I would not use them. Not trustworthy. Overcharges!
First of all this place is not close to me at all. It's about a 40 minute drive one way from my house, some I'm making multiple out of the way trips to attempt to complete these repairs. There was so much wasted time! Then I additionally end up dealing with the difficulty of getting overcharged... let me explain.
Darrel is the owner and he attempted to grossly overcharge me. Quotes $1100 to cut off both of my catalytic converters and then weld on aftermarket ones, and was given a Quote for $1800 for bolt on with an initial $500 deposit. I drive a 2008 sedan with over 200k miles, and the way my car is setup you would pretty much have to unbolt the pipes to get to them to weld anyways. I also don't know why bolt on was quoted so much higher but whatever. So I agreed to the $1800 quote bolt on option for brand new parts and services.
I pay the $500 deposit but need to come back in a few days so the aftermarket parts from "Eastern" can arrive. A few days later I return so that my vehicle can get repaired. I brought the car in first thing in the morning and they had it in the rack from 8:30am and called me that it was completed about 1:30pm that day. So I return to pick up the car and now I'm told that the total will be $1962! I ask you quoted me $1,800 (mind you that is already super high) and Darrel told me it was for taxes?! There was no itemized records or receipt for parts and labor and honestly I have no idea how he got to that number. He then proceeds to charge my credit card the full $1962, not even taking into account the original deposit amount. He then states that he "messed up" attempts to void it in his system and then reruns the about for $1462. My credit card company catches the multiple transaction and declines the attempt. Now I'm immediately on the phone with. Credit Card services who tell me that they have a $1962 pending transaction on my account. They are not able to cancel the pending, but take note of the dispute. They advise me NOT to attempt to use another card and that I will have to wait to see if the charge goes through or if the merchants attempt to void is actually valid. At this point, If the original charge goes through. with all things considered I've grossly overpaid by $500 from the original $1800 quote plus his second attempt to charge me $1462 (Thank God the CC company caught things). I end up getting my keys from the shop and leaving. After the military I got into analyst work, so I ran the numbers and things just didn't make sense. I ended up disputing the $1962 charge on my card so that I wasn't out the overcharge cost. At the same time Darrel called me multiple times and texted me asking about the payment. I could have easily just never contacted them again, but being a person of integrity I agreed to the original $1800 quote and intended to honor it (even if I thought that in itself was a high price); however I would NOT be giving this shop my credit card information again! Nor would I write a personal check that has a bank account number and routing number. I didn't want to pay in cash, because then I would have no proof on my account that there was payment for the services. I ended up going to my bank and getting a cashiers check for the muffler shop so that I could make good on my word, have proof, get the owner to stop calling and texting me constantly, and be done with them. I drove the 40 minutes back to the shop, he didn't even recognize me when I walked in. I said I wanted to settle the payment issue because I'm a person of my word and gave the check to Darrel in person and left.
I know this is a long story, but I hope it helps inform someone else looking for muffler, catalytic converter, or exhaust services to think twice. This was a hassle and would not recommend this shop to anyone. They are not honest to their word and I believe take advantage of people. read more
