Dealing with these guys was the worst experience I've ever had trying to get work done on my car. I wound up paying them $200 and no work was done, except they claim to have re-torqued my wheel nuts, which had absolutely nothing to do with why I brought it in for repair. My car was overheating and I asked them to fix a leaky radiator hose. Turns out they force a "courtesy inspection" on you, which wasn't much of a courtesy in my case, as it cost me $199.63. They didn't mention this "courtesy inspection" when I dropped the car off (which I didn't get back until two days later by the way), and the outrageous amount of money it would cost. They claimed that they couldn't fix the car until they did the "courtesy inspection", which is fair, however, they inspected all sorts of things that have absolutely nothing to do with my car overheating (brake pads, timing belt, front sway bar links, transmission and clutch, etc.). I told them the car was overheating. Why do all this other stuff that I didn't ask for? My car is a beater and I said as much to them when I brought it in. In fact, I emphasized that it wasn't worth it for me to spend too much getting it fixed. Bottom line: I brought my car to them to fix a problem with the engine overheating and left 2 days later $200 lighter and the car still overheating. And they most definitely didn't care that I felt cheated by them. After telling the girl behind the counter that I would never come back she suggested that I do that (how clever of her). It was quite obvious they couldn't care less about me as their customer (guess I was just supposed to shut up and pay them $200 for not fixing my car and for them to tell me about a bunch of stuff that had nothing to do with why I brought it in). If they need to do an inspection to figure out what's wrong that's fine. But how about limiting the inspection to the problem that the customer brought the car in for? Especially when the customer tells you the car is a beater and isn't worth much. I strongly recommend not taking your car to this place!!! NOTE: I would give these guys 0 stars, but google forced me to select at least 1 star before I could post this review.
Rob, thanks for taking the time to leave a review on our business. First off, we did not claim to have re-torqued your wheel nuts, as this is only done when we have had one or all of your wheels off. In your case we did not have any wheels off, and therefor there was no reason to re-torque your wheel nuts. This is clearly stated with the capital N/A (not applicable) that is under the safety section of the invoice and work order you signed. Secondly, you did not ask us to fix a leaky radiator hose, the exact description of your issue as copy and pasted from your invoice/work order states: "When driving there seems to be a loss of pressure. Cap on Rad overflow is clamped on. Seems to have a rad hose leaking. Car is always overheating and tops up the fluid every few days. Will start to steam after the car gets hot." We performed a complete cooling system diagnostic which includes a head gasket test and pressure test of the system. It's a good thing we did a head gasket test, as this head gasket has indeed failed and is causing exhaust gases to enter into the cooling system. When this happens, the cooling system builds up a lot of excessive pressure, and will cause a leak in the weakest place in your cooling system. If you start by replacing just this hose, the next weakest place will leak next and so on, and so on. It takes time to accurately diagnose a cooling system problem, and make sure something is not missed. Our specially trained diagnostic technicians have a specific list of tests that get performed when testing a cooling system failure. We choose to do every test so something is not missed. A head gasket is easy to miss if the tecnician does not have the proper training, and tools. Had we just went ahead and replaced the leaking hose, there would have been another leak to contend with shortly there after. Rob, I am going to agree with my Service Advisor Marci on this one, we are not your repair shop, and you are not our customer. A blown head gasket may cause a number of different symptoms. Coolant in the engine oil, an engine misfire or oil leaking from the engine could all be a symptom. Each of these symptoms could also have other causes and an actual blown head gasket may show none of the above symptoms. It is easy to be mislead, when trying to diagnose a bad head gasket. Symptoms will often vary considerably, depending on how the gasket fails. The term "blown head gasket" does NOT necessarily describe a single thing. Head gaskets may fail in several different ways. With each failure type different symptoms may result. The symptoms each person sees depend on how and where the head gasket fails. To make diagnosis even more confusing, other things may cause the same symptoms as a head gasket failure. Another issue may be multiple failures which can cause more than one symptom. For example, a restricted radiator may cause an engine to overheat, very much the same as a head gasket failure. The farther we drive the vehicle, the more it may overheat. Often, intake gaskets cause coolant in the oil. Coolant in the oil is often mistaken as a head gasket. Each of these symptoms may suggest a head gasket problem, but may have another explanation. Diagnosing the problem requires experience and a logical approach. Consequences of not replacing a bad head gasket Because of the difficulty in diagnosing and the expense of repairing a head gasket, we may be tempted to let it go. This is a big mistake. Depending on the type of failure, far more damage will soon occur. If coolant enters the exhaust, through the combustion chamber, the catalytic converter(s) is often damaged. Coolant in the engine oil may destroy the engine, by breaking down lubrication. Combustion gases that leaks into the coolant usually results in continued overheating and more damage. Hydrocarbons entering the coolant will also greatly increase corrosion. This may destroy the radiator, heater core and other expensive components.
- Glenwood Auto Service