Santa Cruz Auto Repair

Top Daytime Road Trips From Santa Cruz Think of Santa Cruz as the gateway to the charm, beauty and relaxed living of California’s central coast. The customers, staff and auto mechanics who provide “green” auto repair at Water Star Motors know the serenity this area offers and are willing to share their insights with you. To get to know the area, here are a few suggestions from Water Star Motors on how to spend your time with us: Check out Santa Cruz — Visiting Santa Cruz for the first time? Then begin by setting aside a day to spend at the Main Beach and the 150-year-old Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (open from Memorial Day to Labor Day), the biggest old-fashioned boardwalk and amusement park on the California coast. And take the time to check out the city itself. Watch this drone video tour to get a lay of the land and sights to see:   Scenic Highway 1 from San Francisco to Santa Cruz — If you drive north of S ... read more

Best Music Playlists For Road Trips   If you’re on a road trip, do you pack the music that moves you, like the customers at Water Star Motors in Santa Cruz CA do? When your car’s good to go, its maintenance and necessary auto repairs are taken care of by auto mechanics who provide the care motorists expect and deserve, how do you decide on the playlists for the road you’re traveling? Some songs move you, some songs don’t, but when you’re road-tripping, it’s the playlists you choose that matter most. Awesome music playlists help take the stress out of driving, but it’s the choosing that avoids the bruising. Fortunately, there’s plenty of options, especially as vehicles and music have become more connected. These include:   Packing Your Favorite CDs - It’s the traditional way. You know the music that moves you. After all, you even bought it. Google Your Travel Playlist - Albums and top songs by the performers you like are ... read more

  Meditation Can Improve Driving Focus “When there is harmony in your car, there is peace on your path. Creating world peace one car at a time.” Imagine, for a moment, the owners of a well-running auto repair shop starting their day with meditation. That is how Henry and Lisa of Water Star Motors start their days. “We have been meditating for over 30 years,” Lisa mentions in an interview. “It’s the best way I know to improve one’s focusing powers.”   Taking the stress out of driving, routine maintenance, and auto repair is what Water Star Motors customers seek from the shop’s staff and highly skilled auto mechanics. People are much like the vehicles they drive — It’s all about harmony and balance.   The experience of customers who trust their vehicle care and auto repair to Water Star Motors is one of happiness. They love how their vehicle sounds and runs so smoothly. In contrast, there are owners of ... read more

What Does It Mean To Be a Green Business? Contrary to what Kermit the Frog says, it’s easy being green for Water Star Motors, the first Green Certified auto repair business in the County of Santa Cruz, and its team of like-minded auto mechanics. Long before opening Water Star Motors in 1993, our owners, Lisa and Henry Carter, were dedicated to protecting the planet through “green” practices. Integrating those practices into the auto repair world was a natural extension of the “being green” way of life. Our motto, “Your Serene Green Auto Repair Team”, speaks for itself. Living and working green at Water Star Motors is a lasting commitment for us; not the latest business marketing fad or change of fashion. We were already green well before the Monterey Bay Area Green Business Program began in 2003. When the opportunity to officially become a Green Certified Business via the Program arose, it allowed us to meaningfully help participate with and mo ... read more

Summer is here and we love to travel to ‘hot’ places with our families. For example; there is much desert to be crossed to get to the Grand Canyon.   No one wants to get caught with the hood up on the side of the road. This tends to raise the temperatures of more than the vehicle. Before your trip we suggest checking your vehicle with a pre-trip inspection. Ideally do this a week or two before your scheduled departure date. Special attention should be made to the Cooling System and the Air Conditioning System.   Quick Factoid: Summer heat can send parts of your engine to nearly 200 degrees F – some engine bits can even reach 500 degrees, literally oven hot! NEVER open the radiator cap on a hot engine! Over- heating or not, the system has a lot of pressure in it. (Old Faithful is best viewed from a distance.)   The easiest way for you to determine if your car is cooling properly is to get in the habit of looking at your car’s temper ... read more

    ARE YOU HOT?!   Air Conditioning Explained  Your car's ‘skin’ of steel and glass is not only  protective and beautiful, but it also attracts  and stores a tremendous amount of solar  (radiant) heat in the passenger compartment.  Removing this trapped heat requires a very  efficient system. The Air Conditioning (A/C)  system is a combination of mechanical  components plus a chemical medium (Freon   – not a psychic) whose sole purpose is to move heat from the interior to the exterior of the vehicle. Your car’s air conditioner uses Freon Refrigerant to cool the air internally. Freon acts a lot like water. As liquid Freon warms up it evaporates into a gaseous state (vapor), and then, as it cools down, becomes liquid again. As the Freon changes from a liquid to a vapor it heats and cools the air. What path does Freon take ... read more