What clients say about Spike’s Auto Care & Tire of Emmitsburg in Emmitsburg (MD)
After 64 trips around the sun, and three unsuccessful back surgeries that have left me using a walker, I have decided that I no longer wanted to wrestle with mounting and balancing tires anymore. I have had great success buying from tirerack.com and needed new snow tires for my 2002 Volkswagen golf.
Spike's garage is listed on Tire Rack as a certified installer for their tires as well as a shop local to me. I decided to give them my business and had the tires delivered there. Apparently this was a huge mistake. While the man who took care of me in the office was very pleasant, the mechanical ability and/or attention to detail in the shop is abhorrent.
I watched as they put the lug bolts on with a impact wrench that I now know must have been adjusted to its maximum power after which they went around to each lug bolt with a torque wrench. I don't think the lug bolts ever moved. They just used it to hear the click because I would later find out the lug bolts were grossly over-torqued. Perhaps they were never taught how to properly torque a fastener? Maybe they didn't have time? Maybe they didn't even care?!
When I got home, I decided to check their work and pulled the car on my lift. What I found was shocking! First, the tires had no less than 40 PSI and generally about 42 PSI of air pressure. The label on the car clearly states that the proper air pressure should be 26 PSI. Next, I wanted to loosen each lug nut and properly tighten it and grabbed my small impact wrench. The small impact wrench has a breaking force of 300 ft lb. It did not even budge the lug bolts! Keep in mind I routinely use the same impact wrench to remove the lug nuts from my . So, I had to resort to my larger impact wrench with a braking force of 600 ft lb. It did remove the lug bolts but struggled with each one! The problem? Well, those lug bolts are supposed to be torqued to only 87 foot pounds! When they are properly torque to 87 foot pounds it will take between 110 and 120 ft lb of force to break them free for removal. I estimate that it took over 500 foot pounds to break them loose! This is absolutely unacceptable!
I also noticed that some thread material was pulled out of the hubs as I removed the lug bolts. Keep in mind that the Volkswagen does not have studs and lug nuts it has lug bolts that screw into the hub. This means I can't just knock out a stud and replace it for a couple of bucks. If I end up having to replace the hubs, I'm looking at around $1,000 to do that. Not to mention I have to purchase all new lug bolts.
It pains me to say this because the guy there was so nice , the shop is convenient to me , and I really am looking for a place I can rely on to take care of my vehicles as I get older and I'm unable to. However because of what happened in the course of this very simple procedure, I can absolutely not have nor recommend having any service done at Spike's.
I highly recommend Spikes in Emmitsburg, Danny and Noah are top notch, very honest, fast and saved me a lot of money. Everytime I take my vehicle there for repairs it gets fixed and they never try to sell me anything else.
My experience with Spike's Auto in Emmitsburg can be best described as disappointing due to poor customer support and mechanical service. I strongly recommend against entrusting them with servicing your car.
I initially went to Spikes, on strong suggestions from friends, to take my car there for an oil and filter change. Initially, after the oil change, the car was fine. However, weeks later my car broke down due to the incorrect installation of the oil filter. I believe it is important to acknowledge that they installed an incorrect filter, which you would think they would notice as an incorrect filter would not fit properly.
This led to the dispersal of oil within the vehicle's internal components, thereby causing damage to the surrounding parts. I had to get my car towed and had to pay for external expenses to get a correct oil and filter change from an authorized dealer. Afterwards, I went back to the shop to request reimbursement for the service and payment for the damages from the improper install. I was hoping they would stand behind their mistake. After multiple conversations with Noah (one of their employees), they placed the responsibility on their third party filter provider, and stated that they won't reimburse the out-of-pocket expenses that I had to incur to repair the damages. They chose to not take responsibility for the incorrect installation during a service I trusted them to perform. I would have thought they would take accountability for their mistake, regardless of cause. Therefore, I strongly suggest avoiding Spike's Auto and trusting them with a mechanical service.
Sold me a van for $2500. Only drive it twice before it broke down on the side of the highway. Called numerous times to have them repair the broken van they sold me and was never able to get a hold of the owner, Danny. Ended up selling van due to it sitting my driveway broke down to a scrap yard for $300. I will never do business with Danny or spikes ever again.
I got a flat tire and was only in the area for the day but had a long drive home. I showed up as soon as they opened and they were able to squeeze me in that day. Noah was really nice and helpful!
