So you own a Land Cruiser:
Many of our customers have owned their cruiser for a number of years. We see many common issues most stemming form well intentioned "general mechanical" shops doing what they can to keep a truck on the road. We spend a bunch of time fixing that "work"!

If you have owned your truck for a while then you have a leg up on the new owner; you probable know those things that need to be addressed and those things that drive you crazy. We are here to help! We handle any jobs from small to large. If you need a brake job or an oil change give us a yell. We are sure that you will find out knowledge and expertise well worth the trip to our shop.

Over the years we have developed many smaller "comfort"items for your truck. Everything from stereos to better rear view mirrors. If it drives you crazy or you want to improve on it I bet we have a plan.

We pride ourselves on doing everything for a Land Cruiser...from body work to mechanical and stereos. Nothing is to small or large for us to address. We want to be your one stop Land Cruiser shop.

Now let’s get to work. We see a lot of Land Cruisers at our shop. Some are in great shape, others are basket cases. Many people get great deals and, unfortunately, a few people get ripped off. That is just the way Cruisers go. Now that you own it you need to maintain your investment.

Land Cruisers are designed very differently than other vehicles. They do not have parts that are designed to wear out over time. The Ford Taurus, for example, will need a new water pump at 80,000 miles or so. It is designed that way and there is not much you can do to avoid that. Land Cruisers are not like that. The trick to avoiding costly repairs to your Land Cruiser is normal maintenance.
 
We see a lot of Cruisers that run o.k. and leak a little here and there. What usually happens is that the original owner took basic care of it and the truck just kept plugging along. It ran well for a long time then little issues started cropping up and the owner decides to sell it. You buy a truck with a bunch of little issues that can become big issues if not addressed.
 
The vast majority of mechanical issues we see are all due to the same thing: lack of fluid changes. This applies to everything liquid in the truck from motor oil to brake fluid. Do it yourself or hire us to do it but change it all. You will be happier down the road.

Evaluations:
One of the most difficult things for a new Cruiser owner to figure out is just what needs to be fixed and when. We offer a full diagnostic service. We spend 4-5 hours going over every inch of your truck. You will receive a 5-7 page written report on the current condition of your truck, the order in which issues should be addressed and estimates on what it will cost to fix those issues. We don't make any money on this but it helps us work on your truck and it will help you see where you are with it. We charge $250 for this service. You will find it is money well spent. The evaluation is not required for us to work on your truck. Some customers already know what they need to have addressed and we are happy to work on just those areas.

Working with us:
Please take a minute to read this section. It tells a lot about how we work and how you can best work with us.

We are busy; not just your normal busy but stupid busy. Since we started ULC 4 years ago there has been a constant attempt to manage the workload and manage the day to day routine of the shop. At times we have done well but at other times we have not. The truth is we are cruiser guys; not professional mechanics running a Jiffy Lube or BRAKE-O and we do the best we can on a daily basis. We need to schedule as much as possible and that means we just cannot get your truck in the shop immediately most of the time. Our phone message will generally tell you when we will take new trucks into the shop. Most of the time we have a 2 week window where new work comes in and then 4-6 weeks where we will not take in any new work. The best way to get on the list is to e mail us with your basic issues and plans for the work we will perform. We will than let you now the best window to bring your truck in to get the process started. We try to use e mail as much as possible for all communication. If you call and leave a message we will often reply with an e mail. No, we are not avoiding you just really, really slammed!

The next step is to get your truck to the shop. We are located in downtown Atlanta and you can Google our address. The official, never-changing gate code now changes about every month. Call or E mail us for the current code. The gate is open 24 hours a day. You can contact us and let us know you are coming then drop the truck in front of the shop and slide your keys (labeled with your name) through the mail slot. As long as we know you are coming you can do this at anytime.

We also have an excellent towing service. Call Tony at Tiger Lily Towing, 404 513 3581 and he can set you up. Tony is a great guy and an asset to our business. Please handle any fees directly with Tony.

Once the truck is here we will get it in line. This is for an evaluation or an estimate. In both cases we will e mail you one or the other then we go over it by phone. We decide on the best course of action and the process of the work. Many times the customer decides to have everything done at once while other times we do one section now and another at a later date. We will help you decide on the best plan for your needs and budget.

There are times that the job required is small and we have the parts on hand. In those cases we will do everything possibly to get you fixed immediately, in a sense moving you to the front of the line. We also give special consideration to those trucks used as daily drivers and try to get them fixed as soon as possible. While we cannot always do this we do our best to accommodate.

When the decisions are made we generate a final estimate based on our discussions. We then need a deposit. Generally we require a 50% deposit. On some larger jobs we split that into smaller amounts at our discretion. When the deposit is received you officially "get in line" and we provide you with a tentative completion date.

The way this usually works out is that while we are finishing other jobs the new jobs are evaluated, work decided on, a deposit received and then parts are ordered so that once one job is done another truck is ready to roll into its spot with parts on hand. We understand that for many customers these are hobby vehicles and that other life issues need to take precedence. If you run into a snag on the deposit let us know; we will try to work you back into the line at a later date. We try to be accommodating but after a reasonable amount of time without a deposit your truck will be taken out of line.

You will next hear from us when the parts arrive then again once we physically have you in the shop. If there are extreme delays on our end we will let you know. Please remember that sometime our best judgment is off; some trucks become nightmares and will delay the beginning or completion of your work. We pay an extreme amount of Attention to each vehicle and will not let than leave until they are finished 100%. This can take time.

Suddenly one day our mail to you will start increasing and your truck will be on its way to being done. We will let you know as we go along any bad things we find and get an OK before changing substantially from the estimate. The big day is suddenly here and you are done! We prefer to meet face to face and go over everything we have done then test drive it with you. Once everyone is happy we get the final payment and you are on your way.

We pride ourselves on our work and warrantee is usually not an issue but it does happen. If we are at fault we will do everything in our power to make it right with you. Generally, we will get your truck to the front of the line and get you fixed immediately.

Over the past year we have been reviewing our business and looking at both the strong and weak points. One giant weak point we have found is our communication process; it can be bad! We are actively working on it and think we have gotten much better but we are still not perfect. We promise to do our best at all times to stay and maintain contact with all customers both new and old. Unfortunately we get overwhelmed at times! We now have a full time office manager and she has made a world of difference.

Pick Up/Drop Off Service:

These days everyone is crazy busy; ULC included! In talking with our customers we have found that just getting the truck here can be difficult at times. We are trying to help with that. We now offer a pick up and drop off service throughout metro Atlanta. "Metro" is open to interpretation! We will do our best to come and get your truck and then return it to you once we are done. We cannot always promise to be able to do this but we will always do our level best to help you out.

The pick ups will need to be well planned via e mail so we can schedule the day.

We also can generally drop you back at MARTA, the West End Station, or give you a return ride to work if you are in downtown or Midtown. The airport is close to us and we can pick you up or drop you off there if that helps.

Please let us know how best we can help you get your truck here.

payments:

• Checks are accepted and should be written to "Urban Land Cruisers". Our mailing address is:

Urban Land Cruisers L.L.C.
675 Metropolitan Pkwy. Ste. 3012
Atlanta, GA 30310

• Cash is accepted.