I feel bad leaving the first 1 star review, but I do feel it's important to share what we experienced so others can save money & avoid potential frustration, as well as help the company improve moving forward. Please excuse the length as I try to walk you through the situation.
I drive a 2012 Chevy Volt (drives electric for ~30 miles then switches over to gas). For few months now, my car has been making a noticeable clicking sound whenever I slow down and turn right. It didn't seem to affect the car so I didn't do anything about it, even though the sound concerned my wife. Admittedly, I know very little about cars. Last week when my engine light came on, I called up Honest1 because I saw all of the positive reviews, and they said they'd check it out for me.
When I arrived, I noticed their clean waiting room with the company's values posted everywhere. It made me feel like I had made the right decision.
I explained to the employee at the desk that I would like to resolve my check engine light and fix the clicking sound that occurs every time I turn to the right while braking. They did not ask me to reproduce it or go into detail. He said they'd check it out. After I saw two tech's take my car for a spin, another gentleman came out and told me that they would need to run a 30 min diagnostic (~$50) to further investigate the check engine light, but that the clicking sound was caused by a cracked joint in the sway bars. I asked them to go ahead and do the diagnostic and price out the replacement for the sway bars.
30 minutes later the same gentleman returned, explaining to me that I needed to replace the main temperature sensor to the engine (~$300) and to replace the sway bars would be (~$300). I repeated back to him to confirm that if I replaced the sway bars, that the clicking sound would be resolved. He confirmed that to be true, then explained what could happen if we didn't fix the main temperature sensor.
Even though ~$600 felt a little pricey, since he confirmed that both issues would be resolved and I saw a 100% satisfaction guarantee on the wall, I agreed for them to move forward. The gentleman that explained the job to me offered to take me to my home while the car was worked on. That was a plus. I received a call that it was finished 2 hours later. I went in, paid for the transaction, and received a special 3 year, 36,000 mile warranty on the transaction.
My wife picked up the car a few hours later and drove it home. She told me that even though the check engine light was resolved, the clicking sound was still there. I took the car around my neighborhood the next morning only to confirm that the clicking sound was definitely still there. Incredibly frustrated that we had just spent ~$300 to fix an issue that wasn't resolved, I took my phone out and recorded a video of the sound.
My wife and I drove the car back to the shop with the 3 yr, 36,000 mile warranty in hand, and showed the video to both gentleman that the sound was still evident. I had to leave for a business trip, so I left the car in their hands, hoping that it would be resolved.
An hour later I receive a call from them telling me that although the sway bars "contributed" to the clicking sound, they were not the source. They said upon further investigation, it actually had to do with the axel on the left side of my car and that it would be another ~$600 to fix the issue (after a $75 deduction for the "inconvenience"). They explained that I didn't need to replace the sway bars and that the first gentleman shouldn't have said that this would have resolved the sound. So I asked him if he could guarantee that replacing the axel would fix the sound. He said yes.
Bothered that I was now being asked to pay twice as much as I did before to fix an issue that I was told would be resolved the day before, I asked to think about it and call him back. After investing $300 based on the first employee's word that it would be resolved, I didn't feel like I could trust the 2nd employee's guarantee that the $600 fix would resolve the clicking sound.
I mentioned it to my wife and she wanted to hear what happened, so I asked them to call her and explain the situation. After talking with my wife, they said they'd knock another $25 off.
I called back and explained that we would not be moving forward with the transaction for the reason that we could no longer trust Honest1 could deliver on their commitment.
I shared that this could have been avoided if 1.) I had been asked in the beginning to recreate the sound that I was referring to ensure that the $300 I was investing was fixing the right problem or 2.) told that this may not fix the issue.
Even though the employees tried to offer a free alignment, we shared that we were going to search for a company that we could trust that could deliver on their commitment.
When I picked up my car, they apologized again, re-offered the alignment, and more "potential savings." I thanked them and left. read more