Dakota Ridge Auto

Reviews 3

GL

Glen Smith

Worst experience we have had: The horn did not work on our sons truck, they told my husband the airbag was the problem and needed to be replaced. Said thats why the horn did not work. Said they needed to order the airbag and it would cost us $800 for them to do so. Once they got the airbag in and started to work on replacing it they said they found out the "clock spring" was broke too, which needed to be replaced. We were only quoted the $800 to order the airbag and replace it, then were told once it came in that with labor and such it would cost us a total of around $1000, not including what they wanted to charge us to replace the clock spring which was going to be over $1300 total for everything. In the meantime we called our usual Automotive service center (which we should have done in the first place - our fault), they told us when the horn stops working its usually always the clock spring and the airbag has nothing to do with it other than you have to remove the airbag to get to the clock spring. So we told Dakota Ridge to go ahead and put the new airbag in, but not fix the clock spring. We came to pick up the truck and took the old airbag. They wanted to charge us $1000+ for the airbag and labor which they did not quote us in the beginning. My husband put up such a stink about that they had to go back and find the original recorded call - in which they heard that they did not quote us anything but the $800, so we ended up just paying that amount when picking up the truck. We took the "so called" defective airbag and truck to our usual service center, which they confirmed there was nothing wrong with the airbag and just the clock spring needed fixing to make the horn work again. They fixed all of this, plus took out the new airbag that Dakota Ridge installed, put in the old one which worked fine and they only charged us around $300+ for all of this including the labor. My husband called Dakota Ridge, demanded they take the new airbag back and refund us the $800 for it. They finally agreed after going back and forth speaking with a couple different people/manger/owner. Then sent us a $50 GC for any service over the amount of $50 along with the check for $800. I called today to try and get our other car in for an oil change (because the GC card expired on 7/28) and I wanted to get it in before then. The customer service representative on the phone said they had to go into next week and "could do it" on the 27th of July. We were going to be out of town until later afternoon on the 27th, so he said we could get it done on the 28th. He said he needed to put me on hold to switch computers. When he got back on the phone he said they could not get me in for an oil change for quite sometime because they were too busy, even when he told me they could in the 1st place (before the GC expired on the 28th). I told him again our GC expired on the 28th (which I had told him in the beginning) and asked him if they could please extend the date on the GC for this service, he said unfortunately not, I asked to speak to his manager and he told me the same. Very disappointed in our experience with Dakota Ridge Automotive and will not give them any further business nor do we recommend that anyone else be subject to this kind of unethical practice. Their honesty and integrity are less to be desired.

LE

leigh shi

What an atrocious experience. I brought my car in on a Friday morning, and nothing was done with it all day, so it sat there all weekend. When Monday finally rolled around and they were able to inspect it, they blew me up with a $3600 total to fix "all the problems". Symptoms: At high RPM (3k or more) the car screams, and there is a rattle in the center of the exhaust at the universal converter. No suspension symptoms, grease leaking from bushings as normal. Car intermittently wont start- in such cases the starter doesnt receive any power whatsoever. "Problems" were as follows: 3 of the 4 cat converters were bad Both front lower rear bushings were out Battery cable and connections were bad. REALITY: One converter is bad, the gaskets need replaced and the piping that runs next to the heat shield needs replaced. The bushings are in need of replacement in probably 10-15k miles, NOT now. Though the connection to the battery was bad, that was not the fix for the starting problem. The actual issue was that within the fuse box, the jumper wire was frayed and not making good connection. Experience: Picked my car up on Monday night, and drove it home. When I tried to start it again, I had the EXACT problem I brought it into this shop to fix. Upon inspection, I found that the "master tech" mechanics couldnt even manage to place the fuse box cover back on properly. (When I mentioned this upon return to the shop, I was told "That kind of stuff happens.") Thats why I noticed the jumper wire in such shoddy condition, and wiggling it was enough to get my car to start. Upon further inspection, I saw that the boot that covers my alternator/battery wire was misplaced, and the wire wrap was broken and wobbling around. Their excuse? "Well you have a very old vehicle (its a 98), and that kind of stuff gets fragile." Excuse about the boot floating around in my engine bay? "Well it was cracked, so it was loose." Im sure driving on paved roads didnt dislodge it and knock it off of the wire. I brought it in while they had 2 open engine bays, around 3:00 pm today, and was told "Well get it fixed." "When can I expect it back?" "Probably by the end of the day." A half hour before they close shop, I get a call that they havent even looked at it, and wont be able to fix it today. In addition, when I voiced my complaints, Daniel argued with me and continued to lie to me and degrade me in the fashion of treating me as though I am stupid, finishing the interaction by sarcastically saying "I hope you can find another shop." This is the same "Master tech" who couldnt identify the wire as a jumper wire. These people are overpriced and their MO appears to be attempting to bend over their customers and blow smoke up their asses. DO NOT USE THIS MECHANIC. Ill never be back.

ZA

Zachary Pember

Ive been going to Dakota Ridge for several years and have spent thousands of dollars on work Ive had done there. Their staff is friendly and the they seem to have good techs. Their oil change service is a great deal, which includes a shuttle ride, car wash, and optional tire rotation. The only complaints I have with them is that their prices (aside from the oil change) tend to be higher than most other shops, including reputable ones. I dont mind spending a bit more money for honest and good service, but its essential to use their coupons to get prices that are close to reasonable. That said, they have a policy regarding their coupons which runs counter to their otherwise pro-customer policies. I recently went in and decided to have several moderately large maintenance tasks performed on one of my vehicles. I made an assumption that because I was having several unrelated (and expensive) services performed that I could use a different coupon on each of the various services, just as if I were to schedule the different services separately. I found out when I went to pay that they strictly enforce a policy of only 1 coupon per visit, despite the number of services being done. When I asked why it should be cheaper for me to have the same work done at their shop on multiple appointments instead of all together, I was simply told that there was no way he could split the bill up or apply multiple coupons on the same visit, and that its my prerogative to schedule multiple appointments if I want to save money. Needless to say, I was a bit shocked with their lack of flexibility when working with a repeat customer looking to save an extra $50 on a nearly $1200 bill. I thought my request seemed very reasonable, considering I only wished to use different coupons on different items. Its like trying to use different coupons for eggs and milk at the grocery store. It makes no sense and only wastes both mine and the shops time to have to schedule multiple appointments and use the shuttle service multiple times. Its an anti-customer policy that discourages bundling repair work, and makes very little sense for a shop that is otherwise very customer oriented. Between the relatively high cost of services and the coupon policy, Im not very likely to schedule any more large maintenance at this shop in the future. Its a shame, because they do things well and Im unexcited about the prospect of finding another mechanic shop. Ill be keeping my eyes open for a change in their coupon policy.

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