Our Service Book
Auto Repair Services in Royal Oak, MI
Fourteen services, one building, every make and model. Nothing here gets referred out to somebody else, which is the practical reason to use one shop for a car instead of three.
- All makes and models, domestic, Asian and European
- Free written estimate before any work starts
- Free multi-point inspection on every visit
- Limited lifetime warranty on most repairs
Everything We Do
Pick the one that sounds like your problem
If none of them quite fit, start with a diagnostic test. That is the right page for a noise, a light or a feeling you cannot name yet. If you would rather start from the car, see the makes we service.
How We Work
The same five rules on every job
These do not change with the size of the repair or the price of the car. They are the reason people come back rather than the reason they come in the first time.
-
Nothing is quoted before it is inspected
The car goes on a lift and gets looked at properly first. A price given for a fault nobody has examined is a guess with a number attached, and it is how estimates end up growing later.
-
You get the estimate in writing, free
What is wrong, what it costs, and what happens if it waits. No work begins until you have said yes to a figure.
-
Findings come back in green, amber and red
What is fine, what has measurable life left and roughly how much, and what genuinely needs doing now. Keeping those three separate is the whole job.
-
Anything found mid job reaches you as a phone call
Not as a line on the invoice. Sometimes a repair uncovers something underneath it, and that is a decision you make rather than one we make for you.
-
The old parts stay and the numbers get written down
So a recommendation is something you can check rather than something you have to take on trust. Ask and we will walk you out to the car.
Worth Knowing
How to tell a repair shop is actually worth keeping
Anyone can replace a part. What separates shops is what happens in the twenty minutes before the part is ordered and the five minutes after the car comes off the lift.
They diagnose before they quote
A price given over the phone for a noise nobody has heard is a guess with a number attached. The diagnosis is the work. The parts are the easy part.
You get shown the old part
There is no reason a worn component cannot be put in front of you. A shop that measures your rotors and reads you the number is a shop that expects to be checked.
Amber stays amber
Brake pads with a season left in them are not an emergency, and a shop that calls them one is selling, not advising. You should be told what is urgent and what can wait, separately.
The estimate does not grow on its own
Things are found mid-job sometimes, and that is legitimate. What is not legitimate is finding out about it on the invoice. Anything new should reach you as a phone call and a decision.
They will say the work is not worth doing
On a high mileage car the right answer is sometimes to stop spending. A shop that has never once talked a customer out of a repair is not being straight with anybody.
The warranty is written down
Verbal warranties evaporate at exactly the moment you need them. Ours is in writing and it covers most repairs for as long as you own the vehicle.
How We Report
Green, amber and red, and what each one commits you to
Every car that comes in gets a multi-point inspection and you get the result, whether or not there is anything to sell. The three colors mean specific things here, and none of them is a sales tactic.
| Color | What it means | What we do about it |
|---|---|---|
| Green | Checked and fine | Nothing. The value of a green line is knowing somebody actually looked, which is why we list what was checked rather than only what failed. |
| Amber | Wearing, not due | We tell you roughly how long you have and we do not book it. Brake pads at 4 mm, a tire with a couple of seasons left, a leak that is seeping rather than dripping. The point of an amber is that you get to choose the timing. |
| Red | Do it now | Safety, or something that will cause a larger failure if it is left. We will explain which of those two it is, because they are not the same kind of urgent, and a red item gets a price before any work starts. |
You are welcome to take the report elsewhere. It is a description of your car rather than a quote you are committed to, and a shop that will not put its findings in writing is telling you something.
Your First Visit
What happens when you bring a car in
No appointment is needed, though booking means you are not waiting behind anyone. Here is the shape of it.
-
You tell us what the car is doing
In your own words. When it happens, how fast you are going, whether it is cold or warmed up. Drivers describe faults better than they think they do, and it saves diagnostic time.
-
We inspect before we quote
The car goes on a lift and gets a full multi-point look, free, every visit. Half of what we find is nothing to act on, and we say so.
-
You get a written estimate and a straight explanation
What is wrong, what it costs, and what happens if you leave it. Free estimates, and no work begins until you have said yes to a number.
-
The work gets done and the old parts stay
Repaired properly with parts we stand behind. Whatever came off is kept, so you can see it if you want to.
-
You leave knowing what is next
Green, amber and red. What is fine, what to watch, what is due soon, written down so the next visit starts from a record instead of a memory.
Worth knowing
The green lines on an inspection are the valuable ones
Anyone can hand you a list of what is wrong. A report that also lists what was checked and found fine is the one that tells you somebody actually looked, and it is what lets you compare this visit against the next one. That is the half most shops leave off.
Service Area
Where our customers drive in from
We are at 29444 Woodward Ave on the north end of Royal Oak, which puts a good part of southeast Oakland County inside a short drive. The linked cities have a page of their own.
- Royal Oak
- Ferndale
- Berkley
- Clawson
- Birmingham
- Troy
- Madison Heights
- Huntington Woods
- Pleasant Ridge
- Oak Park
- Hazel Park
- Southfield
- Bloomfield Township
- Bloomfield Hills
- Bloomfield Village
- Big Beaver
- Warren
- Sterling Heights
- Detroit
Questions
Before you book
Is there a make you will not take?
Do I need an appointment for any of these services?
Which service do I need if I do not know what is wrong?
Are estimates free?
How long is the work guaranteed for?
Can you do work that people assume needs a dealer?
Do you service commercial vehicles and fleets?
In Their Words
What customers say about the shop
★★★★★
I called up “First Call” while test driving a vehicle my daughter was looking at, and they were able to run a full inspection without a prior appointment. They spent 1.5 hours looking over the vehicle and then handed me a detailed report. Worth every penny. Too bad they’re not closer to Rochester.
★★★★★
I had a wonderful experience with all of the staff at first call auto care. The staff was knowledgeable and explained everything in detail that was needed for my car. The waiting room was clean and nicely stocked with snacks if you needed to wait. I wouldn't go anywhere else for my car needs.
★★★★★
I was treated like family. I was given respect. They accommodated my needs outside of repairing my car. Like providing transportation back home , being open to time slots for emergencies and stuck to the price. All I can say is what more can you ask for besides an excellent place to do business.
Book It
Not sure which one you need?
Call and describe it in your own words, or see every way to reach us. 29444 Woodward Ave, Royal Oak. We will tell you which service it is, or tell you to bring it in so we can find out properly.