The earlier bad review seems pretty frantic, but I agree completely that I mistrust this place. I am new to Richmond (and VA) and went here three times. After the first visit, I knew this was not a place that I found trustworthy. The only reason that I gave them two more chances was my newness to the neighborhood and the Goodyear name.
My first visit was on my second day in Richmond because the muffler/exhaust pipe gave out on the drive to RVA. I would have fixed it myself, but I had a week of unpacking boxes planned. On top of the fact that they were a bit pricey, they had a laundry list of other maintenance recommendations. The car was a 2007 Nissan Versa that is in fantastic condition, and they went looking for problems. When the muffler/exhaust pipe was cracked or broken, that was a pretty clear objective for what needed repaired.
On every visit (no exaggeration), they create an enormous list of recommended repairs. Some were as pathetically simple as an air filter change (which was not dirty, I replace them on my own). Some were potential fixes that wouldn't really don't need to be done until after actually breaking. Other things were superfluous, but reasonable (like changing brake fluid, unless you want to call that superfluous too). I am somewhat convinced that they failed my older car (a 2000 Honda Accord) on the state inspection on something questionable just to get a repair out of me.
And some were downright rude (asking my wife to upgrade to synthetic oil after coming in with a coupon for a standard oil change). I warned her that they'd push the higher priced service. I am sure they would have made the recommendation to me if had brought the car in. But I'm sure they could spot how naive my wife is when it comes to cars and auto repair, and they surely made it sound like synthetic oil was the only way to truly care for a car.
Overall, I believe the staff are extremely nice and knowledge, but they are expected (by management or company policy I'd guess?) to present you with ten repairs in hopes that one of them will sound like a good idea. I really felt that they wanted every tiny imperfection to seem capable of creating a crisis. I find this behavior to be skeevy, which was enough for me to seek a trustworthy place. I am not an expert on cars, but I know when someone is telling me in a straightforward manner that a repair should be seriously considered. Richmond might be a big city, but I anticipate that I can find the "small town, trustworthy mechanic" vibe that I have always enjoyed.
After reading some yelp reviews for other place, I think I have found two places that will be reliable. Halls Tire and Auto on Dickens Rd and Wallace Automotive on W Broad are the two places I will patronize. I have been to Wallace once, and both sounded legit on the phone. It is too early to know for sure about them, but I am done with Goodyear forever. read more