Auburn Foreign & Domestic

Reviews 3

JO

John Drysdale

I had a 1984 911 3.2 inspected (ppi) with leakdown and compression in August of 2014. AFC gave me either a dishonest, or incompitent inspection. I was told there was no evidence of body or frame damage prior to starting the ppi. They did mention that the car was unwashed, with near bald race tires (i knew the tire condition from the seller). I thought that the leakdown looked too good to be true, it was all 5%. I was also told paint looked like near perfect original, or a very high quality repaint as one could not tell it had been repainted. I was told the gearbox felt great with no synchro issues. On their inspection, I bought what I felt to be a very good car (yup - sight unseen as the car seemed so good. Big mistake). Five seconds after seeing the car it was an obvious overspray. The drivers side front spoiler had a bad bondo job, lifting paint, and a crack. There was a red and white scuff of the rubber splitter. The cams were pitted, and a headstud was broken (engine rebuild required. The prior owner did his own valve adjustments so he had to have known the issue...). A repeated leakdown locally was a good 4-6% worse than reported on at least two cylinders, and more in line with expected on a 30 yo car. There was very obvious frame bending and repair in the drivers rear wheel area with very obvious wave ripples and weld lines in the frame from an accident and then straightening. This was obvious and the ppi should not have started. They called me up and said the body and frame looked great, so we began the ppi on my word. The rear fender had been replaced and welds could be seen in the drivers door frame with the door open. The car smelt like smoke because after heating the rear frame for straightening, the interior must have got so hot under the drivers rear quarter panel, that the felt insulation was charred black under the vinyl (and the inside fender rusted as galvanization was burnt off from the heat). The gearbox was in pretty bad shape. So for a 500$ inspection, i was down about 15,000$ Based on what I paid for the car, given what it should have been worth with its true condition. So either someone at AFC was in with the seller (no question the seller was dishonest, he knew too much about cars to have missed this stuff) to give an overly positive ppi, or AFC simply did not perform a proper inspection. Either scenario is 100% unacceptable. That being said, i should have instructed them to look at the cams and headstuds. I dont expect them to have caught that. That one is on me. Also, the gearbox was rough, but probably within the expected range for a 30yo car. Their description of the oil leaks was accurate. I cant expect anyone to find a charred interior. It took me a year to find as it was not obvious from the surface. They were polite on the phone and email. However, i was so disgusted, i just walked away from it and it took me over two years to be able to face it again. I was an international buyer and realized that there was little I could do. I dont blame the AFC owners, or even the service staff i spoke too (although who knows...), but maybe they can look back in their records and find out what mechanic did the work that day. Someone that day in August 2014 was either very lazy or dishonest. As such, i would recommend against using them to others, especially when it comes to a PPI relating to evaluation of paint condition or body/frame condition. Addendum: afc washed the car prior to comments on paint, at my request. I was not told that afc does not do body inspections. I requested one and was called with results prior to the ppi. Based on what was missed, i am confident they do not do body inspections as stated in the reply. 911 Galvanized fenders started in 70. The car was mostly rust free, minus where heat from straightening the frame burnt off the frame galvanization. The inspection report, commented on a sound suggesting the need for a valve adjust. No foul on your part there. Agreed on not buying sight unseen, and get a body shop to inspect a body.

AT

Athena Nielipinski

1.0 star rating 6/21/2017 I work a dealership right down the road from this shop. We have been utilizing them to work on our non make foreign cars. I ran across a $1800.00 bill that needed to be paid by us to them for work they did. I discovered that the invoice the provided had the wrong VIN and I could not pay them with the wrong car entered on the invoice. I went to the shop to bring it to their attention and me and my manager were treated horribly. The claimed loudly that they do not make mistakes and there is no way that they could have gotten this incorrect. I researched both cars in question. I physically put my hands on both cars on my lot, and verified all numbers matched. INDEED they had an invoice for this work on the silver car, when in fact it was the black car that was repaired. After leaving their shop I called the owner and he also treated us poorly. They put that old cliche saying of thats my story and I am sticking to it, to the highest extreme. No opportunity was given to me and my colleague to attempt to show them the clerical error. All we wanted to do was pay them what was owed, but could not with the bill going to the wrong car account in our system. I have not experienced being treated so immaturely or aggressively by a vendor. ESPECIALLY when I want to pay them for their repairs. Following day I did receive a call from the owner and they did admit they were at fault. We already knew that!!! It was nice to have the apology, however, I felt they should have stopped and asked the very first moment we walked in to resolve this " Hey thanks for bringing this to our attention, lets gets this all figured out!" Instead we got yelled at. I also tried to have a two sided conversation with the owner when he contacted me after all of this and I was shot down even during the apology he was giving. I understand mistakes happen, however, DO NOT TREAT OTHERS POORLY WHEN THEY ARE TRYING TO HELP. They must not like getting paid for repairs. I will end on a good note. They have a nice looking repair shop that is clean.

LI

Linda Hearon

Excellent Customer Service, workmanship and care. I have been going to Auburn Foreign and Domestic Car for 30 years. They have always been a First Class business when it comes to servicing my vehicles. Whenever I have an issue, they get me right in to diagnose the problem. They are very efficient and detailed on finding the source of the issue, and they communicate what was found in an easy way to understand, without being condescending. I appreciate the respect they give during all of the communication, as I am a female, and that is rare to find in the automotive world. Auburn F&DC knows how important it is to get your vehicle properly serviced and returned to you, usually in the same day. I have not had this level of care and concern from any other garage or mechanic in my past. It is peace-of-mind knowing that they will never, ever try to sell what is not necessary. They are honest and fair in their business dealings. I am always impressed with the knowledge and friendliness of all of the employees, and the cleanliness of the establishment. To me this shows how much they understand good customer service, and the respect they have for their customers and vehicles. I live about 40 miles away, but I will continue to use these folks for all of my car issues, and recommend them highly to everyone. If you just want the truth and trustworthy repairs, without the worry, then you cannot go wrong with Auburn Foreign and Domestic.

Other organizations