I had a pleasantly surprising experience earlier this month at the VIP Tires & Service in Augusta. I took our 2010 Mazda Tribute in for brake work because the pedal was behaving oddly after a hard stop (when a pedestrian jumped off the curb in front of me). VIP's diagnosis was that the master cylinder and power booster were defunct and needed replacement. These repairs were made and I retrieved the car. It was a hefty bill but par for the course. Keeping an otherwise good older car on the road is a lot less expensive than replacing it. Shortly afterwards, I noticed the brakes were still acting the same as before--soft pedal, longer push. I took the car back to VIP for further diagnosis. The surprise was when the service rep informed me what they had found: The antilock braking system (ABS) had failed and needed replacement. What made the surprise pleasant was that, because they'd missed this fault in their original diagnosis, VIP was going to obtain and install the new ABS unit free of charge--saving me a couple of grand for part and labor. Wow. I call that owning your profession. Fair is fair, and I will continue bringing our vehicles to VIP when they need service. read more

So my car was in VIP for a routine state inspection, and they called me in gravely to show me something about it. Supposedly one tire was sticky, not rotating properly. It had been driving fine. I couldn't see anything wrong. I had this sinking feeling, and worried about greedy mechanics conning a gullible vehicle owner into unnecessary work to get the sticker. Nope! That's not what happened! They did half an hour of extra work to fix the problem, and still charged me just $12.50, and stickered it. Takeaway: professionalism, generosity, great service. Yay VIP! read more

Car was running poorly so left it with them. Got a call stating that it needed a serpentine belt and idler arm pulley and needed my OK to make the needed repairs. I gave them the OK and then he added that the car had oil and transmission fluid leaks to be aware of. PIcked the car up when done and drove 4 miles down the road when steam and smoke bellowed from the hood. The radiator hose was blown. Had it towed back to VIP and next day they said engine was fried. Brad claimed he had warned me of radiator leak, which he never mentioned, and would make no sense to spend nearly $500 on other repairs and ignore a radiator leak. Called corporate office to complain and they said they would get back to me.. Never heard from them and now I have no car. read more

I had a very expensive repair to do on my vehicle and not only were they cheaper than other places I had checked, they kept me informed of progress and issues so I had complete information throughout. I recommend them! read more

They're always great in Farmingdale, ME~ friendly, professional, knowledgable and a team atmosphere

I took my vehicle into the Augusta VIP primarily for a brake repair. I was happy with the repair. However, following the service I had an interaction with an employee named Brian which was both unfortunate and very disappointing. I found him to be dishonest and intransigent. Since I need to trust the place I take my vehicle to for repair and service, I will not be a return customer. read more

Best VIP in town by far, amazing Service of I could give 10 stars then I would. Always on time and never have had a bad thing to say

scam artists and time wasters. was quoted for shocks and told to wait a week for the parts to arrive. on my way in Chris called to tell me my parts order had been cancelled and they couldn't get the parts. one of my other vehicles had some dash lights come on. they charged $160 for 15 minutes of diagnostics and quoted me an insane amount to replace a wheel bearing. they tripled the highest price of any wheel bearing I can find and quoted over $100 for a $10 sensor. when I left the car has a exhaust leak that it didn't have when I arrived. vip in Augusta exists to rip people off and waste their time. avoid at all costs. read more

Be advised, after asking the manager why they charge 180.00 for a part that costs 80 bucks at O'Reillys (which is next door), I was told that it was a "standard practice in the industry" to mark up parts 100 to 110 percent. "That's how we can afford to offer the lifetime guarantee". Shocks are pretty bullet proof, who needs a lifetime guarantee? at 100 percent markup I could have bought 2 pairs of shocks and thrown the extra set in the trunk! At least that would be easier to find than the receipt I would need for them to honor the guarantee. vIP, be advised, I'm going loud and long on this one. Buy the parts yourself and find a reputable shop to put them on. Guys at the front desk were up front about the markup and professional. Oh and get the lifetime guarantee from O'Reilly... it comes with it. read more

Went in to get a tire for my boat trailer today at VIP in Augusta, Maine. The guy at the counter said he could have the tire by tomorrow, it was in Waterville, Maine, but I said I needed it today, and would try another tire place. Little did I know the President of VIP was in the store and heard our conversation. He immediately spoke up and said he would go and pick up the tire in Waterville and have it that afternoon for me. He did Just that - I received the call it was ready to be picked up at 2:30. Very impressed by this highest level of service!! read more

