I took my Toyota truck in for an a/c service w/ a promotional coupon. Upon checking, the owner immediately said that I would need a new clutch and fan. I doubt it because my truck prior was in perfect condition, quiet, and had no issues. I then left for the owner to work on my a/c because it wasn’t cold enough. As I returned later, he told me the a/c was done but he needed to put the truck up the lift to show me something. Within a few minutes on the lift, the truck was making a loud noise that wasn’t there before. The owner said the noise is from my compressor which needs to be replaced. He then asked me to drive the truck for about a month and then bring it back to see if a leak maybe detected and to figure out how much it is to replace the compressor. It was estimated roughly at about or over $1k, parts and labor. I felt so strange coming here for a minor a/c service that can turn out to be a nightmare, like opening a can of worms. The following day I took my truck to another shop for a 2nd opinion. The shop found that my refrigerant was not at a correct level and I did not have a leak. The compressor noise was still there and I may end up having to replace it unfortunately. Thus, I do feel that Blanding Auto Repair may have deliberately caused my compressor damaged so the owner can make more $ on repairs. For myself , it’s sad that I have to spend much $ on A/C services twice (with the 2nd opinion) plus an expensive cost on a possible future compressor replacement. Anyone needs auto repairs should stay away from this place.
Services were extremely overpriced. We honestly can't tell that they actually did anything. The owner made it sound like he could diagnose when he had to have known that it was pointless for him to do so and the services would be better performed by someone else. But still charged exorbitantly for useless "service."
I can't account my entire flat tire nightmare, but suffice to say that the owner was incredibly honest, kind & patient! He ordered the tire I needed and was upfront that he couldn't do it because I'd been given the wrong BMW tire key. He didn't want to break the existing lock. He was incredibly patient despite the massive ticking clock as this was a late Friday afternoon. He could have done a lot of things differently but am grateful for all he did do! Integrity matters.
Terrible experience, never upfront the situation. Wanted me to charge the storage of my car because he was not upfront the situation I wanted to move my car somewhere else (almost a month in that hoe) and he tried to charge me 2k for the storage of some days, then had to leave my car for him to fix the mechanical which he did, but then he goes and charges me a flat tire out of the claim, and just cause I wanted my car out of that situation I paid him. Next Monday on my way to work guess what, tire flat. Same tired he supposedly fixed. BAD and Terrible experience. I hope to get my money back. Which I don’t think so, don’t ever take your car there specially cause he makes a lot of excuses, and talks over you and don’t listen on what you’re trying to say or make a point.
Not the best communication, the guy seems nice enough but it ended up being about $700 just for the back breaks. Two days later my check engine light is on and my car is making crazy noises.
Terrible experience with Blanding Auto Repair. My car stalled near this shop so I brought it in to be looked at.
First, Lum said that he would get to it same day, but he didn't actually start looking at it until the next week. Then, he said it was the transmission ($$$). I called around and found a better price/location for the work, and told him I was coming to pick it up. When I came to get the car he had it on a lift and wanted $185 for diagnosing the problem. Because it was near the end of the day, he said he wasn't able to get off the lift and it out of his shop that day. So, I decided to let him do the work because I needed to get my car back and working ASAP.
THEN he actually looked at the car and ran diagnostics (which he said he had already done/had already charged me for!). He found that it was not the transmission. He couldn't figure out what the problem actually was and he cleared the check-engine codes. The next shop also couldn't figure out the problem, which they blamed on the codes having been cleared.
I don't know how this shop is AAA certified and I would caution anyone against going there.
Total rip off. I got in a small accident in which my oil pan got a hole in it. The owner told me he could change the oil pan for 720 dollars + tax. I searched for the part on google, it only costs about 80 dollars. On top of that he tried to charge me like 160 without even doing anything to the car- having the audacity to say it was “cheap” because one hour of his work cost 165 . In the end I had to pay him 80 dollars just to get my car back.. The neighbour charged me 300 bucks total, with oil, filter change and tow service included. Ventura mechanics is the name of the neighbor btw, waaaaay better than this horrible place
Can't recommend highly enough. Incredibly up front about any issues or concerns with your car, totally willing to explain what was done and why, and very thorough. My vehicle ending up having a fairly complicated problem with the computer that Honda specifically had to diagnose, and blanking auto did not charge me for diagnostics or for the work or parts used since it wasn't clear if the problem had been resolved. Can't get more honest and professional than that. Service was always very on time and above all else, done which total kindness.
Lum did a great job and was kind. The repair was done well and at a reasonable price. More impressively these people are detail-oriented. They even updated my clock to run at the right time! I feel a lot safer with them on the job and am going back. Thanks for fixing my coolant pipe and the rest of the car!
Lum is great! Quality work every time I take my vehicle to him. He and his staff are very thorough and professional. I highly recommend Blanding Auto Repair
My car wouldn’t turn on and they helped me find someone to tow the truck to their shop. They did a great job and always let me know what they were recommending and why. I ended up spending a lot, but that was a result of the work that my truck needed. Will definitely return for any future issues!
This shop kept my vehicle for over a month for a smog, they smog it and it failed. They order a part for it, but never put the part on. They smog it again and it failed. Then they called me and said it is going to cost you a lot of money and it is not worth it. Then they charged me over two hundred dollars . Bad Bad business. They burned me on my truck shame on them, now they burned me on my car shame on me. I would never tell anyone to go to them for service.
Excellent customer service! I called this place 15 mins before closing and Lum waited for me for 1 1/2 hour since my car needs to get towed to there place. Im so happy I found this place!
Lum was very helpful and professional! Offered quality service for a very affordable price. Highly recommend! Located right off of the Park Street bridge. Very convenient!
I'm a pretty handy but couldn't work on my friends van cause I have 2 fractured vertebrae. So we took it to these guys cause we needed it fixed quickly and they had availability. The quote for parts was double the oem list and they included the diagnosis which in most cases is included if a shop does the work. They were willing to work with us a bit but was still steep ... We only paid the extra expense cause we needed the van back quickly. After the work was complete the manager tried to charge $160 for a squeeky belt stating that the idler and tensioner pulleys need to be replaced, upon inspection both spun smoothly, tension on belt was great and a new belt fixed the issue no problem. I won't be using these guys again :-(
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