Opinions on best dealership for repair work? - Holberts?

[Wellardmac]

Nice to see that you had a good experience with Bob.

How did you handle drop-off and pick-up?

[Brian]

I dropped off and picked up the car from my garage while someone from work followed me in their car and gave me a ride.  Round trip (not including my time spent chatting with Bob) took no more than 20 minutes each way. 

I plan on continuing to use Bob whenever I can or until he retires.  He's 71 yrs old and I can't imagine he will be doing this much longer.

 

[Wellardmac]

Wow! I didn't realize htat he was that old.

Hmm. As I said in a previous post, I'd like to use him based upon recommendations, but i wasn't comfortable leaving the car outside his shop for after-hours drop-off. Hearing that he's close to retirement makes it harder to make the switch - knowing I'll have to find someone else in a few years.

[Brian]

I understand completely.  I guess I will use him as long as possible.  Once I move back out into the burbs and am able to keep my car at my house, this will be a lot easier for me. 

BTW - he couldn't help on the detailing front.  What are your thoughts on Dr. Detail?

 

[Xplorer]

Wellardmac wrote:

Mike Andrews wrote:

He he... you said ball and premature in the same sentence..........



To you guys looking for an independant in this area, what would be a fair hourly rate (based on the actual rate) for you?

I knew that someone would get a kick out of that.

As for the hourly rate - Holbert's rate of $90/hr isn't a problem for me, the time they book for jobs becomes the problem - I refer back to the replacement of my MAF. I'm big on honesty and booking a 15 minute job for 75 minutes just stretches credibility - unfortunately, I'd only had my car 2 weeks and didn't know that the MAF was sitting right there in plain view and easy to change when I took the car in. It reinforced what I'd been told about them prior to taking my car to them.

I was wondering how did you know it was the MAF?

[Xplorer]

Brian wrote:

Wally - thanks for the Bob Fox tip in Ambler. Just got my car back. Not only is he nestled perfectly between my home, work and garage, I had a great experience. Bob loves to talk about cars (especially porsches) and since he charged a whopping $55.00 for state inspection and emission, I think I found my new service center.

Hopefully I won't need him that much!

Brian

I know for a fact that Holberts charges $38.58 for State inspection & Exempt Emissions. That's including tax.

[AMoore]

Holberts charged me $170.00 to mount and balance four tires.  Seemed high!

[APXD 30]

Knopf charges $25/tire plus you get a 10% when you show your PCA card.

A 4-wheel alignment was $189.95 (before the discount) this past June.  

$170 to mount and balance seems steep.

 

[Wellardmac]

I pulled the codes from the computer, then looked them up on the internet to get the diagnosis.

Xplorer wrote:

Wellardmac wrote:

Mike Andrews wrote:

He he... you said ball and premature in the same sentence..........



To you guys looking for an independant in this area, what would be a fair hourly rate (based on the actual rate) for you?

I knew that someone would get a kick out of that.

As for the hourly rate - Holbert's rate of $90/hr isn't a problem for me, the time they book for jobs becomes the problem - I refer back to the replacement of my MAF. I'm big on honesty and booking a 15 minute job for 75 minutes just stretches credibility - unfortunately, I'd only had my car 2 weeks and didn't know that the MAF was sitting right there in plain view and easy to change when I took the car in. It reinforced what I'd been told about them prior to taking my car to them.

I was wondering how did you know it was the MAF?

[Wellardmac]

AMoore wrote:

Holberts charged me $170.00 to mount and balance four tires. Seemed high!

Yup, I get charged $25 per tire at STS in Chalfont and they really take care of my car and ensure that the rims do not get damaged.