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| - After my brakes lost their pressure, I did some looking around to find a mechanic and settled on Simon's because of other online reviews. I felt compelled to write my own review (which I have never done before) as a caution to others who might be shopping around for a good place- try the lusty wrench or alternative solutions car care instead. After my experience I won't be going back to Simon's.
The day after I dropped my car off, Simon called me and told me that leaky wheel cylinders were to blame for the lost brake pressure, which would cost $700 to repair (including a 'dire' front/rear brake job) . As a college student (with a $1500 car) I told him I couldn't afford that, and brought the truck home to fix myself. Simon was extremely kind about this and didn't charge me, which left me very impressed.
After a little research I took the brakes apart, and found that the wheel cylinders were retaining oil as they should have been (they were old, but they didn't need servicing yet). Still, I rebuilt them and attempted to refill the brake fluid. That's when I found out the real reason my car lost brake pressure-- a huge leak in the front right brake line. That means the $700 job would not have fixed the real problem... though I would never have known it if I had just left my truck at Simon's.
Still, old leaky brake cylinders are a common reason for loss of brake fluid, and Simon was so nice, that I went against my better judgement and called him up to fix up the brake line (for a much more reasonable $200). I brought my truck back on a Wednesday, talked with him again on Thursday, and finally followed up on Monday morning- only to find out that they hadn't started. He told me they would get to it the next day- a full 6 days after I had initially brought it in (and this after he had told me over the phone that they usually finish within 24 hours).
When I finally was able to pick up my truck, I asked if he'd knock off $10-20 for such a long wait (hey, I'm a college student after all). At this, Simon became very argumentative, implied that I was liar, and attempted to tell me the job had been completed quickly and I had been notified days earlier. When I cited the phone calls I had made to check on the progress, he seemed to doubt himself for an instant (and to check what day it was) before pressing further with his position. I paid the full amount cordially and walked out of the shop. I felt very wronged-- not because of the 6 day wait or the firm price-- but as a direct result of this poor personal interaction. Before this Simon had been really nice and friendly, and I was shocked by his harsh stance. If he had cordially refused to discount the price, I wouldn't be writing this right now-- instead he tried to convince me that it hadn't been a long wait, and backed himself into a lie in the process.
So one $700 misdiagnosis (which in the best case was due to incompetence rather than dishonesty), one 6 day wait, and one painful personal interaction later, I decided to do my part and warn other people that take these reviews into consideration when they choose a mechanic. I had very positive interactions with Simon early in the process, and I understand why he has so many fans online. If I had took him at his word early on, I probably would be a fan too-- but after a 3-week long, very involved series of interactions, he's changed my mind. I can only say that I regret having taking my vehicle to Simon's, and that I'll be finding somewhere else to take my truck in the future.
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