Review of Action Transmission {5/5 Stars}
Customer Service [rating:4.5/5]
These guys are the best transmission shop in Provo, Utah. Not only are these guys good but they are straight forward and honest. Our car had the check engine light on with a speed sensor circuit code, which is a transmission problem, so the guys at Action Transmission checked it out and informed us why our speed sensor had failed. It turns out our transmission was falling apart and pieces of it were stuck to the magnet in the speed sensor. We were in some serious need of a new transmission. The way Action Transmission handled the whole thing was fantastic. They informed us of the problem then let us choose. They didn't fix it and then inform me that I now owed them a million dollars. They called me up and let me choose what to do.
When I brought the kid that was going to buy my dying car from me to their shop they explained over and over the options for repair and how much they would cost. They were so good at honestly explaining what problems the car had and how much it would cost to fix. The helped me sell the car and not feel like I was cheating some kid out of his money just to unload my piece of junk Hyundai Sonata (never buy a Hyundai, this Review Provo Blog would be a lot shorter if I didn't have to keep going to different car places to fix my dumb car.) The only negative aspect was that I got two slightly different pricing scenarios from the guy on the phone and the lady at the desk until til the guy and the phone walked into the office. But it was cleared up and things went peachy keen.
Price [rating:4.5/5]
Their prices were fair and they kept me informed. Transmission repairs are just expensive.
Quality [rating:5/5]
They did a great job. The speed sensor they put in worked great for the one week we owned the car after they replaced it.
Atmosphere [rating:5/5]
I really liked their shop. They had a transmission in their lobby that had been quarter cut so you could see all the gears and disks and things inside of it and how they meshed together. They also had a bunch of really helpful diagrams put up so you could see what each sensor did and what happens when it fails.
[rating:overall/5]
Action Transmission
430 West 300 South
Provo, UT 84601
Telephone: 801-374-3580
Toll Free: 1-866-274-9580
http://www.actiontranz.com
Review of Mountain America Credit Union {2/5 Stars}
Customer Service [rating:3/5]
Mountain America Credit Union (MACU) is the worst credit union I've ever entered. When I asked about interest rates for auto loans the lady who I asked looked down her nose at me and said, "Probably about 9 to 9.5%." Then she went on to list all of the conditions that had to be met for the car to be good enough for them to even consider giving me a auto loan. I promptly said, "Ok...Goodbye."
Now, if this was my only experience with the people at MACU I would have given them a 0 for a customer service rating, but its not. I had an account there for about 6 years. I didn't frequent the place, but the tellers were all really friendly and nice. So a mediocre score is caused by one bad experience.
Price [rating:0/5]
So as I mentioned in the previous section they offered me a 9.5% car loan. Granted, this was a year ago, but when I went to Zions Bank they said 7%. The place I finally decided on going was Goldenwest Credit Union which gave me a 6.45% auto loan. The real kicker is that MACU would only give a car loan for cars newer than 10 years old. If the vehicle was more than 10 years old they wouldn't give you a auto loan, but what they "recommended" was that I take out a personal loan with a whopping 13% interest rate. What kind of idiot did they think I was? The worst part is that when I told my coworkers about this one of the told me that she'd went through this exact same process with MACU and got the personal loan! I couldn't believe it! They prey on people who don't know enough to say no to their ridiculous requirements! She'd already been paying on it for 3 years and was going to be paying it off in just a couple months, it was too late to help her, but I will never bank there, nor will anyone I know without me giving them a piece of my mind.
Quality [rating:1/5]
I've already ranted enough about their shoddy quality. Their interest rates on savings accounts aren't even that great either. Only .9% (at the time this article was written) while Goldenwest Credit Union is 1%. I won't even bother comparing savings account rates to banks because credit unions are always superior (excluding ING Direct, which beats most banks and credit unions that I've seen--currently giving me 3% on my savings account and 1.74% on my checking account).
Atmosphere [rating:4/5]
It was a nice clean bank. Some fake plants in the corners. The usual.
[rating:overall/5]
Never going to touch my money again. They may change their ridiculous requirements in the future, but Goldenwest Credit Union gets my auto loan and ING Direct gets my money.
88 N 500 W
Provo, UT 84601
(801) 373-0330
Review of Quality Muffler {5/5 Stars}
Customer Service [rating:5/5]
This place wins the customer service award by far. Not only is Dale the nicest guy to ever fix my car, but he's good like mom's Sunday dinner is good. He just looks, talks, and feels like he knows what your car needs, and he's honest about it.
The thing that really sealed the deal with Quality Muffler is that when I picked up my car only 3 hours after I dropped it off (unlike 10 days with Jim's Auto & Rip You Off Shop) he said he wanted to show me my old catalytic converter. I thought, "Wow, that would be awesome. I'd love to look at it. No one has ever offered such a thing to me before!" My wife and I went into his shop and he pulled my catalytic converter from a pile and explained to me what was going on inside of mine. It was a super thing for him to do. It didn't change anything, it wasn't really necessary, but it just made me like Dale and his Quality Muffler even more.
