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Suburban Auto Repair Shop Says Don't Forget about Car Maintenance

NBCUniversal Media, LLC

A suburban automotive repair shop told NBC 5 that people should not be forgetting about their routine car maintenance, even as the pandemic impacts how often people are driving.

Janessa Wagner and her husband, Doug, own Itasca Automotive Repair and said they went from working on about 25 cars a week prior to the pandemic to about 5 cars a week now.

“We can’t work from home. We rely on people coming in and driving their cars and getting their brakes done, their batteries and what not and just haven’t been seeing that lately,” said Janessa Wagner.

She said business this November is far below what they took-in this time last year.  Wagner also explained how fewer people are using a nearby Metra station that was once a reliable source of walk-in customers.

“We’re not able to take a paycheck at this point, so we’re just making-due with keeping the lights on and keeping the landlord happy and that’s all we can do,” Wagner said.

The Wagners said that even if people are not driving as much as they used to, their car batteries and brakes still need attention.

“It’s going to drain your battery down. You go out there to your garage one morning and it won’t start. So I recommend driving your car half hour to an hour once a week,” said Doug Wagner.

Doug Wagner also said that vehicles that are stationary for long periods of time can attract animals that can chew on wires.

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