O'Fallon Auto Repair

“It’s HOW much? Maybe I should just buy a new car then.” We hear that a lot when people come in to Hillside Auto Repair for an estimate. However, most of the costly repairs they are concerned with, could have been prevented! Simple things like oil changes and transmission flushes, checking for coolant leaks, checking for worn belts, all could have saved them thousands of dollars. And people often believe that newer car means cheaper because they won’t have any service needs or repairs. But that’s simply not true. Most people just don’t know how expensive car ownership is. According to Liberty Mutual, “An average American household can expect to spend about 1.5 percent of its annual income, or about $817 a year, on car repairs for its two (or more statistically accurate, 1.9) vehicles” For instance, for the first 25,000 miles, the average car owner can expect to pay $1,400 for maintenance. And then, for every block of 25,000 miles travelled after, the avera ... read more

Why come to Hillside Auto Repair with your import or luxury vehicle? Simple. We know them. We possess the skills and technology to not only diagnose any issues, but we also have the training and experience to service and repair them. We utlize the same equipment as the dealerships. We work with the care and precision that each vehicle was engineered with. Here’s a few examples of the work we’ve done: Mercedes CL550 – Tune Up, Control Arm Replacement Range Rover – Full Maintenance, Repair to Air Ride Suspension Lotus Esprit- Drivablity Concerns, Installed New Performance Fuel Injectors BMW X5- Full Maintenance, Fixed Oil Leak Porsche- Full Maintenance, Tune up, Emission Repair Currently we are running specials on Oil Changes for Audi, BMW, and Mercedes. Please call the shop to confirm details of the specials!

Well, if you’ve ever driven in a car that is extremely out of alignment, it may seem obvious. Having to turn the steering wheel just to keep the vehicle pointed straight is a nuisance at best and a flat-out hazard at worst. But even subtle misalignment issues will cost you over the long run in the form of fuel inefficiency and accelerated wear and tear on your tires. Here’s all you need to know to protect your car’s alignment, recognize when something’s off, and communicate with your auto shop when it’s time to take your car to the professionals. What Causes a Car to Need Alignment Services? Knocking your car out of alignment can happen as suddenly as bouncing over a pothole you didn’t see or sliding into a curb during a snowstorm. But it can happen gradually too as your car’s suspension parts experience unavoidable wear during your day-to-day commutes. This is an extreme example, but we’ve seen it! Is it Bad to Drive a Car that is Out of Alignment? ... read more

The above graphic shows some common parts of the brake. The brake system of your vehicle is by far the most important safety system that it has. Being able to slow down or stop at a moments notice will help to avoid an incident or accident. Improperly working brakes will not do the job they are designed to do and will not be as effective when needed, especially in a panic stop situation. (ask anyone who’s ever encountered a deer late at night!) You need to be able to slow down and stop. According to the Missouri Driver’s Manual: Your stopping distance equals your reaction distance plus your braking distance. If you are driving fast, are very tired, or if your vehicle has bad brakes, you will need more space to stop your vehicle. The following distance equals your reaction distance plus your vehicle’s braking distance at different speeds. The reaction distance is the distance you travel after you see a danger and befor ... read more

Sometimes, here at Hillside Auto Repair, we see some amazing cars! Just this week one of them rolled into our garage. A lovely MG Midget! Exterior Interior Some History of the Midget (thank you Wikipedia!) The MG Midget is a small two-seater sports car produced by MG from 1961 to 1979. It revived a name that had been used on earlier models such as the MG M-type, MG D-type, MG J-type and MG T-type. The first version, announced at the end of June 1961, was essentially a slightly more expensive badge-engineered version of the MkII Austin-Healey Sprite deluxe version. The original ‘frogeye’ Sprite had been introduced specifically to fill the gap in the market left by the end of production of the MG T-type Midget as its replacement, the MGA had been a significantly larger and more expensive car with greater performance. Many existing MG buyers turned to the Sprite to provide a modern low-cost sports car and so a badge-engineered MG version reusing the Midget name made sens ... read more