UPDATE: brought my car to another garage right after this, and literally none of the $1000+ worth of identified problems (see below) were the single and obviously identifiable issue. In fact, this other shop (not Finn's) put my car up on the lift and the wheel actually wiggled (was a shot wheel bearing), which wasn't even identified by Finn's! So essentially I paid Finn's $52 for "diagnostics" only for them to completely miss the single main problem (which was very easily identified once on the lift, so I'm questioning if Finn's even put my car on the lift like they said they did...), wasted my time, and arguably put my life in danger. The control arm assembly (that Finn's very steadfastly tried to convince me was the single most important thing to fix right now) ended up being completely fine. I 110% do NOT recommend this shop. They very clearly do not know what they are doing, are only out for profit (and up-charged at that), and will put your safety at risk.
Original review:
Ok, I heard about this garage based on a friend's recommendation. Was excited to go, and found the key drop-off to be a decent set-up. Lot seemed busy the night before. Took almost a week to get scheduled in for just a diagnostic eval, but I was hoping that meant it was a quality shop and was busy. Let me just say, I am not returning to this shop and am not going to have them do the repairs they said I apparently needed.
First, they charge their labor rate for "diagnostics" which I have never heard of from a mechanic in my life. I questioned whether they do this for every customer, to which they gave me an analogy about how dentists charge for their diagnosis, then came up with some imaginary "coupon" they could give me to get half of the diagnostic rate back if they did the service. I questioned how many hours they predict just "diagnosing" would take (there was a rotational sound), and he said it depends. To be so negotiative from the very start with a brand new customer who already said was looking for a permanent new shop - feels uncomfortable. I would expect a business to want to earn my respect/business and not charge for this up front with the hope that I would hire them for the work done.
Second, they came back with literally almost $1000 worth of work (front strut, control arm assembly, rear shocks, belt...) that apparently needs fixing immediately. To which they reminded me several times (literally twice on the phone, when I paid, then followed me to my car to again repeat). I explained my father and I have spent many hours servicing my car with quality parts (including a several hundred dollar major tune-up just a few weeks prior) and I have always been very quick to fix any problem as it comes up.
Third, their prices are extremely inflated, which I think they hide in their parts (labor rates seem standard - about $90/hour). I know this because I just had my right control arm assembly replaced for about $350 (including alignment) at a shop farther away, and this shop wanted to charge me over $500 for the left to be done. They also wanted to charge me $160 for a belt replacement, which literally is $12 for a premium grade part for my car on Rock Auto. I pointed out this discrepancy, to which they tried to convince me they have even higher quality parts and so I should only trust them... (always not a good sign).
Finally, the mechanic ("David") actually followed me out to my car talking my ear off about how they can fix all of these parts (the $1000 worth) and reasons why. I explained several times I grew up with a father who is a mechanical engineer for several high profile racing agencies and understood all of the mechanics for each part he mentioned - just wanted my car fixed. I also used examples to demonstrate I understand how each part functions. David continued to interrupt me and ignored the information I shared back about how I actually did understand how each part worked, and basically was acting like more explanation would somehow sell their business.
In sum, and I really am not one to be so quick on this draw, but I really feel this shop (or at least the mechanics I spoke with) is extremely sexist. I'm frustrated to even have had to pay that diagnostic fee ($52 in my case), to which I'd be curious about whether every customer has to pay. Also feels like they are clearly so desperate for business they have to charge a fee to diagnose problems customers come in with. As a customer, all of this completely drives me away. In this case, quite literally. read more