CAPE MAY RIGGINS

1381 Washington St, Cape May, NJ 08204, USA

Address:	1381 Washington St, Cape May, NJ 08204, USA
Phone:	+1 609-884-4848
Site:	capemayriggins.com
Rating:	3.2
Working:	8AM–6PM 8AM–6PM 8AM–6PM 8AM–6PM 8AM–6PM 8AM–6PM 8AM–6PM

Location

Photos 5

Reviews 5

Eric Walker

This place is awful, just the worst. Id give negative stars if I could. I know that sounds extreme, but hear me out. On our way down to Cape May for vacation, our AC Compressor Drive Belt and Idler pulley blew out due to a seized roller bearing on our idler/tensioner pulley. This happened about an hour out in our Subaru Forester. Luckily, these cars have two drive belts, one that runs the alternator and power steering pump, while the second belt drives the AC Compressor and idler/tension pulley. Both belts overlap on the pulley for the harmonic balancer. Due to this, I was able to continue to drive the car to our beach house, albeit without a/c. At any rate, once I arrived at our beach house I investigated and i began making the repairs myself. I removed the old belts (what was left of the ac compressor belt), bought my new belts and a new tensioner/idler pulley and was ready for install but I discovered I had to order a new tesnion pulley adjuster bolt and that part wouldnt arrive until Monday, when I had to be back home for starting a new job. SO I had to have the car towed by AAA to a shop so they could put the part on and install the new drive belts. This is one of the simplest jobs a mechanic could do; I had already removed my coolant overflow reservoir and dual fan shrouds so there was room to adjust and replace the drive belts, essentially I had done half of the work for the people at Riggins, they simply had to put the new tension bolt adjuster and pulley on and install new drive belts. (an hour of Labor tops). I was going to send the car to a different shop but AAA recommended Riggins, (I later found out this is because Riggins is the AAA affiliate in Cape May). I went with AAA recommendation and sent to Riggins. I later received a phone call 250 miles away from the Lead Mechanic at Riggins stating that he would not touch my car. He told me that the AC compressor had a cut wire (it didnt; there was an old thread of the previous belt that had blown apart) and he also told me the AC compressor was out of alignment. (This is also impossible considering an AC compressor mounts with four straight bolts onto the engine block). I reiterated all this to him and told him I simply need to have two drive belts installed. He refused and told me to get my car off his lot by the end of business that day. He was extremely rude and curt. I ended up calling Eddies service shop and explained everything and he took it willingly and performed the job in an hour. The people at Eddies told me everything went as I had told them and there was nothing wrong with the AC compressor. Bottom line, go to Eddies Service and save yourself the time and headache of dealing with an inept or incompetent or simply unwilling/lazy mechanic shop such as Riggins. The Mechanic at Riggins couldnt even perform a simple task such as replacing a drive belt. They are a joke, absolutely an inept joke. It would have been humerous if I wasnt 250 miles away starting a new job and having to coordinate all this before the rest of my family that was in Cape May had to be out of our rental house by that Friday.

Body Engine

These guys will rip you off -- I am not the only reviewer saying that. They take advantage of people that go on vacation in south NJ and probably the locals as well. I was on vacation in wildwood when my car broke down. I had had a similar problem with another car, so I knew right away that this was a problem with the alternator. The tow truck drove me to Cape May Riggings, even though there were other mechanics closer. When I saw the bill I realized how their scheme works. As soon as I got there, I could see something was not right...noone in the shop smiles. They all have these awful looks in their faces...you can tell they dont want to be there. Then I talk to the owner, and as I start telling hime what I am confident is wrong with the car, he interrupts me saying: "it is broken, right? I dont need to know anything else". A few minutes later I get a call that I need to pay $700 for a new alternator and belt. I ask why so much and was given a lame excuse. Nevertheless, I went ahead with the work because I was away from home and needed to head back the next day. Here is the bill: 1. $350 for alternator. I called autozone and advanced auto parts and the highest price alternator they had was $170 and thats without returning the old core. 2. $60 for belt --- the same belt was available in autozone for $20. They did not even need to change the belt, but when you charge $60 for it, and a $30 disposal fee, why not? 3. $200 for 2 hours of work -- changing an alternator does not take more than 1 hour 4. $70 for diagnosing -- basically just turning the key and hearing the engine not firing 5. $30 disposal --- i guess it was for disposal of 30 inch belt because the alternator core needs to be returned back. Total = $710 + tax Needless to say, stay away from this shop. They are evil and will rip you off.

Jerry Smith

These guys are the best! Contrary to what the other two reviewers say, they absolutely know what they are talking about and took care of me when my truck broke down on my trip down to Cape May with my family. They had a full lot of cars and took the time to check my truck out to make sure it was safe for my family and I drive in back to our home in New York. They are not in any way trying to get money out of you. They helped us out right away and we have been taking our cars there every summer after that. In reference to what one of the other reviewers said about no one smiling, everyone I came in contact with was very pleasant and all seemed to like working with each other. Dont let the other reviewers fool you, this place is absolutely the best and the owner is very educated (not only in this field, but in others as well. Hes very bright). AMAZING PLACE!

Matt Keating

Had my 87 year old grandmother in a terrible car accident. She is still in hospital. We paid $450.00 dollars for tow and storage fees. We donated the car to Purple Heart. The Purple Heart didnt get to the shop in time for the pick up. Now I have come to find out Riggans wants another $175.00 for the storage fees due to miscommunication between Riggans and Purple Heart. THE $175.00 BALANCE WILL BE PAID TOMORROW AND WE HOPE WE CAN PUT THIS BEHIND US. THE BUSINESS RIGGANS DEFINITELY TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THE SENIORS THAT LIVE IN BEAUTIFUL CAPE MAY. MAKE SURE YOU CHECK ON YOUR LOVED ONES. THAT THEY ARE NOT DEALING WITH THIS BUSINESS ITS LOCATED ON WASHINGTON ST.

Jay A

I wish I had the option to give this shady business 0 stars. The owner obviously doesnt have a problem ripping off his customers. My car was towed here by AAA for a simple repair. However, the owner went into instant scammer mode and tried telling me I needed a different repair. I could tell this guy was trying to pull one over on me so I had the car towed again to a different shop. Once at the new shop they confirmed that in fact it did only need a simple repair proving that this guy is a shady greaseball owner. If you want to flush your hard earned money down the drain then Riggins of Cape May is your kind of place.