The Coast News Group
An extra sense of comfort should come from the fact the moonlight Motors is a “green Certified Service Center,” one of the first to receive this designation.
An extra sense of comfort should come from the fact the moonlight Motors is a “green Certified Service Center,” one of the first to receive this designation.
Marketplace News

Green auto repair?

There’s no denying that people living in Southern California are heavily reliant on their vehicles. 

Seeing the dreaded CHECK ENGINE LIGHT come on is a spine chilling experience, however, vehicle maintenance is a fact of life.

When it needs to be done, it needs to be done at a place you can trust by people you can trust. There’s where Marty Smith, owner and operator of Moonlight Motors in Encinitas, and his general manager Adam Bixler come in.

They’re the first ones to greet you when you bring your car in for service.

For over a decade, Smith and Bixler, an Encinitas native, are proud of being a local, independent shop, providing complete auto maintenance services to the community.

Because of their expertise working on new and older vehicles, Smith describes his shop as a place where The Flintstones meet The Jetsons.

The service staff is constantly undergoing training to stay on top of the emerging hybrid technologies. Never putting money ahead of people, the technicians are factory trained, ASE Certified and hybrid specialists.

Each technician has been with Moonlight Motors long enough to have gotten to know and establish a familiarity with their customers.

This aspect makes Moonlight Motors incredibly special.

All too often, when you take your vehicle to a dealership, you never know who is working on it.

Once you drop the car off at the dealer, it disappears into some service area only to come back “needing” some crazy repairs!

Smith and his staff encourage their customers to ask questions about the services their vehicles are receiving.

Smith said, “it helps with the level of comfort when you know who’s working on your car and you can actually talk to them.”

An extra sense of comfort should come from the fact the moonlight Motors is a “green Certified Service Center,” one of the first to receive this designation.

This means all of the “waste-products” that come from the vehicles are handled and disposed of responsibly or recycled. “Anything that we can do, as an automotive repair facility, to help limit our footprint, benefits all of us — from our water to our air quality,” said Smith. Carrying on in the green tradition, Smith and Moonlight Motors have just added an electric vehicle charging station.

They will use it as an extra source of convenience for their electric/hybrid vehicle owning clients and neighbors.

“Though appointments are preferred, call or just stop by and we can talk” says Smith.

“Sorry we don’t have a Major Chain Coffee House on premises, but that helps us keep overhead and waste down! Besides, there are three within walking distance! Get out and enjoy that FRESH air!”