Took my car to Jim because he promised to honour the warranty on front-brake parts from work done by another garage that has gone out-of-business. Turned out the front brakes were OK and the problem was in the rear brakes.
He said the job would cost around $400 and because the wheels were already off the car, I said go ahead. He never gave me a work order so I trusted his verbal estimate. He carried on a continual discussion of why other garages didn’t do a good job and chatted at length with other customers which took time out of getting my job started.
I went for a walk for 2 hours exactly and the car was sitting outside – unlocked and running when I returned. He left it there running for another 10 minutes and then took me for a test drive which was scary. He warned me in advance that I wouldn’t like his driving.
The bill turned out to be $560 before tax as he charges $125.93 per hour. This is the same rate as dealerships charge. Most garages in Ottawa charge between $60 & $90.
I suggested that his bill was excessive and well above his verbal quote. Then he said that he had given me a written estimate – but he couldn’t find one because it didn’t exist. Under protest, he found a couple of charges which he dropped to bring his bill to $500.60 before taxes.
He also said that the car needed new Inner Tie Rod ends and new front-end bushings and wanted to book an appointment to do that work.
Subsequently I checked the bill with two other mechanics which I have dealt with before and trust. They both estimated about $375 before tax for the same job. One of them said “this guy is why we all get a bad name.”
I had the car inspected with one of them and the mechanic said that both the tie rods and bushings are fine and DO NOT need replacement.
Stay away from Jim Dickinson Auto Tech unless you like paying more and getting scammed!
Jim is terrible; he charges exorbitant rates; he tells one rate and charges higher. He even mentioned that he did not charge for talking to me.
Took my car to Jim because he promised to honour the warranty on front-brake parts from work done by another garage that has gone out-of-business. Turned out the front brakes were OK and the problem was in the rear brakes.
He said the job would cost around $400 and because the wheels were already off the car, I said go ahead. He never gave me a work order so I trusted his verbal estimate. He carried on a continual discussion of why other garages didn’t do a good job and chatted at length with other customers which took time out of getting my job started.
I went for a walk for 2 hours exactly and the car was sitting outside – unlocked and running when I returned. He left it there running for another 10 minutes and then took me for a test drive which was scary. He warned me in advance that I wouldn’t like his driving.
The bill turned out to be $560 before tax as he charges $125.93 per hour. This is the same rate as dealerships charge. Most garages in Ottawa charge between $60 & $90.
I suggested that his bill was excessive and well above his verbal quote. Then he said that he had given me a written estimate – but he couldn’t find one because it didn’t exist. Under protest, he found a couple of charges which he dropped to bring his bill to $500.60 before taxes.
He also said that the car needed new Inner Tie Rod ends and new front-end bushings and wanted to book an appointment to do that work.
Subsequently I checked the bill with two other mechanics which I have dealt with before and trust. They both estimated about $375 before tax for the same job. One of them said “this guy is why we all get a bad name.”
I had the car inspected with one of them and the mechanic said that both the tie rods and bushings are fine and DO NOT need replacement.
Stay away from Jim Dickinson Auto Tech unless you like paying more and getting scammed!
Lots of misinformation here . Not worth commenting further . Jim
The safety tests at this location are an absolute scam.