We Need To Thank-You

For Over 25 Years,  Sullivan's Two Unlimited Has Been Apart Of The Baraboo Community. We Now Have A Second Generation Of Customers As Fathers & Mothers Have Told Their Sons & Daughters Of Their Faith In Sullivan's Two Repair Work & Honesty.  For This We Are Honored & Thank-you.

We hope you enjoy our very first new letter.  We don’t often get to remind you of our services or provide general vehicle advise & thought this would be a convenient way of providing it.  Please feel free to comment. 

The Crew at Sullivans Two

What Can We Do In 2009

Obviously economic times are rough.  We are all watching our pennies not knowing what will happen next.  The  price of everything has gone up over the last year.  Gas prices finally came down just in time for our taxes, holidays & school expenses.  Vehicle parts and fluids price were no exception.  Steel, oil & fuel prices  were up last summer so now that increase is reflected in the shipping costs of brake rotors, water pumps & oil prices today.  In other words,  All prices are higher today.  Unfortunately, keeping your car alive & well is a necessary expense.  But we are trying to keep that cost down for you.

We are keeping our labor rate at 2007-2008 levels.  Even though our costs of insurance, utilities, labor, training & taxes have gone up, we are cutting costs where we can to pass savings on to you.

Also we are now a NAPA service center which allows us to provide piece of mind warranty on qualified parts and service.  If you are traveling & a part we installed fails, all you have to do is visit a NAPA service center to have it repaired under their 2 year, 24,000 mile warranty. We have also teamed up with Pronto Smart Advantage.  This is a Weaver Auto Parts program allowing us access to high quality parts at discounted prices and then passing the savings to you.

Finally & more importantly, we are here to answer your questions.  Some repairs are required, some are suggested maintenance.  We will always prioritize & explain the difference.  Understanding your driving needs is how we will serve you best.  Please let us know your situation so we can better understand your needs.

Replace or Rebuild

I found this on the internet & could not say it better.

The high price of new cars, the falling price of trade-ins, the credit crunch, the diminished value of our investments and the general uncertainty of what surprises the next few years may bring has many of us looking into the viability of reconditioning our current car instead of replacing it with a new one.

Last year the average new car cost $29,700 (according to Comerica Bank). Investing a small portion of that in the car we have now, the one that is paid off, or nearly so, can be a good decision.

If the car we have now fills the needs of our family or business and is basically sound there is really no reason to replace it. Even if we had to invest 4 or 5 thousand dollars in the vehicle it would be less than one year of payments. That doesn’t even count the sales tax we would have to pay, or the higher insurance premiums that a new car brings with it. 

Begin with a very thorough inspection of the current car. Everything should be checked, from tires and suspension to engine and transmission performance. Air conditioning, cruise control, stereo, seat covers and interior upholstery including the headliner are all serviceable items that can be replaced at a reasonable cost when compared to purchasing a new car.

Sometimes we get focused on a technical gizmo offered on a new model. A popular item now is the onboard navigation systems. We don’t have to buy an entire car to get a very nice nav system. For about $1000 we can have a pop up screen color system that incorporates a great stereo system. We can have Bluetooth enabled phones, I-Pod connections and voice controls. Remote start, tire pressure monitors, and entertainment centers can all be added to almost any car on the highway.

Once we know the condition of the car and what if any accessories we would like to add, we can come up with a cost to keep the car we have. Now compare that to the cost of replacing that car. If a few thousand dollars invested in the current car will give us a couple of more years of safe and comfortable service why spend 10 times that?

Another consideration is that sometimes we want a new car for those special trips, like to Grandma’s house for the holidays, or the family vacation. Consider renting a car for those occasions. You can rent a very nice new car or SUV for a week for less than 1 month’s car payment. You don’t have to worry about maintenance, insurance or depreciation and can have the pleasure of a different new car for each trip.

I Can See Again

Cloudy headlights affect hundreds of thousands of vehicles in virtually every make of car and truck, foreign or domestic.  Replacing your headlights can cost hundreds of dollars.  Instead of replacing we can now restore your headlights. 

You can greatly improve your nighttime driving visibility without the hassle of replacing your headlight assemblies. Our headlight cleaner method will remove oxidation and discoloration making your headlights look brand new. If your headlight lens are clouded, yellow or hazed over, or you want to prevent this from happening to your headlights, we have the product to clean, clarify, and protect them.  Generally this costs between $45-$60 per headlight.  Please ask for an estimate