Car Repair, Shell


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	Car Repair, Shell


The comments below are unedited opinions of the colleagues who submitted them. A date (month and year) indicates that the comments following that date are from the given month and year. The most recent comments appear at the bottom.

12/98 Thanks to all who replied. Basically, I've gotten that everyone who has dealt with them since they changed ownership 1 ½ years ago has been happy. I'll probably be bringing my car in to them for a new alternator and if I have anything less than a great experience, I'll let y'all know. Thanks again! Replies: I use them quite a bit, mainly for convenience. I've been happy with them. They seem much less expensive than other places. My only negative comment is that, once in a while, they do not fix the problem the first time and I have to bring it back. The good side of this is that they take responsibility for fixing it, usually at no cost. George, the owner, is a nice guy and a straight shooter. He took over from his uncle, I believe, about 1.52 years ago, so you should only pay attention to recent experiences there. *** I use them for all my routine repair and upkeep (big things like transmission overhauls I take to a dealer). So far I've had no problems and the work has been done completely, satisfactorily and one time. I had an uneventful oil change done, which was fine and about the going rate. I've had them change my oil and rotate my tires. They seem honest and don't try to do stuff you don't need (for example, they just told me that my coolant was OK for the winter). When I still drove my beginning-to-rust Honda wagon, I found (they did not tell me or charge me for it) that they had reattached a trailing mud guard with what looked liked bailing wire. I have no idea how they are with engine repairs. I had a pretty good experience with the guys down the street. They have done oil changes and also did a mini "tuneup" type of thing. When I had a mysterious and randomly occurring smell, they were more than willing to see if they could figure out what was going on. They checked lots of possibilities and never found anything wrong, but gave me a list of things to do (including bringing my car in immediately) should it occur again. Good luck! I have used the station a number of times, but not recently. Given that it seems to come under new management frequently, I'm not sure that my experience is particularly useful. In general, the station has done a decent job with my repairs. I did notice, however, that sometimes something else would go wrong very shortly after I had my car worked on there. Plus, there used to be talk in the halls about shoddy workmanship there. I've had good experiences with them. I my battery died the other day and the guys there went out of their way to get me one (it needed a special one, and they called around and then drove to go get it), jump started my car, etc. Another time I stopped by with a friend who was buying a used car and they checked the car out for her for free and gave her advice on the pricing. I think they're honest and competent. Ask for George or Youssef. I haven't had bad experiences with them, but I heard awful things about them in a previous bulletin board message. * I think they are first rate. The owner, George, has always treated me fairly. However, I wouldn't go to him for tires or for very complex repair work. * I've used them for several repairs. As far as I can tell, they give correct diagnoses and fair prices. * I have always had good experiences with them. George (the owner) has always been very honest (a trait I admire greatly, especially when it comes to repairs I know nothing about) and given me good prices for repairs. 10/99 *I've been using them for about 5 years. I didn't like them much at first, but it changed hands about two or three years ago and since then I think they are great. George is the owner/operator now and he has always been more than fair to me. So, if you hear anything bad, try to find out whether it happened in the past couple of years. I went recently with a flat. The service guy (I forget his name) explained that if the tire was mashed into the rim it might be too weak to be safe and need replacing. I told him to use his judgment and he did not* replace the tire. The patch etc was about $15, far less than a new tire would have been. *They generally have been good for minor stuff. I've taken several cars to them for the past 7 or 8 years and never had any problems until this past spring, when they rebuilt my front brakes. The brake job has never worked right screeches, makes grinding noises, etc. I've taken it back and they have fiddled with it on several occasions, but not improvement. I think I will finally have to take it to a dealer to get it working right. This is the only black mark (albeit a major one) on their otherwise good record of service. Their prices have been less than dealership mechanics, and ised. If your repair is minor, or if you're taking it in for maintenance (tuneup, oil change, etc., I think they are very reliable. If a big and complicated job, you might want to think about having a dealer do it. There have been many auto mechanix discussions on this bulletin board over the years and the general consensus on the gas stn at end of Wheeler St is that they used to be bad under the previous owner but the new (about 3 years now) owners are good honest and knowledgeable. I haven't used them because we're very happy with our mechanics Nai Nan Ko, Korean guys on Mass Ave in N. Cambridge who do Japanese and other foreign cars. I have used them for oil changes and tire rotation. Their prices are fine and they really seem to be interested in keeping your costs down. Very nice people from Lebanon. The middle east, not New Hampshire. I don't use them for repairs. For repairs, I used Pleasant Street Getty at the corner of Brighton and Pleasant Street near route 2 overpass. One word: shady. I had some work there and was unsatisfied. They also will try to scare you into buying things you probably won't need. Once upon a time, the shop was honorable, but at least when I went early this year, it was one big hassle. I do recommend a place called Executive Auto, located in Cambridge near the corner of Route 16 and Mass Ave. It is a little far away, but I always had excellent experiences there with my old Monte Carlo. Prices were great and I never had to go back to have something refixed. Never was hassled to buy anything I didn't need. Their # is 3541536. I've had several repairs there. I'm not enough of a mechanic to be sure I wasn't bamboozled, but they seemed reasonable, and prices are comparable to other garages I have tried. (They did a lousy job of balancing tires for me one time, but that's a minor detail.) I prefer the Sunoco around the rotary. The few times I have had small jobs done, oil change etc. I have not received paperwork and feel the job was not done as thoroughly as other places. Nate at Sunoco will show you what the problem is, keep the replaced parts for you to see and is reasonable and reliable. I've used them quite a lot over the last 5 years and found them to be very reliable and less expensive than either the dealer or my local repair shop. Also, they will give you options