I've changed my work schedule today just so that I can have space to sit down & write out a review on Scot & Art Stange.
In a word: GODSEND.
As others here seem to have noted, Scot is FANTASTIC. He's & his shop are just a total & complete FIND.
I loath taking my car into most shops. I have plenty of experience in the past with shops that price gouge & mislead. Shops that, apparently, feel they MUST operate on a dishonest / "get the customer for whatever they can" basis.
I was recommended to Scot & Art Stange. I was having some serious problems with my engine cooling system & I'd already taken a crack at 'fixing it myself'. (see? THAT is how much I hate getting a bad run-around at car repair shops... burn me once, shame on you, burn me twice, shame on ME...) When I pulled into the Art Stange parking lot, I had no sooner turned off my ignition than I was greeted by a BIG & extremely friendly, cordial fellow at the entry way of the Stange garage. That was Scot.
You at first think "wow, this guy could probably lift the cars by hand" but one half second later, you clearly sense that you are in the presence of a "gentle giant".
[please reference the other reviews here that mention "heart of gold", etc. All very, very accurate.]
I wont trouble you with the exact details of my repair job, but here are the highlights: Scot was VERY informative from the get go. He explained all the steps that were ahead & was totally clear about what he would be doing during the 'discovery process'. He called me as soon as he had investigated the issue & gave me a very clear set of options to take.
I want to emphasize how clearly fair these options were. In short, there were two ways to go. Get a less expensive part, but require more labor to do the job. OR, get a slightly more expensive part, but then require less labor to make it all better.
Scot gave me the option to, in essence, "give him less work to do" & he gave me good reasons why I might benefit from going with the slightly more expensive part, even though it would reduce his billable labor time.
I know all about billable hours. His laying out choices for me like this was not the actions of a dishonest repair guy or someone who's trying to angle in on customer pocket books. It was wonderfully, shockingly honest & fair & "customer oriented". Scot & crew were clearly out to do a great job and do it right.
A M A Z I N G.
It gets better. Over the course of the repair process, I got several update phone calls from Scot. That was GREAT. Also, recall I'd TRIED to fix this thorny issue myself, so I had a good amount of research under my belt; I asked Scot if he'd mind answering a few questions I had... you know, my mind was abuzz with "could it be this"s and "could it be that"s.
I think most experienced technicians would find this "end user hypothesizing" annoying....insulting maybe?.....a time waste to be sure..
Not Scot. He said "by all means, fire away! ask anything!". And, so, I did! I ran through the list of things I'd read up on about the issue... Scot heard me out, didnt seem to mind one bit dialoguing back and forth on all the questions I had. For each question I had, he had great clear answers. And, on the one item where he needed to double-check to make SURE he was giving me an exactly correct answer, he didnt hesitate to go back under the hood of the car and confirm.
In the end, I felt great; I had NO nagging questions left. Scot had openly addressed every little niggly "could it be" question I had.
So, not to take too much of your time but, in the end, my car was returned to me SAME DAY & TOTALLY fixed & for exactly the amount estimated. (VERY reasonable & appropriate price!). Even more, Scot and his crew found a few important items that needed addressing -- like a cracked hose -- and addressed 'as a matter of course'. I dont even see that I was charged for the small hose replacement!?!?! WHO DOES THAT? What repair shop do you know that cures a problem and doesnt tag it onto their bill? Again, amazing.
For the grand finally -- I mean, aside from my car working GREAT after they were done with it -- Scot took the time when I came to pick up my car to show me the old, removed parts. He had set them out for me to 'inspect'. Not only is that a nice thing to be able to do, again, there are too many horror stories of shops that claim to repair/replace broken parts and...well....lets say "you never have total proof that you're getting new parts like you think you are"... In Scot's case, just as a matter of course, he went about "demo'ing" to me the broken parts and how they looked to have failed and discussed exactly what was replaced, etc.
Hope this gives you some sense of WHAT A WONDERFUL FIND Scot and the Art Stange garage is. If you are anywhere within range of Scot's shop, I'd strongly recommend you head there! read more