, there are so many terrific car commercials to choose from. But to be fair, we are choosing the commercials for the car brands we service and repair here at Nona’s Auto Center in Turlock. Yes, we admit it would be fun to highlight a car commercial for an exotic luxury brand, but that’s not who we represent. Instead, we are sticking to the car commercials that accurately reflect the American, Asian, and European vehicles we see on a regular basis. Subaru Barkley Family commercials -- Because they’re all so ad ... read more

means there are likely many dangers that life experience has not yet taught them, and that they will be underprepared. Time for a refresher course in the top ten things EVERY student should know about—tailored towards what a California State University student in Turlock should know! 10. The full function of the vehicle. A student preparing to leave home should know what every dial and lever on their dashboard does, and what to do about most of the warning lights and messages that they will receive. Knowing how to set the windshield wipers for any condition of rain is important, as well as how your headlights should be set up. Students should know about all the things that need replacing and the importance of paying attention to the manufacturer’s scheduled repairs. In the Turlock area, dust and pollen is the price we pay for a beautiful valley, and it’s wise to get these replaced at a minimum of once a year. 9. How to drive stick (manual). While many prefer to driv ... read more

This Summer, we’ve decided to do something different, but very special. We want to show our appreciation for our customers, our community, and our planet by writing a heartfelt tribute. Please enjoy. Dear Mother Nature, We, here in California’s Central Valley, feel compelled to write you a love letter. As a farming region, we owe our livelihoods to your generous abundance of sunshine, rich soil, and wide open spaces. We love living here on this planet we call home. We want to thank you for all that you provide, including health, food, water, shelter, and so much more. At Nona’s Auto Center in Turlock, we are doing our part to show how much we love and appreciate you for supporting us. You see, we service and repair automobiles. We like to do it in such a way that we preserve the planet through environmentally-friendly business practices, hybrid vehicle service, and recycling oil. We also like to do it by reducing our carbon footprint as much as one auto repair shop ... read more

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, a lot of teenagers and young adults are experiencing odd academic times. They had to shift to online learning, a lot of them missed their senior proms, and the entire Class of 2020 had virtual graduation ceremonies. To be fair, even though those who didn’t graduate need to continue their education, the future of exactly what their school year will look like in the Fall is unknown. These are uncertain times, indeed. Because the COVID-19 era has altered our society so drastically, we predict a few things: The family fleet of vehicles is going to get smaller. We believe that instead of one car per each driver in the household, there will be fewer cars that are shared among mom, dad, and the young drivers. After all, not many car owners are eager to have a car payment in a down economy. We have seen in recent years that Millenials and Gen Z kids are not excited about driving and owning vehicles. However, now that the family unit is together almost all of ... read more

Since 1978, our family has been servicing vehicles in Turlock, California. Back in those days, before fuel injection was the norm, we were turning wrenches and taking care of customer cars and have been a staple of the community for nearly four generations.  Now that cars have evolved, so has our tools, technology, and training. At Nona’s Auto Care, we strive to stay up to date on the latest in automotive technology. Our technicians are ASE certified and keep up with the latest training, tools, and technology out there to help diagnose and repair your car. Many of our clients are the sons and daughters and grandchildren of our original customers from back in the ’70s. This shows what excellent customer loyalty we have, and there is a good reason for it. Our ASE certified auto mechanics on staff strive to provide the best service possible and take the time to explain what is going on with your car and what is needed for repairs to keep your vehicle on the road and in ... read more

Don’t Let Allergies Stop You From Enjoying Your Next Road Trip Do you notice that you get stuffy after driving in your car? When you crank up the tunes and hit the highway, are you noticing a headache and swollen eyes? There is a chance your car is contributing to your allergies. Have you noticed that it seems to get worse after a commute or road trip? Perhaps it is time to do some maintenance on your car and change your cabin air filter. If your cabin filter becomes dirty or clogged, it can make you feel sick. There is nothing worse than your car ride giving you a headache or even worse symptoms. You want to be mindful of contaminants like pollen and dust that can cause reactions or symptoms that are avoidable. If something as simple as changing out your cabin air filter can mitigate an allergy episode, do you think it is worth it? Not only can your cabin air filter contribute to health issues, but it can also prevent your heating, air conditioning, and cooling system to stop ... read more

With many affordable Japanese import cars in circulation and on the streets, it is easy to assume that parts are more readily available and on the market for a quick repair turnaround. Head turners, such as a finely tuned German engineered vehicle, make such an impact partly because they are less common to see on the road. Yes, this means parts can be a bit more challenging to acquire. Does this mean a German engineered car is more expensive to service than a Japanese import? Not necessarily, there are many other variables to take into account.   Did you know that we, as consumers, are now keeping our cars for over a decade? Auto longevity has increased by 20% from 10 years ago. With this to factor in, it has become even more critical to have a well-built car that you want to drive, over choosing to purchase a disposable vehicle.   Historically, vehicles came into the shop for maintenance 3-4 times every year for oil changes. When a car comes into the shop, a standard vehicle ... read more

  A Love for Trucks   If you are looking for a truck for work or for recreation, we think light-duty trucks are on point. A ½ ton truck can readily handle a load of dirt or rock for your project or for play and is all you will really need for your go-anywhere, get-any-job-done attitude.   We love our trucks for their bed, cab, accessibility and towing capacity. Here are a few more reasons why each of these truck features is so great.   Truck beds are a brilliant design lending itself to haul or move serious equipment, motorcycles, trash, mulch, appliances, tools and equipment and more. Unlike an SUV, trucks are up to every task. The sizes of truck beds vary depending on your needs. If you want a 4-door truck, a full-size bed which is 8 feet reduces to 5 or 6 feet depending on the configuration.   Cab size options are plentiful. Regular cabs, which are harder to find these days are the least expensive. Extended cabs are very useful; however, the ... read more