Can't speak to the quality of the work done here, but as many of the other low reviews here reflect, I can speak to their pricing and how they do business. Fake or not, at least everyone was friendly over the phone or to our faces. Not only does the place overcharge quite a bit, but they'll double dip into those costs as well (I'll explain later in the review).
Essentially, I had my oil changed here in my truck a few months back. I brought my own oil and filter, and I was quite surprised by how much they charged me for the service. Yet, for some reason, I recently decided to schedule an appointment for my wife's car. I requested an estimate for a tire rotation, a tune-up, a brake inspection, and an oil change. I was quoted at roughly $500!!!
I contacted the place a day or two before our scheduled appointment and advised them that we'd be bringing our own parts (cabin/air filter, oil, oil filter, spark plugs, etc.). The service writer I spoke with advised me that they were pretty busy and that she'd update me with an updated quote before our dropping off the vehicle. Sure enough, the day comes and my wife drops off the vehicle, but they didn't have a quote ready, so they told us they'd call us before they started the work. When they did call, I was now quoted roughly $400!!!!
When I asked why so much and inquired how much they were charging for labor, I was advised that they were "a business and still had to make money" and that the labor was $129/hr. Aside from going to a dealership, $129/hr is already on the extremely high side for automotive repair labor. I know a lot of auto shops have computer software programs or a "flat rate" guides that estimate labor costs, but I have no idea how they got that number for labor costs because my research was nowhere near the amount of time they were quoting... and here is where the double dipping on labor costs comes in...
When I asked the service writer to break the labor costs down for me, I decided to hold off on a portion of the work and just wanted a quote for the tire rotation and swapping out the spark plugs because these aren't exactly easy for me to do at home. I was quoted roughly $350!!! Mind you, again, we brought all our own parts. It was my understanding that the tire rotation was about $20, so they were basically estimating over two and a half hours of labor to swap out the spark plugs. Even the manufacturer's website only estimated approximately one hour for the service requested.
Moreover, when the service writer was breaking down the costs for me she quoted me at $38 to swap out the air filter. I reminded her we had provided our own air filter, and she told me that was the cost of the labor to install it. When I informed her that the technician literally has to remove the air filter housing to access the spark plugs anyway, she advised me that "we have to pay our technicians." Hence, the double dipping on labor costs. The air filter is also extremely accessible in this vehicle and it only requires you to pop two tabs, open the housing, and perform the swap. It would take a layperson less than two minutes to do it themselves.
After getting off the phone with the service writer I was so annoyed I just decided to take the time out of my day to do all the service myself. We went and got the vehicle and I brought it home. I gapped and swapped out the spark plugs in roughly an hour. Again, they were going to charge me two and a half hours' worth of labor. I am not super mechanically inclined and I assure you my garage is not nearly as equipped as their auto shop. In total, it took roughly an hour and a half for the tune-up and oil change at home. The place we initially bought our tires from performed the brake inspection and tire rotation for free. They have to pay their technician too. ;)
This was kind of the icing on the cake for me. Not to mention when I brought my truck in for an oil change months back the technician smacked my side mirror on the pillar backing out of the bay. He pretty much shrugged it off when it happened. My truck was brand new, three months old at the time. The damage buffed right out, but still a little careless with other people's property. They say a person's biggest financial investment aside from their home is often their vehicle. I know everyone has a hustle, but this is price gouging at its finest and bad business practices to me. They seem to take advantage of those "not in the know." Please check in with someone you can trust, that is somewhat familiar with the industry before agreeing to a quote here. Buyer beware!!! read more