ACtion Magazine - May 2014 - (Page 12)

Meet MACS member Tim Iezzi By Marion Posen M eet MACS member Tim Iezzi, a member of the millennial age group and a third generation automotive technician at Iezzi's Auto Service in Reading, PA. Tim explains the history of his shop. "Our business is 100 percent family owned. My grandfather, Jerry Iezzi started the business on September 1, 1960. My Dad worked part-time in high school and came on board when he graduated in 1974. My uncle also worked here from 1973 until he passed away in 2007. I started working here and learning how to fix cars in high school and worked summers while I was in college. I came in fulltime when I graduated from college in May 2011. Later that year, my dad and I became business partners, each owning half of the business. Our roots in the auto industry go back even further than 1960. My grandfather worked for his uncles at a service station/Dodge dealership in the '40's." What kind of service work does Tim perform? "Our business is general repair, (however) we do specialize in air conditioning and electrical/ drive-ability repairs. We are a licensed Pennsylvania state inspection station. We strive to provide complete car care for all of our customers. The only major service we do not perform is wheel alignment, due to a lack of space for the equipment. Cooling system work is around 10 percent, A/C is 10 to 15 percent, sometimes more, depending on the summer. The rest is general repair. Our A/C business has shrunk considerably over the last few years as other shops in our area have begun to repair air conditioners. However, we are the go-to guys when another shop has thrown up their hands; we are the place to fix the problem repairs no one else can handle. We stick 12 ACTION * May 2014 to cars and do little non-automotive work." We asked Tim what he wishes every customer knows about his shop and he told us, "There are two things I wish every customer knew about us. The first is that we have two employees; just me and my father Jim. What is unique about this is that we are both ASE Master Certified Technicians and L1 Advanced Level Engine Performance specialists. We are one of the few facilities that can claim that EVERY employee is a master technician. The second is that we are equipped to handle almost any problem on domestic and Asian vehicles and some European models. We invest heavily in tooling and training. We currently have the factory diagnostic tools for GM, Toyota, BMW/MINI and Volvo. We will be adding Ford and Chrysler in the next year or two, and we have reprogramming capabilities." We always like a good story and asked Tim to tell us about an unusual repair. "The most unusual problem was a 1999 Jeep Cherokee. As with most unusual problems, this one was man-made. The vehicle owner worked at a national chain parts store that mostly sells parts to do-it-yourselfers and sells a lot of A/C sealer products. Someone she worked with told her that the reason her A/C did not work was that it needed a compressor (I have only ever seen one fail on one of those jeeps compared to hundreds of evaporator cores, but that is another story). Her friend replaced the compressor. He then recharged it, without evacuating the system and put in 2 or 3 cans of refrigerant with sealer. This resulted in a gross overcharge situation as well as a restriction from all of the sealer. As soon as the compressor clutch would engage, the compressor Tim at work on a diagnosis would go in to high pressure lock-up and blow the pressure relief valve. Properly repairing this system per Chrysler's service bulletin about sealer would have meant complete system replacement. Customer declined repairs due to price. Had she brought the vehicle to us ﬁrst, we could have easily ﬁxed whatever was wrong with it." What concerns does Tim have regarding the new refrigerant R-1234yf? "My biggest concern with the new refrigerant is having to clean up other peoples messes. We will tool up for R-1234yf as it enters the market. I am worried that others will not and will just add R-134a to the systems due to the price of the refrigerant. This is reminiscent of the (changer over from) R-12 to R-134a days where we had a lot of cars come in with contaminated refrigerant." Why have three generations of Iezzi technicians been members of MACS? "I am a MACS member because of the information that I receive from MACS. MACS gives me real value for my membership dollars by keeping me abreast of industry changes, so that I am ready for them once the cars hit my bay." ❆

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ACtion Magazine - May 2014

Selling the right things
Season opener
Outlook
Freeze Frame
Leonard's Law
Service Port
Virtual View
Last Watch
Member Profile
By the Numbers
Cooling Corner
Industry News
Association News
Letter to the editor
New Products

ACtion Magazine - May 2014