that are less expensive if you ask (i.e., if you have an old car and don't want a new expensive part). They also will fix minor things like fuses for no charge if you are a regular customer. The problem with this station is that it has changed owners many times, so you can't tell which owners people got bad service from. You should probably only listen to people who have very recent experience. I have had an excellent experience with them (although I haven't been there in the past year and a half since I've gotten my new car), and I think that many other people at the company have as well. I took my car there several times for various problems, and I always found that they were very honest, nice, and reasonable. They even give coupons for additional deductions from their rates. On at least one occasion, when I thought that my car had a serious problem that would be very expensive to fix, they made a minor repair and charged a minimal cost. On one occasion, they had given me a quote in advance, but as it turned out, my car needed more work than they had thought, so they did all of the work, but just charged me what they originally quoted. The manager's name is George, and he is always very friendly (especially to Abt people). I've had good experiences with the folks at the end of the street. They repaired my car numerous times (mufflers, clutch, brakes, misc. noises and leaks), and I've always been satisfied with the results. I occasionally get my oil changed there, and have had them repair tires. I've had no problems, but I don't let them at anything major, either (too many bad experiences elsewhere). If you need something nontrivial done to your car, I'd ask for recommendations for good mechanics. The Mobil at the next rotary is very quick and reasonably priced, but I've never tried the Shell at the end or Wheeler. They lied to me about a (thankfully) minor repair [windshield wipers and blades]and charged me for replacement of parts that they didn't replace. I think it's worth a drive further to get better service. I've had basically good experiences at the Shell station on the corner. I had the CV boot replaced on my car, and it was much less expensive than what I had been quoted other places. Since then, however, another mechanic (who quoted me a higher price for the replacement of the other CV boot) suggested that they must have used low quality materials/parts to be able to charge so little. I have no idea if this is true, though. I've had very satisfactory experiences with them. They're very conscientious, and seem to take a real interest in their customers. There's an involved story i could relate concerning an emergency repair to the parking brake cable that was needed immediately before my daughter went to take her driving test @ Watertown: the guys did this quick but obscure repair ahead of everyone else (fortunately no one was waiting onsite), and it's stayed fixed & tight for about a year now. They also spent over 3 hours with my wife's car on the diagnostic computer, trying to isolate an intermittent failure in the electronic sensor that is part of the EGR valve. They've come thru for me on other occasions as well. I don't know if they are "pricey"; i just think they give good value (especially relative to the FORD dealer!!!!) I've only been there for a tire patch and emissions inspection. Seemed to appreciate Abt's business and worked quickly and inexpensively. 7/01 I got mine done there last year. Had no problems. I had a horrible experience having my car inspected at that station one year. The car passed, but the men working at the station were really quite rude, and I had to wait for almost 2 hours to have a fifteen minute inspection. I would encourage you to use anyone else but them. * I was satisfied with them 2-3 years ago, but the past couple of times I've been there they've seemed less than trustworthy. I had an oil change and during the following days the muffler developed a hole. (I'm sure it was on its way out anyway, but the timing leads me to believe that they encouraged it some...) The next time, I brought it in to get brake pads changed. They called to say that the front rotors needed to be replaced too, which added ~$200 to the bill. I asked them to pull the old rotors out of the trash when I picked the car up, and they seemed to have a good amount of life left (a good thickness and no grooves/warpage). * I did about 8 months and they were fine. * I had no problems. Left my there in the morning and picked it up at the end of the day, inspected and ready to go. * I see that you have already posted replies. I wonder if you have gotten your sticker yet? I just got mine at the Shell Station in question recently. A couple of the guys are nice to me because I often buy gasoline there. I think they want Abt busi- ness & therefore try to be nice to Abt folks, I THINK. Anyway, one day I went at noon time, & they said "Too busy, overbooked today. Come tomorrow morning." I did that, & they said I could either leave it or wait. I waited, & it took a while for them to get it together. Nevertheless, I did get my sticker with only minor aggra- vation & no trauma. I have gotten it there other times, as well, without problems. ANECDOTE: One year, driving one of my old "$600 special" cars, I went there. At that time, their machine didn't work, & they couldn't do them. I went down to the station right on the corner at the far rotary (where Concord Ave & the Parkway meet, at Sozio's furniture). They were nice, & right away gave me a sticker, with what appeared to be very little checking of anything much. (This is of course before the more stringent rules & high fee we have NOW.) Within a few minutes, happily, I was inspected, paid my bill, & drove back to Abt. As I was driving within the parking lot, I totally lost my brakes/the brakes let go! As you can imagine, I was SURE GLAD I got my "State Safety Inspection"! Yeah, wow, I really FELT SAFE! 9/01 * There have been a couple postings in the past about problems that Abt staff have had with the Mobil station on Fresh Pond Parkway, and I wanted to reiterate this warning. Foolishly I took my car there for the state-mandated safety and emissions inspection back in July (wearing a dress, no less) and was failed for safety concerns. At the time I didn't know that you had to be very careful where you took your car for the safety and emissions inspection: that some stations fail you hoping that you will get the repair taken care of at their station. I knew that there was nothing wrong with my car and today finally completed the process of contesting the inspection results. The state inspectors from the RMV agreed that my car was in fine shape, cited Fresh Pond Mobil for multiple inspection violations (which leads to a hearing), and cited them for equipment failures which will prevent them from doing any safety and emissions inspections for the next 20 days. The RMV field investigator told me that he has a number of recently contested inspections from that station. --Naomi ***Try the Fresh Pond Shell instead They're nice, and they seem to shoot pretty straight. They didn't mind putting in parts that I bought myself (keeping them from their usual markup) which a lot of places will try to talk you out of doing. Prescott, in particular, seems like a good guy.