Art Of Maintenance

Great reputation!
So I took my 1985 Toyota Van in to The Art of Maintenance to have 1) a coolant leak fixed and 2) an electrical draining problem identified. The next week I was told I had HEAD GASKET problem and the cost would be $1200 to fix it with no mention of the Electrical problem. I'm not a Mechanic but a Head Gasket leaks oil, right? And coolant is after all WATER!
I had previously viewed the cracked hose atop the engine and realized something was fishy so I towed it to Quan on 60th and Killingsworth. His diagnosis was a CRACKED HOSE and is presently replacing it.
From the other reviews it seems TAOM delivers different levels of service to different customers... but the thing that really gets me is I told them what the problem was going in and they still tried to rip me.
I have little doubt this company can do good work but if management refuses to supervise their mechanics and maintain quality work for all ... perhaps we should consider some Class Action to reclaim lost $$$ from OVER CHARGESS, TIME LOSS AND NEEDLESS TOWING.

Perhaps a Televised undercover operation could straighten them up

ANYONE INTERESTED CAN REACH ME AT: qpq123@yahoo.com

Pros: They smile when you walk in the door
Cons: $1200 to replace a cracked Hose is a 5 Star Con... Smiling faces can't always be
trusted!

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They took days longer to call us about the car than they said they would. The charged us $140 for charging then battery, and insisted the brakes and pads were "at less than 3%" and we better get them done now, and that it would cost more than $600. I brought the car to Les Schwab, who'd installed the breaks; they said, you have at least another 5000 miles on each, and even if they had replaced them, it would have been $238.
They seem like such nice family folks at TAOM, but they are either deliberately ripping people off or bad at what they do.

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I've been taking three different cars here for about ten years. Always fixed right first time. On time. On estimate. And always considerably less expensive and better work than dealerships and larger shops. They don't handle all repairs but I go here whenever I can. In this field it is great to find someplace ethical, reliable, and affordable.

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We took our son's Bronco II into this shop on the recommendation of another mechanic and a co-worker who takes her vehicle there too. Two other mechanics could not find the problem with the vehicle. Not only did the mechanics at Art of Maintenance find the problem, they fixed it. I was shocked at the price, it only came to $357, and only $126 of that was labor. We will definitely use Art of Maintenance again. Its worth the drive from Sandy!

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I was referred to Art of Maintenance by Barker's which is down the block. I needed to pass the DEQ(Was only off by a little and my check engine light had popped on). To look at it was 72-90$. I asked if this was to use the 5 gas emmission tester. They responded only by repeating that it was for "diagnosis". I should have walked away right there.
They determined that the light was caused by a bad distributor and that the car "should pass DEQ" but the distributer needed to be replaced. Hellbent on passing DEQ and 437$ later, (90$-Diagnosis 275-Distributor 162 Labor) they sent me on my way to fail the DEQ due to an exhaust leak. When I went back Tom the owner told me that he had "never heard of that."
I asked him whether his 5 gas emissions tester(the same used by DEQ) should've picked up on this and he said "The bottom line is you need a new tailpipe." I already knew that. I asked whether he had tested the Emissions after doing his work and he said yes. So I followed by asking why he didn't see that the leak was a problem and shouldn't he have noticed that as part of his pricey "diagnosis."
After a round of circular reasoning, he told me that he didn't care if I recommended him to anyone else and that the "bottom line is you need a new tail pipe." Thanks for nothing Tom.

PROS: None
CONS: Dishonest, Rude, Will not fully respond to customer needs, Remorseless

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My engine light went on and I called them, and the receptionist said it would be around $90 to take a look at it. I brought my keys in and noticed that their "appointment book" was a series of scribbled pieces of paper in a binder. They called me in the afternoon to say that my gas cap wasn't screwed on all the way which was why the light went on and that it would be $72. I asked them if there was a charge to look at my brakes and tell me how much wear was on them and they said there would not be. They called me back and said it would be another $38 charge for the brake inspection. I reminded her that I was told this was free and she put me on hold and finally said that was true. Based on the recommendation of a friend, I asked (very very nicely) if it might be possible to negotiate the price down a bit on the diagnostic charge since all they did was screw my gas cap on tighter, and she transferred me to her boss, the owner (Tom). I again asked the same thing very pleasantly and the first thing he said was "how about this, how about I charge you the amount of the original estimate instead". I was so shocked by his attitude I could only say "what?" and he said "yeah $100 that's what I should charge you" and proceeded to chew me out about their $7000 machine and how dare I ask for a lower price and when I finally was able to get a word in edgewise, I said (still politely) I just asked him if I might be able to negotiate, all he had to say was yes or no. Instead of calming down he began to rant and tell me how offended he was that I'd ask him such a thing, and I again had to interrupt and let him know that due to the way he has spoken to me, he has lost me as a customer and that I would be telling everyone I know to stay far away from his business. He continued to chew me out so I hung up on him. While the other people in the shop were completely civil and normal to me, the owner treated me like dirt and I was completely shaken up by the whole experience. We have let Sutton Tire, the nice people down the street who recommended them, know about how I was treated and they have been reported to the BBB (they are not a member, by the way). I strongly encourage those who consider taking their business there to go somewhere else - all this man would have had to say is "sorry, we don't negotiate on prices" in a polite manner and it would have been end-of-story, but he chose to bitch me out and spoke to me like I was some kind of criminal. I never even had argued about the price, just asked if it was possible!!!! While he may have disagreed with my question, never EVER should a customer be spoken to so horribly. How can people treat someone this way especially when so much of this business relies on referrals? I do not know, I only know that they'll never see my car again and I will continue to tell everyone I know not to get near that place. NOTE: they didn't even offer a written estimate for their "services" when I dropped off the car.

PROS: Nothing - this man should not be in business
CONS: Horrible service, inconsistent, overpriced, disorganized, disrespectful

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This is a well-established shop staffed by super experienced and knowledgeable people. It was first recommended to me by an old neighbor who didn't like paying mechanics and only took his car to a shop if he absolutely had to.
Although they clearly work on late model cars, this is a fine place to take a vintage car. I took in my 1948 cadillac today and Tom didn't even need the manual!
I, too, only take a car into the shop if I have to. I have never been disappointed at the Art of Maintenance. They've never, like, really socked it to me on price, either -- I've had jobs that were 67 dollars.
Totally recommend, especially for older domestic cars but also for modern ones. The name says it all -- this is the Art of Maintenance

PROS: Dependable, knowledgeable
CONS: n/a

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I was amazed this auto repair shop was located between McDs and KFC. His shop was very clean compared to other shops I visited in the past. I moved into the neighborhood and his shop was one of the closest shop near my house so I decided to visit him.The shop was very well equipped so I had confidence to leave my car there to be repaired on. To my surprise, he was very pleasing to work with and got my car out quickly.

PROS: clean and organized shop that i felt confident to leave at
CONS: a couple guys there seemed a little scary

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