Went to John's automotive as they were recommended by AAA as a place to get a 38 point inspection on my car. I wanted the inspection and a routine oil change on a car that has been babied and well taken care of. When I came back, they had an insane list of recommendations totaling $1500. I knew something didn't add up because they claimed that I needed a throttle body cleaning even though I had one done last year and barely drove the car the past year due to COVID closures. I told them I would get a second opinion, and that I just did not feel like spending $1500 that day. I'm glad that I did, because when I took it to another mechanic, they pointed out several things that John's recommended I do that were completely unnecessary. John's claimed that my transmission fluid was dirty and that I needed an expensive transmission service. The fluid was brand new and BRIGHT pink. They claimed I needed new lightbulbs for my rear license plate--both lights were working just fine. They claimed I needed new air filter and cabin air filter-- both filters were practically brand new. STAY AWAY from this company at all costs. I will be filing another complaint with Triple A to request that they remove these crooks from their triple A approved list, as they are clearly out to steal from customers that they think don't know any better. They are CROOKS. I'm glad I followed my instinct and took my car out of there quickly! UPDATE: Brian from John's automotive called and asked to talk to me. Because I work, I was unable to answer the call. I requested that he contact me via email. I appreciate the effort to reach out, but it was too little too late. The lights that he claims to have replaced were indicated as a line item on the $1500 estimate they provided, hence they planned to charge me for it if I asked to have services done. ALSO, there was still no response to the fact that they claimed my transmission fluid was dirty, yet the picture I posted here proved the fluid was clean. Don't lie and say the fluid is dirty if you haven't checked it! It doesn't take much effort to check the fluid, as my mechanic who I trusted to deal with my car after this situation demonstrated. Also, I had records of previous repairs, and your technicians didn't think it necessary to ASK ME the last time I had certain repairs done. Just looking at the mileage and making an assumption without asking is just lazy. I also wanted to add that, similar to other female customers that visited this establishment, I also received rude and dismissive treatment from the front desk person Justin, while a man who came in directly after me was treated with much more respect and courtesy. Bad vibes from the beginning, and bad vibes in the end! I shouldn't have to bring my a man with me to get some respect and avoid being over-quoted. This isn't my first rodeo, and I know what good mechanic service looks like. I have been driving for 15 years. I am relatively new to the area and was looking for a place to give repeat business. John's just ain't getting it from me.
Thank you for giving us feedback about your visit. We called you this morning in hopes of talking about your recent visit to our shop so we can clear up a few things with you. The license plate lights are working because we replaced the bulbs at no charge when we serviced your vehicle last week. As a part of our regular service, anytime we find bulbs that are not working, our technicians automatically replace them. I am sorry that we did not make that clear to you while you were here. Since this was your first visit to our shop, we recommended some maintenance items due to the age/mileage of your vehicle and asked if you could verify if these items had been done prior as we have no way of knowing. We could verify if they had been done before, but that would require taking things apart to inspect, which would add some costs that could be avoided if you had your service records to look back on. As you can see in the inspection report that we emailed you, almost all the recommended items were based on age/mileage. If we did not make that clear to you, then I am truly sorry about that. We have been in business a long time, and we do our best to give all our customers the most information that we can for them to make the best decisions about their vehicles. It sounds like we did not do a great job of communicating with you about your vehicle. We would like the opportunity to speak with you about how we could have communicated better with you and answer any further questions that you may have.
- John's Automotive Care