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Walt's Auto Care Centers
Rating Details »
Category: Auto Repair [Edit]
Neighborhood: Ballard6310 15th Avenue NW
Seattle, WA 98107
(206) 789-7828
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5 reviews for Walt's Auto Care Centers
Reconnaissance work....OK, just took my 1997 Mitsubishi Mirage 1.8L (chick car I know) to this shop at around 2pm to have the breaks checked. they called back for the estimate $432 plus tax=complete front brakes and rear drums and said they could get it done before close. More to follow...
OK, walked back over to the shop, the mechanics were doing the final adjusting on the breaks,
Him="typical Ballard Car"
Me=" yeah I know...disaster inside (work car=my car is filthy)
;-)
bill breakdown:
2calipers-65.70 each
2rotors-25.96 each
2heel cylinders-23.80 each
ceramic pad-57.42
plus labor$127.50
took it for a test drive
total=458.34-26.29 (he added a discount!)=432.05 plus tax 38.88=$470.90
Oh, and they checked my oil and filled it up
Him="50% of the cars that come in here need oil!
handshake, 5:05 driving away.
?????????????????????????????????????
fellow yelpers, help me out did I get a FAIR deal??
LADIES BEWARE! RIP OFF!!
I towed my car here w/ instruction to tighten a valve and find out why my car doesn't go. I got a call from manager Frank saying the valve was tightened, but needed a crank sensor, module and coils...it would be $4-500. I told him I'd look for my own parts and call him back. No work was authorized.
I called back a bit later requesting an estimate be faxed to me. I have NEVER had to even ASK for an estimate from a repair facility. I had to BEG Frank for one, he gave me such a hard time about giving me an estimate. I should have had my car picked up and towed elsewhere at this, but finally he faxed me an estimate. It was for nearly $700, not 4 or 500. Still, no work was authorized.
I found parts for $200, and quoted labor was $65. I was not able to get the parts to the shop by 5pm, which is when Frank decides to close shop (although the website STILL says they are open til 5:30). I could have been there by 5:15, Frank was unwilling to wait. He instructed me to leave my $200 in parts on an electrical meter outside, overnight. Um, no.
I brought the parts by the next morning and gave them to Frank. He looked in the bag, and said "Oh, I had the crank sensor in stock so I already replaced it." Um, what part of "I'll supply my own parts" was a misunderstanding? He charged me 3x what Napa did.
A couple hours later, I got a call from Christian saying my car was ready. That was it. I told him I'd pick it up after work, by 5.
At 4:30 I got a call from a very rude Frank asking me if I was gonna come get my car or what? I advised I was down the street waiting for the bus. I'd be there in 15 minutes. At this point, he advises me that he didn't need one of the parts, so he'd give it back to me so I can return it. Then he says "I broke one of the spark plug wires...I mean one of the spark plug wires broke when I was changing the module, so I went ahead and changed that for you..." I have friends that own shops in other states, their policy is if they break something, it comes out of their paycheck. I assumed this was industry standard. Not for Frank though, he charged me over $100 to fix his mistake! Oh, and my spark plug wires are under a lifetime warranty, so had he CALLED ME to authorize the work, I would have told him no. But, Frank feels that laws don't apply to him, so he did the work without authorization. Then, not only did he charge me for HIM breaking something, he charged me more for the labor than was quoted.
I arrive to pick up my car less than 15 minutes later. Frank is long gone. The only person left is a guy that doesn't speak English. I'm expecting a bill of about $100....I am surprised with a bill of nearly $300. I can't argue in spanish, so I pay so I can have my car back.
I get in my car, pull out of the parking lot, and realize MY CAR IS NOT FIXED! I took it back to the Aurora Walts (done with Frank) about half a dozen times. Their policy is to guarantee if they diagnose one thing, and thats not it, they will repair what it is. Apparently, this policy does not apply to me. Instead, I'd drop it off, they keep it for a day, then call me and tell me nothing is wrong, they don't know what I'm talking about. I pull out of the parking lot, it does it again, so back the next day. Finally, I drove around WITH the mechanic in the car. Several times, my car "stuttered" as I accelerated. Each time, he claimed he didn't feel anything. Finally, it got so bad, it was unavoidable. His response? Oh, that's totally normal!
Ok, I'm not a mechanic. But I have been driving for 15 years, and I've driven brand new and old cars...I have NEVER had a car stutter and jerk as I accelerated. I've been driving THIS car for 8 years, and this stutter is new. So please don't tell me this is normal!
