I was driving to work, and all of a sudden, my car lost power and saw the MIL lit up on the dash…read more Car had no power, idled horribly, and sounded like a lopey V8 with a cam. Right away, I knew I lost a cylinder, for whatever reason. I limped the car to work, called Big Brand, and then limped it home. I WFH the following day, so I was able to limp it into the shop. Sure enough, the #4 cylinder was dead. Anthony, one of the mechanics, verified there was spark, but no compression, so I figured it was the rings, or the valves, since the car had recently had new coil packs and plugs installed. They tested the packs and plugs, and there was spark on all cylinders. They performed a compression test, and no compression on #4.
Of course, I knew it wasn't going to be cheap, but having worked in a shop myself (not in the shop, but supporting them), and having a lot of experience with cars, I knew they weren't lying about it. Plus, I saw them do the testing themselves. They don't do engine rebuilds, and it took a bit to find the parts, but they were able to find me a reman engine for the car. I got to visit, go in the shop, and see the work being done on the car. Aside from the motor itself, and a few leaky coolant hoses, they said everything else looked good. You could tell the mechanic that was working on my car, Carlos, took pride in his work. He made sure everything was nice and clean, tidy, and all the Is were dotted and the Ts were crossed. The motor, after the necessary accessories from the old one were transferred on, looked brand spanking new. He cleaned things up and made sure they were tidy in the engine bay.
Daniel and Cesar, the service writers, kept me informed of what was going on, and also let me go into the shop to see the work being done. I'd dealt with both of these gentlemen before, and they're friendly, professional, and understood my needs. I didn't get upsold. Everything they stated was an issue, I was able to verify with my own eyes. When the bill came, it was, as expected, expensive, but they were able to help me out and lower the price a bit. I definitely appreciated that. They gave me instructions on the new motor's break-in period, and I was on my way.
Car repairs are expensive, yes. But I've been to this shop in the past and they've earned my trust. I recommend them.