Not sure what that Renee person is talking about but I assure you they are a fantastic shop. They’ve worked on my truck many times. Transmissions, breaks, front end work and many other issues taken care of timely and efficiently. My wife’s suburban is currently in there as of today for a transmission. I have zero worries about how long they’ll have it or when they’ll get it done. The trans will be replaced and back on the road in a reasonable time. Don’t hesitate to use them.
Mr. Danny and his crew are a pleasure to work with. My 1998 6.0l Tahoe has never run better. Thank goodness for his mechanic Herbie, he discovered rotten brake lines and a rotten fuel line.
Danny, Herby and Noah run a top notch organization. They replaced the brake pads on my I-Roc Z series. Their prices were fair and they treated me like family. Even my dog Mr. Ruff Ruff loves them! 5 stars !
These reviews must be friends. We were stuck in Thurmont when a belt and a pull both broke. We could not find a place that could take care of us. We live close to Emmitsburg so we called Spike's they said no problem they could have it done. We paid to have it towed there. My husband knew what was wrong explained it and had even brought them the part. Long story, short... they did not get it done but called and said more was wrong and they needed more parts. We went there and brought them the parts and found they had not even looked at it! Liars! They want to keep it yet another day , and when we asked to speak to the mechanic he had gone to lunch at 11, we were told he never returned from lunch. These are not good Hometown mechanics. They lied and disappeared from the job. My husband took his tools down there and fixed the problem in their parking lot! They are a joke!
Great service when my husband got new tires. Same day my tire on my car got a screw in it. Went to spikes immediately and they were able to repair my tire quickly. Pleasant, professional great service. Great to have a place close to home you can trust.
The very best. This place provides excellent service. Danny the owner is very personable and knowledge. Danny does not push fixes until you absolutely need the work. Spike's used to be only in one location, Mt Airy, where Danny previously worked, but not any longer. Four years ago, when he was in Mt Airy, he replaced an engine for me and it still works today without any issues. Danny really knows his automobiles.
Visiting Gettysburg and had a wheel bearing fail. Stopped in and he was able to get to it and had us back on the road in only a few hours. Loaned us his car so we could go occupy ourselves for the few hours. Paid less than I expected, even with an oil change.
Brand new to the area and I am so glad somone recommend these guys. Old school service with brand new technology. My kids honda civic ac went out and every one was telling her it's a dealer fix only and it would be 500 bucks just to look at it. These guys fixed it for under 300 he could have gouged me for a lot more and I was willing to pay it but he didn't and all my vehicles will go to them for service from now on.
The crew are absolutely top notch across the board, I simply cannot recommend highly enough. I have used them for just about everything and they never fail to deliver fast, consistent, quality work AAAA++++
These guys were awesome! My husband and I were in from out of state when, on our way to Pa, hauling a 38' fifth wheel camper, we found an issue with one of the tires on our truck. We put the spare on to make it to PA. Then, my hubby found these guys who do warranty work for the brand of tire we have, they replaced the tire we dropped off, and even put the new tire on our truck, put the spare in the bed of the truck then recommended a great little place for us to grab some lunch. You guys were amazing and we appreciate that you saw out of state plates and didn't rake us over the coals. Service like this is hard to find. We thank you, so much, for your quick service and awesome lunch recommendation too!!!
So grateful to have a shop I can trust wholeheartedly! Danny and his crew serviced my 2015 Dodge Promaster yesterday and it's running like the day I bought it. Tune up, tires, front rotars and brake pads plus fresh oil. Can't thank you guys enough for your attention to detail and amazing service. David Costigan with Cornerstone Floor Care LLC.
I can’t say enough good things about this Company. I have never had more faith in an auto-shop, that’s for sure. These guys can do it all, everything from tires, brakes and the usual engine maintenance. They are quick, reliable, friendly and professional, and I recommend their shop to anyone that’s looking for a competent shop.
Dan and his crew do great work . brought my poor Civic to them and they were able to diagnose everything and repair it at a reasonable cost . Definitely recommend them for any auto needs .
Wow!! What a great experience! Danny and his crew jumped right on my vehicle did a great job promptly and when it came to the bill I was amazed!!! Fair and honest work can't get any better than that! Will be returning for sure.
Dan provides top notch service. A dependable and honest mechanic shop is hard to come by and that's what you get with Dan. Morris Brothers Construction is proud to have their fleet of vehicles serviced at spikes auto care.
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