INDEPENDENCE AUTOMOTIVE

unknown

I may have found a mechanic I can depend on at Independence Automotive. I don?t trust mechanics. Let me just put that out there. I can?t tell you then number of times I have heard a mystery noise or had an indicator on my dash light up only to be told I needed way more than I actually do. How do I know this? Because I know enough about cars to see through the technical speak a lot of mechanics try to confuse you with and also because I always, always get a second (and sometimes third) opinion. Cars are like going to the doctor. Sometimes the first diagnosis is not always correct regardless of what the error code or service bulletin tells you. I had a car in the past make awful noises, I was told I needed a whole new wheel bearing assemble and then I find out from someone else I only had a stick wedged between the rim and the undercarriage and that?s what was causing the noise ? no charge. Unfortunately there are still a lot of unscrupulous auto repair shops out there whose sole purpose in life is to upcharge whenever possible ? to sell you services and parts you don?t need. Many dealers are the same way. Case in point, I took my current Ford Fusion to the dealer at 38,500 miles because I had a series of trouble lights come on suddenly and then my power steering completely failed 30 seconds later. I had to muscle the car there and darn near crashed on the way because it took a huge effort to turn the wheel. So I?m just 2,500 over my warranty period and the diagnosis is I need a complete steering rack & pinion system replacement. The cost $3200. What?! My new car is barely a year old, I?m within spitting distance of the basic warranty period and that?s what they want to charge me? I couldn?t even negotiate them down because I was so close to the warranty. I was so disgruntled at that point and I said, no way, just clear the trouble code and let?s see what happens. They cleared the code, the power steering came back and until this week I drove it another 50,000 miles without further incident. That?s two more years? worth of driving and tells me there was absolutely nothing wrong with the rack & pinion. Well, the power steering issue happened again this week at 91,000 so I looked on Angie?s List hoping to find an A+ rated shop and someone I could work with. I took it to Independence Automotive in Pineville. In about an hour Dennis diagnosed that my control arms were causing too much torque resistance and causing the power steering sensor to trip. I was also getting a pretty wicked squeaking noise over bumps that I thought was just a bad strut, but I was told that the control arms were causing the noise too. Because I have trust issues I asked him for the error code numbers so I could look them up and see if he was full of it. Lo and behold, there was a service bulletin stating the same issue ? excessive control arm torque. So I told him to replace the control arms, reset the error code, and what do you know, the car has never run better on the road. Power steering came back and as a bonus the squeaking disappeared. Time will tell if the steering issue happens again but for once I feel like I got a real diagnosis, not a guess, and the problem was solved. I also didn?t get pressured into buying additional parts and services I don?t need right now. He did mention the strut and some tire wear issues but I didn?t feel like I had to deal with it immediately. They are a little higher priced than other big name chain shops, but if they keep fixing the right things I will keep coming back. The total repair was done in less than 24 hours and cost $1200 for computer diagnosis, four control arms, and labor.

It goes extremely well. They do high end cars and charge much less than the dealers.

I love that I can take my car to them and know it will be done right and as cheaply as possible. They are nice, nice, nice people. If I had taken my car to the Dealership, they would have over charged me. Independence has much more reasonable prices. A+!

The good news is that they were prompt in looking at my car and calling me back with a quote. However, the problem was that I didn't feel comfortable with the price they quoted. So, after doing some research & getting a second opinion at another shop, I found another shop that fixed the steering problem for $175 including parts and labor. I am not sure if Independence Automotive was trying to rip me off or if they just didn't know what they were doing. But either way, after this experience, I don't feel that I can trust going back there again without wondering if they are over-charging me or fixing things that aren't really broken. I was super-disappointed in the outcome here. :-(

Made appoinment. Work done w/in 45mins. Great staff knowledable.

They were very professional, nice people - I knew right away I had found the right company. Will never use any other repair.

They are honest and reliable.

Even though my car is still not running properly that is certainly not due to Jason's lack of trying and being my advocate. I don't think anyone has ever returned parts and refunded money for any work on any car, appliance, etc. if the problem was not fixed. I was only charged for labor costs. My car was there for about 3 weeks so I feel the charge was very fair. Overall the experience with Independence was first class. Wish I could say the same for owning a Land Rover and the dealership's ways of handling good customers.

Cordial enough but very high priced and inclined to think they were either trying to take advantage of me or just didn't want to fix my older model vehicle.

Everything was absolutely excellent. They called me and updated me daily on what work needed to be done. They walked me through step-by-step, rather than just doing the work and sending me a bill. Each day they gave me the cost for the part as well as the labor for completing the work necessary. I was very satisfied with their work, and their prices were competitive and reasonable. I couldn't be happier with everything they did. They are now my only mechanic. In today's age where everyone espouses great customer service, there are few companies who actually follow through. This company is competent, on-point, honest, considerate, and I couldn't ask for anything more.

