I brought my car in to have the catalytic converter checked. I had the code checked already and knew it was for the catalytic converter. Later that day I got a quote for the converters, new brakes, timing belt, cosmetic fixes and a slew of other things. The "inspection fee" was almost $150. I did not ask for a full inspection. Plus, for the timing belt recommendation, the guy just looked at carfax maintenance records. This is unethical and I will never return. In addition I'll warn my neighbors and friends. Needless to say, after the "inspection" fee, I had zero trust that I would be charged a fair price for any work performed. My car is now at another shop.
Hi Sarah, I’m sorry to hear about your less then perfect experience at Springdale. We can pull codes for free just like Autozone does but codes will give the technician a place to start but they will not tell you exactly what is wrong with the vehicle. You can have convertor codes but doesn’t necessarily mean you need a convertor it could be a bad oxygen sensor giving your car a reading of a bad convertor. That is why we have to diagnose the vehicle and determine exactly what is causing the check engine light to come on. Anytime any vehicle is at Springdale Automotive we will always do a inspection of the car and let you know, we believe every customer deserves the right to know what is going on with their car, ultimately it is the car owners decision as to if they want to repair it or not but at least they know. The timing belt is very important to the engine with your car being an interference motor we were just letting you know that we didn’t see any records or signs of it being done. If that belt brakes it will do damage to your engine, we believe that’s your right to know that. If we didn’t tell you it was due and it broke a week after you had it in the shop you wouldn’t be very happy with us. I hope this helps I will try and reach out to you again shortly to see if I can answer any question or how I can help.
- Prospect