In the 30 years I have been here, I have suffered at the hands of almost every incompetent, crooked and/or rude mechanic in lower St. Mary's. Today I finally took it to a shop that gives me great hope.
After suffering fools who overfilled my transmission by a quart; charged me $240 to replace the wrong part on my EGR system and not fixing the right thing even though I told them 4 times what needed to be done (and then getting nasty with me after I had to bring it back the 3rd time because the computer kept spitting out the same error), and telling me I needed 4 new ball joints ($800) when in fact all 4 are perfectly fine; I took it to Martin's Auto in Hollywood to get the EGR fixed properly. They agreed with my assessment and fixed it while I waited, and charged half of what the clowns did to put the wrong part on it (The EGR ports on the throttle body were clogged nearly solid with carbon).
The guys at Martins were polite, professional and intelligent. I also didn't have to listen to any of the employees talking smack or talking about how the boss' son just got arrested for the fifth time. Mechanics get paid by the hour, not the job. So, they're not going to rush your job or try to sell you unnecessary work. The place just has good vibes (and bird have a nest on their front porch and they have a feeder up, which also tells me a lot).
I have used some other shops for minor work with good success:
-- Meineke in California by the Wal-Mart has always done a good job and been fair. Owned by the Chesldines. I always have them change my oil since they can do it in less time than it would take me and I shop at WallyWorld while they work.
-- Big Ed's Tire by the Leonardtown High School has always been a good place for tires.
If you are going to have one of these quick lube or tire places change your oil or transmission fluid, take a minute to check the level before you drive off. You can search on YouTube for many stories of these kinda shops forgetting to put the drain plug back in or forgetting to put new oil in the engine. And never let them sell you on an engine flush. If you have an engine that has not been properly maintained and is full of sludge, flushing it with chemicals is just going to loosen the dirt so it find its way into some small passage where it can cause blockage and ruin your engine when the oil can't get to where it's needed. You can find dozens of examples of these stories on YouTube also. Like Pat Goss says, engine flushing is meant for clean engines to keep them even cleaner. Martin's can perform the entire series of BG flushes and tell you if they are recommended for your vehicle.
I'm just passing this info along so others won't have to suffer some of the B.S. I have been through with some of these "mechanics" around here.2
After suffering fools who overfilled my transmission by a quart; charged me $240 to replace the wrong part on my EGR system and not fixing the right thing even though I told them 4 times what needed to be done (and then getting nasty with me after I had to bring it back the 3rd time because the computer kept spitting out the same error), and telling me I needed 4 new ball joints ($800) when in fact all 4 are perfectly fine; I took it to Martin's Auto in Hollywood to get the EGR fixed properly. They agreed with my assessment and fixed it while I waited, and charged half of what the clowns did to put the wrong part on it (The EGR ports on the throttle body were clogged nearly solid with carbon).
The guys at Martins were polite, professional and intelligent. I also didn't have to listen to any of the employees talking smack or talking about how the boss' son just got arrested for the fifth time. Mechanics get paid by the hour, not the job. So, they're not going to rush your job or try to sell you unnecessary work. The place just has good vibes (and bird have a nest on their front porch and they have a feeder up, which also tells me a lot).
I have used some other shops for minor work with good success:
-- Meineke in California by the Wal-Mart has always done a good job and been fair. Owned by the Chesldines. I always have them change my oil since they can do it in less time than it would take me and I shop at WallyWorld while they work.
-- Big Ed's Tire by the Leonardtown High School has always been a good place for tires.
If you are going to have one of these quick lube or tire places change your oil or transmission fluid, take a minute to check the level before you drive off. You can search on YouTube for many stories of these kinda shops forgetting to put the drain plug back in or forgetting to put new oil in the engine. And never let them sell you on an engine flush. If you have an engine that has not been properly maintained and is full of sludge, flushing it with chemicals is just going to loosen the dirt so it find its way into some small passage where it can cause blockage and ruin your engine when the oil can't get to where it's needed. You can find dozens of examples of these stories on YouTube also. Like Pat Goss says, engine flushing is meant for clean engines to keep them even cleaner. Martin's can perform the entire series of BG flushes and tell you if they are recommended for your vehicle.
I'm just passing this info along so others won't have to suffer some of the B.S. I have been through with some of these "mechanics" around here.2
