Kloubek
01-28-2011, 12:09 PM
Sorry... it is a little long. (As many of my explanatory posts are)
Yes, "Our Mechanic" is actually the name of the shop. In one sense, clever.... "Just bring it to Our Mechanic". On the other hand, very much akin to a scenario like the famous "Who's on first" comedy bit which most of you are too young to recognize.
Anyway, this is not the first time I've brought a vehicle to this shop. In the past two experiences I had with them, they were friendly, performed the work in the timeframe provided and at the price quoted. However, not until this experience did they really impress me. And I must say, I do not expected to be impressed by an automotive shop... more often than not I expect a negative experience if not an average one.
I brought my XJ Jeep in for the driver's upper ball joint replacement. I had the parts - this was a labour-only job. I was told that they would be willing to replace the lower at no cost, since the axle and everything would already be removed. That was the first thing that impressed me.
I asked him to check on a clunk in the steering wheel (he told me it was probably a u-joint), and to let me know the condition of the passenger ball joints as well. I got a call back about two hours later. Dwight informed me that the passenger side was not in bad shape. The drivers side could indeed use a replacement - though he did tell me I would be able to drive on it as-is for a while if I wanted to.... it was not yet in danger of falling apart. I told him to go ahead with the replacement.
When I arrived to pick up my vehicle, I was informed that they spent half an hour to find and fix the clunking in the steering wheel. It ended up being a loose track bar bracket. No charge.
They also replaced my home-brew quick-release pins with proper bolts to tighten up the sway bar. This was somewhat a mistake, since I told them about why the pins were there and there was no need to replace them. However, they did not charge me for this and it will be easy to put the quick release pins back before I offroad. I'm actually glad they did, since the vehicle seems tighter with my pins replaced.
As expected, the price of this work ended up being as I was quoted, and the truck was ready on time.
But then we hit a snag. They were unable to locate my key. They searched high and low for over twenty minutes to no avail. Then they decided to call the only other person to pick up a vehicle that afternoon, and it turns out that customer had somehow ended up with my key. One of the guys there drove downtown to retrieve it, and during all this time I ended up waiting at the shop for about an hour extra.
During that hour, I actually enjoyed shooting the shit with Dwight and his wife. Somewhere in that time I asked him how long it would take to replace the pinion seal that was leaking on my truck. He told me probably less than an hour. "So... about the amount of time I've had to wait for my key?" I inquired. He smiled and told me that to compensate for my time, he would be willing to replace the pinion seal at no charge if I could get the part.
So, Coles notes:
Fixed my steering clunk for free.
"Fixed" my loose sway bar links for free.
Replaced lower ball joint for free.
Tried to save me money by telling me the ball joint didn't need to be replaced immediately.
Compensated me quite nicely for making me wait an hour.
Did all work at the quoted cost, and on time.
Friendly and honest.
I think it can be a real pain finding a good, honest shop these days - but I truly believe "Our Mechanic" is one of them, and would highly encourage our members to support them. They are located one block south of the 32nd connector, and one block west of Edmonton trail.
Yes, "Our Mechanic" is actually the name of the shop. In one sense, clever.... "Just bring it to Our Mechanic". On the other hand, very much akin to a scenario like the famous "Who's on first" comedy bit which most of you are too young to recognize.
Anyway, this is not the first time I've brought a vehicle to this shop. In the past two experiences I had with them, they were friendly, performed the work in the timeframe provided and at the price quoted. However, not until this experience did they really impress me. And I must say, I do not expected to be impressed by an automotive shop... more often than not I expect a negative experience if not an average one.
I brought my XJ Jeep in for the driver's upper ball joint replacement. I had the parts - this was a labour-only job. I was told that they would be willing to replace the lower at no cost, since the axle and everything would already be removed. That was the first thing that impressed me.
I asked him to check on a clunk in the steering wheel (he told me it was probably a u-joint), and to let me know the condition of the passenger ball joints as well. I got a call back about two hours later. Dwight informed me that the passenger side was not in bad shape. The drivers side could indeed use a replacement - though he did tell me I would be able to drive on it as-is for a while if I wanted to.... it was not yet in danger of falling apart. I told him to go ahead with the replacement.
When I arrived to pick up my vehicle, I was informed that they spent half an hour to find and fix the clunking in the steering wheel. It ended up being a loose track bar bracket. No charge.
They also replaced my home-brew quick-release pins with proper bolts to tighten up the sway bar. This was somewhat a mistake, since I told them about why the pins were there and there was no need to replace them. However, they did not charge me for this and it will be easy to put the quick release pins back before I offroad. I'm actually glad they did, since the vehicle seems tighter with my pins replaced.
As expected, the price of this work ended up being as I was quoted, and the truck was ready on time.
But then we hit a snag. They were unable to locate my key. They searched high and low for over twenty minutes to no avail. Then they decided to call the only other person to pick up a vehicle that afternoon, and it turns out that customer had somehow ended up with my key. One of the guys there drove downtown to retrieve it, and during all this time I ended up waiting at the shop for about an hour extra.
During that hour, I actually enjoyed shooting the shit with Dwight and his wife. Somewhere in that time I asked him how long it would take to replace the pinion seal that was leaking on my truck. He told me probably less than an hour. "So... about the amount of time I've had to wait for my key?" I inquired. He smiled and told me that to compensate for my time, he would be willing to replace the pinion seal at no charge if I could get the part.
So, Coles notes:
Fixed my steering clunk for free.
"Fixed" my loose sway bar links for free.
Replaced lower ball joint for free.
Tried to save me money by telling me the ball joint didn't need to be replaced immediately.
Compensated me quite nicely for making me wait an hour.
Did all work at the quoted cost, and on time.
Friendly and honest.
I think it can be a real pain finding a good, honest shop these days - but I truly believe "Our Mechanic" is one of them, and would highly encourage our members to support them. They are located one block south of the 32nd connector, and one block west of Edmonton trail.