My Favorite Mechanic Inc

11/02/09

$30 for a look-see, with NO heads up?

by McGrub at Citysearch

Simply took the car in for a flat to be checked for viability, and another minor mechanical curiosity. I wanted an estimate prior to going ahead.

When I came back to collect the car so we could decide whether to use MFMIAW or another shop (yes, we comparison shop) I was told I owed $30 for the "assessment". What?

I paid, because I didn't want the headache of an argument with a clearly unprofessional place, but warn anyone considering the place to ask about "assessment charges".

Lousy. What a stupid policy. If they hadn't pulled that cruddy maneuver, we'd have had the work done there, as well as brought our other car in for service.

• Cons: No up-front disclosure

10/07/09

Always Great Service

by krisreview at Citysearch

My husband & I have taken our car here for years now. We really trust them & both agree that we never feel they are doing any unnecessary work. I've had appalling service by car mechanics in the past & am happy knowing I can trust them here. I agree that their prices may be a little more expensive than other places, but I firmly agree that you get what you pay for. They are never the cheapest, yet also never the most expensive. I am willing to pay a little extra for the piece of mind. They are always upfront with us & have never promised anything they can not deliver. Our car has always been ready when they say it will be. I don't know if they take longer than other places do (as other reviewers commented)...If they do, I can say that they are a small, local business so I'm not looking for work to be done in minutes anyways. If I were, I'd take my car into a national brand where I've already had horrible experiences. I honestly don't have a complaint about them. I'm thankful I've found a trustworthy car mechanic.

09/17/08

Appauling BAD. Grossly Overpriced, Inept Service.

by blumutchi at Citysearch

This is not the first time I have used this shop, but it is definitely the last. The 1st time I had a good experience, the 2nd they were painfully slow, the 3rd..well, they will never see my money again. I took my car for some diagnostics. The engine was running rough and "skipping", and there was a knocking noise from the front end. My car was there at 8.00am. By 4.45, and after calling them twice, I had no info on my car. I called again and was given a list of possible causes and told I would be called first thing in the morning with a quote. By 10 I still hadnt received a call so I called again. I was quoted $2000 to fix both problems. I was told the knocking was due to a broken catalytic converter ($1200) and the skipping was coming from incorrect spark plugs and broken engine mounts ($600). I was instantly suspicious because the engine mounts were new a year ago and cost me $300 at a Ford dealer. I gave the OK to change the spark plugs/leads and later that afternoon Kerry told me the new plugs had fixed the problem. I finally picked my car up (2 days after I dropped it off)..and the engine was still skipping. Not trusting anything that MFM now said, I decided to take my car to Ford. It took them 2 hours to tell me the knocking was due to worn strut bearings not a $1200 catalytic converter...the engine mounts did not need changing, a rubber end cap had fallen off of one of them but otherwise they were in 100% working order, and the one job that MFM had done was not completed...they had forgotten to hook one of the plugs to the lead. All in all MFM were USELESS. If you want to be left hanging with no timely information, presented with a grossly inflated quote that includes items that do not need to be replaced, and have your car off the road for 10 times the length of time that any competent garage would require then take your car to MFM. If you want decent service, a fair price and honesty then you need to find a different garage!!!!

• Cons: Dishonest, Expensive, Slow.

04/23/08

Keep looking

by annamo777 at Citysearch

We had our car towed there on Monday morning to have a fuel pump replaced. They had to special order a part and wait for two days....then special order another part and wait another day. This leaves us without a car for three (and a half) days. I felt like the labor was extremely overpriced, but my research indicates that the cost on the part was fair. We just moved to the area, and I will definitely have to keep looking for a mechanic that can meet my needs in a more expedient and cost effective manner. I have had an engine replaced for less money and much quicker!

03/28/08

Quick, friendly, knowledgeable, cheap

by alf7e at Citysearch

What else can you ask for? Kerri the mechanic was super-nice and they did a great job on my car, fast.

05/24/07

Dont take your car to this place

by simonmoon23 at Citysearch

I took my car to My Favorite Mechanic (is a Woman) for a routine maintanence check-up. 24 hours after leaving my car at the shop I recieved a call from Kerry the owner and operator. She quoted me an outrageously priced estimate for the work "needed" on my car. Because the estimate seemed so expensive I decided I would wait off on the service and take it somewhere else for a second opinion. I called the shop to inform them that I would wait off on getting the car serviced using "a lack of funds" as an excuse. Much to my suprise they had already dumped out all of my oil, removed my air filter and took my tires off. So I was forced into paying for an oil change, a new air filter, and a tire rotation plus a fee for just having the car looked at. I ended up paying double what I would have paid for routine services that I could have had done at Jiffy Lube. What frustrates me is that I never authorized any service plus I was never told that I'd be charged just for having the car looked at or for getting a quote. I probably would have had them perform an oil change but it should have been my choice. I feel like I was forced into paying them for services on my car that I never authorized. A mechanic that does work without authorization and tacks on hidden charges is not someone I want to intrust my car to. My favorite mechanic definitely doesn't work here.

04/13/06

Finally - a garage where I felt comfortable.

by freshbliss24 at Citysearch

After I took my VW in to get the emissions system fixed up, Kerry called me and explained in layman's terms what was wrong with my car. She answered all my questions and didn't give any foggy reports on extra problems I had not brought up myself. It was such a relief to have a mechanic speak to me like I could comprehend the issues of my own car - and to have them take care of it quickly and for a fair price. I will definitely be returning to this shop (and I relish the fact that I don't need to take a man with me to look knowlegdable). My favorite mechanic is indeed a woman!!

• Pros: No bullying, Fair price, Good work
• Cons: Wee parking lot!

06/04/02

Close to being my favorite

by GingerMassey_Citysearch at Citysearch

This female-owned garage is on Dekalb Avenue, a couple of blocks east of the Candler Park MARTA station. The people who work here are professional, organized and super friendly. My car has always been ready on time, except once because of an unexpected problem. I do feel the need to say that I took my car elsewhere to have the oil changed once, and they couldnt do it because the cap was put on wrong by MFM. This could be common, though Im not sure.