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STAMFORD, Conn. To say Paul Zulkeski was born into the car business wouldn't be an exaggeration. "My dad owned a garage in Norwalk, so I've been around cars pretty much my whole life," he said.
After going to school in Colorado, Zulkeski returned to his automotive and geographic roots, working for local dealerships before landing at Volvo of Stamford 11 years ago as a service advisor.
"Basically, we're the interpreter between the customer and the mechanics," he explained. "We find out from the customer what needs to be fixed or serviced, then let them know what it will cost, and if additional work is necessary. And if the car isn't worth repairing, we'll put them together with the sales people to get a new one."
Zulkeski said the workload ranges from periodic maintenance to cars that don't run at all. "We see everything," he said, noting that after every storm one or two cars appear with engines that were flooded when their drivers tried to traverse a too-deep puddle. "We try to calm people down if they've wrecked their engine," he said.
Fortunately, most of the work is more routine. "We've gotten people pretty religious about taking care of their cars in a timely fashion," he said. "We try to show them the advantage of doing maintenance before problems become too big."
Over his career in car repair, Zulkeski has seen cars become "mechanically a lot better. But electrically, they've become more challenging. It seems that everything is electronic now. It makes the cars more efficient, but you really have to know your stuff to work on them."
With winter approaching, Zulkeski advises motorists to check their battery, tires and windshield wipers. "It's a lot easier to replace those now than on a freezing morning when your car won't start or you can't get around in the snow."
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