Graham Auto Repair

Why is My Car A/C Blowing Hot Air? There may be huge gaps in time when you don’t need the Air Conditioning in your car. Especially in Washington State! When it gets hot you finally reach for that A/C button … You wait expectantly for that refreshing cold air! If you are reading this blog you are probably not that lucky. You may be asking, "Why is my cars ac not blowing cold air??" There are multiple things that can cause your car's A/C to stop functioning properly. It could be caused by low Refrigerant (also called Freon) or by a breakdown of the Compressor. There could also be a problem in the Electrical System or with the Cooling Fan. These are just a few examples. To find out what's going on in your A/C System you can schedule an A/C Service with us at Graham Auto Repair. How Can We Help? At Graham Auto Repair we have an Air Conditioning Service to diagnose your A/C concerns. I will give you a quick run-down of the steps that are performed during t ... read more

How Often Should You Change Your Brakes? Brake Pads and Brake Shoes will wear out over time. The more often they are used, the thinner they will become. As they thin out they are no longer able to generate the same amount of friction and heat. This makes it harder for you to stop your vehicle quickly, which will increase the distance that’s required for you to stop. There are many factors that contribute to how quickly our Brake Pads or Brake Shoes need to be replaced. Our driving habits and the environments we drive in both make a difference in how fast they thin out. The material our Brake Pads or Brake Shoes are made from also makes a difference. Different materials have a different amount of durability. Let’s talk about the different warning signs that you can watch for, to know when it’s time to change your Brakes. 1. Vehicle Warning Light One sign you should watch for is the Brake System Warning Light. If this warning light comes on it could mean more t ... read more

Graham Auto Repair in Yelm, WA Have you heard the news? Our Team is joining the Yelm Community in 2021. At the end of March we had the opportunity to meet with Paul Dunn from the Nisqually Valley News. He interviewed us and published an article about us! The above Photos are from the Nisqually Valley News Article, posted on April 1, 2021. Photo credit: Paul Dunn. Shared with permission. Pictured Left: Owner Troy Vaninetti hanging the "Join Our Team" sign in the window of our Yelm Shop. Pictured Right: Owner Troy Vaninetti and Digital Media/Recruiting Manager Lacie standing in front of the new Yelm Shop. You can read the full article here ... read more

April 2021 Mobile Blood Drive Graham Auto Repair is hosting a Mobile Blood Drive April 24, 2021. Before you Donate Blood: Make sure that you eat well, drink plenty of non-caffeinated fluids, and bring your picture ID. If you are under the age of 18, you must have a signed, "Parental Permission to Donate" Form. Important Note: You must sign up in advance to donate blood. Walk-in Blood Donations may not be accepted at this time. Thank you! Click This Link to Sign UpOr copy/paste this URL into your browser: https://donor.crbs ... read more

How Do I Check My Oil? It is important to Check Oil Often. In today’s blog we are going to give you a few steps to follow so that you can Check Your Oil today. If you are asking, “How Often Should I Change My Oil?” you can  read our blog post here. Step 1: Prep Your Car First thing you want to do is park your vehicle on a flat, level surface with the engine turned off. Let your car cool down before Checking Your Oil. Pop the hood open and get ready to Check The Oil! Step 2: Find the Dipstick Next you will need to locate the Dipstick. This may or may not be easy to find. Sometimes it will have a colored handle that is yellow or orange. If you do not see it, you can check your owner’s manual for it's location. Step 3: Clean the Dipstick Next thing you will want to do is clean the Dipstick off so ... read more

  We have some exciting news to share with you!! Our Graham Auto Repair family is growing! Shop Owners, Troy and Kori Vaninetti, have purchased a second shop in Yelm, WA .The new sign has been installed and can be seen when you drive down Yelm Ave. There are still a lot of changes coming before our new shop will be ready to open. You can check back on our website for updates as we get closer to opening. You can also follow us on Facebook & Instagram. We were originally hoping to open in Summer 2021. We are now scheduled to open in Aprill 2022! We are so excited for the opportunity to bring the same service that the Graham Community has grown to love and expect from us, to the Yelm Community! You can check out our new Yelm, WA location here: Graham Auto Repair in Yelm on Google ... read more

    Brakes for Breasts 2020 Results   Watch this video for an update on how much money we were able to donate toward the Brakes for Breasts Fundraiser for 2020. Thank you to everyone who came to Graham Auto Repair during the campaign to have their Brakes Serviced at our Shop! Our donation was made possible because of you! Update from the 2020 Brakes for Breasts Campaign: 2020 was the 10 year anniversary for the Brakes for Breasts Fundraiser, and it was their best fundraising year since they started! They surpassed $200k in donations this year, making their total donations over the past 10 years over $1 million dollars! That is awesome news, and we are so thankful that we were able to participate in 2020. We are looking forward to participating again in October 2021! Here are the links to our Social Media Pages and our Website: TikTok ... read more

    November 2020 Mobile Blood Drive In November 2020 Graham Auto Repair partnered with CrossFit Deluge to hold a Mobile Blood Drive with Cascade Regional Blood Services. Check out the video above to see some of the Event Day footage. We will be holding another Mobile Blood Drive on December 29, 2020. Our next Mobile Blood Drive will be located at Graham Auto Repair. Event Details: Important Note: You must sign up in advance to this event. Walk-in Blood Donations may not be accepted at this time. Thank you! How to Sign Up ... read more

    Mobile Blood Drive at Graham Auto Repair In October I had the opportunity to meet with Racheal, the Director of Donor Resources, from Cascade Regional Blood Services. I asked her a few questions about what it is like to donate blood with them, especially with social distancing and safety measures. I was able to go down to one of their Mobile Blood Drive sites and walk through the steps of donating blood to make a video for you, and in preparation for this blog. Then, in November, I got to donate blood at our joint Mobile Blood Drive with CrossFit Deluge here in Graham, WA. Just a little bit of personal information for anyone who is reading this and may be nervous about donating blood - I was very nervous before donating blood this November! After some encouragement from David, the Shop Foreman at Graham Auto Repair, I decided to go ahead and donate blood. It went so much better than I expected! The staff at the Mobile Blood Site from Cascade Regional Bl ... read more

  Honoring Our Veterans Today we pause to honor all of those who have dedicated their lives to serve our country in all branches of the U.S. Military. We want to acknowledge the sacrifices that you have made for all of us, during both war and peace. To all of those who have answered the call to serve, defend, and to preserve our freedoms: we salute you. Thank you for your service. One way that we would like to thank you is by giving you a special gift. If you are a Veteran, please stop by the shop during November and talk to one of our Service Advisors. Both of our Advisors served in our Military, and they will be very thankful to meet you! Let them know that you are a Veteran and they will present you with a Veterans Pin. This is just one way that we want to say, "Thank you for serving our country."   If you have any questions or would like to ... read more