Our BAD Reviews

(updated 10/10/24)

Independent businesses live and die by their online reviews.  It used to be word of mouth that could kill you, but in the days before the InterTubes it took a while for that word of mouth to spread.  And there was always a fresh supply of people who would never get to hear the rumors, so unethical businesses could sleaze along for years before the bad word got out. Now the buzz (good or bad) is online instantly, lives forever, and can be easily compared to your competitors.

We’ve worked very hard to build our online reputation and we have stacks of great reviews to back it up, but no one’s perfect and we do get bad reviews occasionally.  We don’t look at this as a bad thing though, we look at it as the most direct possible form of communication with our clients.  Whether it’s an online review or a comment on one of our post-service feedback cards we take it as an opportunity to improve.  We first try to identify the person who had the problem (sometimes this is easy, sometimes it’s impossible) and contact them to resolve their issue.

Whatever the result with the person, we take their review back into our weekly Service Advisor meetings, examine our processes, and make changes to ensure that (if possible) that particular complaint never happens again.

But no matter how good a company is things can still go wrong.  Mistakes do happen, there can be misunderstandings, and even (very rarely) people come in who just don’t want to be happy.  When things go wrong for us WE DO OUR ABSOLUTE BEST TO MAKE IT RIGHT but we don’t always succeed.  The good reviews are what we strive for but you know the dirty little secret… the bad reviews make the best reading!  Here are all the bad reviews (1 or 2 stars) we could find from every platform along with comments from us where appropriate.  Time to exercise those schadenfreude muscles and enjoy our BAD REVIEWS!

In most cases Bad Reviews are bad things, but we’d like to start with a few we’re actually very proud of.  They’re great illustrations of what happens if you call US with a complaint rather than giving a 1-star review…

CitySearch- “BD195172”, 2/7/2011 review- “Recommends”

“Great Service Model. Someone once said, ‘It’s not the fact that a mistake is made, it’s how you deal with it that counts.’ Steve at Tom Dwyer has made me a believer in customer service excellence. I had a negative experience and he listened to my grievance, understood the challenges, and gave me viable solutions to resolve the situation. Such customer awareness and excellence deserves five stars! Thanks Steve!”

Yelp- “Curtis l.”, 11/21/2011 review- “3 stars (out of 5)” (updated review; original review was 1 star)

“This is an edit to my review from November 2011. I originally gave Tom Dwyer a less than stellar rating because of some problems we had in November after service they performed. Tom yelped a reasonable response to my review, and we later discussed these issues over the phone. Tom offered to resolve the issues, and we came to a fair agreement.  I commend Tom for being willing to discuss the issues, and make a fair offer of resolution. This is well beyond what most service centers would have done. My updated rating is 3 stars, for a less than stellar beginning that was made right in the end. Things do not always work out perfectly, but at least Tom will work with you towards a fair end.”

Another reviewer took exception to the political stances we take as a business.  We disagreed, but it was a serious point that deserved serious consideration.  His review gave us the opportunity to write an in-depth explanation of why a business would endanger profit to speak out on political issues.  We’ve had ample opportunity to use it since. 

Yelp- “Jim C.”, 8/13/2012 review- 1-star

“Politics has no place in your business.  Go elsewhere.”

Our reply, 9/12/17- We’ve found that Yelp pulled Jim’s review and placed it behind the Great Wall of Yelp… it’s still there, but you’ll have to dig to see it.  However, does he have a point? We’re up front with Tom’s politics in our shop, but does it really have “no place in our business”? It’s a serious question, so we addressed the issue at length in this article- “Business or Politics? YES!”

Those top three reviews are ones we kinda like, but of course, most aren’t like that.  Read on…

Our most recent Bad Review is actually from 2021, but we only found and responded to it today, in 2024.

Yelp- “Elijah J.”, 12/7/21 review- 1 star

HORRENDOUS CUSTOMER SERVICE. Id give them a 0 Star rating if I could. I called in and asked how much they charge to install Pads and Rotors on my vehicle if I were to bring them in since I already had some pre-purchased online and just need them installed. The guy who answers the phone straight out says “We wont do it that’s against our policy” and proceeds to hang up on me before I could get a word in or even say thank you for the information or ask a different question. Now that I know how they treat their customers id NEVER bring my car here for any work done because if they can treat a human who is trying to give them his money in that manner then I cant image the quality of work done on any vehicle when the customer is not looking or around. Its a shame because I moved here recently and have been looking for a new steady mechanic and shop for all my vehicle needs and I now know where I’m NOT going. Good luck to anyone who takes their vehicle here, and good luck to the owner of this establishment because that kind of customer support is going to drive away any customers you may have or get in the future.

(Our reply, 10/10/24)

Hi, Elijah, Let me give you two apologies.  First, I’m sorry to take so long to reply!  Your review was from 2021 and I’m just seeing it now in 2024.  I don’t know why I’ve missed it, but we try to respond to all reviews (good or bad) as soon as possible and 4 years is much too long.  I’m sorry I didn’t give you the attention you deserve sooner. 

My second apology is for the poor customer service you received when you called.  If our guys were as abrupt and curt as you say then we failed you, and for exactly the reasons you said.  We don’t install client-supplied parts for many reasons and we stand by that policy, but we should ALWAYS take the time to explain why.  A client (or potential client) may not like our answer or agree with us, but they should understand why we’re saying it.  And more importantly, even if we can’t install your parts we can still be useful by giving you referrals to shops that can help where we can’t. 

I could tell you our Advisors aren’t usually like that, or show you our stellar customer service reviews, but why should that matter?  YOUR experience showed YOU we’re cold and uncaring, and it’s too late to try to convince YOU we’re better (though I hope it’s not too late for other people reading this review).  I can only tell you, on behalf of our whole shop, that we’re sorry and we’ll try to use your experience to give our next potential client the better treatment you SHOULD have received.

This Bad Review was from Kevin B., who gave us 1-star on both Yelp and Google.  We’ll show you both, so here’s the Yelp review first…

Yelp- “Kevin B.”, 4/19/22 review- 1-star

They tried to upcharge me so much that they failed the “wife test”, meaning I would not send my wife (who doesn’t do much auto maintenance herself) to them without me being there. She wouldn’t know that they’re trying to rip her off.

Usually I do my own maintenance, but I’m a white-collar worker not a gearhead. This time, I thought I had a problem that was too big for me. I took it to Tom Dwyer, and it turned out to be something else that was easy to fix.

They “recommended” $1200 to fix the problem, and also replace other parts that weren’t broken, and then do routine maintenance that wasn’t even due yet! When I asked them to just fix the broken part, they said they wouldn’t “warantee” the work unless I did the whole enchilada. I did the minimum anyway, and they still tacked on other charges that I refused to pay. They were super defensive when I asked them to just fix the problem.

The worst part was that, when I got home and checked the work, they had done such a lazy job that I ended up re-doing the work myself. I ended up fixing an adjacent part that they didn’t touch but which would have caused the problem to recur. It took ~40 min of my time and only cost me $40 in parts from Amazon. My car runs much better now that I fixed their work.

I would have let that slide and just grumbled to myself and neighbors about it, but they kept sending me “feedback” cards in the mail. Now, I receive something every other week from them. Annoyingly, their feedback cards all include a number, written in pen, so clearly they were trying to track their “annonymous” feedback.

You don’t need this headache. Find a better mechanic.

Our reply, 4/19/22-  Our view of Kevin’s visit is a little different.  He brought his Kia to us because it was running rough, and the diagnosis was straightforward; one of his ignition coils had failed and needed to be replaced.  In inspecting his car we also found several other issues including an older PCV valve, tire rotation, an oil change, and cracked belt.  We didn’t recommend he do all these on his visit, but they would all become problems eventually so we told him about them.  The total for these services (including, of course, the ignition coils and spark plugs to correctly fix his initial problem) would have been $1200 if he chose to do them all.  We were informing him about the condition of his vehicle, not pressuring him to buy anything at all.

