The Auto Doc is a full service repair and maintenance facility family owned and operated for over 17 years. All of our work is guaranteed for 24 months or 24,000 miles so you can drive with confidence. We treat you with respect and are always looking out for your safety and your vehicles reliability. The Auto Doc is a full service repair and maintenance facility family owned and operated for over 17 years. All of our work is guaranteed for 24 months or 24,000 miles so you can drive with confidence. We treat you with respect and are always looking out for your safety and your vehicles reliability.
I believed their diagnosis since they advertise themselves as having "top quality diagnostic services" on their website.
The next day, they call me and say it *is* but it *isn't* the starter. For they have to maintain the sale, so they have to justify what they have done and the part they have installed but they would like to get further business. They tell me they need to do more diagnosis and it will cost more.
I eventually talk to David on the phone. David says that I will need to spend another $180 dollars to diagnosis the car and the part that is suspected of not working will cost like another $400.
Since they did not get the diagnosis right the first time, I ask him what he would think if I just brought my car to the Volvo dealership where they have the Volvo diagnostic that will at least get the diagnosis right this time.
This threatens his sale. He suggests I don't do that because it would cost at least 350-400 dollars for them to diagnosis the car before they even replace the part that is broken.
I ask David how sure they are that they will be able to find and fix what is wrong - after all, my car, at the time, has already been in the shop for two days, with them ostensibly diagnosing and fixing what is wrong with the car.
He says he cannot guarantee anything. Meaning, I could pay for their diagnosis, and still have to bring it to Volvo and get the same diagnosis that that he was supposedly warning me about. That would cost me even more but they want to get as much of a sale in as possible.
He tries to feign sympathy on the phone by saying that this is why most auto mechanics do not work on Volvo's. So then why does the Auto Doc? Obviously not because they can fix them! No, they are willing to rip-off a customer.
I call the Volvo dealership - Star Motors - and they say that the flat rate for using their diagnosis machine is $156. That is about half of what David told me on the phone.
I walk to The Auto Doc and tell them I am going to take my car. They tell me it is already locked up, so I can't get my car. I will have to come back in the morning.
Yet, two hours later, David calls me and says his colleague has suggested one other "procedure" to try. He says he will try it in the morning - if it doesn't work, he will charge me nothing but if it does work, it will cost $140.
I get a call in the morning and David tells me my car is working and they have started it multiple times. The procedure, as I am told when I get there, involved opening the car up and "banging" on the part a few times.
Even this procedure, of hitting my car, I could find done cheaper in Houston.
That weekend, the car stops starting in a Kroger parking lot. Not even a week later, I have to get it towed for the second time. I currently have a broken car that I basically spent $1000 on to get a faulty diagnosis. Again, they advertise themselves as having "top quality diagnostic services."
Here is another option that would have led to the same result: Burning a thousand dollars of cash and then pushing my car off a cliff.
For in that case, I would be able to "look inside" the car with same expertise that they have but I would have been in the same position - with a car that doesn't work and less money.
It would have even done a better job of "banging" on the parts of the car.
Back in December, Chris told me that his job is to look for parts to replace in order to make a sale. This is the most honest thing they ever told me in my interaction with them.
There are like 15 auto shops in the area. You do not have to go to this one.