I took a car in for an a repair a few months ago, and kept having to go back to get it solved. Total of 3 visits for quite a bit of money and a 4th visit that turned out to be oil that was spilled around my engine and leaked onto my garage floor. I brought my car in for an oil change yesterday. I drove home (approx. 2 miles), parked and about 45min later went to take my son to school. I started the car and went in to grab my wallet (forgot on the counter). I came back into the garage to find smoke billowing from under my hood. I shut it off and opened the hood. It appeared my alternator was on fire. I did not have any previous issues with the car! I called and they set up a tow back to the Honest One garage. The next morning, I called and received a quote for just under $800 to replace the alternator (which was fine before my oil change...lol). I told the rep that the quote sounded high, but authorized the work. A couple hours later, I decided to get a couple other quotes within the area, both of which came in under $400. I called Honest One and asked if they had installed the new alternator. The rep told me my old one was out but the new alternator had not been installed. I told him to stop the job and asked how much I owed to release the vehicle. He told me I would only pay the $88 for the tow, to which I agreed and paid over the phone. I contacted a tow truck to pick up my car and made a same day appointment with another shop. When I called "Honest One" back to make sure the old alternate was placed in the vehicle, they told me the new alternator was installed, and I would need to pay for the job. By this time my tow truck had arrived and was waiting. I was on the phone for almost 30min, with the manager (Karen), who explained the rep had been mistaken and I would need to pay in full. Ugh...After a lot of back and forth with strong arm attempts by the manager, she finally agreed to take off the new alternator and release the vehicle. Even with their tow charges (never received an invoice...lol) and another tow to the other locations, I came in approx. $380 under the Honest one quote. And, the other location is a certified Napa shop..not fly by night. Do Not Do Business Here!! Just came from the shop I had my car towed to. My dipstick handle had been broken off, but was fine last night when I lifted the hood. Turns out I still have oil leaking from the variable timing solenoid and oil pan gasket that Honest One allegedly replaced a few months ago...This new shop is Naperville Automotive Solutions...Great experience..thanks, Billy and Geoff! BTW...Went back to Honest One after getting my car fixed at the other shop. The manager, Karen gave me the towing invoice, while I was discussing the dipstick and oil leaks found by Naperville Automotive Solutions. She was enraged! Maybe read my review. The oil leaks are covered by warranty, but I'm scared to take it back! Ugh....what to do.
Eric – Thank you so much for taking the time to document your experience. Our goal is always 100% customer satisfaction and we obviously missed the mark here. Unfortunately, alternators never pick a good time to fail and with 170,000 miles on it, yours did fail and that failure had nothing to do with the oil change. Even more unfortunately, between communication issues and a new employee becoming familiar with our systems, it was a difficult day for all parties involved. We are glad you were able to get the alternator installed to your satisfaction. Honest-1 Auto Care always stands behind our work and we can assure you, your oil leaking issue will be addressed in a professional manner and is covered by our 3 Year, 36K Mile Nationwide Warranty.
- Honest-1 Auto Care Aurora