But let’s drill down on his ignition coil problem.   Only one of Kevin’s coils actually failed, but each cylinder in your engine has an ignition coil and spark plug that wear out at about the same rate… when one fails, the others will fail soon.  We assume these are the ‘other parts that weren’t broken’ and he’s right, they weren’t broken yet, but we recommended replacing them (and stand by our recommendation) for two reasons.  First, it was the only way to be absolutely sure his ‘running rough’ problem would be solved.  Second, we knew he’d be back soon (to us or another shop) when the other coils and plugs failed.  Aside from the inconvenience of a second trip Kevin would be paying parts AND labor to fix the problem, while we could replace them all at once for no additional labor.  This would have been a better use of Kevin’s time and money but as he said, he opted for the minimum repair instead. 

That choice to do just the minimum had implications and Kyle, the non-commissioned Service Advisor who dealt with Kevin, said he may have been confusing in talking about the warranty.  Kyle was trying to say he couldn’t be sure (couldn’t guarantee) Kevin’s ‘running rough’ problem would be solved by replacing just one coil instead of all four.  If one of the other coils failed and caused the same problem again, our warranty wouldn’t apply to the new failure.  We warranty ALL our work for 24 months or 24,000 miles, but we can’t warranty work we don’t do.  If we’re only allowed to replace one coil, then that’s the only coil we can cover.  If that sounds like a ‘gotcha’ we agree, which is another reason we avoid doing minimum repairs. 

We can’t know what Kevin’s at-home check revealed, but we know the coil was installed correctly and the only ‘adjacent parts we didn’t touch that could cause the problem to recur’ are the coils and plugs Kevin passed on.  We checked into it and sure enough, we found a 4-pack of coils on Amazon for about $40.  They were substandard parts we would never consider using because we wouldn’t be able to warranty them, but if someone ‘fixed our work’ by replacing old coils they refused to let us replace, then their car would certainly ‘run much better’ for a short time.  A very short time.

The ’charges he refused to pay’ was for a quart of oil.  Our Post-Service checkout includes a full check of fluids and Kevin’s oil was far too low (this low oil and no record of his last oil change were the reasons we recommended the oil change he refused) so we added a quart of oil.  Most of our clients appreciate this attention to detail and realize the importance of proper oil levels.  Kevin was the first person in years to disagree, so we didn’t charge him for it.

Finally, we have issues with Kevin’s comments on our mailers because we haven’t mailed him anything except a welcome letter after his visit.  We leave a pre-stamped feedback card in each vehicle after service (another option Kevin declined to take advantage of) but that’s ONE card and it isn’t mailed.  We don’t pretend these are anonymous and it’s actually crucial to match clients to comment cards.  Kevin’s review shows why… the number he referred to is the invoice number of his service, and we used it to figure out who “Kevin B.” was so we could look at his service records to find out what went wrong.  We start mailing service reminders 6 months after we’ve seen a vehicle, but Kevin was in about a month ago and he wouldn’t be receiving those yet.  We DO send our clients ONE EMAIL every two weeks, but if that was annoying to Kevin he could have checked the ‘unsubscribe’ box at any time.  We’ll do that for him today.

We try to please every client, but our service is not a good fit for everyone.  Kevin failed his own insulting ‘wife test’ by not understanding when he was NOT being ripped off, but thousands of clients over 40 years of business have understood our value very well.  If you want qualified people who will work with you to keep your vehicle ‘safe, breakdown free, and operating at its best’ for the long term, please give us a call.  We think you’ll find a much better experience than Kevin described.

Kevin responded to our reply, and we’ll give him the last word…

Do you really want to do business with someone like this?

See how he tried to identify me on Yelp, putting details in his comment? (I reported it for privacy violations so Yelp might remove it). That’s so unprofessional, yet consistent with my experience.

Why does the owner argue with everyone who had a bad experience? He could offer to do better, or even just apologize. He could learn from the comments and not make the same mistakes. Instead, the customer is the unreasonable one.

There’s no point in refuting his errors. You can see from his online behavior just what kind of operation this is.

Despite deciding “there’s no point in refuting his errors”, a couple days later Kevin hit us again on Google…

Google- “Kevin Blaine”, Apr 22, 2022- 1 star (out of 5)

Tom Dwyer is creepy and may harass you (as he did to me). After receiving 4 mailings over 9 days asking for my “annonymous feedback,” but which included a hand-written number on them for identification, I finally posted a 1-star Yelp review, where I mentioned that they tried to upcharge me, and I was ultimately unsatisfied with the work that they did. I mentioned all the junk mail. Pretty straight-forward review. Other people had commented on this same behavior. The owner responded by posting personal details about me and the problems with my car on Yelp, clearly violating my privacy. He massaged the story too, but you’d expect that, and it wasn’t worth a point-by-point rebuttal. But I did reply to his reply to call out his unprofessional and aggressive behavior. He responded within 10 min BY CALLING MY HOUSE. I screened his call. He’ll likely reply to this post, as well, so you can judge from his defensiveness if this is the kind of mechanic that you would trust with your vehicle. Basically, the firm is pushy and aggressive, with some dodgy ethics, and you should just avoid them.

Our Reply, 4/22/22-  We encourage you to read our exchange with Kevin on Yelp, but here are some factual corrections to this Google review…

• • We sent Kevin a welcome letter after his first visit and mailed him nothing else since. We’ve sent two emails to our full client list (including Kevin) in the month since his visit.  If you’d like to see the brochure we included with his letter it’s at https://tomdwyer.com/newsletters/new-client-orientation/.
  • We leave a pre-stamped Comment Card in each vehicle after service. We do not say, imply, or pretend that our feedback cards are anonymous in any way. If you’d like to see the results of over 21,000 Comment Cards (and the card itself) it’s at https://tomdwyer.com/reviews/cutomer-feedback/.
  • We did not try to ‘upcharge’ him; in fact, our Advisors are all non-commissioned to prevent any upcharges at all. If you’d like more details, go to https://tomdwyer.com/2015/car-information/non-commissioned-service-advisors/.
  • We replied to the specific issues of Kevin’s Yelp review without any identifying details and used his first name throughout. By making this Google review under his full name he gave far more information than we ever did.  If you’d like to see the full Yelp review it’s at https://www.yelp.com/biz/tom-dwyer-automotive-services-portland,
  • NO ONE has called his house or attempted to contact him at all since his visit.

We’re a little hesitant to reply to this review given our experience with Kevin so far, but we can’t just ignore his accusations.  Our 40-year reputation testifies to our professionalism, integrity, and service, and client satisfaction is our number one goal.  If Kevin had called us to complain (or used the Comment Card he grumbled about) we likely would have refunded his money and parted ways, but now we’re left to argue on review sites.  Of course we make mistakes and when we do we own up to them, but we won’t pretend responsibility for unfounded accusations and slurs. 

If Kevin replies here we’ll give him the last word as we did on Yelp.  But if YOU have any questions on this or any other subject, please give us a call.  We’d love the opportunity to show you, personally, just how wrong Kevin is. 

Google- “Henry Brentlinger”, Sep 22, 2021- 1 star (out of 5)

Google- “Holly Nunn”, July 1, 2021- 1 star (out of 5)

Yelp- “Linley S..”, 1/22/2021 review- 1 star (out of 5)

“I called in to ask if I could stop by and get the connection on my battery checked and tightened as i was recently stranded about 5 minutes away with a dead battery and got a jump to restart it from a friend. This is something that could take them less than 5 minutes to do and they asked if I wanted to make an appointment in two weeks to come back which made no sense. The man on the phone was short, gruff, and definitely had that typical “talking to a woman who knows nothing about cars” attitude. I could tell he just wanted to be off the phone call and could care less about someone nearby with a dead car battery/loose connection. Lost a potential customer for not taking the time to do something simple and easy.”

Our reply, 1/21/2021– We unfortunately had to say ‘no’ to Linley because our company doesn’t offer mobile repair services.  She was close enough that we considered making an exception but it was the end of the day and our Techs were all already engaged.  Instead, we gave her the name of a mobile mechanic we trusted.  We COULDN’T help, but we apologize if the man on the phone seemed short when he explained this.  It wasn’t because he “could care less about someone nearby with a dead car” or because he was “talking to a woman who knows nothing about cars”, it was because he didn’t want to waste HER time in an inconvenient and potentially dangerous situation.  He told her we couldn’t help, gave her resources to solve the problem, and quickly got off the phone so she could do it.  

