My husband and I recently bought our second used Prius and just had it serviced at Boulder Hybrids. We had our other Prius worked on a bit ago and had a wonderful experience, so we had the preference to take our next car there as well. There is a backstory to this second Prius as it had several fixes that needed to be made when we purchased it. We bought it anyways because we were able to get it for such a low price and didn't mind putting some money into it to make it fit our needs. We also knew we had a fabulous mechanic to work with to make this car work for us!
Going into the sale, we knew the car was going to need four things right away:
1) New actuators on all four doors.
2) A new antenna base and installation (it was broken, so the radio didn't work).
3) A new oil pan (the oil pan - not the screw - was stripped by a chain mechanic the seller took it to to get the oil changed).
4) Potentially a new 12v battery (not the hybrid battery).
We live almost an hour away from Boulder Hybrids, so we did shop around to get estimates of what the work would cost and to see if we could find a place that was closer to us to get our cars worked on. We had doubts, but we took it to a local shop about 5 min. from our house, and they told us several things that didn't actually pan out to be true and installed a new battery in the car for twice what Boulder Hybrids charged us in the end! They told us the battery would fix the doors, which was a nice surprise, but it wasn't true. We immediately took the car back to them and had them uninstall the battery and refund our money. It didn't feel right, and I just didn't trust them the way I trust Paul and his team at Boulder Hybrids.
We quickly accepted the fact that we were going to be traveling a bit to get top-notch service from a trustworthy hybrid mechanic, and we made the call that day. Paul was able to give us general estimates of what all of these repairs would cost, and his prices were half of what anyone had quoted us!! He was able to find us used parts which was a tremendous help because we are expecting a baby and have the necessity to be quite frugal lately. He was understanding of what we needed and was able to get us into the shop in a timely manner that was convenient for us since we live so far away. He offered to lend us a car for the day and he was honest and upfront about how long the work would take to be completed.
We picked the car up the next day, and it was in excellent condition! Everything was fixed and worked wonderfully, and best of all, it was all done within our budget!!! Paul was even able to tell us some extra information about the car just by looking at it. He informed us that our hybrid battery was actually fairly new for the age of the car and was a genuine Toyota battery. These are the kinds of things you will get from Boulder Hybrids: special knowledge of hybrid cars, quick and efficient service because they are so familiar with the cars they work on, and friendly service. They will work with you to fix things and find used parts so you can remain on a budget if that is important to you, and they will be honest with you when it comes to what really needs to be fixed and how much it should cost you. This is our go-to shop for our two hybrids from now on, and my dad has even said he will begin taking his car there (a Lincoln MKZ hybrid). I don't care how far you live from this shop! A trustworthy and fair mechanic is invaluable, and that is what we have found here at Boulder Hybrids. I actually kind of hate writing this review because I feel like we have a little gem of a secret that we have found, and I don't want to share it! At the same time, I want them to be in business forever because they are awesome!! So go here no matter how far away you live!!! You will not regret it.
P.S. A day or two after my service, I was driving and noticed this horrific squeaking noise as I was driving and braking. I called Paul at Boulder Hybrids, and they got me in the same day to take a look. I was worried something was terribly wrong. I went to the coffee shop next door while they took a look, and Paul walked in 10 minutes later saying it was a pebble stuck in the brakes or something. Handed me the keys and said it was no big deal and I was set to go! He didn't charge me to take the pebble out, and it only took like 15 minutes from start to finish for them to diagnose the problem and remedy it! Can you say that about any other mechanic? I think not! So happy we found them! read more