My first time using this company, which I got from Angie's List. Work went well. Jason called with the quote, I agreed and he performed the work. Very professional and timely.

Wonderful, have used them for 14 years.

I dealt with Jason. His estimate was $200 less than the BMW dealer for the brake job. The dealer wanted $95 just to determine the source of power steering leak. Independence charged less to repair the leak. They took the car the next day after I called and completed it on time. Jason even took the car across the street to another shop and had the state inspection completed for me.

Outstanding. Job done is less than estimated time. They didn't do unneeded work. At pick-up Paul said he'd had several customers in that day who didn't really need the work done that large chain stores had told them they needed. It's nice to know that there are still honest car mechanics out there!

Terrible. They replaced the 2 rear shocks with 2 Nissan brand shocks obtained from the dealer or dealer distributor. One went bad. All fluid from 1 new rear shock leaked in my garage. They told me to bring car back and I did. They said they could not obtain another Nissan shock for 1 week since supplier was out of stock. This is true. Thanksgiving was that week and I wanted to visit my 90 year old mother. Note they already had the car 2 weeks and needed another week. They said I can drive with leaked shock and do no harm to the tire/car. Wrong: 2 dealers said absolutely NOT! So, I bought 2 shocks and asked Independence Auto to put BOTH on. Had to REALLY argue with them to do BOTH shocks. They wanted me to wait 1 week for a Nissan shock so they could replace just one. They replaced both and told me to NEVER come back. I was given no refund and they complained that I should be paying them more money for labor. Good I saw my mother, she died a month later.

Excellent very professional. They communicate work before they start.

There is a new owner of this facility, Paul, who does a fantastic job. He has very highly trained mechanics who have serviced my family's cars for a long time. They do any makes and models from older cars to the latest. They do everything from domestics to foreign, including Nissan, BMW, and Mercedes-t. They have better prices than the dealer. They have friendly and warm people who let you know what they did and why it was necessary. They have great turnaround time as well. Finally, I have a mechanic/automotive place I can trust.

This old truck needed a tune up, LOF, & state inspection. This is a second vehicle for our household, so time was not critical and I was able to leave it for a couple of days to get the work done. Ralph did the work, noted above which cost $390. In the process Ralph found that the fuel pump was leaking, and the left outer tie rod end was worn out. Ralph called to explain what was needed and how much it would cost prior to doing the work. I approved the work so these items were replaced along with the upper and lower ball joints on the left front & an alignment for an additional $568. It was clear to me that these items needed to be replaced. I had smelled gas several times when the truck was parked in the garage after use, so this is an indication that the fuel pump was leaking. And after having the front end fixed the steering is much tighter and the truck tracks straighter down the road.

I bought this van new. There was tremendous shaking in the front end at 55mph+. 3 different Ford dealers diagnosed 3 different causes, which were alignment, wheel out of round, and a bad set of tires. Nobody could fix this lemon. I went to Jimmy for a simple belt replacement, mentioned the unfixable shaking to him, and he immediately suspected it was the tie rods. He drove it to confirm and changed both in 3 hours and PRESTO! The van now drives perfect! He said it's a defect in Ford's manufacturing of that model, and they haven't even told their dealers about it! He's a genius! I have now taken both our vehicles to him for a variety of ailments, and he has never failed to fix them perfectly and at a price that's better than a dealership. Not to mention, he's the funniest old coot you'll ever meet. There is nobody else who should ever work on your vehicle.

DIAGNOSED PROBLEMS QUICKLY AND THOROUGHLY--INCLUDING SOME THAT HAD GONE UNDETECTED AT VEHICLE'S DEALERSHIP DURING ROUTINE MANTAINENCE JUST WEEKS BEFORE. EXPLAINED ALL COSTS AND CONSEQUENCES BEFORE BEGINNNING WORK. COMPLETED ALL SERVICE SAME DAY. STAYED A LITTLE LATE TO ENABLE ME TO PICK UP VEHICLE. VERY PLEASED WITH EXPERIENCE AND SERVICE PERFORMED. DEFINITELY WILL GO BACK.

JIMMY HAS BEEN WORKING ON OUR CARS FOR TEN YEARS. HE HAS ALWAYS BEEN FAIR IN OUR DEALINGS PARTICULARLY AS IT RELATES TO WHETHER OR NOT A SPECIFIC REPAIR IS NEEDED OR NOT. I WOULDN'T GO ANYWHERE ELSE FOR CAR REPAIR.