Price [rating:5/5]
The price was perfect. Less than I expected and worth every penny.
Quality [rating:5/5]
After Quality Muffler replaced my catalytic converter my car has been better than ever, and I mean that quite literally. Its been a week and that means its already out lasted the previous attempt to fix it.
Atmosphere [rating:4/5]
Well, it wasn't exactly the Ritz Carlton, but he was sweeping the shop out as we drove up, it was bright, uncluttered, and overall pretty darn good.
[rating:overall/5]
If I know anyone that has a muffer or catalytic converter problem, or if I even overhear anyone talking about their problems I'm going to pipe up and tell them all about the Quality Muffler of Provo, Utah.
Quality Muffler
1122 S. State St. #25
Provo, UT 84606
801-377-9166
Review of Provo Car Doctors {2.5/5 Stars}
Customer Service [rating:3/5]
I don't love the people at Provo Car Doctors--but they have always been OK.
However, they do not win full marks because they A) didn't know the solution to the problem I presented them with, or B) they didn't tell me the solution so they could perform unnecessary "tests" at additional costs. Either of these choices are enough to lose significant points in the customer service category.
Here was the situation. I had the check engine light come on so I sent the wife along with the car to have Provo Car Doctors diagnose it and hopefully fix it. I was aware that I would have to pay for the diagnostic, which I was OK with. The "diagnostic test" (which I'm pretty sure just meant turning off the check-engine light) apparently resulted in no answers, because their plan was to just start checking different things out (I think they mentioned the fuel pump?!) and see if they eventually could fix the problem. They told my wife that they had no idea if they're testing would fix the problem, but they wouldn't know until they tried it. I don't know if they really didn't know the specific problem, or were just going to rack up a fat bill checking random things before really getting to the problem.
It was at this point that I no longer wanted to do business with the Provo Car Doctors. I declined their services, paid them the !!$54!! for the useless diagnostic, and took my car to Checker where I used the check engine light hand held diagnostic tool myself, got the code (423 I believe) took it back in and asked the clerks what it meant. With out any hesitation they answered, from memory mind you, that I needed a new catalytic converter. Wow--and the best part was that it was free.
Price [rating:1/5]
The second reason why my terminally ill car will no longer be a patient at the Provo Car Doctors is that everything there just seemed a little pricey. I mean $54 to NOT do what I did at Checker in 5 minutes!?! My first visit there was no less pricey, $154 for them to send my car to a muffler shop to replace a flex pipe that connected the front catalytic converter to the rear catalytic converter. The worst part on this one was that I listened to the receptionist call up this other shop, get a price from him, and then in whispers converse with the mechanic about how much to charge me. It felt a little shady at the time, but makes perfect sense in light of the second experience.
Quality [rating:2.5/5]
The flex pipe they had some else replace is still working great with no signs of stopping. However since they couldn't diagnose my check engine light they get big-time negative marks.
Atmosphere [rating:3.5/5]
The shop was decently clean, plenty of good magazines to read, comfy enough chairs, and a TV at just the right volume, quiet enough for me to listen to my iPod.
[rating:overall/5]
I will no longer be going to the Provo Car Doctor because they nickle and dime you, and at their prices I just can't afford it.
Provo Car Doctors
151 North 300 W
Provo UT 84601
Phone: 801.373.2800
http://www.provocardoctors.com
Review of Giffin's Diamond Auto {0.5/5 Stars}
Customer Service [rating: .5/5]
If you want a sweet talking, greasy, used car salesman this is the place for you. From the moment I walked in with my wife they laid it on thick. How quality their cars were, how good their mechanic was, their legacy in the area, their prices, their guarantee. It was all a sham. They didn't deliver on a single claim.
My "quality" car needed over $1000 of repairs in the first 3 months that their "good" mechanic was suppose to have caught. Their "guarantee" turned out to be, "Bring, your car in and we'll have our mechanic check it out at a discounted price." When pressed further, telling them they screwed me over and that I was upset at being sold a poor quality vehicle the only answer I got was that "Things happen..." In this case these things happened because Giffin's Diamond Auto is dishonest and has no regard for something called "customer satisfaction." I will be doing everything in my power to bring them down.
Price [rating: 1/5]
The price that we got for our car was good, if our car would have been in the condition they said it was in. But considering the money we've had to put in it since, we got fairly screwed by their sweet talkin' ways.
Quality [rating: 0/5]
We bought our car from Giffin's Diamond Auto last July and I've been looking for an outlet to my frustrations ever since then. To start off with they sold us a car that "had all ready passed safety and emissions tests" so we didn't have to worry about it. We thought, oh that's nice.
The first rain drops about a week later started the revelation into how thorough a inspection they had done. To start with there was no rubber on the windshield wipers, it had been ripped off somehow and only the metal screeching back and forth across our window. The next day when the rain had dried onto our window and I tried to clean it off with the mister I found that it didn't work.
