BEWARE OF THIS SHOP!!! (GOOD GUYS) BLACKSTONE AND HERNDON

['98 MB E320]

OK I want to share an experience I had with a couple of shops today.

First at around 12:00 I called German Auto Repair to see if they could have a look at the front end of my E320 (pulling), after explaining to the girl ansewering the phone that I was coming from 2 hours away and that if they couldn't get me in, that I was not going to come down. She exclaimed that it should not be a problem, so I get to thier location only to have the service guy(Dennis) tell me " come back next week and maybe we can get it in to look at it".

By now I am getting a little Ticked at the run around and the entire day wasted.

So Dennis calls a shop Called GOOD GUYS which is just around the corner. so I go there and after the manger and service writer tell me how bad the new tires that I had just bought the day before are they charge me $ 55.00 FOR AND INSPECTION $ 69.99 FOR ALIGNMENT AND 20.00 FOR REAR ADJUSTMENT.

So after they get it into the bay and on the rack the tech spent about 4 mins inspecting the front tire and not once looked at the Flex joints I had asked, or any other components So I got a 4 min, $ 55.00 visual inspection that revealed a left lower ball joint bad. Ok to be expected since I have 152,000 mi

So they reestimate the job at $ 113.00 for the Ball Joint and 2 hours labor at 120.00

So I ok the job at 3:51 Pm and leave to go get a soda. At 4:25 pm I returned to the shop to find the tech pulling it out of the bay.

Now I know that the charged me for a 2 hour Ball joint job AND I KNOWIT ONLY TOOK 45 MIN, SO I ask the manager about this and he says" We need to make money somehow", By now I am getting really upset because I know that they have overcharged me.

So I go to observe the Alignment being done, when the service writer explains that I need to replace some bolts so that they can adjust the camber and caster but that it may not make a difference any way because in his opinon " It is probably the springs needing replacement"
So he tells me that he thinks they can fix the pull that I am having by flipping front tires which they did now it pulls the other way..

So In summary I got a 350.00 ball joint replacement and a VERY BAD TASTE FOR THIS SHOP....

[Johnhef]

Don't waste time with aftermarket shops for alignments. Most MB dealerships charge about $90 for one and there you'll have someone that knows how to work on your car doing it.

[Dee8go]

Nobody likes to pay for educating their mechanic using their car. That is aggravating.