Name: Kelvin Acebron
Rating: 2
Review: Its a RIP OFF and WOULD NOT RECOMMEND. Let me elaborate:I own a 2010 Mazda5 with engine light ON. Upon using an OBDII reader, I identified an issue with the “Shift Solenoid A Electrical.” Consequently, I sought assistance from this transmission shop recommended to me by a local mechanic in Edgewater, MD.Upon initial contact, I informed them of the car’s problem, and they suggested that I bring it to their facility. The following day, I received a call from Ron, who told me that the car need replacement of the Transmission Control Module (TCM). Without prior explaining why they think it is TCM that needs replacement, Ron just quickly jump on providing a quote encompassing both the cost of the part and labor, as well as applicable taxes, amounting to $1,295 USD.After researching the price of the part independently, I discovered that I could acquire and replace it myself at a maximum cost of about ~ $500 USD. Obviously to me, I decided to not avail their service and plan on fixing it myself (DIY, do-it-yourself). Subsequently, I shared my decision to Ron, and, to my surprise, he suddenly was charging me $265 USD for a two-hour diagnosis. I respect their expertise and value their ability to pinpoint the issue to a specific component. However, when I came back to the shop to pick up my car and share what I thought of the cost, Ron appeared to be overly defensive about the pricing (which i understood) and gave me unnecessarily long reasons and even unrelated references to neighborhood kids that left me perplexed.I reluctantly paid a total of $295 USD. It is worth noting that I obtained a comparable diagnosis from an official Mazda dealership in Annapolis, which charged only about $150 USD for a comprehensive inspection, delivering an equally thorough assessment and arguably even more competent. This discrepancy in pricing left me feeling unfairly overcharged despite Ron’s argument that they think they are being “more than fair”. Ron’s seems to be nice guy overall but Im totally UNHAPPY with the outcome of our transaction. He told me that I can still ring him if I decided to not fix it myself. I will think about it… (if I do, I will share you here whether they are still professional after this review)To sum, they’re diagnosis service for this type of problem is like $130 USD / hour and had no prior notice. (I understand it can be a strategy to actually have customers coming without considering the cost yet). But if this price is considered fair, then I would be willing to change my career and be a mechanic by now. Their service was helpful but it is NOT THE ONLY WAY. It’s a total rip off plus they misspelled my name in the receipt.(PS. I am also not a big fan of big car dealership companies monopolizing and capitalizing services and I do promote and support family and local businesses as part of my humanitarian side. But there are obviously over-priced services like this that the local business shops impose to some people which I think is inconsiderate given that some people who can actually afford to come to them have in fact average or even below average income.)
Date: 10 months ago