My car broke down in a parking lot about 2.5 miles from their location... read more My car broke down in a parking lot about 2.5 miles from their location, called up in the morning, dropped off the keys, and that was it, about 3 hours later Dave called to let me know my starter needed to be replaced. The cost incl. having to tow the vehicle was inline with what I was anticipating. They also let me know about a couple of other issues I needed to take care of, and since they already had the vehicle and had earned my trust, I had them take care of everything. I'll definitely be going back...
As the owner and operator of Great Bear Auto Center in Huntington Stat... read more As the owner and operator of Great Bear Auto Center in Huntington Station I would like to address the following comments with the correct information. First off all, pertaining to the comments made by Lori M. Her car did not have a hole in the water pump since that would be ridiculous, however there is a factory weep hole on the water pump used to diagnose leaking seals on the interior of the pump. This is what we told her was wrong with it. It is true that we previously installed a new, aftermarket water pump in 2007 because the bearing had worn out and was making noise. The seal in the replacement pump went bad in 2011, 4 years later, which is beyond our control. Also to address what she said about the "master mechanic" at Sears saying that Toyota's do not need water pumps is completely non-factual. Every water pump goes bad, it is just a matter of time; anything that has moving parts and carries fluid that is held in by rubber seals will wear out. Furthermore Toyota recalled over 2.8 million vehicles for faulty water pumps; this is public information that can be looked up by anyone who has 30 seconds of time and the internet. Also, the dollar amount she mentions ($800) was for a replacement water pump, battery, transmission flush (which is routine maintenance) and a valve cover gasket which had started to leak. To replace just the water pump and the battery would've been 403.25 which would have been cheaper than Sears. If you look at Lori's yelp account you will note that she has a double digit amount of reviews, most of which are very negative and nasty. Given our experience with her, she is a very bitter and unhappy person and takes it out on hard working business owners. Finally, since she stated that she would be reporting us to the BBB from whom we have a stellar A+ rating, we have no other choice than to take legal action for the libelous comments/reviews she has made on numerous websites against us. As a business owner who prides himself of honesty and quality, libelous comments such as these are extremely irritating. I have spent the entirety of my time in this business being up front and honest with all of my customers; taking the time to walk them out into the shop and physically show them what is wrong with their vehicle instead of just hitting them with a list and price, and expecting them to take my word for it. As previously stated, in addition to posting the actual facts of this instance I will also be contacting my attorney to pursue legal action for libel (slander in print) Lori M.
We have a 2011 Nissan that was acting funny. It wasnt shifting smoothl... read more We have a 2011 Nissan that was acting funny. It wasnt shifting smoothly. We took it to a couple of local places but they told us that a dealer would be best because they had equipment to diagnose later model cars that were only available to dealers. I was really hesitant. We were new to the area and always stayed away from dealers because they usually charge more. We looked on line and found a local dealer, Baron Nissan, that had good reviews. None of those reviews were for service but what we could find said really good things about their sales department so we had the car towed there and crossed our fingers. We met Frank the service manager who was very nice. He asked what the car was doing and we told him/. We left it there overnight and he said he would call us the next day. He called about 11am on Friday and said the car was done. A little surpised that it was done so quickly I asked if they had found the problem. He said it was just a control module that had to be reset, no big deal. The way the other mechanics had made it sound we were braced for a huge repair bill. When we went to pick it up they told us that they had checked and our car was still under the Nissan powertrain warranty ( which we had no idea about) and the bill was nothing, no money at all. They told us they checked the car and we needed front brakes and an oil change ( which I knew). They gave me a fair price and we had them do the work. Frank didnt try to sell me anything I didnt need or want and they did the brakes and oil change while we waited. Has a chance to talk to Frank while we waited, he was just a nice guy who welcomed us to the neighborhood. We have bought a lot of cars in our life, definately not my first rodeo and I never,ever went back to a dealer for service as a rule they are too busy, pushy and over priced. I gotta say Frank at Baron Nissan is the exception. We are so glad we found them
