Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Houston
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 03-10-2010, 04:03 PM
 
1,329 posts, read 3,544,860 times
Reputation: 989

Advertisements

Houston is apparently just below the middle of the pack (50 big cities) when it comes to car repair costs - better than Chicago, but more expensive than New York (!), Los Angeles (!) and Dallas (!!!). If you had a good experience, please feel free to divulge the name of the mechanic. Auto repair tales are just as entertaining as crime stories, with a difference - the damage dishonest or incompetent mechanics wreak on our collective pocketbooks is perfectly legal.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 03-10-2010, 04:30 PM
 
Location: Houston
3,565 posts, read 4,866,610 times
Reputation: 931
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zhang Fei View Post
Houston is apparently just below the middle of the pack (50 big cities) when it comes to car repair costs - better than Chicago, but more expensive than New York (!), Los Angeles (!) and Dallas (!!!). If you had a good experience, please feel free to divulge the name of the mechanic. Auto repair tales are just as entertaining as crime stories, with a difference - the damage dishonest or incompetent mechanics wreak on our collective pocketbooks is perfectly legal.
Haven't had a good experience, but I'll get back to you once I have one I've been ripped off several times. Just can't really prove it, since I don't know much when it comes to fixing your car. It's just their job.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-10-2010, 04:40 PM
 
1,329 posts, read 3,544,860 times
Reputation: 989
Quote:
Originally Posted by XodoX View Post
Haven't had a good experience, but I'll get back to you once I have one I've been ripped off several times. Just can't really prove it, since I don't know much when it comes to fixing your car. It's just their job.
Feel free to share your negative experiences. If nothing else, it's cathartic for you and educational for anyone who might be reading.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-10-2010, 04:47 PM
 
Location: Houston
3,565 posts, read 4,866,610 times
Reputation: 931
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zhang Fei View Post
Feel free to share your negative experiences. If nothing else, it's cathartic for you and educational for anyone who might be reading.
Well, I simply spent a ton of money on stuff that did not have to be replace. It could have been simply fixed. Or twice they came up with bogus reasons why stuff needed to be fixed. One time my car was even sitting at the dealership for almost one week after it was already fixed and they charged me for this. I fought it and got the money back for that. You always need to read your bill carefully and you should know what's wrong with your car. I spent 2k on stuff that did not have to be replaced. I admit that I might be an easy victim, but not everybody knows everything about cars.
And those things happened at dealerships and not some shady ghetto repair shop here
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-10-2010, 04:57 PM
 
Location: Clear Lake Area
2,075 posts, read 4,446,614 times
Reputation: 1974
Went to an auto repair shop that has a small number of franchises in Texas and was recommended by someone on this site. Front brakes had gone out, and car was undrivable, so once I got it there, I was at their mercy. For the price they charged me on front pads/rotors and one caliper, I could have gotten a complete (all 4 wheels pads/rotors) brake job done at the dealer. I figured I'd be saving money by not going to the dealer... the markup on the parts was even higher than the dealer. They also tried to sell me on doing the rear brakes (which I knew were fine)... when I asked for a measurement of how much pad was left on the rear, the answer was "uh, they're just about gone". Furthermore, after I agreed to the work, they called me about 10 minutes later asking where I kept the special lug nut socket to take the wheels off... so they never took the wheels off when diagnosing the brakes. As far as I'm concerned, you need to take the wheels off to do a complete brake inspection. The work they did was fine, and the shop was nice a clean... but the price was ludicrous. To top it off, the shop name has a religious reference in it... should have know right then.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-10-2010, 05:27 PM
 
1,329 posts, read 3,544,860 times
Reputation: 989
Quote:
Originally Posted by LostInHouston View Post
To top it off, the shop name has a religious reference in it... should have know right then.
There was an interesting quote about them that you can google:
Quote:
I have had a lot of repairs completed at C.. B... and although I love the theme, I have to say they are verrrrry expensive. Prices are not very competitive for repairs, but if you want great customer service and a honest friendly atmosphere then this place is for you. I don't have the money to get most of my repairs there though. My last repair was a transmission replacement $5k. Ouch..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-10-2010, 06:14 PM
 
258 posts, read 954,709 times
Reputation: 103
I almost took my car to that place, they wanted 850 to replace my motor mounts, and 79 for a wheel alignment.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-10-2010, 07:10 PM
 
1,329 posts, read 3,544,860 times
Reputation: 989
Quote:
Originally Posted by phaze View Post
I almost took my car to that place, they wanted 850 to replace my motor mounts, and 79 for a wheel alignment.
That honest friendly atmosphere obviously costs money.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-10-2010, 08:34 PM
 
Location: Tricity, PL
61,713 posts, read 87,123,005 times
Reputation: 131685
Not really. I compare prices and pay attention to what they want to work on. Their list could be mile long, but that not necessary means that everything needs to be done. There is a fine line between must and recommended. They always try to make everything a must.
I also watch them at work and want to see replaced parts. Is not that easy to fool me.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-11-2010, 10:22 AM
 
Location: Pearland
799 posts, read 2,441,692 times
Reputation: 696
I have had great experiences at Fairbanks Car Repair FM 529 and Eldridge, and Cherry Park Automotive on cherry park off hwy 6. I used cherry park just for an alignment, but they were cheap, fast and very nice.

Fairbanks is a guy that has been in the same location 20+ years. Just a good guy. He might not be "cheap" but I would never believe in a million years he would cheat someone.


Plenty of bad experiences, but I think its more productive to recommend good shops.

Also Happy Honda off Hwy 6 for the Honda owners.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Houston

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:25 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top