Trucks that sat and now will not crank
A battery left discharged sulfates and permanently loses capacity. Add stale fuel, corroded grounds and rodent damaged wiring and you have the classic end of season no-start. We check all of it.
Starr County, Texas
Auto Repair for La Grulla, TX
La Grulla sits about three miles off US-83. When a vehicle quits out there, a tow costs more than it does for somebody sitting on the highway shoulder.
About 20 minutesFrom La Grulla to the shop
1,222 residentsStarr County, Texas
Mon to Thu, 9 to 5Closed Friday to Sunday
Since 1997Se habla español
Vehicle will not start in La Grulla?
Being off the highway changes the math. Work through these in order.
- 1It still drives
Bring it in while it still moves. North to 83, then west, about twenty minutes. A vehicle that is starting intermittently today will strand you soon.
- 2It will not move
Ask about a service call before you call a tow. From three miles off the highway a tow gets expensive fast, and this is exactly the situation where us coming out is the cheaper answer.
- 3It has been sitting a while
Tell us how long on the phone. A vehicle that has sat for months needs the battery, fuel and wiring all checked, and we can bring what we are likely to need.
What we fix most for La Grulla drivers
This is farm ground, and a lot of driving happens on caliche rather than pavement. Dust and seasonal use produce a different set of failures than highway miles do.
Alternators worn early by dust
Fine caliche dust gets into bearings and brushes and takes years off an alternator. We bench test rather than guessing, and we will tell you if yours is repairable.
A/C that cools on the road but not at a stop
That is a clogged condenser or a cooling fan circuit, not low refrigerant. Unpaved road driving packs a condenser with dust. Buying a can will not fix it.
Corroded grounds and connectors
Dust plus humidity near the river works on every connection on a vehicle. Most strange intermittent electrical faults out this way trace back to a ground.
Worth knowing before you drive in
Forty minutes round trip is real time out of your day. Call first and describe what the vehicle is doing. We will tell you whether to come now, come tomorrow, or stay put and let us come to you.
Service calls
Cannot get it to the shop from La Grulla?
A dead battery or a starter that will not turn means the vehicle is not going anywhere. We run mobile service calls out to where you are, so you are not paying for a tow just to find out what is wrong.
From La Grulla that is about 20 minutes of our time each way, which is what the call-out covers.
You will know the call-out charge before we leave the shop. It depends on how far out you are and what the vehicle needs, so we quote it on the phone rather than pretending there is one price for everybody.
Asking costs nothing and commits you to nothing. Tell us what the vehicle is doing, and if a tow or driving it in would work out cheaper for your situation, we will say so.
Call (956) 487-2143What we do for La Grulla
The same work we do for every town on US-83.
La Grulla questions
Do you come out to La Grulla?
Yes, we run service calls. There is a call-out charge on top of the repair because it is our time on the road. Given that La Grulla is three miles off US-83, a service call is often cheaper than a tow, and we will give you the honest comparison on the phone.
How far is the nearest mechanic to La Grulla, TX?
Rio Auto Electric is about twenty minutes away at 400 W Main St in Rio Grande City. You come north about three miles to US-83 near Alto Bonito, then west into town.
My farm truck has been sitting and will not start. What is it?
Usually the battery, and usually more than the battery. Sitting discharges a battery and sulfates it, fuel goes stale, grounds corrode and rodents chew wiring. We test the whole starting and charging system instead of selling you a battery and sending you off.
Why does my A/C only blow cold while I am driving?
At speed, airflow cools the condenser for you. Sitting still, the cooling fan has to do it. Warm air at a stop almost always means a fan motor, relay or temperature switch has failed, or the condenser is packed with dust from unpaved roads. It is an electrical or airflow problem, not a refrigerant problem.
Got a problem nobody else could figure out?
That is usually when people call us. Tell us what the vehicle is doing and we will tell you straight whether we can help.