To my Friends and Family of the Bicycle Sport Shop clubs,
I wanted to simply take the time to introduce myself as a
sponsor of the clubs and give some background of who I am, what my business
does, and why you’re seeing an automotive transmission shop sponsoring a
bicycle club alongside all these fitness, nutrition, running and yoga
businesses. Talk about being the ugly
duckling of the group! I know that as a
member of the club I look to see what benefits I can personally gain from the
sponsors of the club and I’ll be the first to admit, along with many of you,
that a transmission shop is one that I’d normally just overlook for a number of
reasons; my car works just fine, I have no need for transmission work, I hate
mechanics in general, yadda yadda. Hopefully
I can offer a benefit to everyone either directly or indirectly as best I can
and I encourage everyone to use me as a knowledge contact whenever necessary.
Many of you may already know me. I’ve volunteered at a number of BSS sponsored
events and rides during 2013 and was even convinced by Carla Jennings to try my
hand at cyclocross with the BSS CX club.
I ride bikes. I love bikes. The past year and a half of riding bikes has
literally changed much of my life allowing me to take a closer look at my
health, my hobbies and how I spend time with my friends and wife. I was in dire need of change after spending
numerous years racing cars and feeling tired and stressed. I’ve always looked for avenues to give back
to a community that has taken me in as well as Bicycle Sport Shop has done for
me.
I’ve worked in the automotive industry since 1997 in some
form of fashion working at dealerships, independent auto repair facilities and
finally my own transmission shop. I know
cars. More importantly, I was a
customer first before I ever learned how to even do a simple oil change on a
vehicle. As a customer I’m fully aware
of the negative stigma attached to the auto repair industry and that has been
my sole reason for me creating a career in the auto repair industry. I’m well aware of that cringing feeling
everyone has whenever they have to take their car in for work or even for a
simple oil change. You always feel like
you’re going to get screwed somehow.
We’ve all been there. Even
establishing a comfortable level of trust is never fully realized because of
the lack of knowledge that a customer has about vehicles. We simply trust that they’re doing the right
thing and charging a fair amount for the service. Talk about a leap of faith. How many times have you gone in for a simple
oil change and wait in deep anticipation for that service advisor to come into
the waiting room holding someone’s air filter, presumably yours but not always,
ready to tell you that it’s time to replace your filter, or what’s worse, found
more problems wrong with your vehicle.
This is how automotive nightmares start. My goal is to change that.
When I first sat down with Sarah McCarty to discuss
sponsorship of the clubs, I had no idea what I could offer. The transmission industry is so specialized
and varying that the best I could come up with was a flat 15% off of any work
performed at my shop (20% for Legacy members).
I don’t have a single individual product that I can discount for members. And, again, as a customer/club member my
first reaction to seeing 15% off of transmission repair is a sarcastic,
“Hooray, 15% off of a repair bill that I really don’t want in the first
place.”
Hopefully I can offer more than
just a percentage off of a repair bill.
I want to help you make proper decisions. I want to help educate you about your car or
truck. I want to be your automotive advisor. This is what I propose in addition to a 15%
off a repair order:- If you own a car, use me as a resource. My email address is dpedroza@eagletransmission.com or even find me on Facebook. (Eagle Transmission – Pflugerville) It’s that simple. I want to make sure that you are treated fairly wherever you go, even if it’s not my shop. If you feel like you don’t understand something that a mechanic is telling you or trying to sell you, call or text me. I’ll be happy to call them directly to ask questions on your behalf. I’ve made phone calls posing as a customer’s brother or father asking for more information and even calling out some service advisors who really don’t know what they’re talking about. I’m also happy to explain things in a way that you can understand in order to make a proper decision. I want to put the trust back into the family mechanic, but that starts with knowledge. Knowledge is power.
- If you are looking for a second opinion, come see me or contact me via email or text. I will walk you through whatever you need to know in order to make a good repair decision. Oftentimes it may be work that we can do ourselves at my shop, or if we can’t do it I’ll refer you to a reputable shop in town. I do wholesale transmission work with many independent shops in town and would be happy to refer them to you for general repair work.
- Looking to buy a used car? I can give you tips on how to take thousands of dollars of the price of a used car or truck. I can also inspect the potential used car for you for absolutely nothing. Zero. Zilch. Plus, after inspecting the used car I will send you back to the seller with a list of potential issues on the horizon that will guarantee dropping the price of the car anywhere from $500 to $2000.
Unfortunately there are some minor terms to my offer. First, I am the owner/operator at just the
Pflugerville location. You may be aware
of other Eagle Transmission locations throughout Austin (3 others), but we are
all each individually owned and operated and those other shops have no idea
what I’m doing. So don’t go to the S.
Austin location asking for Dan or requesting a BSS discount. They’ll look at you funny. I know that Pflugerville isn’t the most
convenient location, but on average we’re just a 20-minute drive away. Second, text me before you call. I rarely have my phone on me when I’m in the
shop and it’s safer to just send me a note first so I’ll reply quickly. Email is pretty darn quick, too. Thirdly, don’t be afraid to use me as often
as you want. This is what I do for a
living, simply helping people make their lives more convenient. After all, that’s all a car is, right? Convenience?
I am looking forward to 2014 as a club member and a
sponsor. I hope to see everyone on the
road or on the trails!
Dan Pedroza
Owner, Eagle Transmission - Pflugerville
