Gateway Automotive Experts — Local services in Sedro-Woolley

Last week, my check engine light came on as I was driving to work. My husband and I decided that we would go to the highest rated mechanic in town. After this experience, I can definitely see why!

I called Vollans as soon as I got home and got to speak with Tim. I told him that I’d had a flashing thermostat indicator sometime prior and that our engine light had come in. He suggested that I come in right away and made room for me on the schedule. When I got there, Tim was all smiles and humor and totally made me feel comfortable. When he asked me how I was planning on getting home, I’d mentioned that I could walk (I live about a half mile away. Not very far at all). Tim was like, “Absolutely not!” and arranged for me to get a ride home with one of guys there who was leaving for the day (I’m sorry, I forgot his name. But, he was great too!).

Tim got back to me within a little while and told me that our water pump was leaking and that both our water pump and thermostat needed to be replaced. With parts, service and having to take the engine apart, the repair would come out to about $1100. While he was explaining this, I in no way felt like he was taking me for a ride. But, I’m not a car person myself and said I would like to call my husband. Tim totally understood that, and I felt no pressure at all. My husband ended up speaking with Tim, and it was decided that we would go ahead and do the repair. That’s about the time when I remembered that we have 360 coverage on our vehicle. I called Tim and he offered to look in our glove box to see if it was there. He said that he would give us a call back if he found it. An hour later or so, Tim called me. He and his crew had been on the phone with our warranty service for almost an hour answering all sorts of questions. Granted, this was something I was gearing to do myself, and I was completely surprised that they went ahead and talked to them on their own, especially as it was nearing the end of the day, and I was sure everyone wanted to go home. But, here’s the kicker. They saved us about $700 on the repair and said that might be able to save us just a little bit more (which they did). So, that $1100 bill for us was slashed to $420, which is a pretty penny in any case, but it means the world for our little family right now.

Today is Monday, and I got to pick my car back up. Tim arranged for Derek to come and pick me up from my home. Again, no way he was going to let me walk. And, we got to visit for a little bit while he rung me up. It was wonderful getting to know him a little bit more and felt more like a friend than talking to the mechanic.

Now, I know at this point, you’re probably like, “TL;DR” (too long, didn’t read), but this is the reason we’ll be coming back. I’m pregnant, and my husband and I recently learned that our little one as a rare congenital defect. Because of this, I’m traveling to either Bellingham or Seattle almost weekly for testing and doctors appointments. We need our car, and given that we are looking at a couple months in the NICU one Baby is born, we definitely need the savings. Tim and the crew knew none of this, but they still did everything they could to help us out and treated us honestly the best I’ve ever been treated at an auto mechanic. To me, that speaks to Tim’s character and the character of the team at Vollans. They were honestly God-sent to me and in a way, has me excited to go there again for oil changes and anything else that our cars may need.

When you’re going through a rough time, the last thing you need is car trouble. But, this has been hands down one of the best experiences I’ve had and has been a real blessing for our little family. I cannot sing their praises enough! You HAVE...

UPDATE!! ZERO STARS! Can't post without giving one they don't deserve. 😡 I took my truck to another shop to try to get it running and they found that my intake manifold had been cracked while being re-installed and Vollans (Gateway) has zero ability to test older sensors (which they should have declared before agreeing to fix my truck). Now they're trying to say that my warranty might be voided because I took it to another shop immediately after they said they couldn't do anymore. The new shop found vacuum leaks, a visibly cracked intake manifold, countless bad sensors and timing issues.

I am looking for an attorney. I just want my money back and this nightmare to end! I hate this truck now!

Original feedback: We had an inspection done on an old truck. They estimated a bad engine and around $8k of work including the new engine. I also needed a transmission rebuild. TWENTY THREE THOUSAND dollars later, and I have a truck with all new running gear that has been in their shop for the most of two years and still doesn't run well enough to drive, let alone haul or tow with!

I am told that even though they've been working on it and had it for the most of two years, my three year warranty started when the first work was completed and now I only have one year of my warranty remaining.

I have never seen a more incompetent group of people be happy with charging someone for a new engine that runs worse than the old one, and then consider it being parked in their yard as warranty time!

I now have an appointment with a different shop that will hopefully get my truck running correctly. I have heard other stories about this company and hope you can save yourselves the tremendous agony this has caused our family.

For two years, I have not been able to go collect our firewood or tow our boat or haul our garbage. I spent my inheritance trying to get the old truck running and it still doesn't.

At this point, I can't even trust warranty work here. What a...

We used this repair shop for years and had wonderful experiences when it was Vollan's Automotive. Since being sold to Gateway, our family has had several bad experiences. The first was taking our SUV in for a driver's side window repair (it came off the track/broke and wouldn't go back up. They called us and said we needed a new front left tire because it was badly worn and unsafe to drive (we had gotten new tires the previous week). They said they noticed it when it was put on the rack (why they put it on a rack to fix the driver's side window is beyond me). After several hours of back and forth phone calls, they finally admitted that their mechanic had gashed the tired when putting it on the rack and they paid for a new tire. The second issue was when my son took his car in for an oil change. They gave him a huge list of repairs that the car needed immediately or it would be unsafe to drive. Fortunately, he didn't authorize the repairs and got the car looked at elsewhere. The biggest item on the list was that the check engine was on (it wasn't on when he went in) and they said the engine had a bad misfire and needed immediate repair. Turns out the oil fill cap was bad and it wasn't sealing. Strange coincidence after an oil change. They also overfilled the car with fresh oil and said they wouldn't be able to drain it for two weeks. Very poor response to something they obviously did incorrectly. I've noticed that this business leaves snarky, sarcastic replies to negative reviews. I'm sure I'll be seeing that shortly. Everyone makes mistakes, I get that. Not being willing to take responsibility for them is...