Though Linley is upset, this is a good example for other Yelpers to see how we treat every person who calls us.  Even if your call is for services we don’t offer (like an older vehicle, a brand we don’t service, body work, or customizing), or if we’re too busy to serve you well, you won’t get shuffled off.  When we can’t help you ourselves we’ll always direct you to the competent and trustworthy people who can.

Linley edited her review based on our response, and we’ll give her the last word…

*Edited based on company’s response* “Lie #1 – I called at 9am, it was not the end of the day. Lie #2 – There was no mention of mobile service not being something that was available, I was going to drive my car to their location after restarting my battery so I didn’t ask for or need mobile service. I was literally told they could schedule me for an appointment in two weeks and they wouldn’t even consider a 5 minute repair. Lie #3 – The name of the “trusted mechanic” I was given was Les Schwab… okay. Lol. Since when does les schwab offer mobile services? Lie #4 – There was no consideration of making an exception and having me come by and tightening the connection, because it was an immediate no and less than 90 second phone call. They didn’t even take my information down. Not surprising their entire response was a lie about our interaction considering how I was treated in my initial contact.”

Google- “Joel Shiffman”, Sep 2020 review- 1 star (out of 5)

“I called last Friday and asked if I needed an appointment for an oil change and was told to just come over. I did on Tuesday and was then asked if I had an appointment, said I was told I didn’t need one, then told they were booked for the week. Took my car elsewhere and was serviced immediately.”

Our reply, Sep 2020- “Our apologies, Joel. I don’t know who you talked with, but we’ve been appointment-only for over 30 years. Of course, we get folks with emergency breakdowns or tow-ins in the schedule as soon as they show up, but even in those cases they go in line behind the scheduled clients. Even our 10, 20, or 30-year clients can’t just walk in without appointments!  However, if we didn’t communicate that clearly in your case then it’s our fault, and what should have been a simple service turned into a wasted day for you and a 1-star review for us. Glad you were able to find the service you needed, but I hope you’ll consider giving us another try in another 5000 miles or so. When your next oil change is due, please give us a call, make an appointment at your convenience, and we’ll do your Minor Interval Service for free. Again, I apologize, and I hope we have the opportunity to give you a better experience of our company.”

Yelp- “Jay B.”, 3/11/2020 review- 1 star (out of 5)

Jay actually made two bad reviews of us.  This was her first review...

“Oh my god what a scam. Don’t waste your time. I was quoted double what other shops were quoting me. Disgusting. Avoid like the plague if you’re a woman.”  

After we replied, she changed her review to

“I was quoted double what other shops were quoting me. Since the owner has taken his time below to drag me i will gladly provide the public with more detail. I did in fact know what i needed done. It was a clutch flip. I was quoted 2200ish for this and a fly wheel by the representative. The only detail I didn’t know was whether the engine was 1.8 or 1.6 liter, which makes a difference in dual or solid fly wheel. This difference was quoted at about 500 to me by numerous other shops. I stick by my comment I think this shop gives sexist quotes. The 2000 is much higher than even the Nissan dealerships service shops I called for quotes so you can infer from there, I don’t know why their parts and labor would ever be more than a Nissan dealership.” 

This is our reply to her first review; we didn’t change it based on her second version…

Our reply, 3/12/2018-  Jay’s never been a client of Tom Dwyer Automotive Services.  She wrote her review an hour after getting a phone quote for a clutch repair that she obviously thought was too high.  Whatever her opinion on our pricing, Jay’s just flat wrong on some things… our business is NOT a ‘scam’ and her slur about women is particularly offensive.  However, we’ll assume dishonesty or sexism aren’t her real points, and explain why our quote was higher than other shops.  Even if it won’t make Jay happy, it might be helpful to other potential clients.

We’re proudly on (or below) our repair estimates 98.91% of the time because our actual estimates only come after proper examination and diagnosis of a vehicle. Many factors can affect the price of a service so it’s irresponsible to give anyone a firm price before knowing the real-world vehicle conditions.  But people obviously need information to weigh decisions, so of course we give general pricing guidance over the phone based on logical assumptions.

Unfortunately, people may not have the information we need to make those logical assumptions.  How much is a clutch job?  Well, what’s wrong with the clutch?  Jay wasn’t able to tell us much about HOW the clutch had failed,  so we weren’t able to even guess if it sounded like normal clutch disc wear or a much-more-expensive failure in the clutch hydraulics.  She didn’t know (nor should she; even we wouldn’t know without examination!) whether her flywheel could be re-used or not… a $350 difference in parts alone.  In the end, we gave her a price for a clutch replacement covering the most probable scenario.  We excluded the possibility of expensive hydraulics but included the possibility of a new flywheel (which would have disappeared if the existing flywheel turned out to be reusable).  Our price was much higher than another shop (not ‘double’, but significantly higher) and Jay was not pleased.

We reviewed the quote we gave Jay and while we’re disappointed she’s upset we absolutely stand behind it.  Again, an actual estimate of services based on inspection and diagnosis may have differed, but this was a fair quote given what we knew from her phone call.

Tom Dwyer Automotive is not a ‘price’ shop.  We don’t promise the lowest prices because cheap repairs almost always have dark sides; lower quality parts with shorter lifetimes, less skilled technicians doing shoddy work, thin warranties, or a business model that depends on shady ‘upsells’.  We use OEM parts or better, employ ASE-Master-Certified technicians and non-commissioned Service Advisors, offer a 24-month/24000-mile warranty, and only sell services prioritized in our client’s interest.  Even more, our clients know our prices include the assurance that we’ll NEVER TRY TO SELL THEM ANYTHING THEY DON’T NEED, and that has huge value in itself.  We can’t deliver this level of quality cheaply, we don’t want to, and we won’t pretend that we do.

That said, Tom Dwyer prices are generally mid-range for quality shops in the Portland market, and we might be higher (or lower) than any particular shop for any particular repair.  It’s unlikely the nuts-and-bolts of Labor Rate or Parts Markup would account for the difference in Jay’s case, so we think something more could be at play.  Quotes only make sense for apples-to-apples comparisons and two shops could easily quote subtly different services… did the other shop include the flywheel?  When business is slow, a shop may charge less to bring in jobs to stay busy… is the price a one-off because the other shop was empty?  Some shops offer a ‘lowball’ number to get a job with the plan to call for ‘extras’ once the job is in progress… is the other shop’s quote for a job complete-out-the-door?  Without knowing more about the other shop’s motivations we can’t intelligently address their specific differences.

Auto ownership is expensive and it’s painful when unplanned repairs hit. We sympathize because we face the same reality with our own personal vehicles!  But sticker shock is a poor excuse to lash out with a petulant 1-star review calling a company unethical and sexist.  We deserve better because we give our clients better, and if Jay had actually tried us she certainly would have experienced the difference.

“Charles Smith”, Google, 9/1/2021 – 1 star (out of 5)

“Parker Bell”, Google, 10/17/2019 – 1 star (out of 5)

Ripoff

Our reply, 10/17/2019-  I’m sorry you feel we are a ‘ripoff’, but there’s nothing in your review explaining why. Our records show we only saw you once to diagnose a check engine light and a ‘clunking’ noise. We did no repairs for you, charged you for an hour diagnostic time, and gave you a 50% discount on that! We haven’t heard from you since, certainly not that you were dissatisfied, and it’s been almost exactly 3 years since you came in. I don’t know why you waited three years to give us a one-word, one-star review, but I’ll still make the same promise to you that we do for anyone else that has ever had a problem with our service… call us, talk with us, and we’ll do everything we possibly can to make things right for you.

