By Out Of Towners..... DONT GO HERE !! on Sat 15 March 2014 Total took advantage of the fact I had to drive home 800 mile, The things they fixed - make more noise now Brakes squeak - They changed (Front) Knocking sound on driver side - Never before - Fixs frontend -Not 3 things they said needed to be done - My Guy.. Said NO WAY - Thank God I did not listen to them !! They have 4 bad reviews By matt on Fri 07 September 2012 I brought my car in to Brittains Highland because I had burning oil or maybe grease on my exhaust pipe. The diagnosis was leaky valve cover gaskets (I already knew about this) and a leaky crank seal. Taking the shop’s recommendation I got the valve cover gaskets replaced and the leaky crank seal. Because of the location of the crank seal I also got the timing belt, hydraulic tensioner, and waterpump replaced. Upon getting the car back the power steering was messed up. I explained to Rich that I just couldn’t accept the coincidence that it works perfect when you bring it in and it dies completely during the time it was in the shop. I think he was fair on this issue as he charged me half of his cost on the part and free labor to fix the problem, but it took a couple of more days to get this figured out and the fact that they tried to pass the car back to me with a huge new problem is dishonest. Although his employees swear they never did anything that could have remotely caused a power steering problem, I think that’s where my problem with this shop lies. When things go wrong, they cover it up with a lie. Since the car engine was covered in oil and powersteering fluid I continued to have that burning smell and despite asking if they could clean some of it off, it never happened. After leaving town and a few hours of driving later I realized the problem had not been solved. 1. I was losing oil. 2. I noticed new grease or oil splattered on my exhaust. I look as my receipt and sure enough I don’t see a crank oil seal listed in the parts. This is when I call back. Rich tells me that the oil seal was as dry as bone but at the time I didn’t ask “so why didn’t you replace it like every other shop does during the timing belt change?” I did send three emails with no response. To me, things didn’t add up. It’s a $7 part that has always been done in the past and after some research, it’s been done on every timing belt replacement on all of my family members Subarus. I wasn’t even given the option. While he didn’t replace the crankseal, I was charged over $30 to add coolant and replace a hose not only that I was never asked about or given the option for, but also didn’t fix the coolant leak I was having. Another poor diagnosis or poor repair job In the next few months here is what I’ve figured out. The reason I had GREASE on my exhaust is a torn boot on the CV joint. This is not even remotely close to a crankshaft oil seal leak. At the time I didn’t know anything about cars but now I see it’s easy to diagnose because of its “sling” pattern as the axle spins around. What about the oil leak? On the passenger side facing the back of the car there is a cover between the valve cover and the head gasket. I took it to the dealership and believe it or not you don’t find it on the parts list but the mechanics said they just seal it up with gasket sealer. I did and the leak there is stopped. On the other hand, I’ve had two mechanics tell me the head gaskets are leaking. That pisses me off more than just knowing that they’re leaking because to replace them includes doing over all the labor that I’ve just spent with Brittains. I know no one is perfect but hopefully this example drives home the point that it’s important to make an accurate and thorough diagnosis! I spent over $900 at Britains Automotive to fix a problem and none of the work or labor was geared towards that because the diagnosis was completely wrong. Once the shop realized that it was only upon prying into the situation that they admitted that with no apology. I was never told this when I picked my car up and they acted as if everything went well. Once things started going wrong on their end they tried to cover it up smooth things over and conceal the real issues. By dbroncos1930 on Fri 17 December 2010 Every time I come to Brittains they take great care of me! They get my car serviced right away and I know they are honest with me about all work done and costs. If there is ever a problem they always fix it for me, they have even not charged me for an additional fix. This is a wonderful family run business and I would recommend them to anyone with vehicle issues or even just an oil change. Thanks so much everyone at Brittains! By none on Tue 14 December 2010 My daughter took her 1996 ford ranger to Brittains Highland service for a coolant leak problem, after she had left the vehicle with them the mechanic called her and said that the water pump was leaking and needed replaced. She okd the work. When she went to pick up the vehicle they told her that they had found the belt tensioner was bad and that they had replaced it also. total bill was $427.50. She picked up the vehicle at about 5:30 pm after work and began driving home, then she noticed the temperature gauge was in the red and then moved back to cold several times in the 1 1/2 miles she drove it. She called the mechanic the next morning to take it back, that afternoon he called and said that it was ready and that the problem was that the system was air locked. Any mechanic that knows anything about vehicles should know that when you evacuate a cooling system that there is a possibility of air lock and there are certain steps that should be taken to prevent it and to correct it. FLAG NO. 1. After another day at his shop he called her and told her that it was ready to come and pick it up, cost: $0:00 as it should be. The next morning when she went to her vehicle to go to work she noticed a line of coolant under the vehicle again,FLAG NO.2, she called Brittains and told them what the deal was and she would be bringing it back for the repair that should have been done the first time. She took the truck in and about 2 hrs later they called her and told her that it was actually the tank on the radiator that was leaking, so she had them repair the radiator, after keeping the vehicle over the weekend she paid them another $218.58 on Monday and picked up the vehicle. The next morning when she went out to the truck to go to work she noticed a stream of coolant under the truck again. THREE STRIKES YOUR OUT. When she called Brittains about it they told her that it was the radiator repair shops fault and not theirs. I am in contact with the mechanic now and will probably be in court before it over. In my opinion, this guy should be flipping burgers and not working on vehicles. Very, very poor service, would not recommend this shop for bicycle repair. I will rate this shop a 1 because there is nothing lower.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 04:05:10 +0000