Work order line MNT
Scheduled maintenance and tune-ups for the long haul
Oil changes, tune-ups, timing belts, alignment and rotation, and every factory-recommended service, kept on schedule so the car stays out of the repair line.
Chapter 01
What slips when life gets busy
Nobody forgets maintenance on purpose. The oil change drifts a few thousand miles past due. The timing belt sails beyond its interval because the car still runs fine. The wipers streak for a whole season, and the tires wear unevenly because rotation never made it onto the calendar.
Each of those is cheap to handle on time and expensive to handle late. A timing belt that lets go can turn into a major engine repair, and an engine that ran low on clean oil can end up on the overhaul list. The shop on Oakwood Drive would much rather see your car for a tune-up than for a tow.
Preventative maintenance is what makes it realistic to drive a ten-year-old car cross country without wondering whether it will make it. Kept up properly, a vehicle can run trouble-free for years, maybe even decades.
Oil draining from a car on a lift into a yellow drain funnel, a new filter on a rolling tray
The maintenance list, and the people who keep it
Here is what Ultimate Automotive Service Center handles: oil changes and overhauls, tune-ups, factory-recommended maintenance, timing belt replacement, brake, steering and suspension checks, wheel alignment and tire rotation, windshield wipers, and the major engine and transmission repairs that follow when maintenance was skipped.
Factory-recommended maintenance means the schedule the manufacturer wrote for your vehicle. Nick Kindred writes up the service at the desk, and the technicians behind him include Erick Lutchman, ASE certified with more than 17 years as a technician, Ryan Roth, at the shop since 2008, and Kris Palmer, with more than 15 years of experience.
The work is explained in simple terms, and you are told what the car needs before it is done. Appointments are generally recommended so that a bay and a technician are ready when you arrive.
Chapter 03
A shop that fits around your day
Maintenance fails when it competes with work. This shop opens at 7 AM six days a week, stays open until 9 PM Monday through Friday, and closes at 6 PM on Saturday. Most repair shops close on weekends, and this one is open on Saturday.
The facility is 8,000 square feet with three large bays that can take RVs and buses, so a family sedan and a motorhome ahead of a long trip get the same attention. A large parts inventory is kept on site, and a part that is not on the shelf can be sourced quickly.
Mark Jimmerson manages the family-run shop, open on Oakwood Drive since 1987. To get a service on the calendar, call (515) 270-2096 or send the details through the contact page.
“Customer service at Ultimate is excellent.” Felecia Vah, Google review.
Open at 7, lit until 9 on weeknights
The bay lights come on before most people have finished their first coffee, and on weekdays they stay on well past dinner. That is the whole idea: you should not have to take a morning off to keep your car healthy.
- Opens, Monday to Saturday
- 7 AM
- Closes, Monday to Friday
- 9 PM
- Saturday and Sunday
- Open until 6 PM Saturday. Closed Sunday.
Free vacation car check
Included with any service, so the car gets a once-over before a long drive and not after the breakdown.
Financing
Available through Synchrony and Snap Finance. Ask the service desk when you book.
Courtesy shuttle
A ride when you leave the car with us, so a day in the bay does not cost you a day of work.
Pickup and delivery
Vehicle pickup and delivery, for the weeks when you cannot get away from your desk.
Questions about a particular service interval? Call the service desk at (515) 270-2096.
Other work that keeps a car on the road
- Brakes
Pads, shoes, rotors and fluid, plus ABS, traction control and electronic parking brake service, road tested before you leave.
- Tires
Michelin, BFGoodrich, Bridgestone, Uniroyal, Continental and Kumho, plus flat repairs, rotation, balancing, four-wheel alignment and rim replacement.
- A/C and heater
Leak checks, compressors, condensers, evaporators and recharges, including 1234YF, plus heater cores, thermostats and blend doors for Iowa winters.
Every service is listed on the services page, and the contact page is the quickest way to request an appointment.