First, I understand that this whole experience is ENTIRELY MY FAULT for not being a sharper…read morecustomer. Which is why this is a three-star and not a two-or one-star review. I was just stupid. And as a result, I paid around $300 for someone to just change a car battery.
My car was having trouble starting. I hooked it up to a trickle charger and found that the battery was very low. I let it charge overnight. Even with a full charge, the car still had trouble starting.
So, I took it to Meyerland Service Station. The service manager looked under the hood and said, "Yeah, you probably just need a new battery. Look at all that corrosion. We'll do a new battery."
A couple of hours later, I get an unsolicited itemized list of all the other work (about $1200) that they wanted to do, which I didn't ask them for (including $44 for wiper blades, which is, uh, high.)
I just wanted the car to start again and authorized only the work to change the battery, which was an $84 diagnostics fee and $204.48 for the battery which is quite high. Plus fees (presumably disposal fees) and taxes and boom, around $300 for changing a battery, which could have been half the price if I'd gone somewhere else.
Again, this is entirely on me. I could have gone back over there with a friend to jumpstart the car and then drove to a service center elsewhere, but I was going to be stuck with that unexpected $84 diagnostic fee anyway. And, I just needed my car back. So I held my nose and willingly paid a hilarious amount for the battery.
So, again, it's ENTIRELY ON ME for not being a smarter consumer. I should have gotten the battery changed at Walmart or anywhere else that drops in the battery for free FIRST, and then looked into repair shops if there still seemed to be a problem. Mid- and upper-range batteries from a number of vendors are in the lowish $100s, and lots of places install them for free.
The waiting area is clean and pleasant, and the service manager seems like a genuinely nice, friendly guy. According to all the other reviews, they do great work. But I just can't get past putting myself in a situation where I end up paying $300 for a battery.