I always try to give people the benefit of the doubt but I can no longer be silent. About a year ago I took my car to Mose Auto on the recommendation of two friends and I have regretted it ever since. The head gaskets on my Subaru were failing and I agreed to have them replaced despite the $2,000 quote because I was assured the car should be reliable for another 5 years.
At the end of the day, or whole month rather, the job cost just over $3,000 and they billed me for 15 hours of work. 15 hours, and they kept it for a month, that's 30 minutes a day that my car was actually being worked on and I was without a car.
Mose said they had a few notes for me for future repairs that they would e-mail to me and never did. Never e-mailed the receipt either.
I went to check the oil and noticed that I could see the ground through the engine compartment, they had forgotten to put the valance back on which isn't a big deal but sketchy. Makes you wonder what else they forgot.
I noticed that the reserve coolant level was dropping so I asked Mose what kind they used and they couldn't tell me. Said they'd have no way of knowing. I'm sorry, but there are coolants you use because you can, and then there are the ones that you're supposed to use with a specific car and no, you can't always go by color. So not only was there no record keeping they also don't have a standard way of deciding which coolant to use. This comes back up later in this story.
Since the head gasket job I've noticed a drop in power which could be a lot of things but implies the timing may be off, but I have yet to have that checked.
The engine power started dropping and I noticed a a funny noise. I took it in and it turns out a bolt had fallen out of the exhaust where it meets the engine and the seal had burnt up. They fixed it but upon getting the car and dropping $70 for the repair I was informed that they didn't have locktite so the bolt may come loose again and that I should remind them when I bring it in for an oil change. This is an area that would have been affected by the head gasket job but they still charged me because their warranty is only 3 months. That's a big red flag for me.
So I started to notice that my engine temp was starting to creep up and when I went to Canada a week or so ago the car started seriously overheating so I had to stop half way up and on the return trip so it could cool down. Took it to a different mechanic today and they said that Mose had used an aftermarket thermostat which are well known for not having enough clearance to properly regulate engine temp. He also found that the radiator is becoming clogged, likely due to mixing different types of antifreeze. This repair is putting me out another $440.
At the end of the day I wanted Mose to be a good mechanic and support someone in the queer community but when I think of how much car trouble I know one of those friends who recommended Mose is always having I can't say that they have bad luck. At this point I am 100% sure that Mose is just a terrible mechanic. Not only do they not have the industry standard 1 year warranty and therefore do not stand by their own work, they don't return calls, don't follow through on e-mails, they forget to put all the parts back on the car, they use substandard parts, can't answer basic maintenance questions, and I can't say if I would have been better off not getting my car fixed. Yeah, it would have burnt up eventually, but then I would still have the almost $4,000 that I could put toward a new car.
I feel bad for giving them a bad review, Mose is a nice person, but I cannot in good conscience recommend them. read more
