Eldon's Automotive Service

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We recently moved here and started looking for a local car repair shop to service our vehicles.  Immediately before we moved, we had our local shop give the car a once over to make sure there weren?t any mechanical problems that we may not have been aware of and got the thumbs up.  We had used this shop for years and they knew we would be driving the car back and forth, about 4 hours one way, with our 11 month old so they were pretty thorough in their inspection and the car was running great, as it always had, when we left.

After we had been here a few weeks, we decided to take it in for an oil change.  We?re big supporters of local, family owned businesses so we were happy to find Eldon?s not too far from our home.  We made an appointment and got our car in for an oil change the next day.  They changed the old and gave us a laundry list of ?recommended? repairs when we picked up the car, which we found odd as we had just got the all clear from a shop that we had used and trusted for years, but we thought really nothing of it.

Two days later as we were leaving at 4AM to drive back to our old home the check engine light came on.  Since we were heading home anyway, we decided we would just have the old shop take a look and that?s what we did. They replaced a hose and sent us on our way.  We drove the car for a few more days and the check engine light popped on again!  We were pretty frustrated because this was one of our major fears in trying to find a new repair shop ? you let someone new work on your car and all of the sudden everything starts falling apart.  After my husband and I debated a bit, we decided it was worth giving the local, family owned business one more shot.  After all, the light came on right after it left their shop initially so maybe they would be able to fix it.

We dropped the car off on a Monday and were told that we?d hear something by the end of the day.  At 5:30 that evening, my husband called to find out the status only to learn that the shop had closed!  They never even called to tell us they couldn?t get to it that day!  The next day we waited and eventually they called with the news that a sensor was out but not worth fixing and we could just drive with the engine light on!  I could not believe it!  If we?re driving around with our engine light on how will we know if there?s something that requires attention?  There was also another laundry list of other things they were recommending, most notably brand new tires that were an absolute MUST (this had been on the recommendation list the first time as well).  They charged us $85 for what they called a ?courtesy check?, which we paid and took the vehicle without having any work done.  Two days later I got in the car and noticed that the dashboard clock AND radio clock had somehow been reset to the wrong time, which really makes me wonder what the heck they did to my car when they had it!  How do your clocks get reset unless someone does something to the electrical system? It just doesn?t make any sense.

At the end of the day, we walked away feeling like the only thing this shop really wanted to do was sell us tires.  Maybe Cooper has some vendor special going on right now where shops are getting a cash rebate for the tires that they sell.  The fact that we were advised to drive with the engine light on rather than footing the bill for a $160 repair but to instead spend several hundred dollars on tires was just really baffling to me.  On top of it, the car just isn't running like it always had.  It sounds like the engine is going to explode any minute and I drive around with a baby in this car! It?s disappointing because we were really hoping we would have some luck and find a good, honest shop like the one we had back home. It seems they are few and far between and our search continues!!!!

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Manager Tim was very professional and price accurate.

Always a professional approach. They tell you what needs to be done, the cost and leave the choice up to you. I have used them for several vehicles, and have been very satisfied over a period of years.

I normally perform all of our auto repairs, but was deployed to Iraq and my wife took in her 2000 Bonneville for diagnosis and repair for running "rough", minor climate control issues, and the replacement of a window regulator. Her initial estimate was $400 for a climate control unit, which was increased to $2200 in repairs when they looked in more depth at the car (which at this point was only worth about $800 Blue Book) and determined it needed a catalytic converter and some other minor repairs. My wife and I discussed the price via phone and decided that the price was high, but to go ahead since I was not there to repair the vehicle. When she went to pick the car up, the final bill was right at $4400. They had upsold her on flushing the power steering system, brake system, and multiple repairs that were not necessary and had come in at 10x the original quote and double the revised quote. They preyed on her because she knew nothing about automotive repair and even charged her for a replacement window regulator, even though we had one for the car that was sent WITH the car and remained unused. Their methods are predatory and completely unscrupulous with someone coming to them with no knowledge of car repair.

I take my car there for everything. They are very good. They give one of their cars if I have any emergency after leaving my car there. I once had one of their cars during the weekend. They are little expensive, but they are always nice to me. They give me a quote for the job that needs to be done. I would use them in future.