Cris, who owns C & E, may be the best auto mechanic in the world. He is certainly the nicest and most generous. Here's how I know.
On Friday of Labor Day Weekend, I was traveling the Garden State Parkway, on a longer trip between Washington, DC and Plymouth, Massachusetts, when my brakes suddenly failed. I knew enough to recognize that I was fast losing brake fluid.
I was near the Bloomfield, NJ exit when this happened, and was able to make my way off the exit to a nearby Dunkin Donuts parking lot. A very nice woman, seeing my plight, told me about Cris, her mechanic, whose garage was only a few blocks away. Long story short, Cris and I connected on the phone and I got a tow to his garage.
As an out-of-state driver, with out-of-state plates, stuck far from home on Labor Day weekend, I was lucky to get any service at all. As it turned out, I got the best service imaginable.
Cris got right down to work and quickly discovered the problem with my brakes. It was a corroded fitting that connected to the brake line--just a little metal piece an inch or so long. Cris replaced that almost immediately.
But he didn't stop there.
With the main problem fixed, he proceeded to remove all my wheels to clean and adjust all my brakes, including my parking brake. He filled my tires, topped off my fluids, and checked a few other things for me too.
This took some time. All the while, Cris treated me like an honored guest, not a customer he had only just met. He plied me with bottles of water and even ordered a Chinese takeaway meal for me. No kidding. He treated me to dinner!
Cris is clearly a favorite among locals. While I was at his garage, various customers stopped by, all wearing big smiles as they chatted with Cris. Even the woman who delivered my takeaway meal took time to catch up with her friend. Everyone loves Cris.
Cris could have charged me a mint. After all, I was stuck at his garage and dependent on him to resume my travels. But early in the game, as soon as he diagnosed my problem, he told me what he would charge to fix it. The sum he quoted was entirely reasonable. And that was just for replacing the fitting. He didn't have to clean and adjust my brakes, or do anything else. He did those things because that's who he is--a very, very nice man.
I'm writing four weeks after all of this happened. I made it to my destination a little late, but with no further troubles. My brakes work better than ever. Cris knows what he's doing.
I can't recommend C & E Auto more highly. read more