Castro Valley Auto Repair

Yet another (annual) study from CarMD.com provides a glimpse of the 2023 car repairs – specifically top 10 check engine light–related repairs. CarMD.com has been providing us with check engine light repair insights for over a decade. CarMD.com analyzed over 15 million failures reported in 2023 and recommended repairs. At Adams Autoworx in Castro Valley we see our share of check engine light-related repairs so we are always eager to study the results reported by CarMD.com. Sadly, catalytic converter replacement took the first spot on the list – with precious metals at or close to all time high prices, stealing catalytic converters (which contain platinum / rhodium) is still a lucrative activity. As for vehicle age, 2007 vehicles were found to be the most likely to need check engine light diagnostics and repairs. So here are the top 10 check engine light repairs as rep ... read more

Carfax, a company that keeps track of vehicle repair data, estimates that in 2022 there were over 153,000 vehicles targeted for catalytic converter theft. That's a considerably higher number than the insurance industry report of 52,000 claims. At Adams Autoworx we are not surprised at this discrepancy - many clients who had their catalytic converters stolen drive older cars, and so do not carry comprehensive insurance coverage, which would pay for catalytic converter replacement. They pay out-of-pocket. Apparently nationwide that number is significant – hence Carfax estimate is 3 times higher than insurance company data. This number also makes sense when considering that new catalytic converters are often on back-order, and depending on the vehicle model, one may have to wait months to get a replacement. If the lower number (as reported by insurance companies) were correct, auto repair industry would not be experiencing so many delays getting the new catalytic converters ... read more