At the east end of the Sellwood Bridge you’ll find this month’s underwriter, Tom Dwyer Automotive Services, Inc. TDASI has been a strong supporter of KBOO, underwriting Saturday morning bluegrass on “Music from the True Vine,” Tuesday Talk Radio with Abe & Joe, and Democracy Now! Tom has built his reputation on reliable service, environmental sustainability, and a strong commitment to offering advice centered on his clients’ priorities. And Tom is not afraid to get political; the waiting area at TDASI has a lending library filled with the works of progressive thinkers sure to be familiar to KBOO listeners, including Chomsky, Parenti, Ehrenreich, and a host of others. Recently I had a chat with Charles Leatherwood, Tom’s Outreach Coordinator and Shuttle Driver (yes, they even have a free courtesy shuttle for clients) to learn more about this local automotive institution.
JM: The shop shows a strong commitment to the environment. What does it mean for a shop to offer a carbon neutral program?
CL: Tom’s environmental commitment is one of the reasons we pay such close attention to the overall function of the car. Diligent maintenance doesn’t simply make the car run better and more reliably, it saves money and reduces pollution. Tom came up with the Carbon Neutral Program in 2007 because he thought that as long as society is stuck with internal combustion engines, we should not only be offering ways for folks to offset the carbon of their vehicles, but giving them incentive to do so. Members of our program get labor discounts at the shop and carbon offsets for their vehicles. I believe we’re still the only shop offering anything like it. Since carbon offsets are only as good as the projects they fund, we work with the Bonneville Environmental Foundation to provide Green-E Certified Offsets funding programs like tree planting, solar energy, and carbon controls on factories. To date our program has offset 1,632,900 lbs of carbon, enough renewable energy to power 94 homes per year.
JM: I assume you see a lot more electric and hybrid vehicles than even just a few years ago?
CL: Many more; especially Prius and Civic hybrids, and their owners love them. But we think hybrids are a bridge technology between gas and fully electric vehicles. Hybrids are more expensive than gasoline vehicles, and it takes years to pay back the cost difference in gas savings alone. Hybrids show their value most for those who value cleaner vehicles over fuel savings. While they don’t really break down more often than traditional cars, there are more things that can break down. When a car has both an electrical drive and a gas drive, each system has its own opportunities for failure. I certainly don’t mean to give the impression that we’re anti-hybrid; we love them! But we do want clients to evaluate the pros and cons based upon their specific values and priorities. When we have the chance to talk with a client before they buy a hybrid, we usually recommend they buy a simple and efficient gas vehicle (like a Toyota Corolla) instead, keep it maintained and running cleanly, and wait until the full electric vehicles become mainstream.
JM: Interesting that you only accept new clients with vehicles that are not more than 15 years old. Tell us about that.
CL: [Laughs] Ironically, almost all of our bad reviews are from potential clients who were mad that we wouldn’t work on their older vehicles! If we’re starting a new relationship with a client, we want to start with a car that’s not going to poison that relationship. The truth is that it’s rarely in a client’s interest to put money into an older vehicle with the hope of making it safe and reliable. If we find a vehicle needs $5,000 worth of work to be safe and reliable but the vehicle is only worth $3,000, this is not worth the client’s time, effort, or money, and we tell them so. Our services are most useful for people who have a good value car that they’re going to maintain for the long run (a “classic consumer vehicle”). I do want to make sure that folks know this 15-year-rule only applies to new clients. We have many clients with cars much older than 15 years, but we’ve been seeing their cars for many years and keeping them well maintained all along. Not only that, we already have a longstanding relationship with those clients, so when we tell them it’s time to move on to a new vehicle, they’ll have reason to believe us.
JM: Can you explain the Referral Reward Program, of which KBOO has been a beneficiary?
CL: Our Referral Reward Program started from Tom’s rabid desire for integrity. Naturally, we want to encourage referrals because that’s the way our shop grows. But we don’t want to bribe people; we prefer unpolluted referrals but still want to say thanks to our clients who help spread the word. So, when we get a new client from a referral we contact the referrer and make a donation to the non-profit of their choice. To date we’ve given over $10,000 to 162 groups since January 2014. All these groups are also entered into the running for additional $200 quarterly and $500 annual awards. We’re just finishing up the second year of Referral Rewards, and are announcing our quarterly and yearly award in this month’s shop newsletter.
JM: What led you to consider promoting the shop by underwriting KBOO programs?
CL: Tom had good response from his advertising on KPOJ, but when they closed he still wanted to support local voices, alternative information, and antidotes to the “corporate sludgepumps.” KBOO is such an icon in the progressive community; we knew that if we wanted to plant a flag in the progressive community, we would have to plant one on KBOO’s hill. We know how important it is for people to have access to shows like Democracy Now! and other “meaty” information programs. Having KBOO is a check on corporate media; it’s like someone you can go to for facts and balance, someone you know you can trust. In that sense, you need to be able to trust your media sources just like you need to be able trust your mechanic. We would encourage anyone who wants to be a part of that community to strongly consider program underwriting KBOO. To be honest, I don’t know how an organization could call itself progressive and not look to speak to the KBOO community.
JM: What else should our members know about Tom Dwyer Automotive?
CL: Our business is about more than just fixing specific mechanical problems; it’s about working to empower our clients. We look at cars as holistically as possible so we can determine the most effective ways to achieve the client’s goals for their vehicle. We want be a resource for our clients in every phase of their driving life. For instance, we maintain an extensive Client Resource Center on our website with full information on the issues our clients face in vehicle ownership. It includes information on buying or selling a car, what’s wrong with Quickie Lubes, why we don’t do “menu service”, individual mechanical issues, synthetic vs. conventional oil, and much more. It’s all in the name of trying to be a shop folks can trust to “keep their vehicles safe, breakdown free, and operating at their best” for many years to come.
Tom Dwyer Automotive Services
530 SE Tenino St.
Portland, OR 97202
(503) 230-2300
www.tomdwyer.com
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