Key Mart Shell Automotive Center

"Great staff! Friendly and very helpful! Car broke down was able to rent a car dolly right away! I didn’t catch the Techs name that help me but he did have strong accent. Help me double check the straps after picking up my vehicle at the local o Reilly’s store right around the corner. Very humble people would recommend them to anyone!"

"I needed to get the anti-freeze changed out in an older Honda Civic. I called the Shell station on a Friday and was told to bring my car in Saturday morning. I was told on Saturday the job would only take 45 minutes. I gave the mechanic 2 gallons of 50/50 mix anti-freeze, and a special washer purchased from Honda to use after taking out and reinserting a block drain-plug. I then went home. After not hearing anything for 2.5 hours, I walked back to the station to find my car still in a repair bay. The mechanic stated that he was just getting the last of the air out of the system, but had two things to show me. The original radiator cap seems to have fallen apart. Showed it to me in three pieces (never had an issue with pressurization or over heating, which in 100 degree Idaho would have been evident). Ok, no big deal, could have been broken. When the engine was flushed, they could not get all the flushing water out, so they could not put the proper amount of coolant in. They checked with a hydrometer, and said I was good down to -24 degrees, but if I wanted better protection, they would have to mix in 100% antifreeze to give me the proper protection. They wanted to charge me extra to add their fluid. I did not expect them to leave 30% of their flush in my engine, but good to know in the future that this can happen. However, the real issue that I had with this service is that they informed me that the radiator hose connector in the radiator's upper tank got broken when they tried to take the upper hose off. I believe this was part of their flushing procedure, a procedure I told them was not necessary since I had asked them to drain the block from the lower drain bolt. I show the actual broken piece they gave me back in the approximate position of where it would have been under the hose. This happens to be the only place a screwdriver could have been placed to pry off the hose, and it is exactly where the break in the plastic piece was. They claim that there were already fatigue cracks in the plastic, and the piece broke off when they twisted the hose. Could it have happened that way? Let's just say that it could, and leave it at that. Here is my real issue: after finding out everything that had happened, the mechanic just put the car's radiator hose back on the broken upper tank's outlet with the original clamp. You can see in the provided picture that part of the clamp is not supported from below. This is now the perfect spot for leaks or even a catastrophic hose blow-out and failure. The clamp also really needed to be replaced as no tools are needed to move it around or to even remove it. How a mechanic, let's just say that all the aforementioned issues were due to the age of the car, but how a mechanic could return the car to me and say that "I am good to go" is seriously irresponsible. That plastic part needed to be repaired, or failing that, the radiator needs to be replaced. I have just purchased a replacement radiator off of Amazon. My costs are more than double what I would have spent if I had just gone to the Honda Dealership in Boise to have the service done. So much for supporting local businesses. All I can say is...let me just stop here and wish you better luck than I if you use this service station."

"Wow! Absolutely incredible staff. On our family vacation they repaired our RV. My six person family were stuck in their parking lot for several days. It was a very difficult problem to diagnose. They went above and beyond even taking the RV to fellow mechanics while charging us very little. They charged us less hours then they worked. I know this because we had very little to do in the parking lot but watch them work. The staff that runs the store even offered us free drinks several times. Not sure how they stay in business being this generous. Honest is an understatement!"

"When I dropped my car off the place was full of other customers' vehicles but since I'd called the day before they had a spot for me. They changed my AC compressor/drier and serviced the system in just 2 hours. I supplied my own parts but the labor cost was $80/hr which is fair, and they work fast."

"The mechanics are professional and honest, This is a understatement, Period, Let me explain. My old truck about died on I-84. I nursed it home and went to the closest mechanic I could without blowing my engine Key Mart Shell. I drove in told them the problem. Turned out my water pump was shot. I said lets fix it, in my mind I was thinking this was going to be a 400-500 dollar bill. They said they would call with a total, This was 4pm. 1/2 hour later I get a call that with the Parts, labor it was under 300. I blown away on top of that it would be done in 2 hours. This is unheard of where I am from. So I come back around 7 They close at 7, The Nice lady up front is out front getting ready to leave but she opens back up to take my card and give me my key. Here is the issue, I forgot the keys to open my doors on the truck. I have the ignition key but no door keys. I'm freaking out the lady from up front calls the mechanic and the beaded wonder comes back and pops my locks for me! Amazing Service above and beyond what i expect from a mechanic. They will have my business for life!"