Where and Who do I goto, & why? Standards: -takes Discover -doesn't have conniption if I want to watch my car get serviced, or talk to the tech while working -doesn't care if I bring my own oil Opinions welcome.
Me...I dont take discover tho. You will likely have issues with #2 unless its a small personalized shop, but they need to have subaru experience in order to service your car. Lots of things can and will go wrong unless they know what they are doing. Been there, seen it done, made lots of money off of idiot shops that think they know what they are doing. The 3rd one is a non-issue at any place with common sense.
I'm aware that #2 will be the biggest problem. It didn't used to be like that at SOG back when I bought my car... (porter days)... Then it got seriously nazi, and I got turned off from going there. Then you helped me with the stupid loose lugnut and didn't have a cow while I sat & watched. too bad you're 5 hours away, cuz if you aint giving away !@$@# with a services, I don't have 10 hours to kill just on commute alone. ^_^
We would be happy to work you in next week, in general we don't let people back in the shop while the techs are working but you are welcome to talk to them before and after they start the work. Let me know if we can help you out. Matt
Sure do, we can always squeeze wrx atl members in as well, try and give me a weeks warning that way I can get you a spot that works for you.
I have an issue with not being able to review my vehicle while its in process of being worked on in some capacity. If there's no viewing portal to the shop then I need to have some kind of line of site to it. I don't get underfoot, and in my line of work am aware of the terms of general liability policies, so I'm not trying to be obtrusive when I do this, or infer distrust of any given tech. However, past experience is my indicator of likely future results, and there has always been a direct proportion to a shop's resistance to allow me to review my work I'm paying for or ask the tech questions to the likelihood of problems arising. Swhy I stopped going to SOG. After the last oil change I had when they got somewhat oppressive about me taking 5 minutes to ask someone something, the darn oil cap wasn't tightened & rattled off the spout to (fortunately) rest elsewhere in the engine bay. One may claim that I was a distraction, but my car was still in the air when I was asking some questions the desk person was too busy on the phone for. That was a minor one, previous experiences include getting a completely wrong tire installed in a set, getting my tranny fluid drained on an oil change, a failed attempt to upsell me air filter and wiper blades, a spark plug not getting tightened and getting blown out while going down the road, and a mis-installed heater core...all from different places and different cars. Contrastingly, out of 2 sets of tires over 65k miles of heavy highway commuting, and all the rotates and balances with it, I've had only one problem from Discount Tires out of dozens of visits, and talking to whichever installer is working on it. (the aforementioned loose lug) Sorry if this make me seem (even more) jerky, but call me eccentric. :/
I will be happy to make arrangements for you to watch as your car is being worked on. Give me a ring on Moday if you would like and we can discuss it. Matt
^you are not in the wrong here. I dont mind the customer watching so long as they dont get in the way or inhibit my progress. 99% of the reason I had that stool at my tool box. It was out of the way and you could watch me do whatever it was I was doing to your car. I really think that the standard dealer/shop layout needs to have a way for customers to see whats going on in the shop. Most of the newer 'tire shops' do. I've seen what can happen when customers/management are 'in the dark' as to whats going on in the shop unless they walk back there.
^^^^Good point But really take it to King at Classic and I past Troncali Subaru on the way down there :rofl:
I would say King or Batlground. I have experience with Kingrex! He will treat your car as if it his own and he is more than thorough. I am very very stringent/skeptical and I would trust King with any work! Case and point, during my last oil change he de-greased and washed the bottom of my engine and the plastic shroud (which he actually removes during the oil change) after draining the oil. Reason I know is because I watched him while he did it!
Late update. I had to drive to one of these conventions, and when I had the funds to have service, I only had a window of two days to get work done. At Classic, The gent I spoke with managed to butt me in the line for my service and lined up King for me. King was appropriately disarming, and the shop wasn't oppressive. I visited with him and asked questions, and if I slowed down the process, he didn't mention otherwise. I'm glad I asked for help here. I felt (slighty) less brutalised by the bill. :] to borrow from ebay "would do business again."
no: AAA+++++++++++++!!!!!!!!!!!! FAST SHIPPING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ITEM AS DESCRIBED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! eh?
I refuse to let anyone work on my car unless I can see the work being done. There are a select few people that I trust enough to not have to be around when they will be working on my car (and they know who they are). Which is why I do most ALL the work on my car. I have serious issues with alignment shops that won't let me stand there and watch the specs....I don't care about any freaking printed out sheets....I want to see the car unloaded and lined to spec 'after' the final tightening of the bolts.
King is the man in my experience at the local shops. After WJM left SOG, Classic has ALL my business. At least until I stop being lazy and do the simple stuff myself, lol. Now my dilemna is that I live in Duluth, work in Duluth, and can't get to Classic!!!!!! damn....
you're about the same distance as I from Woodstock. ;p at any rate, I'm a subpar home mechanic and thusly can't rely on myself to work on a daily driver like my wrx. I simply have to find someone/place I'm comfortable working with to maintain it, and thanks to the board it looks like i have.
i think so, but i've never really seen a blue smoke problem. I was just idling for a bit, eating my late lunch shift, looked over my shoulder, and noticed it was wisping behind me. ...not that I think it has anything to do with King's work. I'm just complaining before I go see him again... ...hope its nothing more than a 100,000 mile engine.