Craftsman Auto Care - Alexandria - 62 Reviews - Auto Repair Shops near me (2024)

Craftsman Auto Care · Auto Repair Shops

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Doing work properly

Starting and completing work promptly

Letting you know cost early

Advice on service options and costs

Overall quality

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Not the cheapest, but they do good work and they make a superior effort to keep the customer informed, with pictures and test results texted to you regularly.

Very reliable

Craftsman Auto Service Review: A Tale of Shock Absorbers and Unexpected CostsI recently turned to Openbay.com to find local auto care shops for pricing the replacement of rear shock absorbers on my truck. Having used Openbay.com in the past with positive experiences, I was hopeful that it would lead me to a reliable service provider. Among the options, Craftsman Auto stood out as a competitive choice, even though they weren’t the absolute lowest in price. Here’s my journey with Craftsman Auto and the unexpected twists along the way.The DecisionMy decision to go with Craftsman Auto wasn’t solely based on cost. Convenience played a significant role—I’ve been a loyal customer for the past 10 years, relying on them for most of our vehicle repairs. Plus, their location was convenient for me, making it easy to drop off and pick up my truck.The Quoted PriceOpenbay.com initially quoted me $309 for the shock absorber repair. This included $173 for the shocks themselves and $136 (calculated at 0.8 times $170 per hour) for labor. I understood that this cost didn’t cover taxes, additional fees, or the safety inspection.The Surprising BillWhen I arrived to settle the bill, I was taken aback. The service advisor informed me that the total cost would exceed $600. My mind raced—how had we gone from $309 to over $600? I quickly mentioned my original quote of $309 for the shock replacement.The manager stepped in, explaining that their labor rate had increased from $170 to $185 since my initial quote two weeks prior. Unfortunately, I was told their computer system couldn’t be adjusted to match the original estimate. Craftsman Auto was charging for the full hour of labor, unlike the 0.8 hours quoted by them and most other auto repair shops on Openbay.com.The Missing ExplanationYet, even with the labor rate adjustment, there remained a significant gap between the quoted price and the final bill. After some negotiation, the total was brought down to $382, factoring in the inspection, taxes, and miscellaneous fees. But what about the missing $200+? What had it been earmarked for? Was it additional labor, an unexpected cost related to the shocks, or perhaps some other mysterious cost?ConclusionWhile Craftsman Auto ultimately addressed my concerns, the lack of transparency left me puzzled. As a long-time customer, I appreciate their service quality, but hoped for clearer communication. I knew they were high in cost compared to other local auto repair shops, but since I received a respectable quote using Openbay.com, I didn’t see a reason not to use them. They should have honored the original quote price. It isn’t my fault they are not keeping their costs updated on Openbay.com. As for the missing $200+, it remains an automotive enigma.