My family and I broke down on the way home at the end of our vacation. We were stuck 500 miles from our home in a small town called Crestview, FL. The mecahnic we found there, although very nice and helpful, was unfamiliar with our problem and unable to fix our car.
The Mazda Tribute we drive, threw a spark plug. When ejected, it destroyed the coil pack on top of the plug, and the threads inside the head that the plug screwed in to. We weren't able to go much more than 30 mph, and the car sounded like a bad impression of a Harley motorcycle.
So we rumbled our way down to Fort Walton, because it was the closest city to Crestview that had mechanic shops. A place called Vern's Automotive was recommended to us by three separate people, and so we called them. They said they weren't able to fix this problem, and referred us to Thompson's Automotive.
We spoke to Jason, who runs the show at Thompson's, and he said he was very familiar with this problem, and that he should be able to help us out.
Mind you, the original mechanic in Crestview told us that it we were probably going to have to remove the head from the engine, and find a machine shop to re-thread the hole in the head for the spark plug to seat properly. This is a minimal 2,000 dollar job, when you factor in all the labor involved. And may have taken at least a couple days. We had neither the time or the money, and were 500 miles from home. Needless to say, stress was taking it's toll on us.
Jason took our car, and our family in. He and everybody at Thompson's was very empathetic to our situation, and did everything they could to make us feel at home.
About 3 hours later he came out, and said... "You're all set!"
We couldn't believe it. Not only was he able to fix the problem where the plug set into the head, and replace the coil pack, but he also repaired a broken bolt that screwed the upper intake manifold onto the the head, which apparently was broken by the mechanic in Crestview. (You have to remove the upper intake manifold on this vehicle to gain access to the 3 rear cylinders of this car).
The damage to my wallet? Less than 300 dollars!
We got in, and the car ran great!
I grew up in a mechanic shop. My father owned one, which he then passed on to my brother. I have a familiarity with car mechanics, but I'm limited in my abilities to diagnose and fix them. I was spoiled in my early driving years because I always had access to an honest mechanic, and my fear was that someone was going to see our out of state plates, and take serious advantage.
I have to say Jason, and the Thompson's auto crew are honest, and very knowledgeable of their craft. We were blessed to have come across them.
I highly recommend taking your car there.
C.B. Houston, TX read more