Within the past 8 months, I have had two appointments "confirmed" at this location and both times after wasting expensive gas to come to this VIP, neither of my appointments were in their system. Each time there is no apology - the customer service desk suggests it is your fault for not calling them to receive a tertiary confirmation (even though you receive an initial confirmation and a reminder email 2 hours before your appointment). I gave them one star because that was the lowest I could go. If you are a fan of wasting time and money, schedule an appointment here; if not I would highly suggest finding somewhere else to service your vehicle. read more

Overcharged for an alignment and tire rotation and balance by ~23 dollars. My bill was 142.85 for both services on a two wheel drive light duty truck. A friend had the same services done on a car requiring adjustments on both the front and rear and the total was 119.78. I called and the service writer said "prices are the same for either a car or truck". There is biased pricing occurring and I will never bring my vehicle back to this or any VIP ever. read more

I had a flat tire yesterday (nail) stopped in on emergency to see if they could help me.. they were very busy but the guy told me to hang around a bit and they would look at it.. They checked it out, told me my tire was no good, but because it was a fairly new car to have the dealership try to match my tire.. put my spare on, wrapped my old tire and put it in the back seat, my trunk was full with shopping..what a great experience, you don't see this kind of service anymore. Ty So much read more

They saved me. I was in a tight spot, had to drive 200 miles home on a Sunday and I had a flat tire. Every other tire shop wasn't open or said they could help me in 4-6 hours. Chad and his team said come in and we will squeeze you in. Thank you! read more

took my truck to vip augusta maine, spoke to zac the tech and service manager-they were great -in on time great service -highly recommend vip augusta-awsome read more

Made an appointment for tire repair. Nail in tire. Our primary residence is in MA where we have our cars serviced at trusted dealers and service stations. In Maine for summers and tire issues arise. Upon walking into VIP, I joked with the customer service guys and warned them not to try to rip me off by advising I need 4 new tires for one nail hole. I was joking! It's exactly what they told me. I didn't believe them. Politely asked while I was there if they would put air in the tires. They did so graciously no charge. Only nice part of my experience. I told them I would take my business back to MA. My service guy in MA just fixed the nail hole for $23! Not 4 new tires at probably well over $1000. Get second opinion before you believe their car diagnosis. Could save you thousands. read more

I went to VIP with my new car because I apparently ran over a nail and had a slow leak. I had been riding back and forth, just refilling my air at a local gas station before I had the money to make it to VIP for a new tire. As soon as I got there, my flat got worse, and I rode the tire down, nearly permanently damaging my car and ruining the tire. They sold me a new one, which was a bit more expensive than I thought it would be, and more money than I had at the time. The employee I worked with managed to get me a small discount to help with my overdraft, and was very courteous. They had great, fast service, and even before I came in for the new tire they helped me with a free air refill on the tire before I went to work. My only regret is that I didn't go in earlier for a flat repair, turning a repair into a significantly more expensive replacement. read more

Brought my car in for a sticker, the mechanic failed me on 16 things so I scheduled the repair for the following Saturday. My estimate was around $1800. When they called to tell me my vehicle was finished they let me know there was still not a sticker on it because they couldn't get a part they needed. I still had to pay $1764 and left with no sticker. They called me a few days later to let me know the repair I still needed for my sticker was going to be over a thousand. They replaced windshield wipers that I had bought two weeks before. I have never felt so taken advantage of in my life. Do not go here! read more

Was happy to see they were open on Sunday as my car started to act funny Saturday night. Went in to talk to the guy at the counter. Explained the situation and told him I had a Cadillac. He seemed to not want to deal with it as he begin to tell me several excuses including they couldn't get it in until Wednesday. Told him It could be the transmission however I wasn't sure as it was just rebuilt 3 months ago. He said I should take it back as it may have a warranty. I told him it was done out of state prior to me moving, he again recommended I go back I explained it was done in Missouri. He just kinda looked at me. At that point I walked out as I felt he really didn't want my business. read more

