They did what I asked, which was check my a/c system. It checked out so I picked the car up good to go. However, seems like they're hard selling a little more than I like. They apparently did a thorough vehicle inspection which I had no desire for and did not request. Sent me a picture via email of all of my car's fluids next to "reference" samples. Among other things they have a sample of my BLUE Subaru coolant next to generic green coolant which is so meaningless it's laughable. Also have a note that they couldn't check my transmission fluid because it couldn't be accessed "by design" which isn't true. There's a dip stick for both ATF AND front differential fluid so I don't know why they missed that. (not that I wanted them poking around in the first place). Some newer Subarus have sealed CVT transmissions but mine doesn't. I also personally feel the $110 minimum diagnostic fee is just a little high, maybe $10 or $20 high. And when they called to tell me there was no a/c issue I said great I'll pick up the car, but then they started laying in about how they wanted to check codes and pressure test the coolant system, right up to the minute I walked out with the keys, they were talking about checking codes. Of course they want to find something to fix so they can make some money (I don't even blame them, I also like making money) but in my eyes that puts them right on the edge of too-high pressure sales. (oh, and even telling me a cooling problem could "leave me stranded on the side of the road.") They were friendly enough, did what I asked, charged exactly what they told me up front, so I'm just nit-picking. I've even already recommended them to others but I'm very glad I don't visit mechanics very often and I'm especially glad they didn't "top up" my coolant with the wrong stuff.
Thanks for the feedback Adam. Yes there are several different colors of coolant, our sample trays do not have every color on them, just 3. We just try to denote what clean and dirty is. Sorry I came off as pushy. I was concerned that there was coolant blown all over the engine and we did not address your real problem. your complaint was that the AC did not work. We checked the AC, it was fine. I saw coolant blown all over the engine, I thought we misunderstood the complaint and wanted to try to figure out what happened. I was not trying to charge you more to check that, but certainly apologize if I came off that way. I wanted to understand what had happened to the vehicle because it is still a mystery to me. If your problem with the air conditioning or the coolant comes back, we will recheck it at no charge. - Marcus
- Capitol Automotive