On top of all that, the independent repair shop has a cat. That sealed the deal for Debbie
So it's time to name names:
The dealer who gave us the outrageous quote for a simple brake job and a minor air conditioning repair (a hose): Toyota of El Cajon. We have been patronizing them for ten years, and just last year I purchased a new truck from them. I think it's fair to say that we were good customers. Were.
The independent repair shop is Rancho Jamul Auto Care, at 13975 Campo Road (State 94). Their phone number is 619/669-2848. They're between the Jamul Post Office and the feed shop, on the same side of the road. I've been driving past them for years and never even knew they were there!
Just spoke to Dave. Will be driving all the way down from Carlsbad to drop off the F150 for $500 worth of work that the dealer quoted me $1,000 for.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I have to tell my Dave story. We have been taking all three of our cars to Dave for a few years now. A while back, he replaced the head gasket on my Toyota. He gave a decent warranty with his work, and the warranty came and went. I became frustrated with some overheating issues and mentioned it to him when picking up another vehicle at his shop. He had me leave it that day and let me know by the end of the day that it was either the head gasket again or a cracked head or the engine block, none of which was good news. He felt that if it was the head, his work should have held out better than that. He offered to open it up and have a look at it at no charge to us. It did end up being the head gasket and he replaced it for free. We did end up with a random $97 charge for something else that got fixed along the way. I understand warranties are there for a reason and mechanics, Dave included, cannot be expected to do this. But I know in this particular instance Dave was a man of integrity. He stands behind his work.
ReplyDeleteI'll chime in here... Senor Loony recommended Dave and I as well couldn't be happier. After giving him a 93 Sentra that wouldn't turn over and had all the "idiot" lights on with the key out of the ignition he traced down the problem to a grounding problem and an 'exploded' started....and fixed it for 1/2 the price I would have expected anywhere else.
ReplyDeleteWhile he's a drive away he has earned my business!