[wesmin]

I went to Tire Choice 466 buffalo center area I asked for an oil change with their credit card $16. I was ready for air filter and they did ask if I wanted it replaced gave OK (did not ask the price big mistake) I was charge $31 for an air filter bought a air filter at walmart for $9 took it to the shop and asked them what was the differance was told none $31 was what was in the computer they gave me a $5 store credit for next time,

[Ceafolks]

Another vote for Tri-County on 441.

[D. O. Cunha]

I have lived in The Villages for ten years and have been using Von at Quality Tire on the corner of 466 and 441 and have had nothing but good things to say about them. I refer all of friends to them. Very honest guy.

[wesmin]

I took my car to tire choice on 466 for an oil change was due for aircleaner they asked I did not ask price and put one in for $31 at wal mart $9

[steve1025]

Before I moved here I'd take the car to Jiffy Lube and while sitting in the waiting room the girl would come out and sit down next to you with an air filter in her hand. "It's pretty dirty and we have your car on the lift". So if $20 resets the clock on the filter sure go ahead. Living here the stakes are much higher. I was sitting at Goodyear on 441 near Home Depot and when the guy sits down next to you it's gonna be $500. This happened every 30 minutes there. When I told him the cigarette lighter jack wasn't working too he charged me $20 to tell me it wasn't working. After dropping the $500 I came back to get the jack fixed and asked him to deduct the $20. He wouldn't. Took the car to Michael's on 466a and he did the work aggreeded on and re-solders a wire on the lighter jack; no charge. I never went back to Goodyear.

After that experience I started using Tire Choice on 466. Came in to replace the battery. $950 later and a wheel alignment I didn't need. I was out the door. Now the front-end is riding rough. Brought it back they swapped the tires around. This did nothing. So back again. It's the bearing, another $200 over the $950. This fixed the rough ride but the car pulls to the right. So back again, its the camber for another $200. This time I said "can't do it today, please write it up for me". That's the end of Tire Choice for me.

Starting using Accu-Tech on 301 just south of 466. And never hear "oh by the way, you need a ...." I would recommend them aswell.

Have used Walmart on 441 for oil changes, a good place to go, I trust them.

Bottom Line:
If you take the car into Goodyear or Tire Choice remove the Village gate card first. This is the tip-off to them that you have money to throw away.

[barb1191]

Originally Posted by springfield

We have been very impressed with Accu Tech on 301 near 466. We even dropped off donuts one day to thank them for the work they do.

Have been there a number of times and find them to be honest, ethical, and good in every way. The best in town.....ACCUTECH on 301 in Oxford.

[angel222]

Be careful of Tire Choice near Colony....every time I've had my oil change done there (twice so far) they have tried to sell me something else. This time it was a set of tires that I was told was needed immediately - price $700! No, I didn't get them! He told me they were the cheapest in the villages and they should be done right now --- a little checking and surprise - I found them cheaper!

[JeffBorn]

Ok, The good and the bad. I'm pretty savvy about auto repair and what does and doesn't make sense while doing some of my own work over the years as a college student and hobbyist. I have had excellent mechanics in the Orlando area that I sometimes check with if I'm unsure. I'm still looking for the right combination of expertise and customer service. When I moved to TV 2 years ago my front brakes were beginning to squeal and for sometime made a knock when slowing to turn. Looking for Accutech after reading TOTV reviews, I was parked and looking at my GPS when Jason Accurso drove up to me and asked me to come to his shop for an estimate. He told me I needed Rotors and Pads replaced and the pads would be the best made. Price was not terribly high considering he wanted to replace my rotors which I knew didn't need replacing. Went to Accu Tech and was very impressed with their knowledge and scheduled an appt for the next morning at 8am. I arrived about 5 till 8 and waited in the parking lot. The roll up door was opened and I got out of my car and out of the garage came 3 barking and growling dogs. One about 60lbs and I was trying to determine if I should jump on the hood of my car and decided not.(I'm a dog owner) While waiting to be bitten by strange dogs a man that didn't look much better than dogs looked at me as I asked him if the dogs were ok? He responded the "dogs" were ok which I took as an inference that I wasn't. When I went into talk to the owner about dropping off my car I could tell he was aware of the fiasco that took place outside, No apologies and no mention. I dropped the car off but as I had time to think about it I was so ****ed that I thought about picking my car up before they had a chance to work on it. I didn't and they did a fine job in repairing the car. I have not been back since and thought often about calling the city or county to report the incident. Now I find myself needing brake work for an old pickup truck we keep in storage for errands. I just can't patronize a business that has little respect for their customers. Next I took my wifes newly acquired solara from her mom that was making a noise that she thought were brakes. I couldn't here anything so I asked NAPA on 441 in Summerfield to look at it. He told me the pads were somewhat worn and that they should be replaced. He had a color coded device to show thickness and mine were yellow. Not being entirely comfortable with making a decison I called my Mechanic in Orlando and he told me that some pads New are the thickness of the yellow device. I asked to put the car back together and what did I owe him. He charged me $25 and told me it would be credited when I brought the car back for a brake job. He even called me 30 mins later to be sure I knew that I would be credited the $25, there won't be a next time to take advantage of the credit. Next had screw in my tire and took it to the Tire Choice in colony fortunately they told me it did not puncture my tire but I did need an alignment and that the belts on my rear tires were separating and will need to be replaced. I let them do the alignment because I was already there and had not had that done in a couple of years. I thanked them for the information on my tires but they would be covered under warranty if there was a problem. While waiting they charged a man $137 to repair his turn signal component. When I had my tires balanced at Discount tire which I do every 5k miles they told me the tires were fine. Thanks but no thanks. I will try Quality Tire in the morning.