Yelp- “Ezra B.”, 3/5/2018 review- 1 star (out of 5) (Note: This review is currently hidden behind the “Great Firewall of Yelp”, so if you want to read the original you’ll have to scroll to the bottom of the page where it says “47 other reviews that are not currently recommended”)

So it all started with an oil change, a $60 oil change. They did the job and inspected the car and upon pick-up there was $1000 worth of work on my car. Being a full-time student, I have enough bills to deal with, so I left knowing there was no urgency to the work they recommended. Two weeks after getting the oil change my car starts burning oil, this was a new development and I thought it might have been correlated with my visit a few weeks prior. They had me bring it in again, and they said they would look over the work they had done at no-charge. Later that day I received a phone call saying oil was leaking from various places, and they said that some sealing around the engine wasn’t done properly causing oil to leak, as well as the oil sensor was leaking. BOOM- another $1000 quote. None of this made any sense whatsoever, my car had been checked in all places the previous summer before making the trip cross country, no reported leaking or sealing problems. I got in a car accident where the entire front of the car had to be put back into place, no oil leaking or sealing issues. Then I go and get an oil change, AN OIL CHANGE, and shit starts to hit the fan. Knowing somethings up, I took the car to a different auto shop, where they reported the leak was coming solely from the oil sensor, which apparently is really easy to knock/damage during an oil change on a vehicle similar to my own. A $300 fix and the car has been running smoothly ever since. Another thing this new shop noticed was my front breaks, they were really bad, almost metal on metal. So I got that fixed that as well, and there was no mention of front break concerns at Tom Dwyer even though they found $2000 of other work to do in just two visits. My theory is they were expecting me to come back in a couple months to get the brakes checked out and give me another $1000 quote.

Look, these guys put on a mask of your friendly neighborhood auto shop that is there to help you in anyway possible, but the reality is they have a business model that seems quite slimey. Hey if you got a brand new car and want it in the best possible conditions at all times, go here, you will probably hit it off real nice with the staff. If you got a car that you are not trying to invest too heavily on, go somewhere else, because Tom Dwyer is going to find a way to give you a massive bill.

*Also a little icing on the cake, Tom Dwyer seems to be known around the auto mechanic community in Portland as a bad business. When I passively mentioned I was bringing my car from Tom Dwyer to this new mechanic he immediately responded “Fuck Tom Dwyer” and continued mumbling about the absurdity of their diagnosis on my car as he walked away.

P.S. Tom Dwyer if you are reading this, don’t put this on your “Our BAD Reviews” page, I don’t want you swindling this into some publicity/transparency stunt, because from my perspective, it is a cheap trick to make you look better.

Our reply, 3/11/2018-  This review is the first we’ve heard Ezra was dissatisfied. It’s hard to see so much vitriol when he just had to talk with us. If he’d called, our Service Advisors would have gladly resolved things to his satisfaction. If he’d used the pre-paid reply card we leave in every vehicle after service, we could have helped. An email would’ve gotten a lightning reply. Whether we were at fault for something or not, we’d have gone out of our way to make things right because we understand the importance of long-term, trusting relationships with our clients. But we can’t make things right if we are not given the opportunity, and now we’re left to respond thru Yelp. If you EVER have a problem with our service please LET US KNOW! Yelp is great, but our Service Advisors’ job is solving problems before they become issues for a review.

Ezra scheduled our Minor Interval Service (he said “$60 oil change”, but it’s actually 45 minutes of an ASE-Certified Technician’s professional time, premium materials, and a 90-point vehicle inspection) on his 2002 CRV. The Technician found some issues (as would be expected on any 16-year-old vehicle) and one of our non-commissioned Service Advisors discussed potential services with Ezra. “As “a full-time student” with “enough bills to deal with” Ezra decided his budget didn’t cover non-critical vehicle maintenance, but he left knowing he had a list of concerns to deal with. It’s our job to identify services and advise our clients how to proceed, but we never pressure people; we try to educate them to be able to make their own decisions.

Ezra returned a month later complaining of a burning oil smell. On his first visit we’d noticed and discussed oil seepages but Ezra had decided to wait on any service at that point. At that time the seepages weren’t causing serious oil loss or damage so a decision to hold off was understandable. Over the following month one of the seeps had worsened into a higher priority so we gave him a quote for diagnosis, repair, cleanup and dye testing and he went on his way. Again, that’s the last we’ve heard from him until now.

We’re distraught Ezra is so upset but we’re honestly having trouble identifying why he seems so acrimonious. He’s right, we didn’t force him to buy an oil pressure switch, or brake job, or any of the items on his long list. Instead, we gave him options to address the most likely and serious potential failures and he passed on our advice. We’re good, but we’re not psychic… with a long list of possible problems growing, we can’t predict which issue will flair next, or when.

We looked into the possibility we accidentally damaged his aging oil sensor. Despite the other shop’s assertion, our ASE-Certified Master Technicians agreed that a CRV’s oil pressure sensor is too far away from anything touched during service to be damaged accidentally. They thought a more likely culprit was the normal change of oil seeps into leaks as time and miles pass. Ezra had his east coast CRV “checked in all places” over a year ago, before a cross-country trip and “car accident where the entire front of the car had to be put back into place”. All our Technicians thought those factors were more relevant causes for the failure.

The other shop said Ezra’s brakes were “metal on metal” while he says we “mentioned nothing about them”, and we do have some responsibility here. The 90-point inspection included in our Minor Interval Service does not include a wheels-off brake inspection, but we had noted a brake pulsation during road testing and discussed it with Ezra.  This should have prompted us to explain our inspections and make a stronger recommendation that he leave his vehicle or re-schedule a time that would allow us to do a thorough “wheels and calipers-off, drums-off, measure-and-document-everything” brake inspection.

Yelpers can trust a 36-year track record of impeccable service and hundreds of 5-star reviews testifying to our professionalism and integrity. Or, Yelpers can trust that it took just two quick visits and $60 to see through our “mask of your friendly neighborhood auto shop” and expose our “quite slimey business model” along with one visit to a nameless shop to uncover our city-wide reputation as a “bad business”. Even better, Yelpers don’t have to trust blindly… trust is earned. RESEARCH US YOURSELF, and find out why pretty much everyone but Ezra trusts us with their vehicles!

P.S. Despite Ezra’s wishes, his bad review and all others (with any replies) will definitely go on our “Bad Reviews” page because it’s not a “transparency stunt”, it’s ACTUAL TRANSPARENCY! Potential clients can learn from how we deal with the worst things said about us… are we “swindlers” using “cheap tricks” to “get publicity” for a “slimey business model”? Or are we responding as politely and fairly as possible to a confusing castigation and blatant attempt to sully our 36-year reputation of personal, honest, professional service? We’ll report… You’ll decide.

Yelp- “Larry Gumm”, 6/4/2017 review- 1 star (out of 5) 

“Way over priced unless your the government, tires 400.00 over Les Schwab, Had charging system checked @ 65.00 and failed 30 days later, bad battery.”

Our reply, 6/30/17-  We’re sorry Larry was disappointed with our shop at all, but we do have issues with the reasons he gave. When we checked his charging system Larry’s 730-amp battery was putting out 803 amps and his alternator and charging systems were fine. We obviously can’t be responsible for the state of an electrical system a month after we see it, but everything was ship-shape when we tested it.

We also have a real problem with the idea that we’re “overpriced”! Our prices are usually VERY competitive and Larry’s tires are a perfect example. We called Les Schwab to compare their prices on the tires we recommended, and while they didn’t offer the same brand-name tire they did have a store-brand equivalent. Their price was $229-$271 each (depending on features) while we quoted Larry $257 each. Not only were we NOT “$400 over Les Schwab”, but we were LESS EXPENSIVE while offering HIGHER QUALITY!

We use top-quality parts, employ top-certified technicians, and back everything with a 24/24 warranty, so we typically can’t price-match with cut-rate shops who offer a much different level of product and service. Instead, we choose to consistently offer our services at prices fair to both our clients and our business. Our clients realize that in the long run they are saving money because they are NEVER being sold UNNEEDED services, so they’re satisfied paying a fair price when NEEDED services do arise. And, as Larry’s comment shows, they usually don’t have to sacrifice “quality” for “price” at all!

Yelp- “Megan I.”, 7/30/2010 review- “2 Stars (out of 5)”

“I came to this auto shop specifically because of the great ratings on Yelp, and I was incredibly disappointed in the service.  I was having problems with my power steering and my brakes were screeching (they were so bad people on the street were turning to stare at me when I drove by!) Based on the reviews here I was expecting really friendly service, fair pricing, someone to clearly explain the problems with my car to me and to drive away with the car fixed.  Unfortunately, I experienced none of these things.

