I'm only keeping it 3-star for the time being, since i just got my car back and if anything goes wrong (or doesn't) i will be back to post an updated review.
In the middle of a massive move from a 3 br 2 ba home to a 2 br 1 ba upstairs apartment my car decided to blow it's head gasket. Being a '96 honda accord it has an aluminum head gasket that, after research, is prone to warping with the slightest bit of over-heating, and it had over-heated on more than one occasion before my husband and i changed the radiator.
As a AAA member I had my car towed to another shop in Orangevale, that had great Yelp reviews. My husband knew exactly what was wrong with the car and what needed to be done, and about how much it should cost. He warned me not to say anything, though, except for the truth about it's mechanical function, and just let them do their job.
They came to the same conclusion he did, but with a charge 2.5 times the price he had estimated. After that i let my husband choose a shop and he chose A Auto tech motors. They gave him a price of $800 for a head job, and being delivered to them on a Friday, said they could be done on Wednesday. We accepted.
Ultimately, they changed the water pump, timing belt, head job, and a few other things that are on my receipt, but can't recall at the moment (receipt is in the car and i'm not going out to get it right now...like i said, i will post an updated review, no matter what), and we ended up paying $1,000 out the door.
In the end, they were done on Thursday but we didn't have the funds until Friday. They didn't charge for the overnight storage, which we were grateful for.
So far, everything seems good. Not a hint of overheating, and nothing out of place (my car was half loaded with various papers, boxes, and junk left over from being in the process of a move).
Understand, I drive a lot, and through stop-and-go traffic, and on the freeway for miles at a time. Today (the day i got it back) is no exception.
The only complaint i have is that the steering wheel and hand brake were covered in grease. Coated my hands and smelled bad. Nothing my make-up remover towelettes couldn't handle, but it sorta spoiled the sense of smell that initially led me to realize that something was wrong in the first place.
Bottom line, they gave us a 1-year warranty on their work, and i plan to take it back for my rotors and brake pads providing that the next few weeks don't prove that the engine job was a bad one.
This is a very guarded review, but over-all a positive one. My car is my life-blood. I depend on it to keep my family safe, stable, and soon, prosperous. If anything goes wrong, i will be back to tell, if it stays right, i increase it a star. If it doesn't smell like the shop and gets my hands dirty the next time i pick up, i'll give it 5 stars.
I rode it hard today, though, and my initial impression is a good one. read more