Gustafson Brothers Automotive

This play should be reported to Better Business Bureau and investigated continuously until they are no longer in business I mean 50 years, family business enough is enough with the unhealthy, mentally ill, and well funded people that think they are mechanics, mechanically inclined and whatever else they have going on at this AAA Certified Repair facility. I was charged $450 for them to tell me that they'll investigate a coolant leak and failure to pass smog on 1994 Mercedes Benz S420 with only 102k. I came in there wanting an estimate for how much it will cost to fix whatever the problem was, I even provided smog test reports and the evidence of the obvious coolant leak. I told them that I was really not feeling well, I live pretty far away and it's a bit much for one day to deal with and they looked very very busy there. The car was towed into the back lot and I waited about 15-30 minutes talking to the young lady at the front desk and the mechanic there providing them both as much detailed information as possible. I was told I'll get an estimate and that on Saturday or Monday the car will be ready for me to pick up. This was on Friday the 8th of September 2023. Shortly after I left and was walking to the bus stop I received an email from them they did say they were going to send one. I did not approve any work and they started working on the car, well that's what Eric called it on Saturday evening after declining to release it to the same tow company that towed it in. On Friday I was told that I'll be getting a text on Saturday morning, I did not receive one call from this place or text like I was told, just emails demanding more and more money. Eric told me that the technician spent hours working on the car on Saturday morning. They literally forced me to pay this money and damaged few things on the vehicle both interior, exterior who knows what else. The car has to be sold now and it was a simple transfer of ownership process. And I was on the way there to do smog yet again after failing twice because the guy does not know about Mercedes Benz and drives the vehicles with the doors open on and off the Dyno, at the place where I tried to smog twice and it's obviously a smog only place, but that's another story and review. Get a diagnostic of the problem and hopefully fix it, if it's inexpensive. After what Gustafson Brothers Automotive called investigative work which I did not approve, they provided me yet another estimate, this time for almost $3000 which included parts that were recently replaced according to the previous owner that I'm still in contact with who is looking for supporting documents. I mean he had Mercedes Benz hoses on it that they're saying were original when they were just recently replaced, very hard to find parts. I've told not just the front desk young lady who has hard time communicating, concentrating, just working in general but also the technician Sean Leahy who I told numerous times that I need an estimate to how much it's going to cost look into the coolant leak that I developed without the car getting Hot, on Highway 1 after I pulled over less than 10 minutes driving from this place and failure to pass smog and I just left from USC Smog Test. Eric, the front desk lady whoever else just refused to release the vehicle unless I paid them. I mean I still feel like this mentally ill family business is still here threatening, harassing forcing me to give them money, talking about something they have no business doing, at my home, wow and it's Wednesday morning the 13th of September 2023. Please stay away from this place because I know I will. Who in their right mind will pay someone $450 for simple diagnostics I've never seen an estimate this high for diagnostics. Here it's called investigation, smog failure investigation over $300 just for that. Good luck there all Take care ok

Sep 13, 2023 · Artyom Medin

I see a lot of positive reviews of this place, and I think in person they're excellent, but my experience has been vastly different. I reached out 4 days ago, was originally routed to Alexis who asked me to send in images of my car for a speedy quote. I called back twice to eventually hear from her that she was passing on my images to Jake in the mechanic department. It took two days of my reaching out to finally get a text from Jake telling me it would be necessary to tow the vehicle in to get a $162.50 assessment. Meanwhile, in about an hour I was able to reach out to an alternate mechanic in the area, sent pictures, was given a free phone assessment and set a time to bring the car in. Everyone I know loves this place so I'm assuming that my experience has been aberrant but this whole experience sucked.

Sep 19, 2024 · Richard Walker

This was my first collision accident where I needed bodywork done. I didn’t know what to expect but was referred by Mercury for an inspection. Pleased to say I am beyond happy. Not only does my car look back to its best but I appreciated the sincerity and time the staff took to answer my questions. Also appreciate that the facility was clean, including waiting area bathrooms. Sometimes car places can be a less desired place to visit but I didn’t feel that here. Also liked that my car was washed after, it was a nice touch. Toyota HB won’t even do that with a warranty! You now have a lifetime customer!

Aug 23, 2024 · Chloe Sweet

I brought my car in to get looked at when my check engine light turned on and they were able to run a full and very thorough diagnostic and fix the problem same day. They have this really cool app that allows them to keep you updated with the results of the diagnostic check, which is very detailed and helpful, and then you can approve which things you want fixed in your vehicle (which also has the cost next to it, adding to the transparency of the experience). The next week my check engine light came on again so I brought my car back to Gustafson and they generously went back into the car and ran a full diagnostic and fixed it for free. This is a great shop, very thankful.

Aug 15, 2024 · Breck Hart

Thank you Eric at Gustafson for excellent service. I appreciate the communication from start to finish, professional customer service, quality work, and pride in the work of your team. It is nice to have a neighborhood facility of this quality that you can trust. My only recommendation is not to charge a 3% fee to process a payment on a credit card, or cap the fee at a reasonable amount. Thanks again Eric, Sebastian, and team!

Jul 22, 2024 · Karen Floros