But my favorite $450 and then $600 repair was when my car would only do 40 miles per hour over Point of the Mountain. My mechanic told me that some moron had installed the timing belt wrong by trying to force it on to some rod it had to go around, bending the rod. This had caused my car to not run properly, specifically causing the car to not completely combust all of the fuel in the cylinder. This fuel then went into the catalytic converter, overwhelmed the "cat", caused it to overheat and fuse together, and subsequently block off all downstream flow limiting my car to only 40 miles an hour over the little hill that is Point of the Mountain.
Atmosphere [rating: 1/5]
The only points for atmosphere they get are because the owner of Diamond Auto had put up pictures of old cars that he'd restored with the money he swindled off of other dopes just like me. Other than that it was exactly what you'd come to expect from the stereotypical greasy used car dealership portrayed in the movies.
Summary
We were desperate for a car, ours having blown up a week or so earlier, and they took advantage of us in our weakness. It was also my first time buying a car and I didn't get the education I needed on buying used cars until I realized how scammed I had been. Why don't car dealers follow the example of every jewelery joint I went to when I was looking for a wedding ring for my wife? Every place I went to took the time to tell me all about the 3 C's of buying a diamond: cut, color, clarity. I still remember the things they said now two and a half years later. But then again with a diamond I was buying a very skillfully critiqued and graded stone, with a used car they don't do this on purpose because then you probably wouldn't buy the hunk of junk they are pushing on you. I can see why they do it, because they'd go broke otherwise, but can't the car buying experience be about getting the best hunk of junk you can afford, knowing exactly what you are getting?
Giffin's Diamond Auto is exactly what you expect when you look at their establishment; a shady, sketchy, dirty, lieing, deceiving used car dealership. Buyers beware.
[rating: overall/5]
Giffin's Diamond Auto
8572 S State St
Midvale, UT 84047
Review of Jim's Auto Accessories & Muffler Shop {0.5/5 Stars}
Customer Service [rating:0/5]
As far as customer service goes, Jim’s Auto Accessories & Muffler Shop could not get worse. (If your looking for the best muffler shop in Provo then check out my review of Quality Muffler.) This is my experience: Jim tried to tell me that I had air being sucked into my exhaust line just before the muffler…I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to blow into your muffler while the car is running…good luck. I don’t see how a pin sized hole right before the muffler could do it either. I’m not a rocket scientist, yet, but I have taken a fluid dynamics class. No gas is going to go upstream into a pressurized line. As you can imagine that didn’t go over so well with me since I’d just given him $600 two weeks earlier to fix the problem with my catalytic converters. So we started arguing about it, right there in his lobby, with 4 or 5 other people just watching. I’m not ashamed of the fact that I found it invigorating to stand up for my self against this jerk. He told me that my regular mechanic didn’t perform an adequate tune up; therefore the warranty was no longer valid. He had no where specified what an adequate tune up was; just that mine was not good enough. He told me, while we were yelling, that since I didn’t replace all the wiring and spark plugs, even though my mechanic tested them all, that he would not fix the problem which he told me was caused by a tiny little exhaust leak right in front of the catalytic converter (which was there when he fixed the car and said it would be fine until the next time I had to have my emissions tested), but I’ve already discussed how much bologna that is.
So moral of the story is that Jim doesn’t care one whit about you. I talked to my other mechanic afterwards about the situation and when I told him who I had gone to the first thing he said was, “Well that was your first mistake going to him.” That’s comforting to me to know that other people are aware of the wonderful customer service that can be found at Jim’s Auto Accessories & Muffler Shop and are steering others away.
Price [rating:1/5]
The reason why I went to Jim’s Auto Accessories & Muffler Shop was price. I called around and found that he was the cheapest shop in my neighborhood so I went. But the value for the money I spent is astronomically low. I won’t launch into another rant here, but needless to say the reason for the low rating is clearly explained in the customer service section.
Quality [rating:0/5]
Let’s just say that if the quality were any lower I wouldn’t have made it out of the parking lot. The problem that was “fixed” resurfaced in about two week’s time. Make sure you keep your receipt, not that it will do you any good. Your best bet is finding some expert witnesses and trying small claims court.
Atmosphere [rating:1.5/5]
I’m giving Jim’s Auto a star and half because I found the adrenaline of confrontation quite energizing. But if a heated argument with spectators is not for you I’d steer clear. The place is also dirty. Now I’m sure you’re thinking “It’s a car repair shop, its going to be dirty.” Not true, I’ve been to more than one shop that is not only clean but dusted, mopped, and the bathroom is shiny. I read in a high class restaurant reviewers comments that the bathroom reflects on the way a restaurant is run. I think the same is true for all places and especially of Jim’s. The bathroom just like Jim’s customer service is dirty and unkempt.
[rating:overall/5]
Jim’s Auto Accessories & Muffler Shop, I’d say the worst place in Provo to get your car worked on. But, if you like to yell this may be the place for you.
Jim’s Auto Accessories & Muffler Shop
907 W Center St
Provo, UT 84601
http://www.jimsautoutah.com/