Down to the clips!!…read more
When my mechanic of 7 years passed away, I spent a lot of time searching for someone new. My mechanic was a no nonsense, fast fixer, who was wise in years and experience. May he Rest In Peace. I didn't think I could ever find someone to fill that spot. So I bit the bullet and went to Pep Boys. Now, I have an old car. 2001 Camry with 104000 miles, but I take good care of Cammy, and she runs quiet and efficient. The first visit to Pep Boys on Kennedy and Cottage in Jersey City, was fine. It was a higher price tag, but they replaced the alternator. My car started over-heating this last summer so I took it in, expecting the same level of service. When the employee called me back, they wanted over 2000 for a whole bunch of stuff not related to the overheat! Now while I know, sometimes you get a surprise, this was ridiculous. When I expressed incredulity, he immediately lowered the price to 1600, as some of the work could wait. Huh? I was there to potentially fix a radiator, and now these guys want to overhaul my car. My heart sank, and I collected the vehicle. I couldn't trust it. I went over to Pica Automotive on route 139 next. He looked at it, said the radiator was leaking and said he would fix it for 600 bucks?! Having no choice, I told him it was fine. Then, out of nowhere, my wife called me to help. A friend said he would do it for parts!! What luck! I called Pica back to cancel the work. He wanted to know why, I told him a friend would do it for way less, and he lowered his price to 400!! What gouging! Geez, if he would have offered me a fair price right away, he would have gotten the money, but no. He must have thought, Here's a guy who doesn't know a lot about cars let's rob him. Fixed my car with my friend and he gave me a tip or two. Radiator was 100, with a thermostat and some gasket, about 120. My friend did it for free with barely any tools for under an hour! I couldn't believe it. So these two shops could have fixed my car in LESS than an hour with all the tools they could need, and still make a tidy sum for less than 400. Say the mechanic is making 150 an hour(Pep Boys estimate) and paid 150 for parts and hoses, that's still only 300! Take 400 for overhead maybe! But geez, these prices made me not want to trust anybody again.
Months later, my transmission was slipping and I needed a mechanic I could trust. I took it over to Ramzi after a convincing yelp review. And crossed my fingers. The review said he was a genius, but SEEING is believing. I told him my my trans was slipping while idle. He just LOOKED at the engine running, and immediately knew what it needed. Some plugs and cables. He threw in help with a brake sensor light and fixed my rear night lights that hadn't worked in two weeks! He solved all my issues in a visit. Just wow! He quoted me the price before i even left the car at his shop. He does not mince words, and he was happy to help! He replaced the plugs, wires, fixed a radiator clamp, fixed the screws on my fan that had fallen off, fixed that brake warning sensor, changed a brake bulb, replaced my license plate lights, and fixed my rear night time running lights. The crew even replaced trunk clips that broke while I was trying to replace the lights myself! Down to the clips!! All for the FAIR price of 560. I say FAIR for this review, and to point out the vast difference between mechanics. But I personally feel it was steal! While a repair CAN be costly, having a great mechanic you can trust to do the job right, and not gouge you, is priceless. So glad I found this team, and from another yelp review no doubt!! Score!! Thank you Team Ramzi!!
