BLUF: Avoid MLO if you are seeking reasonable customer service and pricing. They seem to do quality work but their customer service is opaque and they overcharge like crazy. They charged me over double their estimate without any communication along the way, didn't install parts that I requested, and haven't responded to any follow up.
+1 star for the decent install and the expertise of the shop - they seem quite skilled.
However, -4 stars for terrible customer service and pricing.
We brought our Tacoma in to have an ARB front bumper with winch and lights installed in January 2025.
Out of the gate, the manufacturer specifies 4 hours for install, but MLO estimated 8 hours (approx. $1,200) - well, I had heard great reviews, so I went forward. I picked out and supplied a winch and driving lights, and requested that they install an ARB recovery point as well. I specifically discussed fitment with the sales rep beforehand with no issues flagged. While I was told that installing the winch and lights "would be an extra 2-3 hours of labor to install", it was completely fine with me - I was fine paying up to $2,000 for quality work.
Well folks, I was absolutely floored to receive the bill for 23 hours of labor and over $4,600 - over triple the original estimate and well over double what I expected to pay. When I reached out to MLO about this astronomical bill, their response was that the fitment of the winch was difficult, so they had to repeatedly re-install the bumper over and over to make it work.
However, rather than pausing to suggest a different winch (I would have happily exchanged for a different model), contacting me about this issue during the install, or taking any other reasonable or responsible customer service steps, they ostensibly just kept charging away without consulting me at all about all the extra hours.
As someone with a lot of wrench time myself, I fully understand that the unexpected can happen when working on vehicles - but I think that most people would expect a professional shop to - at a minimum - reach out to their customer when things get complicated to explain the situation and work through it. I received nothing of the sort.
Finally, to add insult to injury - they didn't even order or install the ARB recovery point I specifically requested. Guess I'll be installing that myself.
Ultimately, I needed to pick up the vehicle for family matters as soon as the install was completed, so I ended up just paying the $4641.45 they asked for, which blew out a good chunk of the rest of my budget for this build.
Directly afterwards, I reached out via email detailing the exact issues in this review and asking for a more in-depth explanation about the charges - MLO did not even bother to respond.
Once again, I will note that the install seems to be good and I fully respect the work of their mechanics - the only issue so far is that some of the body panels around the bumper starting to pop out and will require attention soon. I just wish their customer service staff had the professionalism to keep me informed about the install and work with me before slamming me with an invoice for well over double the expected amount.
I really had high hopes for MLO and absolutely do not enjoy leaving negative reviews. However, I feel ripped off and ignored as a customer and want to warn others with my expensive lesson about how they do business. read more