The last time I took my car to a Jiffy Lube was when they replaced windshield wipers on my old Camry. A thunderstorm started, so I flipped on the wiper blades. One of the wipers flew off onto the side of the road. lol. I don't even take my car there for oil changes anymore - heard way too many bad things about that place and places like them. When I moved into my new house, I heard about a local family that took their car into one of those type places (not Jiffy Lube, but something similar). They came home and a few minutes later their garage was up in flames. Apparently the oil change guys left a rag or something else under the hood that eventually caught fire.
Interesting piece. Reminds me of Champion GMC/Pontiac/Jeep/Chrysler on Research Boulevard (183) in Austin. Never take your car there. I had to out of necessity a long time ago and they literally lied to my face. I'm used to dealing with professionals on a daily basis, and when you have to go deal with these high school drop outs on a power trip, it's incredibly frustrating.
i remember a persistent protester planted outside a Houston jiffy-lube intermittently for months. he held up a "Jiffy Lube tried to jip (gyp) me!" cardboard sign.
I do EVERYTHING for all of my cars at a place called Salah's. 3707 Crossview Dr Houston, TX 77063 (713) 977-5313 I have no reason to recommend them, I gain nothing from it. But they are honest. I tested them twice over the last 10 years and both times they were totally honest. Dealership quoted my almost a grand on a brake job. Just Brakes quoted $1200 and actually started the work before I okayed it. I took it to Salah's and asked for a quote. I waited 45 minutes and Elias (one of the owners I think) came out and told me it was done and it was $60. Another time a local Goodyear told me I needed my transmission rebuilt and it was gonna be $1500. Took it to Salah's and it was a minor adjustment that he didn't even charge me for. I love those guys. Another great thing...they are Muslim and I got a Christmas card from them a few years ago that said something along the lines of 'we may not share a faith but we share a friendship' or something like that. I freaking love those guys.
who wants a cheap Jiffy Lube oil change http://www.groupon.com/deals/jiffy-...Referral&utm_medium=email&utm_source=uu345433
Especially when they take whole afternoon to change your tire, and then kill your car battery trying to test the TPS.
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When it comes to auto mechanics, it seems the default mode is to screw you over. In fact, every aspect of car ownership is a money trap.
Speaking of good mechanics, I have a good guy on Kirkwood. Kirkwood Automotive Inc 7500 South Kirkwood Road Houston, TX 77072-3304 (281) 933-0090 His name is Hector, just recently my stop lamps weren't coming on when I braked. After checking the bulbs and what not, I went to Firestone and some other mechanics and they wanted to charge me $99 just to run an electrical diagnostic test. Hector fixed the problem for $85 bucks.
I know a good mechanic in Bellaire and one in the ghetto's near UH. I haven't been in Houston in a few years so I don't know if they're still in business, but they're really good and honest. Good and honest mechanics are pretty hard to come by anywhere you go on Earth.
It seems like there should be a way to systematically document the efficacy of mechanics and publish that information, rather than these one time local news anecdotal sting operations. People with extensive knowledge about cars could use cars with or without issues, and use someone whom the mechanic thinks has a limited knowledge about cars (a housewife or college girl) to bring them in complaining about something or asking for a tune up or whatever. Only issue would be how to manage the logistics so the mechanic doesn't know it's a setup. Clearly there is a demand for this type of information. The mechanics themselves might even be willing to pay a yearly fee to have their business rated and randomly screened in order to improve their reputation.
