West Seattle Auto Repair

Occasionally, cars are brought to Swedish Automotive that have experienced “smash and grab” thefts. We would like to encourage you to never leave anything in your Volvo, SAAB, Subaru or Mini Cooper. Even items such as an empty gym bag or a back pack full of books can cause temptation and result in hundreds of dollars of damage to your car. Smash and Grab Plan ahead: if you know you will be away from your parked car, do not take items that will have to be left behind, or stow items in your trunk or rocket box before you arrive at your destination. We have yet to see a cargo carrier damaged by break-in, but it is imperative to stow your goodies before you arrive and park. Security covers, the shades that hide items from view in the rear of wagons do not prevent thefts and may even increase curiosity. Customers have reported incidents that have occurred in a “good area” and in less than 10 minutes, including while the driver is dropping off their child ... read more

Be careful with your late model SAAB keys (1999 and newer)! Treat them like gold! Should you lose or damage your old keys, we currently do not have a source for new ones. We are hopeful that these keys will eventually become available again and will let you know when that happens. For now, ebay and craigslist are your best bet

While it is always best to replace all 4 tires at once, we sometimes replace only 2 tires due to a blow out or unevenly worn tires. When replacing only two tires we always put the new tires on the rear and the old tires on the front. While this may seem counter-intuitive, please see the attached Pep Boys video for further explanation and illustration of what happens to the handling of your car when the new tires are installed on the front. Video source: pepboys.com