Avoid bad experiences like mine - avoid Harry's. I no longer trust them and have found a new shop…read more
I was a loyal Harry's customer for eight years - oil changes, brakes, tires, inspections, and other repairs on my Hyundai. Service was reliable and fair-priced. But today I walked out dissatisfied, annoyed, and vowing never to return. It seems they've hired some incompetent mechanics and are now unwilling to make things right after their screw-ups.
Some weeks ago, I got my routine oil change (now $50), but found an oil puddle on my garage floor the next morning. When I went back to Harry's, the mechanic said it was "residual oil" that spilled onto the engine splash shield during the oil change and the dripping would soon stop. But days later it was still dripping a lot, so I went back again. The same mechanic now told me it was a faulty drain plug gasket, and he replaced it no charge. I was annoyed that it had taken three trips to Harry's to get the oil change right, but at least the problem was solved.
Over the next week, however, I noticed oil was still dripping, although not as badly as before. So I brought it back again. This time, the same mechanic told me fixing the leak would now cost $815 plus tax. The timing chain cover gasket was leaking, he said, and it's an expensive repair. To add to my disappointment, they charged me $30 for the estimate, promising me a credit when I came back for the $815 repair. Meanwhile, he said, I should just live with the leak if I didn't want to spend that much on the car.
But it seemed like a strange coincidence that a timing chain cover would start leaking the same day as the oil change ("it happens," Harry's mechanic told me), so I went to another shop recommended by a friend. That shop said the drain plug gasket was leaking - I didn't need any $800 repair. They replaced the gasket, charging me $58 for the parts and labor. The car hasn't leaked a drop since.
Today, sure that the leak had been fixed, I went back to Harry's. I asked them (politely) to refund the $30 they charged me for the faulty diagnosis and for the $58 to fix the leak they should have noticed during my three follow-up visits after the oil change. (Of course, I was also irritated to think I could have paid for an unnecessary $815 repair, but I didn't mention it.)
They told me, sorry, they wouldn't reimburse me without the faulty drain plug gasket replaced at the other garage. That's a ridiculous requirement, since the garage wouldn't keep a faulty gasket for a week. And the old gasket wouldn't prove anything. It surely had been the problem because the leak stopped after the repair. But Harry's said, "That's our policy."
They didn't have the courage to discuss the matter face-to-face, talking with me only through their receptionist. All she would say was, "It's a he-said she-said situation, so they won't do anything without the gasket." (The receptionist was polite, but it's impossible to discuss an issue like this through a third party. That's probably why they wouldn't face me.)