I've been bringing my car here for quite a while. It's no longer owned by a Feldman, but they kept the name when new owners bought it, I just learned today. They decided that it would be too expensive changing signs and re-branding everything. This tells you something about their priorties -- they put their money and effort into equipment, tools, staff and service, not glitzy signs. What a concept! I've seen some of the same mechanics here for several years.
You won't find anything fancy at Feldman's Service Center. Their customer waiting area has a few chairs, a coffee machine and a 12-inch TV tuned to Capital news 9. Their magazine rack has current issues of various car magazines. Again, it shows these guys know cars. If interior design is important to you, don't come here. If you want to get your car fixed at a reasonable price, this is the place for East Greenbush and Rensselaer-area residents.
FSC has a quick-change oil service which is what brought me through the doors initially, when I first got the car. You drive up, beep your horn and they raise the door so that you can drive in. The price is comparable to what you would pay at the bigger-name oil-change places. There is only one lane, so it's first in, first out. If you happen to come at a busy time such as lunch hour or Saturdays, you might wait a bit longer, but never terribly long.
Today, I brought my car to FSC because I was beginning to hear a worrisome clunking and creaking noise in the front of the car when I made turns at slow speeds. (On the highway, there was no such noise.) The car is a 2001 Nissan Altima with 179,000 miles, so I didn't want to put a lot of money into an old car if it was something major like a cracked frame. On the other hand, if it was relatively minor like bad shocks, I would spend the money to keep the car going for a while longer. In any case, safety needed to drive my decision. I knew that Feldman's would give me the straight-up story.
Anyway, I parked outside and walked up to the counter. I wanted to set up a time where I could have them look at the car while I waited. Then, depending on how extensive the repairs were, I would make a decision on whether I wanted to spend the money and if so, drop the car off at a later time. To my surprise, the mechanic said they could look at my car in a few minutes, so I decided to wait.
True to their promise, in a few minutes, Mark called me back to the counter and told me that a support rod was broken. He said a new replacement would cost $58.99, plus the cost of labor to install it. He said there was staff available and they could do it then and there, and it would take about 35 minutes. I authorized the repair and said to go ahead.
I made a cup of coffee, sat down and started reading a car magazine (yes, looking at reviews for new cars). In about 35 minutes, the repair was done. My bill, including labor was $159.83 and I was on my way. I hadn't even finished my coffee! read more
