This review is based on my last experience with Purrfect Auto a few months ago (power steering pump replacement) and just yesterday (oil change).
Both times, the pricing was fair and consistent with average to below average prices, for what you're getting. The parts and labor charge are fair. I always appreciate the explanation and walk through of the in depth oil change that covers tires, brakes, fluids, hoses, battery, filter, etc. Jim is not a hard salesman and for the most part the environment is low pressure.
The one reason why I would not recommend this business to a friend is because of their service times. Both times that I have brought in my car in the last 6 months, I was promised a certain window of time that the car would be done. In both cases, the time came and went and I was unable to pick up my car in a timely manner. For my power steering pump replacement, it went from a 3 hour job to a full day job where Jim told me that he kept getting bad pumps from the vendor he sources from. One bad pump is believable, but 2 in a row? I don't know, doesn't sound like the parts vendor is reliable or that I was being told the truth. To Jim's credit he offered to get me a rental car on their dime from Enterprise, which I took him up on as I was w/o a car for an entire day and night vs. the planned 3 hours (note I brought it in the wee hours of the morning on Black Friday, of all days - believing nobody else would be fixing their car that day). Jim assured me that the rental car would be ready and waiting for me when I arrived after they closed and that he had already talked with Enterprise.
When I got dropped off at the Enterprise and they had no idea what I was talking about. I spent another 30 minutes explaining the situation to them and finally rented a car. I should also note that the previous time that I went for an oil change and waited, another customer had a similar issue, where he was told a time, came back to pick up his car while I was there and found out that it was not done. He was also guaranteed a new time that it would be done and offered a ride home or a rental car.
Similar situation with my last oil change which I called before deciding to drop off and was told that they could finish within 45 minutes. I told them to take their time and that I would come back around 11a.m. and was told that would be more than enough time. I drove over and dropped off my car and called back at 10:56a.m. to check on my car as I had not heard back from them (note - I have never received a call regarding a service running late with an updated estimated completion time unless I have specifically requested). I was told that my car was next in line and that they would be done with it around 1230-1p.m. This was disappointing to say the least, especially given the optimistic 45 minute timeframe I was quoted over the phone earlier, but I decided to go eat lunch and not think about it. 1p.m. rolled by and I figured they were still not done and it was not till 2:08p.m. that I received a call letting me know the car was ready. To sum it up, I dropped it off at 9:30a.m. and it took almost 4 1/2 hours to complete an oil change that should have taken no more than 45 min. Not one call to apologize for the delay or to even give an update.
Having worked in the service industry for many years I can tell that Jim and the rest of staffs' hearts are in the right place and that they truly do want to make things right when it's brought to their attention. However, if you're over capacity and not able to deliver the service a customer is paying for in the time agreed (or even a reasonable time), I believe you should be upfront about it.
It feels like lately they have been swamped with more business, but not enough staff or taking on more than they can accommodate. I would not recommend this auto shop to others given the lack of a proactive service approach. A lot of it seems to be reacting to the day's chaos.
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Both times, the pricing was fair and consistent with average to below average prices, for what you're getting. The parts and labor charge are fair. I always appreciate the explanation and walk through of the in depth oil change that covers tires, brakes, fluids, hoses, battery, filter, etc. Jim is not a hard salesman and for the most part the environment is low pressure.
The one reason why I would not recommend this business to a friend is because of their service times. Both times that I have brought in my car in the last 6 months, I was promised a certain window of time that the car would be done. In both cases, the time came and went and I was unable to pick up my car in a timely manner. For my power steering pump replacement, it went from a 3 hour job to a full day job where Jim told me that he kept getting bad pumps from the vendor he sources from. One bad pump is believable, but 2 in a row? I don't know, doesn't sound like the parts vendor is reliable or that I was being told the truth. To Jim's credit he offered to get me a rental car on their dime from Enterprise, which I took him up on as I was w/o a car for an entire day and night vs. the planned 3 hours (note I brought it in the wee hours of the morning on Black Friday, of all days - believing nobody else would be fixing their car that day). Jim assured me that the rental car would be ready and waiting for me when I arrived after they closed and that he had already talked with Enterprise.
When I got dropped off at the Enterprise and they had no idea what I was talking about. I spent another 30 minutes explaining the situation to them and finally rented a car. I should also note that the previous time that I went for an oil change and waited, another customer had a similar issue, where he was told a time, came back to pick up his car while I was there and found out that it was not done. He was also guaranteed a new time that it would be done and offered a ride home or a rental car.
Similar situation with my last oil change which I called before deciding to drop off and was told that they could finish within 45 minutes. I told them to take their time and that I would come back around 11a.m. and was told that would be more than enough time. I drove over and dropped off my car and called back at 10:56a.m. to check on my car as I had not heard back from them (note - I have never received a call regarding a service running late with an updated estimated completion time unless I have specifically requested). I was told that my car was next in line and that they would be done with it around 1230-1p.m. This was disappointing to say the least, especially given the optimistic 45 minute timeframe I was quoted over the phone earlier, but I decided to go eat lunch and not think about it. 1p.m. rolled by and I figured they were still not done and it was not till 2:08p.m. that I received a call letting me know the car was ready. To sum it up, I dropped it off at 9:30a.m. and it took almost 4 1/2 hours to complete an oil change that should have taken no more than 45 min. Not one call to apologize for the delay or to even give an update.
Having worked in the service industry for many years I can tell that Jim and the rest of staffs' hearts are in the right place and that they truly do want to make things right when it's brought to their attention. However, if you're over capacity and not able to deliver the service a customer is paying for in the time agreed (or even a reasonable time), I believe you should be upfront about it.
It feels like lately they have been swamped with more business, but not enough staff or taking on more than they can accommodate. I would not recommend this auto shop to others given the lack of a proactive service approach. A lot of it seems to be reacting to the day's chaos.