Springdale Automotive (Barbourmeade)

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We were relatively new to the area and wanted to establish a relationship with a repair shop in order to service our son's car. We took the car there, to address a heating problem. They called and told us about a bunch of other issues that they found and thought were important to fix. We agreed to the repairs. When my wife went to pay for the car, they would not accept payment with a charge card, even though they clearly indicated that charge cards were accepted. She then offered to write a check and they refused to accept it. They would only accept cash from her. To satisfy that, she had to go to our bank to withdraw the $4000 in cash and then she returned and gave it to them. Adding to that insult, when my son went to pick up the car, the one problem we took the car there for was never fixed. It still did not heat properly. We complained about the fact that we had paid a large amount of money to fix the heating and other problems and yet the heating problems persisted We were treated as if we did not know what we were talking about. The heating problem was not fixed by them. We would never use them again, and we would not recommend them. This happened about 5 years ago. We did not report it to a service like Angie's list or the local newspaper or TV station help service because it felt like a useless exercise and a hopeless cause. We also were not members of Angie's list, at that time. As we drive by the establishment, I always think about the bad service we received and how poorly my wife was treated and just decided that we should speak up and share our experience.

My 2002 Honda mini-van out of the blue started running very rough as my wife was driving home from work one day. We had always used another mechanic, but Springdale was close to our home and billed themselves as a family-owned business - we thought that would translate to fair and honest work and pricing, so we dropped it off to be checked out. The call we received the next day was to tell us that we would need over $500 of work BEFORE they could accurately determine the problem. The $500 was for spark plugs, fuel injector cleaning, PCV valve, etc. - typical tune-up and high profit margin items, but their pricing was more than book and much more than my typical shop (Pro-Tech Automotive in La Grange - which I highly recommend!). The problem was that even with my limited automobile knowledge I knew that none of these were the likely cause of my particular issues, however even when I confronted them on it they refused to go any further until this work was performed. A free code read at AutoZone and ten minutes on Google and Youtube lead me to the exact problem and diagnostic method (requiring no special tools or equipment). Thirty minutes and $60 later the problem (bad coil pack) was fixed by me, again with no mechanics knowledge or special tools (Autozone to the rescue again!). They were clearly trying to take advantage of me. And...when I picked up my van after paying $100 diagnostic fee and refusing their service, the same mechanic was fleecing another customer..."we can't be for sure what the problem is until we perform this work first...". I would NEVER recommend Springdale Automotive under any circumstances.

I think they are competent mechanics for some jobs, but not for diagnosing problems. I almost always had to call them to check on the status. When they said they couldn't find the problem (both the fuel leak and the noise), they just said that they couldn't find it with no explanation of where they had looked, etc. I later took the van to another shop (found on Angie's List) and they found both problems and fixed them quickly. The fuel leak was a loose hose clamp and the scraping was a metal piece rubbing on the axle.

It is easy to schedule. If you drive there, someone will take you home. I had someone ride with me so I could explain the noise I was hearing. They give you some goodies on you first visit, such as magnets. They give me a discount for referring a friend.

When I called and described my problem, I must not have made myself clear; I was looking for a shop that could do both a/c-radiator repair and body work. I needed the front bumper cover replaced. The guy on the phone, said "Yeah, we can do both auto service and bumper repair." But when I got to the shop, they said they could only do the a/c-radiator work. I was really hoping for one-stop shopping. But they were friendly enough, so I went ahead and had them do the a/c-radiator work.

I THINK OVERALL THEY DID A VERY GOOD JOB AND THEY STUCK TO THE TIMING OF THE REPAIRS. ONCE THEY EVEN STAYED AFTER HOURS TO FINISH MY CAR TO GET IT DONE WHEN THEY SAID THEY WOULD. THEY WERE GREAT.

I WENT TO GMC AND THEY WANTED 1108 DOLLARS AND I GOT NAPA'S BEST SUPREMO SHOCKS FOR 400 DOLLARS, THAT IS NO COMPARISON. I HAVE BEEN USING THEM FOR YEARS AND WATCHED THEIR NA DHIS MECHANICS AND GROW UP IN THE FIELD OF MECHANICS. IT'S AS CLOSE AS YOU CAN GET TO A FAMILY RELATIONSHIP. WE ARE NOT STRANGERS ANYMORE. I USED TO JUST WALK IN TO PLACES AND HOPE FOR THE BEST, BUT I DON'T HAVE TO DO THAT ANYMORE. YOU KNOW THAT THEY WILL TREAT YOU RIGHT.

THEY ARE GOOD. THEY ARE FAST AND RELIABLE. THEY ARE ALSO PRICED LOWER THAN COMPETITORS. YOU CAN TAKE YOUR CAR IN AND GET IT BACK THE SAME DAY OR AT THE LATEST THE NEXT DAY. THEY ARE VERY PROFESSIONAL. THEY ARE VERY GOOD WITH GETTING BACK TO YOU WITH ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS YOU HAVE AND GETTING BACK TO YOU LETTING YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON.

IT TOOK ONLY ONE DAY FOR THEM TO REPAIR THE STEERING. THEY WERE FINE AND THEY SEEMED TO KNOW WHAT THEY WERE DOING. THEY DID THE WORK QUICKLY, ALTHOUGH I THOUGHT THEY WERE EXPENSIVE FOR JUST ONE REPAIR.