What clients say about Auto Skills Center in Newport (RI)
Normal experience. I went there to change my oil today. The attendant was very detail oriented, but I did not find it off putting. She was clear about the instructions at the start and enforcing them along with cleaning standards, which makes sense because this place could quickly become a dirty mess.
Two of the "oil change" lifts were broken, so I went on two of the two-post lifts. She operated the lift, which I had no issue with.
My advice though, is bring your own tools. What they had was rather limited. Other than that, mission accomplished, oil changed.
Lady running the place is extremely strict and has you cleaning the entire shop sweeping all the leaves out basically doing her job cleaning other bays that you didn’t even work in. She then flips out if you drop a tiny bit of oil while doing an oil change on your car, and hovers over you making sure you clean every spec on the ground. Tools are almost non existent and aren’t organized at all there’s only 2 lifts and you can’t even operate it. Also apparently they don’t do overnight storage so if you don’t finish your job that day you are screwed.
Terrible management, very limited tools and bad customer service. The lady that runs the place is the only person there and is constantly over your shoulder basically micromanaging on the job that you are trying to accomplish making sure not to make ANY kind of mistakes or cross any lines with the rules of the place. Worst auto hobby shop of any navy navy base in the world. Highly recommend sparing your energy trying to stay decent with that woman and going somewhere else even if it costs a little extra.
BLUF: Shop is very clean. Linda was great. VERY STRICT POLICIES.
- Can't operate lifts on your own
- Can't raise 2 post lift above 2 ft!
- Can't work underneath the 2 post lift.
- no cutting or grinding
- no use of heat of any kind to loosen rusty nuts and bolts
- minimal tools available
- no painting of any kind to include undercoating
- no gas work
It's a good place to work on your own vehicle. There are a few tools put out for use. But, you're better off bringing your own. The attendant runs a tight ship and makes sure everybody does their part to keep the place nice.
The lady that works there is a straight up micro manager. I went there to dispose of my oil and she was just hovering over me telling me not to spill the oil and clean up after myself and she kept on repeating herself. It's not my first rodeo in disposing of oil. MWR you need to check your girl. Bad customer service.
**FYI, it's only open to those with base access.
Friendly staff with lots of tools and decent lifts. It's never that crowded but they only have 2 lifts, so call ahead to see if one is open before you go. They have very few specialty tools and consumables, so you will want to come prepared.
UPDATE: 30 May 2021. (From 5 to 2 stars). They have managed to ruin the convenience of the auto center with adding steps to a simple and flexible process. You can no longer make same-day stop-ins, they now force you to go online to reserve a bay, which is often "booked" till next week -- because we all know when our car is going to break or can wait a week to fix it when it does. I guess I'm stuck working in the rain while people book appointments they don't go to, leaving bays wide open and a worker twiddling their thumbs. Example: today at 10:00AM both lifts are wide open, 2 non-lift bays are open, but I can't make a reservation today because the website doesn't allow it, when I called the attendent told me they need to keep the lift bays open (WHY?!?), and people have managed to book random times throughout the day, leaving no window (that the attendent is willing to book at least) for others who NEED IT. Please change it back, I'm sure this was a great idea on paper but it's terrible in practice.
I'm a regular at the Auto Skills Shop. I've done everything from major front end/steering work on my truck, to simple oil changes. They have two wheel lift style lift bays, and 4 other standard bays with benches for other work. Their rates are very reasonable, and have saved me the headache of having to work on my truck in a parking lot. They also have plenty of tools, jacks & jack stands, and some specialty tools. They don't have everything, but it's definitely enough to do most work. I typically bring my own tools, which is what I'd recommend anyway. Scheduling an appointment isn't necessary, it's basically all walk ins only, you just sign the clipboard and pull right in!
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