Laura Bertolli

This is a great article about aiming your headlights.  I thought I'd pass it on to you. How to Align Your Headlights

Modern cars need little maintenance and most people are using the dealer.  If you want to save money and help out a local business, try an independent auto repair shop!  I like the recommendations below and wanted to share them with you.  CHECKBOOK recommends you do the following to help improve your auto repair results: Whenever possible, compare prices, especially for big repairs. CHECKBOOK found some shops charge more than three times as much as their nearby competitors for the same work. Deal with the shop in a business-like way, and be especially thorough in the first few years, while you are getting acquainted. Write down a detailed description of the car's symptoms, give a copy to the shop, and ...

When you depend on your vehicle for work, it becomes a tool, that when it is out of service, can really affect the success of your work.  I'm thinking about landscapers, construction workers, carpet cleaners, glass installers, delivery trucks, dog walkers, florists, plumbers, electricians, security companies and more.  When these vehicles go down, they need to be repaired as quickly as possible.  Here at Bertolli's, we specialize in work vehicles, doing a safe repair with a quick turnaround. Shops that are on insurance referral lists, have a lot of business because they have to take every job that is sent to them.  They take a lot longer to start repairs and the vehicle sits in the parking lot until they can get to your vehicle.  We are not on any insurance referral lists and choose to remain independent, carefully select the repair jobs we do, and use scheduling to get vehicles in and out in the shortest amount of time.  Bertolli's starts repairs ri...

Like the shoes on our feet, the tires and wheels on our cars protect us from direct contact with the ground. And like those shoes we wear day in and day out, tires and wheels can rub, wear unevenly, and eventually fail to do their jobs. That’s why tire rotations and wheel alignments are integral parts of vehicle maintenance; staying on top of these services means a car can reach its maximum level of performance and safety. But while the end result of rotations and alignments is the same, there are some important differences between the two procedures. Tire Rotation Tire rotations are necessary to ensure even wear on a vehicle’s tires. See, the act of driving throws a car’s weight around, leaving distinctive erosion patterns on the tires. Uneven tread can develop from incorrect wheel alignment or over- or under-inflation of the tires. Whether you have front-wheel, rear-wheel, or four-wheel drive makes a difference too. In order to combat the inevitable tread wear, you have to...

Submitted by guest writer, Tyler Pendleton When you’re looking for a car, you want everything to be perfect. You want the right model, the right MPG, the right price most importantly, but what about the right color? Does a certain colored car help us in any way? On a slow moving street, some people text, and others look at the cars around them. When you see one that catches your eye, you like the car a little more. Or an advertisement on a cool looking car makes you pay more attention to it. A car's paint job is like a person's clothing, it classifies you in your own way. An orange and black car in the San Francisco Bay Area may show a Giants fan driving, or a flat black car could show importance on the inside. Many colors relate to different ideas in your brain. So when you’re getting the perfect car why do you choose the color you want?  It’s because your brain has its own theories on what colors “look good to you.” When you see something that triggers a good memory, y...

A unibody is a construction technique for cars, when the body is one whole piece instead of multiple parts making up the body. It is the main way cars are built today. It is good for most driving ways except for off-road due to the fact that since its all one piece it doesn’t move as well as separate pieces would. Trucks and Jeeps and other haulers would usually not use a unibody because of the limitations. A unibody is usually safer because of the crumple zones, which will minimize the impact force when in an accident. A unibody is lighter than a body on frame car, pickups and Jeeps, and is less expensive but it has some disadvantages too. A unibody would cost more money to repair and the durability is lessened in a unibody, making needs of repair higher. It is also harder to tow a unibody when totaled, making bills higher and the overall ride quality is worse, especially with bigger, heavier cars. In a body on frame car, if a part is an inch or sometimes less off, it will effect t...

This is a picture from San Rafael's 2011 Holiday parade.  What fun we had riding in a fully decorated 1973 Cadillac convertible on the day after Thanksgiving! Happy Holidays from the Bertolli family to all our loyal customers.  Best wishes for a happy, healthy, and love-filled new year.

One of the ways that an insurance company will 'steer' a customer to a specific shop is the use of manipulative statements.  Some we've heard is that the shop is not on our List, so you may have to pay out of pocket for some of the repairs, since THAT shop is SO expensive!  Another is that there may be a delay in the repair time because we have to go out to that shop and INSPECT the vehicle.  But the most comical statement is that the insurance company will guarantee the work if you use one of the shops on their List.  Since when is the insurance company set up to fix shoddy work? We are not on any insurance Lists (although we would be if the agreement was fair), and for some reason, customers bring their vehicles to us after having used the shop on the the List.  We understand that in order to make any money at the shops on the List, some corners may have to be cut.  Or maybe the technicians are paid on commission (flat rate), so they hurr...

This has got to be one of the best shows about cars on TV right now.  Premise:  get a comedian who loves cars to test them, rate them, race them and generally do crazy stuff on camera.  I love the host, Jeremy Clarkson, and I urge you to check it out.  Yes, people, I watch car shows in my off time.  It's a disease.

This is the pic from last year's Best of Marin story in the Pacific Sun. I thought I'd update the blog and throw a fun picture in. Our business is good and we are able to continue to employ everyone in the shot. We work hard to do a quality job so that most of our work is referrals from other happy customers. Thanks for reading and happy summer!

