I have been thinking about how to word my review, in order to both acknowledge that I appreciate…read morePatrick having a very hard conversation about an incomplete repair that resulted in a catastrophic failure of my vehicle while in motion, resulting in my vehicle being totaled out, and him taking responsibility for an incomplete diagnostic that resulted in that incomplete repair, while also noting the challenges in getting to that point. Neither of us won in this situation, but I commend him for being accountable as a professional and a business owner, for not doing the complete diagnostic that would have saved both of us time and money. I will note that unlike most shops, the fee for the diagnostic is not deducted from the repair, even if you go with them to have the work done, which is a little disappointing, especially when the diagnostic was incomplete (replaced the axle but never completing the diagnostic up the line to figure out what caused the axle to be bending in the first place). That incomplete diagnostic resulted in work that was paid for, and paid for again somewhere else when I tried to drive it back to this shop, because the bearing/axle catastrophically failed, in motion, near another local shop, and when they put the vehicle on the lift and removed the wheel, the bearing exploded all over their shop and the axle had to be repaired again, out of my pocket, then and there to even get it out of their bay and onto a tow truck. It cost me even more to replace the axle the second time, because the ABS sensor also got destroyed. Both repairs were money wasted because if the diagnostic had been complete and thorough in the first place, my insurance company and I would've decided to total the truck out. Instead, I ended up throwing $4000 at a vehicle that I would have walked away from had I had the complete issue in front of me; the rear diff gearbox was the source of the issue and the whole back end would have needed to be repaired to solve the problem. Had I known that, and had they even properly diagnosed at that point, that the replaced axle was a symptom and not the actual problem, when I brought it right back after the first "repair" because it was having the exact same issue I just paid almost $2000 to be repaired , because the new axle was also bending right out of the gate, placing improper lateral pressure on the bearing, which eventually exploded, we could have both been saved a lot of time and money and truly scary driving when my vehicle was howling and shaking so badly that the new axle was moments away from completely seizing, in motion. A complete diagnostic off the bat, would have made this a completely different experience, and while I know removing a third body and actually inspecting the gearbox is a huge pain, when someone shows up with an axle issue, it would be common practice for any mechanic to look for the cause instead of just the symptom. I would have done that myself had I had a lift, the tools and extra set of hands handy, but that is exactly why I brought it to a professional mechanic to do the diagnostic in the first place. For what I was charged for a diagnostic, it should have been thorough, and if the cause of the problem had been properly diagnosed in the beginning, I would've walked away, happily paying them the diagnostic fee and making the decision to not proceed with any further repairs on a 21-year-old vehicle. That is how we both could have won in this situation. I'm giving the business three stars because I have other friends that I've had good experiences there and while I was personally not impressed with the work or the incomplete diagnostic and the headaches we both had as a result of a simple incomplete diagnostic and incomplete repair, I commend Patrick for having this hard conversation with me and taking responsibility for his part in this matter. I would likely take my vehicle there again, simply because others have had good experiences there, and because while difficult for both of us to have this conversation , Patrick took accountability to resolve this chaos as best as he could in the end. I respect that in a business owner, as I am also a small business owner. Beware however, that the diagnostic fee is not deducted from repairs, and also, that I am not the only client who has experienced incomplete diagnostic work with them. I hope they take this review as a chance to improve, versus just a criticism, because that it was it is meant to provide, an opportunity to do better down the line.
