jayr0422

iTrader: (2)

I got my recommendation for this shop on here so I figured I would write this here. The shop owner is Lexus/Toyota trained and ASE Certified and has the certificates on the wall to prove it. He is a Lexus specialist but also works on Toyotas and other cars. He knows his stuff as well as or better than the dealer and he offers a good price compared to the dealership. He understands the importance of using only Toyota OEM parts. I have been to him for a few oil changes as well as my lower ball joints, rear brake pads, and timing belt and I think a couple other things and have had no problem.

Unfortunately, I don't think I can go back to him after this last time I went to him because I feel a little ripped off to be honest. I understand the work he did would have cost more at the dealer but still... Anyway, I had a problem with my car. The check engine light and VSC lights came on and it was running rough. I called him about it and gave him the codes and he said he thinks it may be the VVT sensor as he has had a few cars come in with the same problem so he knew the symptoms. I took it to him Saturday and he was able to determine it was the sensor. During the test drive he was telling me how he has seen this happen a few times and so he basically already knew it was most likely that so he wasn't going to charge me any diagnostic fee. So we go back and he tells me the cost, $220 for the part and $120 for the labor. Ok, it is what it is, I pay and leave.

Here's the problem. For one, they showed me the part where it was on top of the bank of the engine below the engine cover and after he showed me that the engine light was off and the car was running fine after they had replaced the part I went back to the office and the tech had the engine cover back on and my car out front in 10 minutes. They had my car in the bay for a total of an hour but charged me 120 when their labor rate is 90 an hour. No big deal.
The part. I called 2 dealerships, one said 140, the other said 160. So I call the shop and ask the owner why he charged me 220 for the part when the dealership sells it for 160 and I think he was shocked I went and checked the price because he didn't know what to say and was double talking and finally said ok this is the only time I did that. Said the dealership charged him an additional $25 for the option to be able to take the part back if that did not fix the problem so it came out to 190 for him. (First off, I'm not stupid. I know shops get a discount from the dealership first off, and still why are you gonna charge me more than the dealer charges for the part when you call yourself a fair shop?) So he admitted that he charged me more than the dealer did for the part but said he would give me a break next time or a free oil change. I think I got ripped off. I don't think I will be back.

Like I said before, this is the only bad incident I have had. Maybe I'm looking at this wrong??

sojah

iTrader: (1)

i always try to get a quote before hand and since i am such a tight *** with my money i usually check a couple other places dealership included,, well needless to say mechanics/ shops and i always get into arguments about this sort of thing and they prolly hate to see a person like me even come in but i have had way to many places try to screw me and friends & family in order to not do this. this has prolly been going on for ages but it seems like lately it is becoming more and more prevalent. sucks man, cuz you prolly had a good shop/ mechanic there but sounds like its time to move onto a more honest shop.

i have never used them but i can remember seeing that sign before,,, where is it located in rockville? i liked that srt shop over that way but not sure if they do this kind of work. i really can't stand shady shops like that. i found this country *** old timer pickup truck style place that seems to do better work than most lex dealerships on non technical toyota stuff of course (mainly stuff that is the same on all cars, like brakes, allignments, belts, hoses, you know that type of stuff) and they charge like a 1950 era pricing still.

jayr0422

iTrader: (2)

I do the exact same thing. I'm a penny pincher. Usually I will find out what I need to do soon and tell him I will order the parts and bring them in and he can do the labor (because you know we can get toyota parts cheap online). He always tells me to tell him what price I got and he will work with me as far as lowering the labor charge and then he can just get the parts so that the parts will be warranted by him instead of me having to order. He is trustworthy and knows his stuff but I think he thought he had earned my trust and that he could sneak one by me.

I went in there just wanting a diagnosis because my money is tight also but he was "trying the sensor out" to see if that was the problem so when he showed me that the sensor was on and my CEL lights were off and the car was running good the part was on there. I was going to get it anyway because I trusted him to give me a fair price and I had to get this done regardless. But that just shows you how easy it is to install this part and he charged me more than an hour labor when after they showed me everything and I went in the office my car was outside in like 10 minutes. I just felt ripped off because the price of the part was 160 and even if he did pay full price (which I doubt because shops get discounts) and even if he had to pay $25 extra to be able to return it and charged me an hour labor it woulda came to 300 at the most which woulda been a nice healthy ez profit for him but I feel ripped off cuz I had to pay $360 and this is a guy I thought was fair and it showed when he said oh this is the first time I did that and I'll give you a free oil change next time. I don't wanna hear that crap, I aint goin back...

BRADSGS4

Well it is always a good idea to provide a estimate before work is done. Always be fair on your pricing because you want every customer to come back in the future. Retention is the best thing for any shop's future. He should have just done a credit back on the spot. It looks like he see's his error and tried to offer something to make up for it. I'm sure this shop does good work and is fair. There is no shop out there that has not made a mistake. It just should have been taken car of better.

thaimonkee

iTrader: (2)

i never heard of them. I guess thats a good thing.

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

Hes not doing any favors by waving the diagnostic fees because he "recognizes the symptoms". thats part of his job and most shops who have a diagnostic fee will let you put that towards the repairs if you get them done at their shop, as in wave it if you pay for the repairs basically.