AJ Foreign Auto

From Reviewers You're Following

Reviews from Your Friends

2 reviews in English

• AJ Foreign Auto

  Review from Alicia L.

  

  • 0 friends
  • 76 reviews

  • Alicia L.

  Ithaca, NY

  

  10/14/2009

  When I attempted to receive repair work from this place, they tried to replace more parts than I needed replaced and the quote was exceedingly high.   I took my car elsewhere and had an easy repair for about 1/3 of the quote from AJ Foreign Auto.
  
  Strangely, while my car was there they gave me an inspection (I requested the inspection, but I assumed that with a broken exhaust system, that they wouldn't inspect it until after it was repaired). Even stranger, they said my car passed NY State Inspection... even though I needed exhaust work.  Isn't a working exhaust system necessary to pass NY State inspection?
  
  Happily, I took my car to my trusted mechanic and he repaired it for 100.00 rather than 300.00 that AJ Foreign Auto wanted to charge and it works perfectly.  I was trying to give AJ Foreign Auto a chance but I won't ever be back!
  
  ***Added in response *** of course I will not give you my "real" name or my husband's real name.  You contacted me by message and there is nothing really to talk about. I have no reason to give you my name...what does that do to help me? You tried to replace more parts than I needed and I found your place of business to be suspect that is what I said in my review and that is what I strongly believe.  I drive by your business every time I go to get dog food (as I drive behind Wegmans towards State St...passing by Cherry St, where your business is located), so I am quite familiar with which place you own.  You are trying to make excuses to deflect your poor service and incorrect plan for repair.  Your office woman who I dealt with on the phone and when I picked up my car was very rude and should not deal with customers.  And, i was just surprised that it would pass with a hole in the exhaust...it was a minor point and I stand corrected that having a hole in the exhaust is perfectly fine in NY state.   I still would not have my car repaired by you and I know others who feel the same way based on their own experience.

  Was this review …?

  • Useful (5)
  • Funny (4)
  • Cool (2)

  • Bookmark  
  • Send to a Friend
  • Link to This Review

  Comment from David B. of AJ Foreign Auto 8/17/2010    « Hide

  

  Since we are sure there is an error regarding this issue,… More »

  Since we are sure there is an error regarding this issue, we've attempted to contact Alicia L. to rectify it. She refused to give us any information & since we don't know her real name or car make & model, we don't have a way to check our records to verify she even has reviewed the right shop. Our policy is to give printed estimates from our computer system & we don't have any records that match her description of events. Also, the only exhaust issue that will prevent a car from passing NY State Inspection is if the catalytic converter is inoperable - which will turn on the check engine light.

  Flag this comment
• AJ Foreign Auto

  Review from Steve M.

  

  • 8 friends
  • 8 reviews

  • Steve M.

  Orchard Lake Village, MI

  

  4/30/2010

  I ignored the review above to my detriment.  I took my Mercedes into AJ's because the check engine light went on.  They diagnosed the problem as the air sensor and replaced it.  After driving less than 50 miles, the check engine light came on again.  I took it back into AJ's, they ran diagnostics on it and found that the air sensor was giving them another error code.  They said that they'd need to work on it for another 3 hours, but that they would pay for the hour they'd put into it and one more hour.  I decided to take it up to the Mercedes dealership in Syracuse instead.  They got the same air sensor code as AJ's (and quoted me a much lower price then I'd just paid AJ's to fix it), however, when they opened up the engine, they found that the problem was a vacuum hose dripping fluid onto the sensor.  Apparently, a clip inside the hose had been broken and to fix it, someone had put a vacuum hose around it and attached it with some electrical tape.  The only people under the hood for the past 2.5 years was AJ's Foreign Auto.  It struck me as suspicious, at best.  When I returned to AJ's to confront them with the part and evidence, I was given a blank stare and a weak explanation...and a credit toward future labor...that I'll smartly never use.  So, I'll just make sure that anyone that checks Yelp! first knows...stay away...do yourself a favor and take it to the dealer, AJ's is just going to end up costing you more in the long run.

  Was this review …?

  • Useful (7)
  • Funny  
  • Cool (1)

  • Bookmark  
  • Send to a Friend
  • Link to This Review

  Comment from David B. of AJ Foreign Auto 7/22/2011    « Hide

  

  We completed several repairs without a problem on this car… More »

  We completed several repairs without a problem on this car over the 1-1/2 years (not 2-1/2 years) that the car came to our shop. The technician at the dealership went into it knowing what we had already repaired and then completed a secondary repair, not the same one we had performed, so of course it would be cheaper. We would have completed the secondary repair at no charge (as stated by the customer above we were willing to give her 2 hours of free labor). We did not and never will tape something together on a vehicle and if anyone is foolish enough to think that every technician who works for a dealer is "above" doing something like that, we can't help them. This customer was completely convinced that we had taped the hose, so there was no convincing her that we did not. We run an ethical business and have hundreds of loyal customers, but it is still detrimental and disheartening to us when people feel they need to go online and bash us for something they do not totally understand. If everyone who was an online "basher" could be a small business owner in an industry as technically complicated and full of negative stereotypes as the automotive industry, they might think twice. We do our best to rise above and break those stereotypes, but this kind of misguided negativity does not help our cause.

  Flag this comment