They weren’t rude per-se, but the folks in the office were really stand-offish. My power steering problem was straightforward so I understood that, but I didn’t understand what they were saying was wrong with the brakes. Rather than explain it, the guy in the office acted like I was a moron and was really annoyed to have to explain it to me.

I HATE this attitude at auto shops and avoiding it was the reason I ultimately chose this shop. It was really frustrating to be treated this way. After I got my car back — ($1600 later….) the power steering worked great so two stars for that, but the brakes were still screeching.  I took the car back for them to figure out why their expensive repair didn’t fix the problem but they couldn’t. Instead they just told me over and over that there was nothing wrong with the brakes. I expect to pay a lot for major repairs, so that wasn’t a surprise, but I also expect to be treated with respect and for the problem to actually be fixed after I fork over almost 2 grand. Again, really frustrating since I know brakes aren’t supposed to screech like that. I’ll be taking my business elsewhere for a second opinion on the brakes and wouldn’t recommend this second rate auto shop to anyone.”

7/30/2012-  We weren’t able to find out who Megan was or what went wrong on her visit, so we were never able to reply directly to her about her Yelp review.  The only thing we can say is that we tried our best then, and if she came back even now we’d still try to make things right for her.

Google- JJ’s, 1 Star (out of 5)

After a $300+ Inspection and a $4000+ estimate I got a second inspection for free (which Dwyer said no one does it for free, they just charge you other ways) from a competitor and all it needed was fluids for $80. I can’t see how their competition squeezed in a $300 inspection to the $80, but clearly I won’t recommend or return to Dwyer considering their shady practices and overpriced services.

Our response- I’m sorry to hear you were disappointed with our service. Your review sounds like we charged $300 for an inspection and wanted to charge $4000 more for a repair you got for $80 elsewhere, but we gave you our best advice then and we stand behind it now. Please let me explain for you and other Yelpers.

You came to us for a rumbling noise, and we recommended starting with our Comprehensive Inspection to find it. Every shop has a free “Multipoint Inspection” (we do too), but our Comprehensive Inspection is different. An ASE-Certified Technician spends 2-4 hours evaluating and documenting your vehicle down to spark plug gaps and fluid pH. It costs about $200, we recommend it for every new client to set a baseline for their vehicle condition, and we gave it to you (and all new clients) at half off.

Our Comprehensive Inspection is thorough, but some issues require deeper investigation. Your inspection found the cause of the rumble (transmission and differential fluids), a long list of other issues, and also a ‘check engine’ light needing further diagnosis. You agreed to an additional $179.50 and we tracked the problem to your catalytic converter.
The total for fixing the catalytic converter, spark plugs, coolant, tires, battery, and fluid issues would indeed have been over $4000. However, those services weren’t all equally important and we weren’t advising them all, much less all at once. We may not have been as clear about that as we should have been, because our Service Advisor said you took our report, said thank you, and left before he could explain properly. That’s definitely on us; a $4000 estimate is daunting and we shouldn’t let you go without knowing exactly what we’re recommending, why, and how it could be done to your satisfaction. Our Service Advisors are NON-COMMISSIONED so there’s no incentive to upsell you, but one of their main jobs is prioritizing recommendations to meet clients’ needs and budget. If we failed in that, we apologize.

We obviously don’t know which competitor you went to (or what they did) but it’s not surprising you found a better price. We’re mid-price for Portland so we’re often higher (or lower!) than other shops for any particular repair. But guessing from your review, we think this is a question of different services instead of an apples-to-apples comparison. We recommended changing transmission and rear differential fluids to fix the rumble noise, and our price (included in that $4000+ estimate) would have been about $175 to service both properly. However, just topping off the rear differential with a low-grade fluid would cost about $80 and fix the noise for a little while. It’s not how we would service your vehicle for many reasons, but it’s not an unlikely recommendation and we think that’s what they did.

As for “how their competition squeezed in a $300 inspection to the $80”, I don’t know for sure but I have a guess… YOU paid for it when you paid US for the diagnosis! The other shop had that information and used it to recommend services. We don’t work from other shops’ diagnoses because we can’t guarantee their thoroughness or competence. If someone ‘shopping’ another facility’s recommendations shows us someone else’s evaluation, no matter how sure they are, we’ll STILL charge to diagnose the problem our way, through our process, because it’s OUR name behind it. The other shop may or may not have served you well, but you didn’t find “shady practices and overpriced services” here.

We’ve written several detailed articles on some of these issues, and I hope you or others reading this will find them useful.
Who gets hurt by high repair prices- https://tomdwyer.com/2021/newsletters/who-gets-hurt-by-high-repair-prices/
What’s Wrong With My Car? https://tomdwyer.com/2020/newsletters/whats-wrong-with-my-car/
Do mechanics do free diagnostics? https://tomdwyer.com/2021/newsletters/do-mechanics-do-free-diagnostics/

We grouped the next several reviews together because they all deal with our older vehicle policy for new clients.  We only take on NEW clients with 15-years-and-older vehicles, though the policy was “1998-or-newer” at the time of these reviews.  We’ll keep servicing our EXISTING clients’ vehicles, no matter the vehicle age, as long as it makes economic sense to the client.

Google- John Rates, June 2023 review- 1 Star (out of 5)

This business DOES NOT serve any customers with cars older than 15 years of age. Every person is taught the same script and they make an effort to make sure to not take you on as a new customer as you would take away their potential work from their loyal customers somehow?

My car just needed routine maintenance and apparently they are against the right to repair what you have, prefer that you have a shiny car that you brought in from the car lot, and are afraid of any potential issues or people who are poor and can’t take on large repair bills for example. I’m perfectly fine with my repairs when necessary, but this is unacceptable behaviour and the customers here are supporting this type of business practice.

The level of pretentious is off the charts here. Yikes.

Our response, June 2023-  John is almost completely right… we don’t start NEW service relationships with clients whose vehicles are over 15 years old. It’s a policy we’ve had for decades and it’s clearly listed on our website, Google page, and Yelp page. Understandably, though, many people don’t see that because they simply look for a top-rated shop and call us before checking us out in detail. John shouldn’t be expected to know before he called, which is why when he called we declined service, explained why, and gave him a reference to a shop we trust that provided the service he wanted.

We all use the ‘same script’ because we all understand the reasons behind this policy. Surprisingly, none of our reasons were we’re ‘against the right to repair what you have’ (we gave him a referral to a shop that could repair what he has), we ‘prefer he had a shiny car brought in from the car lot’ (we have many ongoing clients with vehicles 10, 20, 30 years old and older), are ‘afraid of potential issues’ (our ASE Blue Seal Technicians can handle anything he could throw), or that we’re ‘afraid of poor people who can’t take on large repair bills’ (we specifically explained to John how this policy protects people with vehicles that just aren’t worth pouring money into).

No, the reason we gave John (and that we stand behind) are that it is almost NEVER a good thing to start a NEW service relationship around an older, often-challenged vehicle. One of our biggest values to our clients is the advice of our NON-COMMISSIONED Service Advisors… always advice in the longterm interests of the client, never any services the client doesn’t need, all services prioritized by safety, breakdown, and maintenance, and always with the clients’ budget and schedule in first place. This type of Advisor/Client relationship takes trust to work, and trust requires a solid foundation. If a client’s first visit reveals a long list of expensive problems they’re much more likely to suspect they’re being conned than well-served. If we WANTED to just be a profit fountain we’d put our Advisors on commission and BEG for customers with old, decrepit vehicles and drain their money until they were desiccated husks. That’s not us, and our 15-years-old-or-newer policy is just one of the many ways we stay off that path.

If, like John, you have a vehicle older than we’d service, please give us a call anyway! We won’t service yours either, but we’ll gladly give you a referral to a shop you’ll be pleased with. And when the day comes you trade up to something newer, something you want to keep ‘safe, breakdown free, and operating at it’s best’ for years to come, then give us a call again. We’ll still be here, and years from now you may remember the time we performed our most valuable service free of charge… we said “no” when it mattered.

