With the details I had, I scheduled an appointment for 8 AM Friday: the "check engine" light glowed…read moreand a code reader revealed PO455 and PO441 (leak in the EVAP system). The scheduler confirmed everything, so I arrived at 8 AM Friday and confirmed my name and vehicle.
"What's wrong with your vehicle?"
"Wait, aren't there notes? I-I just spoke to someone when I made the appointment and provided all the details over the phone."
No notes. I didn't memorize the codes for my check-in, so I panicked. After considerable phone scrolling, I found the codes in my browser history and Googled their meaning. Now, notes. I asked for an estimated wait time. Couldn't tell me until they looked under the hood. Fair.
Resisting the urge to jump to conclusions, I spend the next four hours eating breakfast, washing laundry, and telling myself, "Don't worry, buddy. They haven't forgotten about you." It's noon. "Oh, we're just getting to it now, we'll have an estimated wait time for you soon." Now nervous, I called again at 2 PM and 3 PM. No updates. I tell myself, "It's okay buddy. You've been here before. They're probably fixing the issues right now."
It's 4:30 PM and they close at 5 PM. The time to get my car is now. Nothing was fixed, only an assessment, and I'm out $100 (with an apology and discount). Over eight hours. I could have secured another vehicle to run errands had I known I would be waiting over eight hours. You've heard, "Only a fool learns from [their] own mistakes. The wise [person] learns from the mistakes of others." They made me out for a fool; however, here are some tips so you can wisely learn from my experience:
1. When you schedule the appointment, confirm, "Is this the time you'll take my car in, or is this the time my car will be assessed? May I please schedule for when you can look at my car?"
2. When you schedule the appointment, confirm, "Are you taking these notes down for the mechanic so that I don't have to repeat them?"
3. Call them every hour for updates. I hesitated because I had been there before and also because I was nervous about maybe irritating them with the constant calls. They taught me a valuable lesson in consumer self-advocacy and it's only to your benefit to call and make sure they haven't forgotten you.
To be clear, the quality of their mechanic service is not in question. It's the uncommunicative and disorganized office staff that has guaranteed I'll never return. May you find a mechanic to meet your car needs.
