This garage was recommended to me by two Nelson County locals, so I thought they'd be a great…read morechoice to help me with some issues on my '03 Tundra. Called a week ahead to make an appointment--they're very booked--and made arrangements to drop the truck off for brakes and an oil change. All good, right?
Well....
For starters, when I show up with my truck on the appointment day I'm greeted with blank stares and told that I don't have an appointment. Which is funny since I arranged for someone to meet me at the garage and give me a ride into work. ANYHOO...
They ended up taking truck and I explained quite clearly what the problem was: the front rotors seemed to be warped because I had a wobble in the wheel when stopping and I have a lot of screeching, bussing, and noise coming out of the back brakes. Also I needed an oil change and the cold air intake filter and air filters changed. No problemo, they said. We will let you know when it's ready.
About a week--yes, a week--later, I get the call they have my truck done. I was presented with a bill for nearly $600 for the repairs, which included an oil change, air filter (not the cold air intake, which they said they couldn't do because it's aftermarket. Ummm. Wut?), and front brakes with new rotors. Seemed pricey to me, but ok. I'm told these guys are good. I asked about the back brakes and was told they just needed cleaned out because of debris and dirt in the drums (which makes sense. I live and work on a farm).
Ok then. Hand them a couple weeks salary and I'm out the door. The next day I had to travel about 400 miles round trip for business and, as soon as I had to really apply the brakes...the entire vehicle shuddered and felt WORSE than when I had originally brought it in. I will say I noticed a slight roughness at low speed when I took the truck home that day, but I attributed that to the new pads needing to be broken in a bit. I don't know. I'm not a mechanic.
The entire trip I was worried the truck was unsafe. The shuddering and bucking increased as the brakes heated up and it just got worse and worse. So, I called the garage back and told them I was extremely unhappy with the work and they needed to make it right. I also asked if a tech road tested the vehicle after the work was done because even at low speed the brakes didn't feel smooth.
To their credit, they took the truck back in and re-evaluated without complaint or cost to me. I mean, yeah. The least a mechanic can do is stand by their work. A few hours later I get a call from the shop manager who tells me that the rear drums are warped and need to be replaced.
Wait. What? You intitially tell me that it's just dirt and debris and now you're telling me that the drums are warped? Was this not part of the inspection when you had the goddamn drums off the vehicle?! Did no one actually check to see if they were in spec? Apparently not. After some back and forth, I agreed to pay for the parts if they would comp the labour, to which they agreed. A few hours later I get a call telling me that they got new rear drums from the parts store across the road and they were worse out the box than what was on there. I asked if they took that up with the parts store, or if they tried ordering from another supplier and was given a rather opaque explanation about how you just can't trust parts from parts stores anymore and, hey, Toyota has the drums in stock for twice what we quoted you before on the same part.
Now I'm pretty upset.
To recap: $600 to make my vehicle LESS roadworthy than it was when I brought it in. An entire WEEK to do LESS than what I asked them to (apparently after market parts are like confusing?!). And every time the shop manager opens his mouth it's costing me more money.
I know for a FACT they did not road test my vehicle after the work was done. If they had, even a day-one oil change tech would have felt something off with the brakes. So I was let to leave their shop in a vehicle that could have been catastrophically unsafe. My rear brakes still shriek and squeal and I don't like driving on the freeway if I can avoid it. Since I handed Stoney Creek Automotive six bills to fuck up my work truck, I can't afford the money I need to ACTUALLY FIX IT.
So if you have a lot of money, a lot of time, and don't care too much about quality service, I guess take your vehicle here. Otherwise, a shady tree mechanic and a sixer of PBR tall boys would likely be a better bet.
Worse. Mechanic. Ever. Do not take a tricycle to these jokers.