There’s two other resources on this you might be interested in. The first, “Our ‘older vehicle policy’ is all about the relationships” (https://tomdwyer.com/2020/newsletters/older-vehicle-relationships/) goes even deeper into the ‘script’ behind our policy. The second, “Clients are Forever” (https://tomdwyer.com/2011/uncategorized/clients-are-forever/), is one of Tom’s radio spots about his experience before he owned his own shop. We think you’ll be very, very glad he started something different here.

Yelp-  “Saffron P.”, 2/21/2014 review-  “1 Star (out of 5)

“horrible experience at Tom Dwyer.  They refused to work on my car because they wont work on anything that is older than a ’98.  EPIC FAIL.”

Yelp-  “Jared W.”, 8/29/2013 review-  “1 Star (out of 5)

“My car was made in 1997, and “that is too old to begin a relationship with.” Don’t worry we will have no relations ever!”

We replied to Jared’s review, and he responded back.  We’ll give you his response first before our reply below.

I read the owners response. It would be like a doctor saying I don’t want to work on an old patients because they are “economically totaled.”  I understand that it isn’t “mutually beneficial” (i.e. not as beneficial for the mechanic) to work on all peoples cars, but to me this statement just says it is easier for us to make money on people with newer cars. The entire policy seems a way to keep away all but richer clientele. There are a few different mechanics in town that have no problems working on older cars and maintaining high standards. That is a five star mechanic.

Yelp- “Chris E.”, 6/18/2012 review- “2 Stars (out of 5)” 

“Really not sure what rating to give these guys. Would have loved to have given them a try, but they are only servicing vehicles that are 1998 or newer. Never heard of that with any reputable garage. Guess I’ll take my ’94 Toyota somewhere else. To their credit, they were professional and friendly and did give me some recommendations for other garages, but what a shame that they aren’t interesting in assisting any of us with older vehicles.”

Our response 7/30/2012- I’m sorry you’re disappointed at our older vehicle policy, but it’s nothing personal…it’s been our policy for many years not to start NEW service relationships with clients with older vehicles; currently 1998 or older. We clearly post this on our website, but not everyone sees the website before they call.  If we were actually able to service your vehicle I’m sure you would have given us more than two stars… please let me try to explain why we have this policy, and when you understand why we believe it’s in your interest maybe you’ll revise your rating…

We have many longstanding clients with older vehicles, and we plan to keep them happy for years to come! We started maintaining those vehicles when they were newer and continued servicing them as they aged. We have relationships with the clients, and everyone is aware of the vehicle’s ongoing needs and condition.  We’ll continue to service these vehicles, but experience has taught us not to start new client relationships based around older, often challenged vehicles.

There are good reasons for this.  First, we constantly update our training and equipment to match the technology of more recent vehicles. Second, older vehicles can be “houses of cards” due to age, service history, or condition, which can lead to questions if there are problems with the service.

Most importantly, our service is built around trusting, long-term relationships with our clients, and that depends on the quality and condition of the vehicle being serviced.  Most older vehicles are what we call “economically totaled”, needing so much work to make them safe or reliable that the cost of repairs exceeds the value of the vehicle.  It doesn’t make sense for us to prioritize repairs on vehicles in this situation.  Once we’ve built a service relationship with a client, they listen to us if there’s a glitch, or trust us when we tell them it’s time to stop spending on repairs and move on to a different vehicle.  It’s impossible to build that kind of relationship around a vehicle that is already worn out.

Coherent maintenance can extend the life of vehicles, but it’s rarely worth playing “catch up” to get an older, poorly maintained vehicle running safely and reliably.  We hate saying “no” to potential new clients, but we don’t believe in relationships that are not mutually beneficial.  Vehicles will come and go, but a service relationship can last for generations.

If there are folks out there with a vehicle older than 1998, you think it’s in good condition, and you just won’t part with it, there are options.  For slightly older, good model vehicles with less than 150,000 miles we can do our Comprehensive Inspection ($150.00) to determine the actual needs and conditions of the vehicle. If the vehicle is in a condition we can support then we’ll gladly do it.  If not, we’ll recommend you to one of the places we trust to handle older vehicles, but we hope you remember us when you trade up to your next vehicle.

Yelp- “Ron Z.”, 10/18/2009 review- “3 stars (out of 5)”

“I called Tom Dwyer regarding my 1994 Ford Ranger clutch problem and in the end was informed they only work on 1996 or newer vehicles and wouldn’t be able to work on my truck.  I have since learned they only take easier work that has little chance of damaging their perfect rating.  Seems true.  It sure would be nice to have that on their website instead of wasting my time on the phone and asking me all about the problem and then declining the job.”

Angie’s List- 9/11/2009 review

Work Completed Date:  March 11, 2009      Hire Again: No      Approximate Cost: $250.00

Description Of Work: They replaced the transmission fluid in my car.

Member Comments: (Transcribed from a telephone interview)

I went to them because it was conveniently located and they had a good rating on Angieslist. I felt that they redid the work that had already been done recently by the auto repair shop that I usually go to. I was not satisfied with their service.

Our response: We were sorry and surprised to find that this client had a problem with our service. We do everything we can to protect our 99.7% satisfaction rating, and no one leaves unhappy if we are given the chance to work things out.

Although this work was performed over 7 months ago, we were able to search our records and check into the matter. We started by doing a 90-point inspection of the client’s 2002 Jeep. The ASE-Master-Certified Jeep Specialist who did the inspection found dirty transmission fluid that needed to be replaced. We told the client, she authorized the work, we did it, and as far as we knew the client was happy.

There are two points in this review that we take issue with.  First, the client mentioned in the review (although not to us) that “…the work had already been done recently by the auto repair shop that I usually go to.” We checked the transmission fluid and documented that it needed replacement. Perhaps the issue was not with the work we did, but that the transmission fluid had been extremely dirty again or may have not been thoroughly flushed by the previous shop. There are several systems available today to flush automatic transmissions and some do work better than others. We don’t sell unnecessary work!

Second, this review could mistakenly lead people to believe that we charged $250 for a transmission flush. Actually, it was $76 in parts and $97.35 in labor of a bill that also included the 90-point inspection, pre-service road test, a minor interval service, oil change and lube, resetting the “maintenance required” light, repairing a broken brake light, and a full post-service check and test drive.

Again, there is nothing more important to us than our client’s satisfaction. No one leaves unhappy or stays unhappy if we are given the chance to work things out, but we can’t fix problems we don’t know about. If this client had told us there was a problem and asked for some adjustment, we would have done everything requested to make it right for her. And, even after 7 months, we still will.

Yelp- “Anne M.”, 7/30/2011 review- “1 star (out of 5)”

I used to think this was a great shop.  I don’t anymore.  We brought our cars here for 15 years bur the last couple of experiences have changed my mind.  They are always booked and charge too much.  When my air conditioner had a terrible smell, they found nothing wrong and charged a lot to tell me so. The dealer, on the other hand, immediately found the issue and fixed it.  I guess my feeling has been that this shop no longer needs my business; they are doing fine without me.

Our response, 8/26/2011-  I’m disappointed any time one of our clients has a bad experience with our shop, ESPECIALLY a 15-year client!  Whether you’re a first time client or, like Anne, you’ve been coming to us for many years our only goal is to make sure you’re completely satisfied with every aspect of your experience with Tom Dwyer Automotive Services. We’ve tried to determine who Anne is from the facts of her review so we could contact her, but were unable to do so.  If we’re allowed to we always make things right for a client when frustrations occur.  Since we can’t make things right for Anne in this case we’ll address the specific points of her review instead…

“They are always booked”.  I know it’s frustrating when a client has an automotive need and can’t get in as soon as they call.  We aren’t always booked, but we do have busy times, usually around summer, when it can be difficult to get immediate appointments. During these times our clients are usually pretty understanding and work with us to schedule them as promptly as we can.  We will always find a way to squeeze in emergency or breakdown work; we realize you can’t plan an emergency. We provide shuttle service and rental cars to make things smoother in a pinch, but thinking ahead for your predictable vehicle maintenance or pre-road trip checkouts makes it much easier to schedule even during our busy times.

