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If you thought honest, knowledgeable, caring, sincere auto
repair shops are a mirage,  I was just
like you too. Until I had an incident with my car and Academy car care and
repair worked on my car. When my car wouldn?t start even after replacing
battery and the starter, I took it to the same dealership that made the initial
work. They said I have to replace the alternator too, and quoted several
hundred dollars for it. I then took it Academy car care and repair, and instead
of just changing the alternator like I asked them to do, they did a thorough
diagnosis and found that all that needed to be changed was 7 dollar connector
to the battery. Cal who assisted me through it, repeatedly told me that they
will not make any unnecessary replacements, and he was true to his word. The
guys are friendly and straight forward.
If you want fancy waiting rooms with the state of the art
TVs you should go to the big dealerships, and this may not be the place for
you. But I was pleasantly surprised that such honesty exists in this industry.

They're honest, reliable and very customer-friendly and by that, I mean they provide free transportation back to my home after I drop my car off or they pick me up to pick up my car when it's done. They always give a good estimate meaning it's spot on. They never try to add extra services that are unneeded. They tell you what to plan for next and what car repair may be coming up to watch for. I trust them so much. They're excellent and very professional. They even hold car care classes that are free. They do free purchase inspections. It's A pluses across the board.

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After other business tried and failed this business did a great job of making the AC system operational.  Very honest business and gave me a detailed report of what was wrong and what the price would be.

While Academy Car Care and Repair came highly recommended by both Angie's List and word of mouth, I am extremely disappointed in their service. Over the last 2 months, I have spent a great deal of time and money on this repair shop trying to fix a leaking problem on my 2003 Ford Windstar Minivan.  I spent nearly $1000 with them on a variety of repair recommendations, yet I still have the leak. This business neglected to properly diagnose and fix the leaking problem, for which I came to them to fix in the first place. And to date, this company will not take any responsibility for the ongoing leaking problem I continue to have with my minivan. My wife and child are in this car most of the time, so it is important that I take care of this problem.  Here is what happened:
1) On January 24th, Academy Car Care and Repair did an inspection on my minivan when I brought it in to diagnose and fix the leak. Their mechanic said I needed a new tensioner, a transmission filter/gasket replacement, and a coolant flush.  However, there was no mention of any leakage problem for which I initially brought the car in to repair. In addition, there was no report of the power steering pump leaking at this time. We did not have any power steering pump issues in the past, it was quiet, and the fluid level was fine.
  
2) On that same day, I trusted their recommendations and paid $215 to replace the tensioner. Meanwhile, I still had a leak. I was confused as to why they didn't meet my needs as a customer and address the problem I came to them to diagnose. 
3) On January 27th, I paid $350 for them to complete the transmission work and coolant flush they had recommended. I thought could this be the cause of the leak? I was still concerned about the ongoing leak that had not been properly diagnosed or fixed.  
4) Due to the continuing leakage on the floor of my garage (the main reason I contacted Academy Car Care and Repair initially), on March 7th I asked them to check the transmission for any leaks.  They apparently checked it, but then said my power steering pump was leaking. If that was true, why wasn't it diagnosed when I initially came in to them to help me solve my minivan's leak problem?  It was not reported earlier.  They said I "may have other oil seepage (rear main seal, front of engine) but nothing to worry about and nothing dripping on the ground."  They insisted it was the power steering pump that was the source of my leaking problem. 
5) On March 7th, I once again trusted what they had recommended and had Academy Car Care and Repair replace the power steering pump for $330 and on that receipt they mentioned once again some minor seepage (rear main seal and the front of the engine), but again downplayed the seriousness of it and said "nothing was reaching the ground."
6) The work done on the power steering pump was shoddy. Within one day, the power steering pump was screeching extremely loudly. Something was clearly wrong! On March 10th, I brought the minivan back again to Academy Car Care and Repair and spoke to the owner, Cal.  He put an additive in the power steering fluid and said the screeching sound should eventually go away. I found this hard to believe. He instructed me to drive the car 500 miles before contacting him again about the problem. I found this unprofessional and the situation unsafe for my wife and child to be driving the car. Yet, against my better judgement, I trusted what he recommended and did just that. And to make matters even more frustrating, I still had the leaking problem!
 