[OnTrack]

Originally Posted by WVMtnBoy

I have to agree with the other posters who recommend Tri-County Automotive. I just returned from there with my '08 Ford Expedition that had a squeal in one of the brakes. I didn't have an appt but Ritchie told me to come on in if I didn't mind waiting. I got there and left the car. Came back an hour later and Richie told me that I needed new brakes on the rear. He also warned me that the lug nuts were on too tight and they might break when removed. I told him to go ahead and try. The mechanic (nice kid) got the lug nuts loose and proceeded with the brake job. Ritchie looked at the rotors and advised that they be replaced due to excessive rust on same. He gave me the info to make an informed choice but used no pressure. I elected to have the rotors replaced also. The entire bill was $300 including labor and he even upgraded me to ceramic brake pads at no charge. I am more than satisfied with the service and ethics of this business and will go there in the future when the need arises. Great job, guys!!!

He could tell that the lug nuts were on too tight...just by looking?

And rust on the rotors?

In my mind, that's just a little weird.

Glad you're happy though.



As to Tire Choice...never again!!

When the guy kept telling me about their "loyalty card" and how much it could save on future oil changes, I asked him point blank..."what's the catch?"

After looking me straight in the eye and saying, "there's no catch"...I said OK.

I figured it was like any other loyalty card/club, such as for airlines and hotels.

When he handed me the application (I should have known right there), it only took a second to see they were asking for my SS#.

When I asked him why they needed it, he mumbled..."to check your credit."

That's when it dawned on me...that I was filling out a credit card application!

I glared at him and said in a loud enough voice for the patrons in the waiting room to hear.."You just lied to me!! May karma pay you back a hundred fold!".

Yeah, I was more than a little peeved.

.

[SusanOfWoodbury]

Another I would not recommend is Phillips Toyota in Leesburg.
I took my 2005 Toyota Matrix to them as I had a noise I wanted checked out. They said it was a pipe in the muffler. They also did an oil change that I did not request, they adjusted the breaks and a few minor things. Total bill $1989.00. Took 4-5 days to get part.
After getting the car back I did not drive it for a few days. But, when I started to drive the noise was still there. Brought it back to Phillips and they said it was the ball bearing in one tire. Cost $780.00 approx. I told them I would not pay that amount as I already had the car in a week ago for the same problem. Had to get the sales manager involved after repeated phone calls. Tried to get in touch with the owner, he was never there. Called the business office for the owner's email and was told he did not have one??? So, they said they would charge me for the part only... 2 days alter the bill is approx. $340.00, they shared me for there cost, not the cost of the part. Tried again to reach owner, no email address they said and he was out of the office... Email to service and sales manager never answered. I will not go back again.....No customer service, unreliable service center.
I was told they do not test cars once they have been fixed....