“They charge too much”. Our hourly rate is in the mid-range of area shops, and our estimates are accurate (over 98% accurate- click here for results from almost 11,000 feedback cards) and cover complete work.  Shops may offer lower estimates for jobs that appear similar, but if you look closer there are reasons for any price differences.  Parts quality, mechanical expertise, and most importantly the detailed list of the repairs to be performed will all affect price.  We always use the best parts, the most qualified techs, and will give you an estimate upfront for everything we think your vehicle needs to be serviced or repaired properly.  Many shops will give a low number for a repair or service, and once started will recommend additional work that should have been included in a good estimate upfront.  (Please see our article on Estimates and Overlapping Work for more detail).  For price-driven consumers there are many cheaper shops available, but we don’t pay our Service Advisors or Technicians by commission, as is the norm in this industry, and we won’t compromise on the process, parts or advice that we give our clients.  We charge the lowest price we can to cover the level of service our clients have come to expect and deserve, and because we stand behind our work with a 24 month 24,000 mile warranty; it has to be right.

“Air conditioning smell”.  Since we can’t determine Anne’s identity, I don’t know why we were unable to diagnose the AC problem nor can I can’t respond specifically to this point. It is very rare we are unable to diagnose even the most technical or intermittent problems given the time and authority to do so. We have experienced technicians that hold factory and ASE Master certifications and are motivated to do the best job possible. When we can’t determine the cause of a client’s problem we tell them so, and we don’t guess at things or install parts that may be unneeded.

“I guess they no longer need my business”.   NOT TRUE!  As a small company we need and value the business of every person who walks through our door.   If Anne feels we don’t care, then it’s our fault and we’ve made a huge mistake.  We try our best to make sure EVERY client knows how important they are to us, and that we want to keep them happy and coming back for many years.

One final note-  This Yelp review was the first we’ve heard of Anne’s disappointment. We offer clients many ways to tell us about any issues they have.  The most important is the meeting with our Service Advisors when picking up completed vehicles, when we describe the work that was done on the vehicle and tell the clients what to keep an eye on in the future.  Secondly, we leave a pre-stamped feedback card in each vehicle after service for the client to comment or rate our performance.  Third, we have email, phone, fax, and mail that a client can use to give compliments or criticisms.  We encourage all our clients to take advantage of any or all of these methods to make their experience with Tom Dwyer Automotive an interactive one.  Of course we want to know about the good things, but WE CAN’T SOLVE A PROBLEM UNLESS WE KNOW ABOUT IT!  If you are disappointed with us in ANY way, PLEASE TELL US!  

When we have the opportunity to fix our shortcomings we always step up to the plate, but when we don’t know about our errors we can’t do anything about them.  And Anne M., if you’re out there, that includes you!  If you call us and talk, we will bend over backwards to make things right for you, and keep you coming back for another 15 years. 

Yelp- “Lou F.”, 7/16/2013 review- “1 star (out of 5)”

THIS IS A REAL REVIEW! I resent having this filtered (censored twice) by Yelp.

It is strangely similar to another review done in 2008 by a completely different person, so our stories might be indicative of the typical culture of this business.

I heard about this shop on the radio, and saw the great reviews so I had high hopes for them.  The owner likes to wear his politics on his sleeve (which may not be the brightest thing to do to attract customers).

About 9:00 a.m., I brought in my car to be evaluated for basic maintenance.  The car was running rather well, but they offered a 1/2 price “new customer deal” for $75, and I was looking for a garage that was closer to where I lived and worked. I work about five minutes away so they said that their shuttle could pick me up when the car was done.

However, when they were finally done at 4:00 p.m., they said that they would not have the time to pick me up, and that I should call a cab (but they would pay for it).  It was hard to get a cab near rush hour, but I got lucky and a friend at work gave me a lift. the shop closed at 5:00 so I had to hustle. It became apparent that the reason they could offer to pay for the cab was because the proposed bill was for about $2000 – $3000 worth of work.

They wanted to do major work for what amounted to be very minor oil and coolant leaks.  They never even asked me about the severity of the fluid loss, but just assumed that I would perceive that the leaks were bad, or the car was burning oil.  Neither was the case.

They did an oil change WITHOUT my authorization, then charged me more than I’m used to spending at and overfilled the engine with oil. Furthermore, they used my personal oil and filter I had in the trunk of my car, but I also did not authorize them to use it (let alone tell them about it).

A few days later, I had to drive back to their shop and have them drain the excess 1/2 quart of oil.  The owners manual clearly gave the specs, but two people behind the front desk and the mechanic insisted that they were right.  Theyy also insisted that the “MAX” indication on the dipstick meant “full” which is not the case according to the manual.  Full is in between min/max.

When I left the shop on the first day, Drew at the desk said that I should call them if I wanted to authorize the work so that they could order the parts and have them ready. I called back and told them that I did not want to do the work, but they had claimed that they had already ordered the parts and would have to send them back.  At best, that was foolish on their part since they would have no idea in advance which work I would authorize.  At worst, it was a manipulative tactic to make customers feel guilty and spend money there.

The shop may give the impression that their work is meticulous by writing down precise measurements on their evaluation sheets (and thereby making a case for you to spend money based on these minor details). Yet, messing up by overfilling the engine with an additional 1/2 quart of oil is just plain sloppy. If they can’t do a simple oil change correctly, (or immediately admit a mistake) then I’m not to keen to trust them to do major work.

I asked for a written estimate, which took them a long time to get together after I arrived at the shop. The estimate was written out in a cluttered and chaotic manner and required a lot of excess time to understand.

They didn’t charge me, but I had to come back and get the oil drained without ever receiving an apology, only excuses.

For example: Drew also, told me that the mechanic should be right about the oil level simply because he was a Ford mechanic!  I told him that he should learn to read an owners manual. Sarah at the front desk said that I must have measured the oil on an incline, and not on a flat surface.  Even if that were true, they still used up all five quarts of my oil when they should have saved a 1/2 quart.

In other words, what should have been a simple fix turned out to be an extensive process requiring me to defend my position with at least three individuals.

They also old me I needed rear break work because there was a “lip” on the drums, but the another mechanic said that lip was normal and turning the rear brake drums was not necessary.

There were other things too.  My visit to Tom Dwyer was a colossal waste of time.

Our Response 7/23/2013-  I’m sorry Lou felt his first experience at our shop was a waste.  We invested several hours of professional time before realizing Lou was never going to be satisfied with his experience, and we did not charge a penny for our work.  Despite his opinion we stand behind our work, our actions, and our advice.  I think our other 62 Yelp reviews, the vast majority of which are 5-stars, are more “indicative of the typical culture of this business” than the reviews of any one person.  6 of Lou’s 7 other Yelp reviews are all one-star, and two of those were for other auto shops. However, I think the Yelp community deserves a response to the substance of Lou’s criticisms…

The “New Customer Deal” Lou mentioned is our Comprehensive Inspection, an in-depth mechanical examination performed by an ASE-Certified technician.  It’s not a quick peek with a flashlight; it means road test, in depth; ignition, charging system, cooling system, brake and chassis inspection, fluid inspections, records review… in short doing everything possible to document the vehicle’s exact condition before any recommendations are made.  This is a logical step for new clients to establish a baseline condition for their vehicle and to make intelligent decisions about what, if anything needs to be done to it.  This inspection generally takes two or three hours and Lou was informed of an estimated completion time when he dropped his vehicle off.

Our Courtesy Shuttle covers a 5-mile radius of our shop, and we have clients in every direction.  It’s not unusual that our shuttle will be picking up clients on one side of town when a client on the other side needs a ride at the same time.   In these cases our standard policy is to arrange a cab at our expense rather than rush our clients or make them wait on us.  Lou wrongly assumed this Cadillac-level treatment was due to the size of his “potential bill” but it’s not special treatment at all… this is typical of the service all our clients have come to expect.