7) The power steering noise became increasingly worse after driving it over 500 miles. I brought the minivan in once again to Academy Car Care and Repair and they agreed that they installed a faulty power steering pump. They replaced the pump with a re-manufactured Ford power steering pump and put in an additive.  To date, the power steering is still noisier than the original pump that was in my car and which was not leaking as far as I was aware. So not only do I now have ongoing power steering problems as a result of their work to my minivan, I still have a serious leak problem that has not been solved. 
8) On April 15th, once again I brought my 2003 Ford Windstar Minivan back into Academy Car Care and Repair and suddenly their diagnosis had extensive descriptions of a variety of serious leaks throughout my engine...in the intake manifold, front timing cover, oil pump and rear main seal as well as mention of slight seepage in the oil pan and head gaskets! Academy Car Care and Repair now wanted nearly $2000 more to fix the leaks that I initially brought my car in to them to repair back on January 24th! However, after speaking to Cal, he was unwilling to work with me and does not see Academy Car Care and Repair accountable for neglecting to diagnose these issues in the first place. He also doesn't agree that he could have possibly misdiagnosed the problem, having me pay for repairs that might have been unnecessary.  Repairs that have caused additional problems that I am now experiencing with my car, in particular, the power steering pump. That, coupled with the extensive and extremely expensive repairs that I now need done to my minivan in order to fix the leaking problems once and for all made for one of the worst car repair experiences I have ever had in my life.


UPDATE 5/12/14:  I received a letter from Cal, the owner of Academy Car Care and Repair, in the mail the other day along with a partial refund for the work on my van. Work I felt that was not necessary and which did not address the leak issue I initially
came into his repair shop to get fixed.  I wanted to follow up my complaint with this note to thank Cal very much for working with
me after writing my Angie's List review.  My family and I truly appreciate it.  I can now use the refund money toward getting the leak fixed.   I obtained a second opinion and more detailed diagnosis by another repair shop.  After steam-cleaning my engine and putting a dye in all of my engine's liquids, they believe my oil pan plug and oil filter are leaking and possibly my valve cover gaskets. 

The service writer was upfront and confirmed my analysis of the problem. I was expecting to pay a lot more for the tuneup, but I was advised that other coils need not be changed at this time. They advised that eventually they will need to be replaced. With that information I will be able to be more proactive and be able to budget these cost in the future thanks again to Academy Car Care and Repair

Provider gave quote based on requested information.

They are very professional and friendly. They called to let us know what was wrong and what steps could be taken to fix it.

Great. We've been going to these guys for years. We trust their work, and they have reasonable prices.

wow, an honest car mechanic.  The first time I was there I was having issues that even the dealership we were taking it to couldn't figure out.  I took it to these guys and he honestly said, "I'm not sure"  but he suggested we try the fix and if it didn't work, he would refund my money and we would keep looking for a solution.  I have never paid more than I was quoted and I have never felt ripped off.  Their customer service is out of this world.  They stayed an extra 20 minutes late for me to pick up my car on a saturday evening and will call about a week or so after service to make sure everything is going well.  I stumbled upon these guys when I broke down close to their shop.  So glad I did.  I recently saw a "best of the Springs" sign hanging outside and it validated my own opinions of these guys.

They are excellent.  They are honest, they will do free estimates, and they’ll tell you if you can wait on something.  They do good work and they back it up.  We have been very pleased with them.

I called for the initial estimate and talked to John. My son had already received a quote from another place that was close to his work since he had to drive the car in first gear. He had also gotten a quote for the part from the same place and from a Chevy dealer since Pontiac is now defunct.

I have done business with Academy Car Care before and know that they have fair prices and do quality work, so when they gave the lowest quote for the complete job, I recommended that my son take it there and he agreed.

The job was completed by the following afternoon and everything works excellent.

As always excellent service and we saved over $250 in labor/repair costs as opposed to going through the dealer (and also got a 1 year warranty on the work).

I live near by so I was able to drive my car there about two in the afternoon. They said they would take a look and give me a call. Less than a hour later they called me and said the oil pressure sensor in my engine had cracked. I approved the work and again in less than an hour they called and said it was ready. The car was in the shop in less than two hours. They were fast and friendly. In fact when I asked what product they use to clean up oil in their garage they told me then gave me a cup so I could clean up the oil in my garage.

This company is AAA certified, which means that all of their parts and labor are warranted for one year. They always call me after about a week to make sure that everything is still running smooth. I have just driven my car into the shop for work in the past, but this time I called ahead and made an appointment. The quality of their work is great and they have not let me down yet.