[OnTrack]

Originally Posted by susanofwoodbury

Another I would not recommend is Phillips Toyota in Leesburg.
I took my 2005 Toyota Matrix to them as I had a noise I wanted checked out. They said it was a pipe in the muffler. They also did an oil change that I did not request, they adjusted the breaks and a few minor things. Total bill $1989.00. Took 4-5 days to get part.
After getting the car back I did not drive it for a few days. But, when I started to drive the noise was still there. Brought it back to Phillips and they said it was the ball bearing in one tire. Cost $780.00 approx. I told them I would not pay that amount as I already had the car in a week ago for the same problem. Had to get the sales manager involved after repeated phone calls. Tried to get in touch with the owner, he was never there. Called the business office for the owner's email and was told he did not have one??? So, they said they would charge me for the part only... 2 days alter the bill is approx. $340.00, they shared me for there cost, not the cost of the part. Tried again to reach owner, no email address they said and he was out of the office... Email to service and sales manager never answered. I will not go back again.....No customer service, unreliable service center.
I was told they do not test cars once they have been fixed....

$1,989.00?!?!?!?!?!

What in the world did they do to it...and did they get permission from you and give you an estimate first?

This is so outrageous, I would be looking at legal action.

.

[LittleDog]

I've used Phillips Toyota in Leesburg for over 7 years with 3 different Toyotas. I have always been happy with their service and think the prices charged were reasonable. Whenever they find something not covered in the service request a service advisor always comes out to check with me to see whether I want the work done or not. They don't do anything not requested initially. I just had to add my 2 cents.

I've also had work done by Phillips Collision Repair Service after hitting 2 deer on the way back from North Carolina. I couldn't have been happier with the work they did.

John

[tbovee27]

Originally Posted by dfjcschaich

Twice within 9 months we've gotten taken by auto service centers. Last summer we took our Trail Blazer to Tire Choice to have two new tires mounted and a wheel alignment taken care of. That was expensive enough. After we picked up the car, we noticed the clock was an-hour-an-half ahead of time. Didn't think much of it at the time since who knows what needs to be done mounting tires and aligning wheels? The next day I noticed the gas gauge read almost on "E" when we just filled up two days earlier. We hadn't driven anywhere to use up nearly a full tank of gas. I thought someone had siphoned gas. I mentioned it to my husband and again couldn't find an explanation for the lack of gas. Within a couple more days, my husband noticed the gauge pointer was straight down, as if broken, and from then on it went all over the gauge. We never knew how much gas we had in the tank. Our lesson learned was that we should've taken the car right back to Tire Choice and asked why the gas gauge broke and the clock was set ahead of time after it was in their shop. It will now cost $450 to get it fixed. Expensive lesson but I doubt they would've claimed responsibility for it.

Problem two: Within the last two weeks, the brake light burned out and the ol' "Service Engine Soon" light came on. We took it to Auto Masters of Leesburg and they found the air injection valve and a serpentine chain needed to be replaced. They also replaced the brake light. We got an estimate for the gas gauge repair bill, too. When we went to pick up the car, my husband got in while still in the parking lot and pressed the button for the driver's side window to roll down. It didn't. He went back into the shop and told them now his window doesn't work. A guy came out, pressed the button a couple of times and said the regulator motor broke. I asked how could that conveniently happen just as we were about to leave? He said "it just so happened while the car was under their watch, it could've just as easily broken while the car was under our watch." It's another $100 repair bill on top of $331 we just paid to them.

Why do I have the feeling that excuse is the same one Tire Choice would've used?

The odds of two working, unrelated-to-the-problem parts breaking while the car is in the repair shop within nine months of each other is so infinitesimal that the universe could not calculate it. I'd have better chances of winning the lottery!

What do you think the odds will be that something else will break while we're getting the fuel gauge repaired?

Anybody know of an honest, trustworthy, reputable auto repair shop?

What recourse does a customer have in these cases?

Sumter tire on 301 about 6 miles from the villages.

[springfield]

Bobbie at Accutech knows cars,and is honest.

Walmart did an oil change and said we needed a new battery. ok go ahead and put one in.

They put in the wrong battery, hooked it up backwards, fried all of the electicals. They did pay for the $3000.00 in repairs but not our time or inconvenience. Things started going bad again in our poor car. Had to get a new one last week. Go to Walmart for auto? I don't think so.

[cherylncliff]

Another vote for Michaels in Fruitland park. Located just off 466A just before 441. Had some brake work done. Great service at a good price. I agree the ambience was not great but the company was great and the work was top notch.