I took my car to VIP for a state inspection that usually takes ~15 minutes, maybe 20 if it fails. I was there for over an hour. My car failed inspection validly. So, I bought the parts I needed from another place because they are significantly cheaper for better parts, fixed my car, and returned for a re-inspection. Again, it took over an hour. The mechanics looked like they were dawdling both times through the windows. They also told me that my vehicle failed for two different reasons on the right side (inner tie rod and bad sway bar endlink). My car only needed a sway bar endlink - they added on the second part to charge me even more for no reason should I have decided to have it fixed on the spot. I called in to make an appointment for the other car I have to get it inspected. They told me they were empty that day and to just show up and they would get me right in. I showed up at the time I said I would be there, and they were loaded with appointments and wouldn't be able to take my other car for at least another hour. I made an appointment for the next day because there is NO WAY I'm waiting two and a half hours for a vehicle to be inspected...because lord knows it would take over an hour a third time. I'd think very hard about taking a vehicle here if I were you. If you have an emergency, get your car towed somewhere else...if they can't get a state inspection done in a timely manner, and lie about more things being wrong to upcharge you, they shouldn't be trusted with legitimate problems. read more

Great reliable service for basic auto care (tires, oil change etc.) The wait time is often longer than I am quoted for, but earlier in the day is better. Also free tire rotations for the life of your set of VIP installed tires! read more

I went here with my girlfriend a couple of weeks ago to see if a flat tire could be repaired. They said it couldn't be salvaged. Since it was a snow tire, she opted to wait to have her all-seasons put back on rather than buy new snow tires that day. It was a Sunday, so she took her car to her regular mechanic later, where they easily patched the tire. If you're looking for expertise, I'd say based on this experience you ought to go elsewhere--maybe anywhere else. read more

The front end team are extremely helpful and personable. I appreciate the effort that goes into client interaction and assistance!

I cannot express how much I appreciate the help of Lyle and Corbin at the Augusta VIP. I was extremely hesitant about getting my headlight fixed since I had paid two other mechanics (prior to going to VIP) who failed to fix the issue and my light went out again a day later. I thought it was going to be an expensive fix, but Corbin called for pricing on parts while Lyle put me at ease with his sense of humor as we waited. Lyle ended up diagnosing the issue as being a minor an inexpensive fix, where he could have easily swindled me due to my naivety with cars -- as the previous two mechanics had. I left with working lights and will DEFINITELY use their services in the future! Thank-you guys SO much!!! read more

I went in to VIP Tires and Service at 61 Western Avenue in Augusta, Maine today ( 2/21/2018) for a price on two all seasoned tires. I was greeted with respect and asked for the price of two specific tires for my vehicle. The tire representative quoted me and it was higher than Walmart. I started to walk out because of the price difference and the tire representative asked what I was quoted and he was willing to work with me and came close to the Walmart quote. So I decided to buy the tires and the labor etc. at VIP. I was glad to see that they were willing to work with me. I am going back tomorrow for a free inspection and will write again about my experience. read more

My husband and I had taken our cars to this location since our move to Augusta 7 years ago. However, last year we had an incident here that made us suspicious about their service. We had taken our car in for a yearly inspection and were told that it needed this, that and the other thing before they would give it a new sticker. It seemed odd to us since we had just done some repairs to the car in the same area. We refused the work and took the car to Don Foshay's in Hallowell and got an inspection sticker, no problem. When we told them about what we were told at VIP, they just smiled...no response. Seems that this VIP location has a bad rep in the area. I would highly advise taking your vehicle elsewhere...very dishonest! read more

Scheduled an appointment for an inspection. My car was taken in promptly and I was in and out within my one hour lunch time.

In October 2021, I had 4 new tires installed on my 2010 Toyota Prius, after leaving the shop, I was feeling a vibration at 60 plus mph. I arranged to take it back and the wheels were rebalanced however I continued to feel the vibration, so took it back again and asked if they could check the road force measurements, they told me they don't have a road force balancing machine but if I took it somewhere who does and if there was an issue they would replace the tire free of charge. I had the road force balancing taken care of at another shop and the measurements were over normal acceptable limits on one tire, this shop said if it was there tire they would replace it. I went back to VIP with the road force balancing report and they said they would replace the tire but didn't have it in stock, so we scheduled an appointment for a week later. I went into to VIP auto only tp be told that the tire wasn't in stock yet, they said they would call me when it was in stock, they never did, I waited a week and called and still no tire in stock, waited another week same thing, here we are middle of January 2022 and they still have not lived up to their promise to replace the tire! Terrible customer service. read more

Schedule an Oil Change, & Tire Rotation over a week ago and explained that I had a time crunch and needed to be out by a certain time, was told it would not be a problem. I arrived 20 minutes early & was told that it would be close to an hour before it was done, due to employee issues. I explained that I needed to leave in an hour & 20 minutes. Was told again not a problem. An hour and 30 minutes later my car was finally done and I was late to my next commitment. Oil Change & Tire Rotation were done good, however if you plan on going to an appointment, plan on being there a while. read more

