Buyers be Aware!!! Unfortunately, the lowest rating is 1 Star. This shop deserves a 0 rating. And if you are a female, do not go into this shop without a male friend who knows about cars. This review is long, if you want to skip to the conclusion~~ "I will never visit this shop again."
I was trying to use a Groupon voucher for an oil change, following is what I had experienced:
Before going for oil change, I called twice to the shop and asked if an appointment is necessary. Both times the shop staff said no. So I went to the shop in the early afternoon.
The shop was empty with no other customers or cars been fixed. There were two mechanics in the shop; none of them were wearing name tags.
I was asked to pull into one of the bay and pop the hood. After couple minutes of examining under the hood (I was sitting in the driver seat), one of them walked up to me and told me and showed me how dirty my transmission fluid (not engine oil) is. And he started educating me on how important it is to have clean transmission fluid. Then he suggested that I should buy their transmission fluid change package and quoted me $145 as a discounted price since I'm Groupon member. He said, I quote: "most of the cost is because the transmission fluid is expensive..." (Guess how much a bottle of Genuine SPIII Transmission Fluid costs? $9.85, maybe they are using a luxury line of transmission fluid??)
I told him I was there to do engine oil change nothing else. After I declined his offer, he then called someone else in the shop. Shortly, I was informed that they do not have the oil filter in stock and thus cannot perform the oil change; and I'll have to come back to the shop some other time. By the way, I drive a Hyundai Elantra not some expensive hard to find European luxury car and the oil filter is very generic.
My questions are:
1. If the shop staff knows the stock is an issue, why not try to make sure that they've got the kind of oil filter in stock when I was trying to make an appointment over the phone. Instead, they said "just come in".
2. It's not the first time I've done oil change. I understand that it is a standard procedure for the mechanics to make recommendations for repair/maintenance. But those recommendations are usually done after they've changed the oil Not before. The main objective here is to change the engine oil. It seems that they've got their priority wrong.
3. Why didn't they check the oil filter stock first, before wasting time on making any examination and recommendations? One does not need to open the hood to find out which types of oil filter is needed (car maker & model are enough information).
4. Why only after I declined their offer to buy the transmission fluid change package did they then remember to check their stock?
After I got home, I did a bit research and found out that according to my User's Manual, it's suggested to replace ATF every 60,000 miles. The mechanic never checked my dashboard to see the odometer. And apparently, Hyundai SPIII ATF turns from red to light brown after initial use so unlike regular ATF fluid (that stays red). So a color inspection might not be accurate when deciding whether it's time to change the fluid. The education I received from the shop mechanic neglected to include that part.
After reading my experience, you be the judge on whether you should risk it to try their service.
