This was not a good experience at all. Very bizarre & just goes to show you that if a car mechanic…read moreis not going to make a lot of money on a small job, they will NOT be interested in doing anything at all, & won't care if their reputation is compromised. ALL a mechanic has is his or her reputation, but Leo is NOT concerned with losing HIS reputation, or the reputation of his rude, smug, laughing employee's, I'm referring to "JOSE" specifically when I write this.
My husband Don & I went to Leo's shop at the advice of some kid from "Scrubby's Express Lube" which IS a fine business that we go to once a month for an oil change. We went to Leo's over a month ago to correct a squeaking noise in our engine. So, because this young man at Scrubby's said Leo was a great mechanic we went to him. And for the record, my husband is a Veteran, and 86-years-old, so I always go with him when there is discussion of any kind of repair to our Jeep, which we have almost completely restored.
We had a noise in our engine because of a loose belt, this is what we thought, but apparently it was not the belt, it was something else, some part of the engine below the belt that needed tightening called the "tensioner." This is what we were told by the employee at Scrubby's. He seemed certain that it was the tensioner, and not the belt. When we went to Leo's, we were polite and respectful, we explained what the young man had told us at Scrubby's, that it was the tensioner that needed "tightening."
Leo seemed nice, gave eye contact and seemed honest. Leo said all we needed was a new belt. We were confused but took his word for it. So, he replaced the belt and charged us $99. The next day, the noise came back, so the day after that we returned to Leo's and said that the noise had returned and maybe it was the tensioner that needed to be tightened after all, and not the belt.
Without out permission, Leo reached in and took out "his" belt and replaced our old belt, saying we didn't need the new belt but that it was actually a missing bolt or screw that went under the belt, inside... guess what? The tensioner! But he said that because we have a '96 Jeep, he would have to order it. Order a bolt? Okay. He said it would take two weeks and he'd call us back. He never called back. So, more than two weeks later, I called back. Leo could not remember who we were. I had to talk to him for a couple minutes before he remembered who we were. Then he said he'd ordered this part but it would not come until June 29th, which was in a couple of days and he would call us. So, June 29th rolls around, and yep, no call from good old Leo. So, on the 30th of June, I called him.
Leo was friendly and polite, as always, and said that the part had finally come and so we could come by at 9:00 am on July first. That was yesterday. So, this is the good part. We came by Leo's yesterday, at 9:07 am. NO Leo. We drove up, parked in front of the service area and turned off the engine and waited. Though Leo's 2 employees saw us, they didn't walk up right away, or wave or say, "Be with you in a minute." Finally, JOSE walks up & wants to know what we want. I politely explained that Leo had an appointment with us at 9:00 am, for our car. "Leo's not here" says Jose. That's it. No explanation, no nothing. I then explain what happened to our car, how Leo couldn't seem to fix it and the whole joke about ordering the part. JOSE is now smiling and laughing. He thinks this whole situation is SOOOO funny. But again, "Leo's not here!" As if that is all we need to know.
When I asked when Leo would be back, JOSE didn't respond. "He's not here!" Okay. Then I became impatient, again repeating what had happened and how Leo had not fixed this really simple issue but had taken our MONEY and had not fixed the problem. "Why are you yelling at ME?!" JOSE wants to know. I was not yelling. It became quite clear LEO & JOSE & this whole operation are just a bunch of crooks who take your money, smile at you & don't do the work. Now, perhaps Leo does have 2 or 3 good reviews. I'm sure those problems involved more MONEY, but because WE had a small issue, he didn't give a damn.
And that's okay, because now there is this review on YELP and its a ONE STAR review. If I could give him Zero stars, I would. There is another lesson here, and that is don't try to get something for nothing. I told my husband that we should take the Jeep to our regular Jeep Dealership in Beaverton, these people know Jeeps. Sure, they are more expensive but if we had gone there, instead of some cheap crook who will take your money and give you nothing in return, our Jeep would be fixed.
But Don wanted to take the word of his kid at Scrubby's, (who turned out to be a family friend of Leo's family) LOL... So, against MY better judgement, I let my husband talk me into going there. Next time, even if it is twice as expensive, we WILL be going to the people who can actually do the job, and not some guy who will con you.