Meanwhile, I had placed DOZENS of calls to corporate. NO RESPONSE. Finally, it was handed off to the Aurora manager, who happens to be BFFs with Frank. He offers me $100 back, which doesn't even cover the amount that I was charged for the spark plug wire. Even if I DID accept the $100, all of a sudden I couldn't get ahold of him, Frank or corporate.
In the end, I filed a BBB complaint and settled for a little less than my repair bill returned (even though their inability to repair my car cost me HUNDREDS in added moving expenses). Rather than accepting responsibility, Doug from Corporate (one of the people I called that never returned my call), began to attack my character and accuse me of not maintaining my car (false) and for having unrealistic expectations...um, I only wanted my car fixed. We settled, then he didn't send the check. I had to refile the complaint, and finally it got sent for LESS than the settled amount.
Oh, and it was the Catalytic Converter. I had that replaced and it runs beautifully now! I later found out that those 3 things don't go out at the same time, so Frank was a fraud from the beginnng.
So much more to say, but 5000 character limit...
I've been a loyal customer of Walt's Auto since 2000 (primarily the Wallingford location). I have spent a lot of money there, especially when I owned an older car. However, today's experience has made me decide never to go back to Walt's Ballard location.
I used to always get excellent service at the Wallingford location, but because it has closed, I went to the Ballard location to get my oil change. I have been a customer at that Wallingford location when it was ProMax before Walt's bought it & in 2003 they gave a Lifetime Oil Change offer for $107. The condition was that you had to be the owner of the car & it had to be the same car you purchased the lifetime oil change for. I must say that that was a big pull of my always going back to Walt's, even when I heard about other reputable auto shops in Seattle. Even when Pro Max became Walt's Auto, they always honored my Lifetime Oil Change certificate.
Today, the manager at Ballard gave me a hard time & said he didn't know how I got the lifetime oil change for $107 (I showed him my receipt/certificate)...he didn't really want to give it to me. I mentioned that it is a good business promotion, because it does keep you loyal (also, most people don't necessarily keep their same car forever, so the offer becomes invalid)...he said, yes but only if you come back for brakes, etc. or more expensive repairs.
I told him I had spent a couple thousand dollars at Walt's & he had to make it a point to look it up (this was after he had already looked at my details). He said he couldn't find my details showing that I had & expressed that to me. I told him I had an older car & lived at a different address, but he still seemed to doubt what I was saying.
I agreed with him (about how it is worth their while when repeat customers come back for more expensive repairs), but I was very turned off by how he made it a point to see if I truly spent a lot of money at Walt's. Mind you, I have only used 5 oil changes of my Lifetime Oil change certificate (including today's), meaning that it averages out to $20 each. That is how much it would cost with an oil change coupon anyway. And actually, he said he only saw me in the system for an oil change 3 times. If that was really the case, then it would have been $30/oil change which seem to be full price oil changes in Seattle. I did not feel like I had a good experience, especially the big deal he made out of it.
Before this, I was a loyal customer because the Wallingford location treated me well & I felt I could always trust them. I haven't needed much repair since I've owned a new Toyota. Also, I've been out of town a lot for work, so have not had transmission services, etc here in Seattle, but every time I'm back in Seattle, I go to Walt's. And my car is getting older & requiring repairs now & I was actually planning on getting brakes done by them.
I am very disappointed & am looking for another reliable auto repair shop.
Great staff, good service, and they didn't try to rip me off.
I'm not sure if its just good luck or maybe the Pacific NW just has a different breed of mechanic because this is my second auto repair shop with good guys that did a great job on my truck without trying to stick it to me.
I knew the rattling under my car was bad news. Not only was my tail pipe loose but it had almost completely broken off. I didn't want to take a gamble driving it too far and these guys are very close by so I took it in. I was afraid they would try to replace everything and I would have to try to talk them into just cutting off the broken piece and replacing it. To my pleasant surprise they offered to do just that right off the bat. Whole thing only set me back 45 bucks. Not bad at all.
It's been a couple of months and I have had no troubles. Definitely worth stopping in and getting an opinion if you are having car troubles.
Recommended.
I have been taking my car to Walt's for years now and will NEVER take it anywhere else!! They are the most honest, and affordable mechanic I have EVER been to. One time a hose came loose and I didn't know it. I called Walt's to ask them how much they would charge to figure out what was wrong. Ken, the manager asked me what the problem was. I explained what happened and then he told me to pop the hood and check for any loose hoses. Sure enough, a hose was off. I just popped the thing back on and was good to go!! Any other mechanic could have had me bring it in, say they fixed it and charged me a rediculous amount to do the same thing Ken at Walt's did for me over the phone!!! Go to Walts!
