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Honest people, I'm really picky when it comes to maintenance on my car. I knew about couple issues before and I wanted to see what they'd say...
I brought my car in for service, first thing in the morning, on 12/3/17. I spoke to the attendant Will, who was very polite, and explained that the starter and solenoid in my car was dying/dead, that there was no evidence of a battery issue that I could see—and I believed it needed to be replaced. He told me they would take a look under the hood and call me in the next 45 mins to 1 hour to give me a diagnosis— this was at 9:10 AM. By 10:10 AM, I had still not received a call—giving them the benefit of the doubt, I went on with the rest of my day, as I didn’t need my car that desperately. 11 AM, still no call. At 11:51 AM, I called to check on the status of my vehicle—I had received no calls from the mechanic at this point—the attendant, Will, picks up the phone and apologizes for the not getting back to me. He explains that they’ve diagnosed my car with a faulty battery—and that they’d recommend replacing it—it would cost me right around $287.00. At this point, I was just walking off of a soccer field and not completely thinking, so without giving to much thought to it, as they are supposed to be the automotive professionals, I gave them permission to do the replacement. After getting back home, I realized that I had a just replaced my battery within the last year and a half (this raised a red flag in my mind). At 12:25 PM, I got a call from Will explaining that after replacing my battery ($215.00), they saw that my starter was still not working (as I expected), so they now believed they needed to replace my starter and solenoid relay (as told them in the beginning) ($535.00). Being that this was what I expected to be charged for in the first place—I consented to them replacing the starter and solenoid relay—with their assurance the whole thing would be completed before they closed. I got a call at 1:58 PM from Will, saying their work was done and I was free to come pick it up. I showed up at 2:15 PM, and walked in to (begrudgingly) pay my bill ($776.07) and pick up my keys. Will was at the front desk and explained that they ordered the wrong size solenoid relay—and if I wanted to have it installed, I would need to come back—but all the other work (new battery, new starter) were completed. He explained that he would call me first thing the next day (12/4/17), to let me know when I could bring it in. Will called me the next day at 1:36 PM, letting me know they had received the solenoid relay and I could come by to have it installed (I was at work at this point). I called once I was off work (4:17 PM) to see how long of a wait it would be—he responded somewhere between 1 hour to 1.5 hours before my car would be taken in. I asked him what their hours were, to see if I could take it in first thing the next day. He said they’d be open at 7:00 AM. This morning (12/5/17), I brought my car in at 7:00 AM on the dot, walked in and told the attendant what was needed. He pulled out a clear bag with my solenoid relay and explained that there were no mechanics expected to come in until 7:30 AM the absolute earliest, likely closer to 8:00 AM. Being that I had already driven here and planned on waiting (admittedly not as long as I current am). I said screw it, and here I sit—writing this review. They completed work on my vehicle at 7:57 AM, and I promptly paid (an additional $18.00) and left.
They were honest and not like other places where they will BS you.
UPDATE: 12/9/17--- I received a call from Arlington Auto Care's Manager, Kristoff, explaining that he'd read my review and looked into the my situation, and felt as though there was a bit of negligence and lack of communication on the part of his business. He refunded me the cost of the Battery, and Solenoid Relay to make-up for this. Currently, my car is running well and has not had a starter issue since their repair.
They are always busy and have a lot of customers all the time. Which to me is a GREAT sign... You would not want to eat at a restaurant that only has two people during the lunch time or dinner rush, would you? To me that would be a red flag. Plus the dealerships can be overpriced for some of the basic services that I need. I come here all the time for my oil changes and tires rotations. They also the required inspections at various mileages on my car. I have a fairly new car a 2016 and I have not had any issues with the service nor my car. They always provide a time estimate on when my vehicle will be ready and has delivered on time. IF there is anything out of the ordinary that may need work on they let me know and allow me to decide to if the work needs to be done or not. They are not pushy nor pricey. They tend to offer me lower prices for services then the dealership. They are also pet friendly, they allowed me to sit and wait for my oil change with my puppy with no problem. I would recommend them to family and friends.
Oh and they're cheaper than jiffy lube across the street! They only use the best oil, MOBILE 1.
Jiffy lube charges $90 for synthetic oil change HAHA.
I’d like to preface this by saying, I’m in no way an automotive engineer or mechanic; just a consumer who takes as good of care of his vehicle (2008 Civic -- +150k Miles) as possible. This is my second time using them.
Less expensive than a Toyota dealership mechanic and more flexible! Quick turn around too! Toyota Sequoia
I had heard great reviews about this place from friends and coworkers. When I was getting oversold and ripped off by a Ford dealership, I took my car to Arlington Auto Care. They were open and honest with me about what my car did, and did not, need. Kristoff took time to explain to me the state of my car and the services needed. I will 100% return to these guys for all my car maintenance going forward.
I work down the block and I will definitely be back!
Arlington Auto Care is a US Car Repair based in Arlington, District Of Columbia. Arlington Auto Care is located at 3298 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA 22201, USA.
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