DO NOT GO HERE
Starkey's Auto Repair
I brought my car in to have a brake light switch replaced, and windshield wiper motors fixed. After a "spontaneous"(their words) fire started in the engine compartment of my car while in Starkey's garage, I ended up having to sell my car for scrap.
First, they charge $250 per issue diagnosis, which is not deducted from repair cost, which should have been my first clue this place is shady. I agreed to the charges, and asked them to please disconnect the battery, since the brake light problem would drain the battery, and it would be dead by the next day.
After two days, they called me saying they had diagnosed the brake lights and wipers, but had also found "other issues". The receptionist on the phone was incredibly rude, often talking down to me, and talking over me as I spoke. She told me the brake lights could be fixed for an additional $250, plus cost of parts, and the wipers would cost an additional $250 an hour, for an unknown number of hours...no estimate on how many hours...when I jokingly asked, "so it could be 100 hours at $250?" She simply responded, "yes". When I tried to tell her I only wanted the brake light switch replaced, she started talking over me, telling me the driver seat was also stuck (probably because they didn't disconnect the battery), the battery needed replacing (didn't say it was dead), and the car had oil, brake fluid, and transmission fluid leaks.
Now I knew I was being scammed. A dishonest repair shop will tell customers there are "fluid leaks" when there are none...costs the shop nothing, the customer is charged for patching and fluid replacement, and is none the wiser. Before bringing the car in, I had it parked in my garage for three weeks, and checked for fluid leaks on the garage floor before taking it to Starkey's (there wasn't a drop on the garage floor). Also, I had already replaced the battery three months ago, because the brake lights wouldn't shut off, and drained the battery, so I knew I didn't need to buy a new battery.
The next day, the same receptionist called me back, telling me they hadn't fixed the brake lights yet, but there had been a fire in the engine compartment of my car, caused by "spontaneous combustion". The receptionist said not to worry, she's seen this plenty of times...and said my insurance would probably cover everything. I immediately got on the phone and called my insurance company. Later, the receptionist sent me video from the security camera of the fire starting...sadly, the video only started about 2 seconds before the fire started, so couldn't see who was around the car minutes before. Before the insurance company was able to send out an inspector, the same receptionist called me back, saying the inspector came, and now Starkey's would like to give an estimate for damage, but I'd need to pay $1,300 to have the manifold cover of my engine removed for Starkey's to do the inspection. I told her not to touch anything, and called the insurance company back. Sure enough, the insurance company said the inspector hadn't been to Starkey's yet, so they called Starkey's and told them not to touch anything.
After a day or two, the inspector was able to go check the car, and said the cause of the fire was "mechanical", so not covered by my insurance...any repair costs would be out of
pocket.
It's an old car, with only about a $2,500 Blue Book value, so with unknown damage from the fire, and the brake lights and windshield wipers still not being fixed, I decided to sell it for scrap to a salvage yard.
When I came back to Starkey's Auto "Repair" to pay my bill and sign the title over to the salvage company, I found the battery was dead (they didn't disconnect it as instructed) and there were empty soda cans in the front seat.
I should have read all the Yelp reviews first. Hope this review saves you time, money, and headaches. read more