Lake Stevens Automotive WA 98258

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CrumblingBark 30

I recently had a new baby girl come into this world, and Christmas is just around the corner. Of course our vehicle had a scary clinking sound that sounded like danger with every bump. I expected to pay a lot at the most inconvenient time of year. Understanding my situation, and with much compassion I was able to be seen right away with the luck of a same day repair! This was thanks to the efforts of the whole team working to find a solution so I wouldn’t have to leave my car over the holidays. They kept the quality high, and the cost more than fair! Thank you to Ian, Dan, and Shawn for helping our little family get back to traveling safely!

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Darryl Parks

Don't take your vehicle to this shop! They charged me $655 to tell me that my engine was toast! Those were just the diagnostic and engine compression tests. I didn't get any repairs done for that price! I may as well have lit my money on fire! After paying the bill, I could only sell my minivan with a blown engine for $900, so I only netted $245 for my van minus the bill that I had to pay! I feel that the diagnostic fee of $150 is all the money that I should have had to pay. Another $455 for them to perform a compression test, to verify that my engine needed to be replaced for thousands of dollars? They also quoted me $11,000 to put a new engine in a minivan that would never be worth more than $6,000 after a new engine replacement! The only reason that I'm giving them 1 star instead of half a star, is because the people at the front desk are really friendly. It's probably because they're so happy to make some easy money from all the fees that they charged me! Take your vehicle someplace else! That's my advice!

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Neil Hickey

Updated per business response: Thank you for your prompt and courteous reply. One star back for your attention and interest in customer feedback. For the record I did not request a (binding) quote, just an estimate for comparison purposes. I stated clearly that it was the maintenance minder (which the advisor did not know anything about), explained what it does, and gave the make, model, and year of the car, which would have enabled your advisor to quickly access the vehicle specs to know what type of transmission it has, as well as the fluid type, and approximate quantities needed for a drain and fill as well as a flush. I appreciate your desire to not misinform the customer, as well as to cover your back, however when a customer requests an estimate for a specific, and routine, service to be performed just give them the info (with appropriate disclaimers, of course). Had a reasonable estimate been provided (which used to be the norm at Lake Stevens Auto) you probably would have had my business. Instead, I felt mistrustful of both the information I was given, and the motives/expertise of the advisor. Hopefully you take this feedback to heart and it helps improve the experience for future customers. Sadly, you've lost this one. *********************** I used to come here all the time. The owners were friendly and fair. Sadly, things seem to be quite different now. Last week the maintenance minder on my Honda gave me a message that it's time for a transmission fluid replacement. My last couple of experiences with their "service advisors" had been negative, but I figured I would give these guys one more try for old times sake, and called for an estimate. I mean, draining and replacing fluids is a pretty simple and standard service, right? I gave the person (Dan?) my make and model information and he said I had to bring the car in for a "diagnostic" (which is now standard with them, and which they charge for) before they could give me an estimate. I said there was nothing wrong with the car, I just wanted them to drain and replace my transmission fluid. Was told that they couldn't tell how much fluid they would need and the cost could be anywhere from $400 - 800 (or more)! Seriously? Now in fairness, I understand the need to charge for diagnostics (why tell someone what's wrong for free, then have them decline service and do it themselves, right?). I also understand they might not know exactly how much fluid, but they should be able to ESTIMATE by looking up the make/model and checking the specs. Finally, labor for this type of service should be a flat rate/book value, so easily quotable. Yet the best he could do was tell me anywhere from $400 - 800 (or more!!!) and the DEALER charges less than half his LOW estimate. I have held off adding a review thinking my last couple of interactions might have been one-offs, but after comparing my experiences with the other negative reviews here and elsewhere, it's clear to see that this not an exception, but is instead a pattern. I will never go there again, and recommend you do not either.