car inspection recommendation?

Hi,

Does anyone have a recommendation for someone that will do a good, honest car inspection?

Thanks,
Richard

 

Fallon Automotive.

 

Gill's Automotive

 

Ashburn Tire Service in Ashburn Farm near the Popeye's - we've used them for years.

 

I use Gill's, too. I like the fact that you can drop it off overnight and not have to wait, but I realize that some people may not think that's very convenient.

 

Fallon goes one better. You can make an appointment for your inspection and be in and out in less than 30 minutes.

 

Which of these locations does emissions?

Don Beyer Volvo doesn't do emissions, and Ferrari no longer does it for them

 

Fallon does emissions.

 

Gill's is very reliable. Good people, and prompt service. Night drop off is very convenient, and they always called me first thing the next morning with a report.

Do not go to Goodyear in Ashburn Farm. I went there last weekend for an inspection, no emissions. My suburban was failed for front pads. Took it to my regular mechanic and he showed me the pads still had at least 5K miles on them. Goodyear also looked at my back brakes. The mechanic writes, "severe heat abrasions on back pads". Service writer then read it, and in front of me, shakes his head, opens his eyes wide and says, "wow, haven't seen heat abrasion on the back pads in a long time, that's not good". Then he quoted me over $500 bucks for all of it.

Ah, last time I checked pads are constantly hit with "heat abrasion". My regular mechanic didn't see anything of concern.

I don't trust any of these Goodyear outlets.

 

Last time I went to Goodyear ( near Ice Rink ) for simple oil change and heard several of the service advisors discussing their performance. I guess they did not realize I could hear them or did not care.

They were comparing their "peformance" that was measured apparently on how much they billed I gather month to date. One person was bragging about how much "up sale " he was able to do that month.

Nothing makes me better than auto shop tracking their service advisors performance based on how big their customer's bill was.

Hmmmmmm .. Is it any wonder they find so many "problems" when you go to them for oil change / inspections / tire rotation ...

 

Actually this started because I used the Goodyear in Ashburn Farm. We have been going there for a few years and they we ok the first couple of times but seemed to start finding something (usually a light bulb) that needed to be replaced and they always managed to break things when they replaced whatever it was. I took the car there for emissions and they said I needed to get the car safety checked because the tires would pass but were marginal (had 3/32 tread and needed 2/32). I had a month or so before the safety check was needed to be done and I knew a fog light needed to be fixed before it would pass, so I declined.

After fixing the light and not driving the car, when my wife took it back (less than 20 miles later) it now needed new tires (one was 1/32)...hmmmm, 2/32 wear in 20 miles. In the quote they gave her, they included an alignment (even though the tires had no abnormal wear), tire pressure monitor sensors replacement (even though the car doesn't have a tire pressure monitor system), a couple of other things I didn't care about that weren't needed (e.g., nitrogen in the tires), and the tires they recommended were not tires I consider appropriate for the car. So, I posted the question.

BTW: Merchant tire was the first place we tried when we moved to Ashburn. They were worse. They wanted to replace headlight covers with used ones for new parts prices (and were surprised when I replaced them with new ones).

Thanks for the answers.

Best regards,
Richard

 

With 173k miles on my car, I'm sure someone will try to tell me something is broken.

They should not ding your safety inspection for fog lights - these are auxiliary and not your primary lights. Tire depth - 2/32 vs 3/32 - its possible that the area they measured for you was a high spot and for your wife a low spot.

Getting the tread depth down low should be of concern. I see balding tires at weekend events and cringe for the safety of the occupants, especially when it rains. Checking tire pressure, especially with the changing temperatures, is very important.


I'll check out Fallon. thanks.

 

Highly recommend Gills Automotive. Been taking our cars there for 7+ years and very pleased with service. Have had work done on several older vehicles and repairs were always reliable. Also use them for inspections - can make an appointment if you schedule with oil change. Have met many people at their shop while waiting for my car and they have been customers dating back to when Gills was located in Reston.