EVANSTON — For most Americans, the family car is their second largest expense. With so much money paid for vehicles today it is important to properly care for the vehicle. Most people do a pretty good job of ensuring proper oil changes and keeping the components well lubed, but the appearance of your car goes a long way to help maintain the vehicle’s value.

A small investment today can save you thousands in the long haul. Fixing chips in a windshield can save you the expense of purchasing a new windshield in the future. Repairing a scratch in the paint might save the expense of a paint job in the future and restoring your headlights could prevent a crash later on when the driver finds it difficult to see a deer crossing the road.

Shawn Saban has been operating Auto Correct since April 2014. His business focuses on keeping vehicles looking sharp with upholstery repair, detailing, repairing windshield chips, fixing scratches in the paint and a host of other services that could help maintain the value of residents’ vehicles. 

“I lost my construction job in 2013,” Saban said. “It was fine, I was wanting out of the construction field because it can be a very up-and-down industry. I heard about a company called Paint Bull out of Michigan and did my research. I finally decided to take the leap and traveled to Michigan where they trained me to do repairs on vehicles. I bought a trailer and started looking for clients.”

Saban’s clients have mostly been car dealerships all over the states of Wyoming and Montana. He pulls his well-stocked work trailer to dealerships and restores headlights, repairs upholstery, details the vehicles, and prepares them for sale. 

With his wife Crystalynn’s encouragement, Saban set up shop at 251 Bear River Dr. over the summer, so he could, hopefully, stay closer to home in the future.

The largest portion of his business is detailing cars and trucks. While the $9 car wash is fine, occasionally, he said it is a good idea to have a vehicle detailed inside and out.

“I provide a full-service detailing,” Saban said. “I vacuum the interior and perform stain removal when possible. The vents, cup holders, are all hand cleaned. Every crack and crevice is cleaned. The exteriors are hand washed, I detail under the hood, wax the vehicle and polish the chrome. To completely detail a vehicle takes about eight hours.”

The cost of a full-service detail is about $250, but with many vehicles costing upward of $50,000, he said that is a good investment to keep a vehicle looking great.

Dirt and sand in the carpeting will eventually wear the carpet and dirty weather stripping will wear out faster causing noisy air leaks, Saban said. He also said that when a person is considering selling a vehicle, the investment in a full-detail can provide much greater returns.

There are plenty of headlight restoration products out there and they perform well enough in the short term but to get a long-lasting restoration requires a lot more effort. Auto Correct restores headlights to their original clarity through a 12-step process that includes a lot of buffing and the application of a UV protectant.

Chips in windshield can eventually turn into cracks that require windshield replacement. These cracks occur more frequently in cold weather. Before your windshield cracks, consider having chips in the windshield repaired.

A car’s interior can take a lot of abuse, and the wear shows. Saban does repairs on leather and cloth interiors. 

“It’s not an upholstery shop,” Saban said, “but I can do small repairs. I can fix cracks in leather and vinyl seats. I can also restore leather steering wheels. I do some carpet repairs and minor headliner repairs.”

When asked why he named his company Auto Correct, Saban said it seemed to fit in with today’s world technology. 

“I know Auto Correct is usually preceded by some type of colorful expletive, but we decided to keep it simple,” he said.

Saban is a native to Wyoming — he grew up in Riverton — and he moved to Evanston in 1986. He is married to Crystalynn, an Evanston native and they have four children. When he does have some time off, Saban enjoys riding his motorcycles and relaxing with family.