Over the past 20 plus years of running Bertolli's, there have been many changes in the way we paint cars. Before my time, there was lacquer. A thin hard paint that was applied in many coats and polished to look great. Unfortunately, the hardness of the paint led to a short paint life and eventually the paint would crack into 'chickenfeet'. You can see this on some classic cars that haven't been restored. When I entered the industry, urethane was just taking hold. Single stage paint was still being used, but more and more manufacturers were using a base coat/clear coat system which looked shinier and had more durability due to the clear coat. Solvent based urethane has worked well for almost twenty years, but the effect on the environment has brought us water-borne paint. We have been using water-based primers for a few years and have had excellent results. This was the first stage in lowering the VOC or volatile organic compounds, that are released into the air d...

Stuart Lirette, Marin IJ photographer, took my headshot yesterday and gave me a copy of the one he likes best. Thank you Stuart! Keep an eye out for the Marin Women Businesses insert in an upcoming issue. I'd love your feedback.

I just read a humorous article in Car and Driver entitled, "10 Used Cars to Avoid" written by John Pearley Huffman. My favorite part is about salvage titled vehicles: Insurance companies aren ’t in the business of losing money. So it’s a good bet that if a car has been written off as a total loss, it’s because it really was a total loss. If it had been worth fixing, the insurance company would have fixed it. It’s simple: If a car is so badly damaged that it can’t be fixed to an insurance company’s slight standards, to what standards could it have been fixed? So Insurance companies have slight standards?? Who knew? The point I'd like to make is, please, please listen to your auto body shop about the correct way to fix your vehicle. And forget, or don't believe what the insurance company says about the 'correct' way to fix a damaged car. They will tell you that the body shop is just 'ripping you off', but in reality, it's the other way aroun...

On Thursday, February 26, 2009, this scene unfolded in front of the shop. The BMW was turning into our driveway when a Ford Econoline van, without slowing down, slammed into the BMW. The driver of the BMW was injured and was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. The roadway was blocked for over an hour. Needless to say, we didn't repair either vehicle. I think the BMW might be a total loss and the van was from out of town and still drivable !

Everyone is feeling the pinch of tough economic times. In the auto industry, we hear of dealers closing on a weekly, if not daily, basis. People are losing their jobs, which leads to them possibly losing their homes. The cost of fuel has affected the amount of driving people do. Some trends that affect the auto industry are: *Poor condition of local roads. Government is feeling the pinch and infrastructure budgets are not able to keep up with the deterioration of roads, bridges, asphalt and concrete. Bad roads put added stress on vehicles. Trucks and SUVs take the stress on the frame. Cars feel pressure on the unibody , which absorbs the flexing and stress on the structure of the vehicle. *Cars are lasting longer. As is evident by the closing of auto dealers, people just aren't buying new cars unless they absolutely have to. Americans are keeping their cars 9.2 years, the oldest age for the average in a decade. Cars will have more rust, minor body damage, and...

Handwashing is easier on your car's finish and will give you better results. Start with the tires and wheels and switch to a different mitt once you're finished. Using the tire mitt on the body can leave unwanted particles on the paint and even scratch the finish. High-quality cleaners for tires and rims will ensure a longer lasting shine. Most of the dirt that appears on wheels comes from brake dust. A good quality rim cleaner will repel this dust, leaving the wheel looking like new longer. As for the tires themselves, dishwashing detergent and a stiff bristled brush work well to get into the pores of the tire and clean out the embedded dirt. When washing the body, be sure to use a product designed to be used specifically on car paint. Some household cleaners, such as dish detergent, can damage the finish. Start at the top and work with gravity, making your way downward, washing one section at a time. Rinse each section thoroughly. The rear of the car should b...

So I have to commute every day from Novato to San Rafael. This 20 mile drive takes between 30 minutes to an hour and a half, depending on traffic. Usually it takes about 50 minutes. Today I saw a woman on the phone with one hand and eating a burrito with the other!!! She was weaving in and out of traffic. This, just minutes after coming to a quick stop with the car behind me quickly stopping only inches from my rear bumper. I looked in my rear view mirror, and about four cars back, a car hit the car in front of it setting off a chain reaction, ending with the car directly behind me. I was happy to not be in that and happy that maybe one of the four cars would end up at my business!! Harsh, but true. Thankfully many drivers are distracted thereby ensuring my business success. Please drive safely!!!!

This story will be aired tonight at 11 pm on Bay Area channel 7. Check out the pic when he was in the shop interviewing me for the story. Pretty cool, huh?

Today at 6 pm on ABC channel 7 in the Bay Area, I will be on Michael Finney's Seven on your Side segment. He did a story on aftermarket parts and the autobody industry. New legislation introduced in the California State Senate would penalize insurers that require repair shops to install aftermarket parts on a vehicle that is still under factory warranty. The bill (S.B. 1059) was introduced in January by Senator Carole Migden (D-San Francisco) and sponsored by the Collision Repair Association of California (CRA). The bill is designed to prevent repairers and customers from inadvertently voiding the factory warranty on a vehicle in case of a failure caused by an aftermarket part. A few weeks ago, Michael, Sen. Migden, my customer, Tommy Kesecker and i were filmed for the piece at Bertolli's Auto Body. I support the bill. I'd love to hear from you if you see it.

to past and future customers of Bertolli's Auto Body. In this day and age of corporate greed, the insurance companies are making it harder for consumers to exercise their legal right to use the auto body repairer of their choice. There is an anti-steering law, but it is never enforced, so the insurance companies break the law all day long. Most people just don't want to fight for their rights and simply go where ever the insurance company tells them to go. This restraints fair trade and affects the quality of auto repairs. The shops on 'the list' are really extensions of the insurance company and the first thing on their mind is to save the insurance company money or risk losing the 'list' status. At Bertolli's , we're not on any list because we want to fix cars the way WE (the repair professionals) would want our car fixed, and at a fair price. Our customers have to be strong willed and courageous to stand up to the insurance company and say, ...