Gateway Automotive Experts (Mount Vernon)
If I could rate this place lower, I absolutely would. They returned our car in worse condition than when we dropped it off. At first, they told us that the only issue was a vacuum leak. Then, right before we were going to pick it up, they said our transmission needed to be checked at an extra couple hundred dollars. When we said we didn’t want our transmission to be checked, they mentioned that it would ALSO need a tune up, which would cost even more money. We went from a vacuum leak that was supposed to cost $200 to all these other issues that would put us at $1200. It was unusual how problems started to add up all of a sudden once we chose to not get the transmission checked. When we got the car, the dashboard was flashing lights indicating that it needed servicing and smoke was coming out. Initially when we brought it in, our problem was that we needed the vacuum leak fixed. 24 days later, we went to ANOTHER auto shop who told us that we needed to get our vacuum leak fixed. We didn’t even tell the other auto shop that work had already been done to it. In all actuality, the car care clinic didn’t even fix the ONE thing they said they would. I’d highly advise everyone to avoid this establishment. We can’t even get our money back for work that was never done because their paperwork states that only they can determine whether work was done correctly. It’s a trap.
Jasmine, I know that the problems can be overwhelming when you are driving a 1997 Ford Taurus with over 200,000 miles. When you brought the vehicle to us, you were concerned that after the car would run a while it would die and wouldn't start again. We did verify the concern, and testing uncovered some vacuum leaks, just like you said. after we repaired that, we tested to ensure the problem was corrected, and it was. But it also had a check engine light on and would misfire badly when it was started cold. We recommended a minor tune-up, which you declined, then you took the vehicle away. Yes, a Ford Taurus that old can easily have transmission problems, but that is not something we recommended, nor did you ask us to look into. I'm truly sorry that the communication seems not to have been there with your repair, and I hope that over time you will be able to get the necessary repairs done if you elect to keep this car.
- Gateway Automotive Experts (Mount Vernon)