Had a 3 o clock appointment, when I showed up,was told they were not going to honor my appointment....snubbed! Broke weekend plans.... are they going to cover that? Would not trust this company. read more

Hello, The Augusta VIP is where you get things done right! They are usually pretty good about getting you in and out. Although there was a time when nuts were rusted on and it took a little extra time to get things squared away. I usually use them for all my tire rotations and alignment needs! read more

Service was great. I showed up without an appointment and they got me right in. The salesperson at the front desk was very helpful. Overall very good experience, as far as oil changes go. read more

I brought my vehicle in to the Augusta VIP to have n oil pan n some other "minor" things done to have n inspection sticker put on my car. All this work came to a total of $2500 but I was told my the manager that I basically had a "brand new car". I explained my current financial situation n that I would need a little time to come up with that much money. They agreed n worked with me on the total bill n we negotiated it down to just around $2000. The very day I go in n pay off the bill n pick up my car before I even leave the parking lot the car is rapping n knocking n has zero power. This is a VR6 GLI 6 speed Jetta, tons of power. I have it towed back the very next day cause I was already late for work when I picked it up. They check the oil n apparently there is transmission fluid in the oil n cylinder 5 had about 50 compression n should have around 150. Now they are saying I need to have my whole motor replaced n it will be over $3000. I never would have paid the $2000 N I find it impossible to believe they didn't know ahead of time that a cylinder was blown. There is no possible way that just by chance the day I pick it up the car is rapping n knocking n not anytime before when it had been there over a month. The district manager took over a week to get n answer about getting me a rental car n acted like it was the greatest favor he had ever done for someone but explained to me there was "absolutely" nothing they could do about the past or future bill. I'm not n idiot. I know full well they could reimburse the old bill or completely write of this new bill. I'm thinking a call to the actual owner may produce better results. Their communication n empathy for their customers is atrocious n far less than acceptable in my opinion. Counting all the work I've had done at VIP on this one car it's well over $3500 n now they want another $3000. Absolutely ridiculous. I am so angry n disgusted it's beyond words. I'm also sure this post will make zero difference too, n that truly makes me sad. :-( read more

In the past six months needed replacement low beam bulb. Went to Belfast VIP for the bulb on the driver's side - service tech came out to the car and popped it in - done - no charge! Excellent customer service! Went to Augusta VIP for bulb on passenger side - had to fill out slip - wait in waiting room - paid $10 for installation read more

There is always one bad apple, and unfortunately its the Augusta VIP location. I have never had any service done correctly the first time, and always had to go back and ask them to do he job I already paid for again. Now after their poor quality alignment has cost me a full set of tires within 5,000 miles, they have chosen to not stand behind their service. I took my car two miles up the road to Tire Warehouse, where they quickly identified the poor alignment. I will not trust VIP to touch my car again I would strongly recommend anyone else to avoid them too. This location repeatedly does poor quality work, breaks your property, and then refuses to do anything about it. Not all VIP's are bad, I enjoy the Winslow and Auburn/Lewiston locations. Tire Warehouse (91 Bangor Street, Augusta) is cheaper for tires and care about their customers. The Rotary Garage (383 Water St, Augusta) does high quality work, and will always stand behind their services. Interesting point to keep in mind when looking at all these positive reviews on google, is they are purchased. This company offered for a long time that if you gave them a review on google, they would give you a free oil change. I wonder how many positive reviews this company would have without "buying" them? read more

I had an appointment for car inspection first thing in the morning. Friendly greeting. I waited and was updated on progress. I received thorough explanation of preventive maintenance due in car. Advisor was honest and helpful. Car was done in time as promised read more

I didn't know VIP's reputation until after I took my car in for an oil change. After going to out dealer for new tires and inspection the dealer found the oil filter was leaking because it was not tightened when VIP installed it. That cost us $25 and when I called VIP to complain I was told there was nothing they could do about it. read more

Brought my vehicle in for a stuck e-brake. Manager and technician were very pleasant and willing to help me with my repair. I appreciate that it was done quickly. The problem that I have with VIP, and not just this one specifically is they will try to sell you more then you need. The manager was quick to quote new rotors along with my brakes and calibers but according to the technician my rotors were ok. This would have added another $200.00+ to my bill. I also don't like how much the parts are marked up! I understand that all garages do this but when you take a $40-$50 part and mark it up to $150 I think this is excessive. I think that there should be some regulation of this or at least disclosure on how much your parts are being marked up. read more