We NEVER DO WORK WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION and we did not in Lou’s case!  We have a reliable supply of oil and filters, but Lou’s review makes it sound like we ransacked his trunk, stole his oil, and then overfilled his vehicle.  Lou asked us to do two things… change his oil using the oil and filter he supplied, and perform our Comprehensive Inspection.  We did those two things and nothing else. When Drew called Lou to discuss the results of the inspection, Lou said to skip the oil change if we hadn’t already done it (which we had).  We did not tell him we had already “ordered parts we would have to send back” because we did not order any parts at all!  We were not going to encourage any repairs in his case and as Lou said, ordering would have been foolish on our part since we would have no idea in advance which work (if any) he would authorize.

Lou spent quite a bit of time in his review (and in our shop) concerned about the fill level of his oil, citing the owner’s manual and complaining that “two people behind the front desk and the ASE mechanic insisted that they were right”.   When changing the oil on a 181,000-mile vehicle known to leak and consume oil, insuring the oil level is at the full mark is NOT A MISTAKE.  Lou and his owner’s manual are correct that an oil level is “OK” (meaning not to add a full quart) anywhere between min and max. Against our recommendation and at Lou’s request we did remove a half quart to bring the indicated level to exactly mid-point between min and max.

The final point we need to correct is Lou’s “proposed bill for $2000-$3000 worth of work”.  Our Comprehensive Inspection of his vehicle revealed a huge list of backlogged maintenance and problems.  We never recommend a catch-up investment into a challenged vehicle, and we would NEVER recommend ANY of our clients pour that kind of money into a vehicle with so little value!  When asked to pick the “most important” things that needed to be fixed, Drew came up with a shorter list prioritizing safety and breakdown items.

We don’t get them often, but when we get a bad review we treat it as an opportunity- to make things right with a client, to apologize when appropriate, and learn from our mistakes.  We try to learn something from every negative experience, and one of the things we’ve learned is that starting a new client relationship based around a challenged vehicle rarely works out.  We don’t do unauthorized work; our procedures are designed to prevent it.  We know that we didn’t recommend an unreasonable amount of work because it wouldn’t have been in Lou’s interest or ours to do it.  Our Service Advisors are non-commissioned to prevent exactly this kind of conflict of interest.

Lou has a right to expect service on his terms, and I wish him well finding another shop better able to accommodate his needs.

7/30/12- For some reason, the folks at Tribe.net don’t like us.  We have six reviews; four of them are five-stars but two of them aren’t, as you can see below.  All the spelling and grammar mistakes were in the original reviews.  7/11/18- Tribe.net is closed down and has been for some time, so though you won’t be able to see Phil’s or J’s reviews in their original habitat, they’re here in all their original glory.

“Phil” and “Philippe”, 4/17/2008 review- “2 stars (out of 5)” (Posted on both Tribe and Yelp)

I read the tribe ratings after hearing several advertisements on KPOJ, and decided that I would go to Tom Dwier, for an inspection and an oil change. What I left the shop with was much more — a spooky encounter with a service manager, who recommended that I not go on long trips, unless I pay more than $2500 for additional repairs, and an $800 whole in my wallet.

I was seduced by Tom Dwier Automotive’s website and progressive radio message. When I arrived I was awestruck by all the technical certifications and employee photos on the wall. The place looked humble, and the people were very friendly at 7 am. I dropped the car off and took the shuttle back to work, without incident.

A few hours later I get a message to call them, the inspection had been completed. Turns out that my suspension is totally shit struck, I had a bald tire, and I needed a break job, because a caliper is broken and dragging. Now I’m no mechanic, heck, I couldn’t pick a break caliper out of a lineup, but that sounded pretty serious, so I had them fix it.

I was then told they had the parts in stock and I could get it done by the end of the day, they would call me. At this time I was also “sold up” on additional services like a break system flush, a cleaning and adjustment on the rear brakes, and a transmission fluid change. My $99.50 inspection and $37.22 oil change had skyrocketed up to $800! They called me two hours before closing, and then told me that something wasn’t fitting right and that they would have to keep the car over night. I was upset, but what could I do?

I got dropped off by my girlfriend, to pick up the car, and told her I that I would pay and be meet her at a local pub in a couple of minutes. It seems that I underestimated their respect for a customer’s time when I told my girlfriend to go on ahead of me and order me a beer, because I, with credit card in hand, could not simply pay and leave without a lecture in vehicle safety, and a hard sell on the urgency of restoring my entire suspension system to original factory specs (I have a lowered ride), FOR OVER $2000!

They did this as a sales tactic, because once I had my keys I would stop listening and be able to just say “no thanks” while walking toward the door, but I was forced in to justifying my desire to drive a lowered vehicle and given ominous warnings about going elsewhere to get service. All I wanted to do was pay and lick my wounds in a pub with happy hour beer. Thanks to that wind bag I missed happy hour, but still got to pay $800, yea!

The next day I want to Les Schwab, to get a replacement tire, and told the service guy, that I had just come from Tom Dwier Automotive and I was told I needed a new tire and suspension, he said he was glad to do the tire and asked to take a look at the car’s suspension. Naturally I approved, and his diagnosis was the same as Tom Dwier Automotive’s I needed new front struts, shocks, and springs. The difference was about $900! Not only that he gave me a quote on a break job, and it too was half as much as I paid!

The take-home message here is: if you are a blue-collar guy on a tight budget, avoid this place like the plague, If you are a latte-sipping sipping YUPPE Tom will happily relive you of your burdensome cash. I have to give up my vacation plans this year. I had planned on going to the great American Beer Festival for the first time this year, had I gone to Les Schwab, I could have at least gone camping.

7/30/12- We really weren’t sure what to do with Phil’s review.  We don’t “upsell” anybody, and the “sales trick” about holding someone until they’re mad is news to us.  Anyone who knows us knows that we don’t do things like that at all, but we still reviewed Phil’s comments in our weekly meeting to make sure our Service Advisors knew how their advice was being interpreted by clients.

We’ll end our walk through the potholes of Memory Lane with one of our oldest and worst reviews, which still stands out as a favorite…

Tribe.net- “J”, 12/31/2005 review- “1 star (out of 5)”

These hacks are liars.. dont trust them!

Let me tell you about me and myself first, I am a mechanic with over 20yrs experience, that said.. I had a car for sale and my prospect wanted a pre-purchase inspection done. Ok no problem so he chose this place. 2 weeks prior to me selling the car I had just got done putting a brand new clutch in. So this place keeps the car for a few hrs and tells me right to my face the car passed, I am thinking great! My prospect calls me an hr later with what the shop told him. The shop said the brakes were shot, the clutch was going out and the trans was bad, all lies and they wanted something to the tune of $1,200 for “future” repairs. This was all bold face lies because another prospect took the same car to a different shop in LO and they passed it with flying colors. Hacks at Tom Dwyer, yes dont go there, there filthy liars! – J , posted 12/31/05

Our Response-  We protect our customers from unethical car dealers!  A real customer alerted us to the rating posted by “J”. Thank you for the heads up. “J” is not one of our customers! Never has been never will be. I looked at his bio etc. What a guy! “J” sells used cars for a living and after reading his information I’m hoping that others will see the truth in this story. After inspecting “J’s” vehicle for sale (for profit), we advised our customer to decline purchasing his vehicle. We ruined “J’s” car sale to the “prospect” he had in his sights. SORRY “J”, oh and by the way do you have a dealer’s license?  I assure you that the inspection was accurate. Our job is to protect our customers from buying used vehicles that will not deliver good service and economy. I would like to know what shop in LO passed it with flying colors (don’t have your pre-purchase inspections done there!). Many details don’t add up in “J’s” rating. You don’t get a clutch, transmission and brakes for $1200.00. We don’t give estimates to our customers for repairs on cars that fail pre-purchase inspections. “J” states in his bio that he is 30 years old (bio picture looks even younger). He claims to have 20 years’ experience “working on cars”. At the age of thirty I’d like to know how you get 20 years of experience “working on” cars, unless riding in cars counts. “Working on cars” and being a professional ASE-Master Technician are not equivalent. We don’t employ any 10-year-old technicians at my shop. I’m hoping “REAL” Tom Dwyer customers will post feedback to wash “J’s” out. Talk to a real Tom Dwyer Automotive client and you will find that we have been delivering impeccable service for 25 years and have a 99.8% customer satisfaction rate.  Take Care and play nice!