Powl's Speedometer Inc. PA 17601

J

Jeffrey Pianis

This place is the best in the business. We took our classic car in to get rust repair done, because the back bumper was sagging due to the rust damage, they cut out the rust and manufactured and welded new pieces in place and treated the new pieces as well as the surrounding metal so they will not rust again and they also got the job done quicker than promised and for less than expected, there is a reason they have been in business for 100 years.

B

Bradley David Good

***See below for how to find the videos*** I bought a car from my neighbor. I tried to set the time on the instrument cluster and the knob won’t do anything. So then I removed the instrument cluster and inspected it, and I found a sticker that said Powl’s speedometer. Then I remembered that I had an invoice from the previous owner that showed that powl's had replaced the display in the instrument cluster. So I came back to Powl‘s and asked them to look at it. I was immediately struck by the aura of arrogance of the man who came to help me. He sat in my car, turned the key, looked at the cluster, did nothing else, and told me that we’re going to have to take the cluster apart and see what it is and that’ll be $450. I said do you think that maybe somebody left that knob disconnected when they worked on it because you guys had it open last? He looked at me with a sheety grin and said it doesn’t work that way with his hands in his pockets. I said thank you and got in my car. I know a guy on YouTube in New Jersey that fixes clusters for around $100 no matter what’s wrong with them. I also have another receipt from Powl’s where they charged the previous owner $6500 to replace a $1600 electronic module somewhere in the car. When I originally saw that invoice, I immediately thought that was an absolutely ridiculous price for getting into anything in a car. How could anything take more than two or three hours. Update: What Powl says about me expecting them to drop everything is just not true. He is trying to paint me as a demanding customer. I asked politely when it would be convenient for someone to look at it, I didn't expect anyone to drop everything. I was not unhappy about coming in on Monday, I completely understood and was happy to come in whenever it was convenient, which is what I told the woman at the desk. I opened up the instrument cluster yesterday and the knob was indeed left disconnected. There was no broken part as Powl says. It was just left disconnected by his team. Also, there was a screw left mostly out and almost falling out. It looked like it was worked on at quitting time on a Friday and thrown together without finishing it properly. When I was working on it, I saw there were 2 Powl's stickers on it. I fixed it in about 10 minutes by just snapping the knob back in where it needed to be. Powl's was going to charge $450 just to diagnose it. I don't think anyone else was in that cluster since it was with them because the 80 year old man I bought it from didn't do work like that. I would never go back to Powl's mostly because of that guy's attitude but also because of their exorbitant pricing. I'm not the only one saying that about the pricing, just scroll down to see more! The reviews are full of amazingly huge quotes or charges and reports of shotty work! Just read down a few pages. It's amazing that they are still in business. My only guess is that they are preying on old men like my neighbor who have lots of spare money and don't know any better. ***Videos*** 2 short videos I took of the cluster while I was working on it if you go to youtube and search for "bradley david good Instrument cluster daytime adjuster knob, not working 2001 Audi TT". These videos prove that it was just left undone and disconnected not broken as Mr. Powl asserts as his "professional opinion". 6 short videos on Youtube called "Review Powl’s Speedometer Inc, Lancaster, PA" where I go over the invoice and charges. Some things from the invoice Mr. Powl is talking about: R &R water outlet & Battery $1675 Part number: 902914 This is 1.5 hours labor for water outlet and .5 for batttery. Look it up. Conv. MDL - $1798 Part number 8n7962267a Can be found for $500 and repaired for less than $100 online. No reason to buy a new part for almost 2 grand in an old car like this. Exchange Instrument: Exchange $1500 This is the instrument cluster that took me 10 minutes to open up and fix. A quick search on ebay finds many offerings to fix this cluster for less than $200. Book time on this is 2-3 hours.

C

Corie Ann Chipps

I needed a CEL diagnostic for my 2011 Hyundai as I had several codes pop-up that were preventing me from getting my car inspected. My regular garage did one and recommended that I have my ECM flash-tested and possibly reprogrammed based on the codes they saw. This isn't normally something they handle so they suggested I find an electronics shop to confirm. I then did a quick Google search to find a local shop that worked with electronics and came across Powl's. The website had many good reviews and it appeared as if they have been in business for a very long time. They were friendly off the bat and got me in pretty quick. I was advised upfront that they don't go by another shop's diagnostic report and that they would do there own and it would take about 1-2 hours at $115/hr. No problem. I completely understood. When I showed up for my appointment on November 14th, I was greeted by a mechanic. He listened to my issue and immediately took my car back. I waited in the waiting room and overheard bits and pieces of what my car's problem could be, but it wasn't until about three hours in that the owner came over to me and said he was personally working on my car now. He advised that it appears my ECM isn't communicating with my downstream O2 sensor and he wanted to run some tests and check the wiring. I had the O2 sensor replaced in May of this year so he did ask about the sensor's manufacturer's info, but Amazon didn't offer much info other than it was made in China. Again, no problem. I continued to wait. After nearly six hours of testing my car, the owner came back out to the waiting room to give me the bad news. I needed a new ECM. Since it wasn't responding to my O2 sensor, it was going to need to be replaced at the cost of $1842. This price included the part, reprogramming, software update, and installation. I was floored. I've had my car for many years and it never had any issues that would indicate an ECM problem. The CEL codes from my regular garage indicated a possible ECM problem, but it also indicated a possible faulty O2 sensor. Powl's only charged me for the two hours of labor for the diagnostic testing and I was very appreciative. For the next couple days, I spent hours researching CEL codes, ECM replacement costs, and scrap prices for my car as I knew I couldn't afford the $1842 price tag given to me by Powl's and I thought my only option was to scrap/sell the car. I was wrong. A friend of mine suggested I replace the O2 sensor again. He said that it may be faulty since I bought it off of Amazon. I immediately went to AutoZone and bought one for $52. My friend installed it and cleared the CEL. We found that the old O2 sensor had been ziptied to the car (because the wire was too long) and the plastic was melted exposing the wires. Why Powl's didn't catch this, I'll never know. Here we are nearly a month later, my CEL remains out, and I have absolutely NO issues with my car, ECM or otherwise. Most importantly, I didn't shell out $1842 or scrap my car due to a misdiagnosis from a business that touts being around for over 100 years. Please, please, please do your due diligence and get a second opinion before jumping in and accepting their diagnostic testing results.