Tom's Auto Repair

"WOMEN AND THOSE WITHOUT INDUSTRY KNOWLEDGE BEWARE!!! My girlfriend's mother needed a valve cover gasket on a simple, conventional 4 cylinder car . As a former mechanic, I looked at it and diagnosed what it was, priced the part out, but simply did not have time to do the job. Her mother advised me that she had a mechanic she had used prior to me and that she trusted his work and he had treated her fair in the past. I did not go with her and was not present for the estimate or drop off of the vehicle. I figured the job would cost around $250-$350 dollars based on my knowledge of the industry, and boy did these people gouge her. The entire job cost a whopping $567.00. It started off with a $50 diagnosis charge on a problem that you can readily and visibly see from looking at the motor, without even removing the plastic engine cover. They were also advised of what the problem was prior to the car getting there so I'm not sure what the diagnosis even is. Next, they charged $99.95 for the Gasket. THIS is where I really started to question their morals. I decided to do further research on the cost part because I knew what it cost at autozone. ($32.00) I called NAPA ($37.00) I then called the dealer and priced the gasket by the dealer by giving the VIN ($41.00). I know mechanics mark parts up, but over a 100% markup on a part is unacceptable and crooked. Next, knowing the industry I was able to use "all data", a system used by mechanics to accurately price out work, and found the job is supposed to take 1.8 billable hours to the customer. They charged $350 in labor in addition to their made up $50 diagnosis fee for a 30 second diagnosis that had already been done, which at their $120 per hour rate, works out to 2.966 hours. (don't ask me how they get that figure with a repeating decimal, other than making it up clearly). Lastly, they charged $50 for "cleaners and sealants" there are no additional sealants required other than maybe a dab of grease for the coil packs, and a can of brake clean which is more than likely all they used is $3.99. Again, I understand a mark up but this is gouging. So with all this information I now felt compelled to get involved. I initially was met with resistance by the cashier who tried explaining me away. When I pushed for any explanation on the nearly doubling of the suggested labor charge and the more than doubling on the parts, I was asked "oh are you a technician?" When I stood my ground and said yes, he only then got the owner. Once again, I was met with resistance. The owner would not produce and documentation on the parts actually purchased, would not tell me the supplier (which I assume is NAPA based on one being up the road and them being a supplier that delivers and offers large commercial discounts), or the cleaners actually used. He also tried telling me that the additional time was for cleaning, even though the cleaning time is allotted in the all data estimate. I once again stood my ground. At this point, he offered me $30 off admitting that the time is over estimate. I stood my ground again. He scribbled on his paper, not looking me in the eye, generally being evasive and not being able to offer any good arguments as to why he charged so much for the parts or labor (he told me he marks up his parts 20-40%, and that he does not provide customers with parts receipts, even though he marked up his part over 100%) he once again offered $80, would not tell me what the $80 was for, and then said "will that make you happy?". I told him no, but that was all I was going to get. Seeing that I was talking to a crook who was not going to divulge how crooked he is, I took the $80 and walked out. So my advise to those going here is to choose another mechanic. I hate to write negatively about any business, however this is a clear and easily identifiable lack of moral principal and a negligent way to operate a business."

"I went to Tom's for a oil change and a woman who could not drive almost backed into me. The mechanic was starting to put my car in the garage when the same person backing up again, if it weren't for the mechanics quick thinking she would have hit my car. Thank you to that mechanic."

"First I had made an appointment early morning, for the next morning. Got there when they opened and wanted to push my appointment back to later in the day. Secondly, they installed my tires wrong. That's right, they installed my tires wrong. Tire manufacturers put a yellow dot on tires so when mounted it should correspond with the valve stem. They told me that they had issues with balancing and said my wheels were all dented up. Wrong!! The dot, which is the lightest spot of the tire, was nowhere close to the valve stem. Therefore you're already fighting a losing battle when you try to balance it. I am a mechanic by hobby and never have to bring my car into any service shop but don't have a tire machine. Might have to buy one now or just never go back there again."

"Nice people and quick BUT total slobs. When they went in back of my vehicle to check the operation of the rear seat belts during an annual inspection they got a HUGE amount of grease on my headliner. It is a total mess! The guy must have had grease either on his hat or his back. The headliner is grey and is probably ruined. If they can't do something as simple as a car inspection I would not trust them do AMYTHING on my vehicle."

"Not sure how their repair side is, but state inspections are awful. I was failed for factory window tint that this very same location and inspector passed me for last year. In addition, their inspection techs can’t drive a standard. Stalled my vehicle numerous times, and the techs solution to this was to ride the clutch. When I got back to my vehicle all I could smell was burnt clutch. I understand the state can be fickle about window tint but if you work in a repair shop you should know how to drive a standard. Hard pass."