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| - In order to leave a full and fair review, I have to backtrack my story just a bit to give a bit of context, so here goes -
I am new to Pittsburgh, and needed to register my car here in Pennsylvania. As such, I needed to bring it through the state safety inspection and emissions testing. I first brought my car to another auto shop that was closer to my job. It passed emissions without a problem, but they told me in order to pass the state inspection it would need all sorts of repairs, totaling about $2000. (To give a background, this repair shop said that my water pump was leaking, my inner tire rod was loose, and that my left strut was leaking). Mind you, I had just purchased the car six months earlier for $5000! So, after talking it over with a lot of friends and family, I decided to go and get a second opinion on the state inspection. A lot of people were telling me that it seemed I was just getting pulled around by this other auto shop.
This vehicle is my first car, and as such I'm very, very wary about bringing it to any auto shops whatsoever. My father is a great mechanic and has always done the work our cars needed, so dealing with repair shops is completely new to me, on top of owning a car and living in a new state. So I took about a month just before I settled on a place. I decided to give Walter's Automotive a try because of all the great reviews I found online - literally everywhere that had reviews for this place had an average of 5 stars. So naturally I felt much more comfortable attempting this location than the previous one. I called and scheduled an appointment to come in.
Walter's does not have a lobby, and their entire shop is really just a small garage. As such, the door to enter the business does not look like a door that just anyone was meant to walk through. This door is also on the side of the building, so each time I needed to go inside I was always nervous that I shouldn't be there. Just as a heads-up for anyone who decides to check this place out. Be prepared for a very cramped office behind that door, which is not separated from the repair area.
That being said, the gentleman I dropped off my car with was wonderful. He was very warm and welcoming and was easy to talk to. I told him what the other company said my car needed to pass the state safety inspection. He informed me that a water pump should not even be a reason to fail inspection! So right off the bat, I felt much more comfortable with him than I did the other place. I dropped the car off with him and went on my way to spend the time just walking around the area, hanging out in Starbucks, etc.
A few hours later, the mechanic called and told me that my left strut did indeed need to be replaced. He said that everything else the other place was trying to pin on me, though, was fine. The estimated price to replace the strut that he gave me was $830. Now, this is definitely not $2000 and only one thing needed to be replaced instead of three, so I eagerly told him to go ahead with replacing the strut. It made an awful creaking sound every time I went over bumps anyway; at this point I just wanted the car to pass inspection so I could be done with it (this process has been about three months in the making now). So I told him to go ahead with the repairs and he said he'd call me back when it was done.
Another three hours or so passed before the next call. Unfortunately, when taking the strut off the car, a bolt had broken and they would need to get ahold of a replacement for me. The mechanic said he wouldn't charge me for the broken bolt because it was their mistake, and that they would once again call me when the job was done. I said that was fine and we left it at that.
4:30 comes and I get the call that my car needs to be left overnight. Sucks, but if that's what needs to be done then there's nothing I can do about it. So I head home via bus.
The next day, around 9:30, I called back to see if there were any updates on the car. This time, a woman answered the phone. She said she would see if there were any updates from the mechanic and then get back to me. No worries there, I left it at that and waited to hear back from them.
1 o'clock rolls by and I still hadn't heard from the woman I spoke to over the phone, so I called them again. This time, she says, "Ah, yes....it's ready!" It's....ready? Well, when was it ready? How long have I been waiting for no reason? Could I have picked it up sooner if they had informed me immediately? This lack of communication right at the end here was what bothered me the most, and why I'd give this place a 4/5. Regardless, I went back to the location and picked up my car without an issue. The price was just as quoted and I was not charged for the bolt they broke and had to replace, as promised. I'm very happy with the price and that my car is finally all set here in Pennsylvania. I would go back to Walter's for other needs, I will probably be back for next year's inspections.
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