First off, I hate to give a local business a bad review, and, although I am a bit upset, I will try to be as factual as possible.
My truck broke down. It stalled while it was running and then would not restart. Eventually (as I waited for a tow), electrical devices in the car stopped working, so I figured it was an electrical issue. My wife quickly checked some reviews (not on Yelp, probably Google) and found Auto Tech had good reviews. This is part of the reason that I am writing this review.
We were told on the phone that the tow would be about $50; it ended up being $65, which is not my definition of "about $50", but if that was the only problem, I could live with that. Plus, the tow truck driver was punctual, friendly, and helpful.
When we arrived at AutoTech, I told the man working the desk what had happened. He told me it would be $80 to run a full diagnostic, check the fluids, etc. We had just received this vehicle from a relative, so I figured a thorough diagnostic run up would be worth the money, so I agreed. The total charge of these tests matched his quote.
I received a call from Auto Tech letting me know that we had certain codes coming up in the diagnostic, but that these might simply be due to attempting restarts after the car broke down. They told me that they'd "clear the codes" and would keep working. I received a subsequent call the following day, letting me know that the car was running and that the original codes were not appearing anymore. He suggested either a tune up, or just taking it home and seeing if it happened again.
This is not in line with what I expect from a mechanic. Basically, he was telling me that they couldn't tell what was wrong with my truck. I was very hesitant to drive the thing home without knowing, as it might just break down again and I'd have to pay another $65 towing charge. I asked the guy if the battery was all right. Although not a mechanic by any means, this seemed logical - electrical issue = bad battery. He told me that the battery was fine and that since the car died while I was driving it, a battery issue would not be enough to explain my problems. He asked if I wanted them to do the tune up (very expensive - new serpentine belt, new spark plugs, etc.). I asked him again if the battery was sound and he repeated that it was fine, and then rudely told me he was on the other line and needed an answer so he could attend to the other call. I did not care for the guy's attitude, so told him that I would just come pick up the car the following day and drive it for a while to see if I had any additional problems.
When I came to pick up the car, another older man was working. This guy was fairly friendly. I asked for a print out of the diagnostic tests. He seemed a little reluctant (maybe that was just me, though), but eventually printed something out after changing a sentence on the screen. There was also another sheet he was going to copy. He then tells me that the battery failed a "load test". Had I known this, I would have had them replace the battery. However, the other guy had told me on the phone that the battery was fine. UGH! The original guy wasn't around, so the older gentleman told me that he would check with this guy and, to his credit, offered to put a new battery in labor-free. At this point, I was frustrated and just wanted to get home. Plus, I knew how to put a battery in myself, so I politely declined, and he went to copy the diagnostic sheet. Oddly, he only copied one side of the thing. At this point, I didn't see a need to argue and left.
I got the truck home and drove it about once every other day - initially around the block, then down to the store, etc. It then sat for about four days without me starting it, and then it wouldn't start. It was completely dead. I just put a new battery in it and it started easily. BTW - The original battery was no longer secured. Anyway, after about five minutes running in the driveway with the new battery, it died. I restarted it three more times, and each time it died after a few minutes. Now, although the electrical devices all work properly, it won't turn over. The engine light came one while it was running, so I have to assume some codes were generated.
Now, I am stuck with a dead truck in the driveway after spending $65 on a tow, $80 on a diagnostic run up that found no problems (except a failed load test on the battery that I wasn't told about until I came to pick up the truck), and ~$100 on a new battery.
I have been as neutral as possible. Hopefully, this review will help you decide if Auto Tech is the right place to take your vehicle. read more
