The Detroit Garage — Local services in Hamburg Township

My experience at the Detroit Garage in Hamburg was very disappointing. Back Story:

I had a week-long vacation during the summer months, and I had a Silverado with 126K miles on it and it was running really rough. Since we were taking my wife's car, I thought this would be a good time to drop it off to be fixed. So, I dropped it off with 2 things I needed fixed. Make sure my taillights are operational. Address my “service engine soon light” First day of vacation I received a call indicating both requests were addressed, and we were good to go. I thought this was excellent. I asked what else he would recommend since they were going to have my truck for another couple of days and he recommended some additional things he would do if this was his truck and this came close to about 2K worth of additional work. I figured this was a good opportunity to address the additional TLC the truck needed, keep in mind I'm in almost 6K worth of repairs at this point.

I came back from vacation and picked my truck up thinking everything was going to be good to go. First day my service engine light came back on, and the truck was still running really rough. So, I called back up there and told them the situation. They apologized and said to drop it back off, so I did. They kept my truck for an additional week while they performed the additional troubleshooting while I was at home with no vehicle for a week, when they had my truck for the entire previous week. After an additional week and additional troubleshooting cost associated with the diagnostics, I received a call, and they said the number 4 cylinder was bad and they didn't catch it the first time as they fixed what they thought was the issue and cleared the alarm. I anticipated this would have been troubleshot correctly the first time and it was not. I was provided 2 options: A new engine (12K) Address the defective cylinder (9K) Neither one of these options was acceptable as the truck already had 126K miles on it. So based on their recommendations I spent unnecessary money on a truck with a bad engine. This was unacceptable from my perspective. No one was really happy with this result, and we kindly parted ways. I have since had to buy a new car after this situation. I just can't understand why the additional preventive maintenance items were recommended and I paid for, when they indicate the original issues were addressed and I was told we were good to go. If they did what I asked the first time they would have been able to identify the bad engine/ cylinder the first time without costing me additional unnecessary money. I gave them 2 stars as they did communicate with me and were nice to work with. I just did not get what I expected from this garage, and I will not be back or recommend anyone to.

Honestly, this review was done a little late in regard to the issue I was just trying to move on with my life. But 4 months after this horrible experience I am still getting automatic text threads from them asking about how my truck is running, and they know what a mess this was. It stirred back up this awful experience I had so I thought I would let all the...

Disappointed !

Chose to have my vehicle inspected for repair service because of the so-called "raving reviews" when I got the estimate, I was not raving. Yes, they are friendly. Yes they were quick to get my vehicle in at the scheduled time. BUT the praises stopped there.

They quoted an expensive repair and found other costly repairs. Could not afford the repairs at that time so took car home, as-is.

When I had the money, I went to another auto shop my family used and trusted. It was a bit if a drive, but worth it. Not only did they tell me the above quoted repair was NOT necessary, they informed me that the part in question had not been taken apart to reveal no repair was needed. I got all the info I needed, a minor adjustment and drove home.

To date, my vehicle runs fine (approximately 1 year now) and I literally saved thousands by going elsewhere. Thank you to the other shop. And by the way, while my vehicle was at this other shop recently for a different repair, they took it upon themselves to double check the other part. Still doesn't need replacing and my vehicle still runs fine.

I can't say Hamburg Garage didn't make an educated opinion, I do question whether they conducted a true or experience inspection.

Won't be going back because if trust issues.

**As to your reply...

Yes another shop Mazur Auto received a negative comment around the same time, because that is when I decided to post ratings. Although service dates were not too far apart.

As to why it took so long to rate....

My car sat for months so I could save money for the repair you quoted. When I saved enough, I took my car to another shop for a second opinion. No repair necessary...only a minor adjustment, is what they told me.

So to provide a fair and just review, I drove my car for months. Still drives fine without a repair that your shop quoted. And I saved thousands.

I'm not sure calling you or coming back to your shop is fair to ask of me. I gave you your chance when I brought my car in. I'm not the owner so I wouldn't know the first thing about helping you fix the issue I had, or DIDN'T...

I've gone here for a couple years and was satisfied until recently when I took my Honda Fit in for replacement of a rear oil crankshaft as per their recommendation. While they were working on it, they called and said the clutch had some hotspots and that it would cost less to replace it now while they were already working on it, rather than waiting, so I said ok. Then they called to say they would need to keep it over the weekend bc when they took it for a test drive there was some unexplained noise. When it was finally ready (for $2600 after an original quote of $1555) I picked it up after hours. I noticed the ABS dashboard light was on. When I called the next day to address this, I was told that the ABS system would still work and that they had replaced the ABS sensors (which they billed me for) and it was probably some magnet that was cracked and it wouldn't be a problem (there had been nothing wrong with the ABS system or sensors before I took it in). So, I took it to the dealership for an inspection and was told the left front bearing needed to be replaced. The dealer suggested Hamburg Detroit Garage should do the work or pay for it bc it was their fault. He even offered to speak with them by phone for me. I had already decided I was done with them and didn't feel like having to fight for my rights so I decided to just pay for the $800 repair myself at the dealer. Hamburg Detroit Garage had also left my windshield wiper tube unattached and I did return and have them fix that before I got in to see the dealer. Unbelievably, after that they are still texting me to see if I'm ready to go forward with other work they recommended (a new tire. Acc to the dealer's inspection sheet, all the tires are in the green zone). Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice? You won't have a chance. Not recommended unless you're knowledgeable about cars and like a good fight for...