I had a wonderfully positive experience at All Service Citgo where my father takes his car.My 2004 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport was having a streak of bad luck, &All Service Citgo was able to fix it after other places didn't do the full repair, which led to a series of problems. All Service Citgo found a tight valve on the 4th cylinder, which had caused my car to idle rough, lose power, &the check engine light would not shut off, and would turn on blink three times, shut off, than do the same thing 3x more. Thank you to All Service Citgo for solving the problem promptly, efficiently, and without breaking the bank.
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The background for those interested: I had the Headgasket Repair done by Bennington Subaru in July of 2014 at 148,736 miles. After 27,159 miles in December of 2015, my timing belt failed on Interstate 95 in Maine, and I had my car towed to Portland, which was where I was heading. I took it to Paulin's Tire and Auto Care on Forest Ave who said the reason it failed was the idler pulley failed. Upon inspection of my records, I learned that Bennington Subaru never replaced nor asked me if I wanted to get the Timing Belt Kit on a car that may or may not have ever had the idler pulley replaced. Stranded in Maine with all 16 cylinders of my engine ruined, I could not afford to shop for a car, & opted instead of towing my car home (should have) to have Paulin's find decent used heads or certified used engine. They found me some used heads, which I was aware of the risk. My car was in the shop there for 10 days.
The day I picked it up, they ran the car idle a bit and showed me how to put in more coolant if the air bubbles pushed fluid out. Then the check engine light came on. They took it in to run it on the computer, which diagnosed it as a misfire. They mentioned something about the 4th cylinder, then basically brushed it off because "if you lived closer we could have you come in after 200 miles or so and tune it up". I asked if I'd be okay to drive my car to VT and they said I should be and they suggested I drive it around the area and if I had any issues to call them. Having never had this problem before I was hesitant to take my car, but felt since it was there so long they had done their job (mistake). I paid $2551.83 for this job, and I apparently had denied machining the engine because it cost too much, which of course, I do not have in writing, as when the manager found the part he called me 10 minutes before the place he was going to get the part closed and rushed me through the phone call,giving me the rough estimate of the cost and date of completion.
Paulin's did document excellently what had failed on my car so I could show Bennington Subaru, who still denies that they were negligent in their service, which was part of their 30,000/90,000 mile service. I drove the car from Paulin's 1 mile to my friends' house where I had to stay for the 10 days I was in Maine with a broken car. In that time it idled very rough &
thought it was going to stall. I drove it to the next town & it idled very rough & felt/sounded strange when driving. I called Paulin's to tell them it was idling very rough, & got the same, "well, if you lived closer" deal. It was 3 days before Christmas, they knew I was from out of state & perhaps wanted to not spend more time on my car.
I drove the 218 miles home to Bennington, VT and when I stopped for gas in Keene, NH I again thought my car was going to stall out. I called Paulin's after Christmas to tell them it was idling rough. They had me speak with the mechanic who confirmed it was the 4th cylinder that had been misfiring& that he adjusted all the valves the best he could to get the timing right. I would have expected Paulin's, whom I was referred to by a friend, to have not sent me home with a car improperly working, knowing what a 4th cylinder misfire meant.
All Services Citgo was able to look at my car, & determine that the 4th cylinder was indeed misfiring & the value was tight. My car runs much better, it does not idle rough, and the check engine light is not on. In addition to the money I spend at Bennington Subaru for this major repair, which failed, in which I spent ~$2500 on in Maine, I have now spent $302 additional dollars on something that Paulin's Tire and Auto Care of Forest Ave in Portland, Maine could have fixed themselves instead of sending me home with an almost fixed car after I stated to them it wasn't working right before I even left Maine. I called Paulin's about this before All Services Citgo fixed it, and they claim it is my fault for not having them machine the heads, when in reality it was that the valve on the 4th cylinder was not adjusted correctly. I will never again go to Bennington Subaru or Paulin's Tire and Auto Care and I do not plan to recommend them to anyone unless you completely understand your car (which I do now) and know when to question them about their work or lack thereof. read more
