Not a very good experience overall. Dropped the car off on a Saturday morning, I was told that I would be contacted Monday morning. I hadn’t received any type of communication yet, so I gave them a call at around 3:30pm. They told me they didn’t have any information yet, and said they would contact me later. Received a call at about 6pm, after all other mechanic shops in the area had closed so I was unable to get additional estimates. I was quoted a price that was very high for the service done. It was more than I wanted to pay, but since I hadn’t been contacted until late I wasn’t able to compare prices. I made it very clear that I absolutely needed the car done the next day, and was given a guarantee that it would be.
Tuesday, I received an email that it would be ready for pickup. Still wasn’t thrilled with the price, but I needed the car. I made arrangements to leave work early to go pick up the car. As I’m leaving work, I receive an email that says the part was faulty, and would not be available to pick up today. While I understand that a faulty part is not necessarily something within their control, I had been very clear that I needed it to be done and was told that it would be, which was the only reason I wasn’t going to take it elsewhere for a cheaper price. At that point, I wasn’t getting the car on time, and they had already done work so I had to pay for it either way. Couldn’t take it to other places but my needs were also not met.
Wednesday, I made a few calls to get quotes on what it should have been. All were 100s cheaper, one as much as 35% less off the total cost for the same services. When it finished after being in the shop since Saturday, I spoke with the mechanic as to why the price was so high. A big part of it was the fact that I had been given premium parts, which I was not informed I was being given and certainly did not ask for. My car is a bit older, and there was absolutely no reason for that to be the case.
I do have confidence that the actual work was done well. Speaking to the mechanic, I had confidence that he had taken good care of the car. He was very patient with me, and explained everything that hadn’t previously been told to me. But the lack of communication and information up front was a huge negative to me. The biggest thing I’m looking for is transparency and straightforward communication, which I didn’t receive.
Mechanic- 9/10 Communication- 2/10 Price 2/10
Edit- As stated, I have no issue with the actual work done, which I believe to be quality. My main complaint was that I was not communicated up front with in an honest or timely manner. I would’ve gone with the lower-quality parts had it been given to me as an option, but I was not presented with this until after all of the work was done and my car had been in the shop for 5 days already. Since I had already needed it the day before, leaving it another day (or possibly longer) was just not an option. The work and quality were good, I’m not going to dispute that. I just wish I had been contacted when I was told I would be, my car had been finished at the time I had been told it would, and other options regarding pricing had been given when I had asked about them prior to the work being completed. That is the extent of my complaint, the timing and sales, not with the functionality of the auto-work.