Stevens Point Auto Center — Local services in Stevens Point

This review is for the Service Center, not the body shop or sales area. Avoid using the Service Center. After purchasing my vehicle from them and doing all my maintenance there, everything including a new tire purchase, at just 75k miles, I had to replace my engine due to a loss of 3+ quarts of oil (out of 5 qt total) after having it there for a regular oil change only a few weeks prior. They said it was from a bad gasket that should have been caught at the last oil change but wasn't. They only offered to pay for half of the bill (gasket and oil filter housing repair) with me negotiating to have them foot half the tow bill too. To my surprise, they only replaced those parts and handed me the keys back a few days later. After a major oil loss event they performed no engine checks, no compression check, not even a check of the spark plugs. I pick up my vehicle and started down the road just to have my check engine light immediately light up, smoke pouring out of the tail pipe, and a cylinder going into cylinder hide mode. I take it immediately back and hand them the keys and say it's not fixed which they try assuring me it is or they wouldn't have released it from the shop. After explaining the new issues they seem surprised but take it back in for service. Fast forward 2 weeks I stop by to see what's going on (after having my messages I left go unanswered) and they claim it's just bad sparks plugs from "poor maintenance" which they are the only place that has ever serviced the vehicle. They said it would done shortly and it'll be ready in an hour or so. I laugh and say I'll wait for your call. A week goes by (no surprise there) and they finally tell me I need a new engine. The said the top of the engine got so hot it was scorching the cylinder walls and there was all sorts of metal shards and oil in the cylinders and timing issues. Which I circle back to the oil loss event and they said they thought they were unrelated that the scorching looks like it's been happening for awhile, to which I ask how can this have been happening for awhile when they never told me I had oil issues before, it had to have been from the major loss of oil. After asking question after question I come to find out that they do not even check oil levels prior to doing an oil change. So this might have been happening for some time (that it might have even been covered under warranty it's been happening so long) but since they don't even do a simple check of the dipstick prior to starting an oil change, they are having their customers go through costly repairs down the road instead of taking 10 seconds and doing some preventative checks for their customers and that's why I give them 1. They only pre-check oil levels if explicitly asked to do so by the customer. It's a simple check and yes I can do it myself, but being only 5 years old I would not have thought my car would be having those issues yet, especially since I thought I was taking it to a reputable service shop. I've had vehicles with oil consumption issues before, once I'm made aware of an oil issue, by my mechanic, I've kept oil at home and in the vehicle and routinely check it to avoid serious damage. But as my mechanic I expect certain basic checks to occur as that's what I'm paying you for, to maintain my vehicle and let me know if there's potential issues I need to keep a closer eye on than every 3-5k miles. The fact that they are skipping these simple checks for whatever reason is costing there customers serious money and headaches later. They did give me "employee pricing" for the new (used) engine they put in but it still cost me $2k which could have been completely avoided with more care on their end, which is why they get 1. I will not be taking my vehicle there ever again nor would I...

I've had a mixed experience with Scaffidi. After buying multiple cars through private dealers, I chose to buy through a dealership for the peace of mind that I would be investing in a solid car since I drive 45 miles to and from work four to five days a week. With that in mind, I invested in a 2012 Hyundai Sonata with roughly 60,000 miles. I first brought my car in last month due to the check engine light popping on. It turned out that the high pressure fuel assembly was malfunctioning and not initially providing the engine with enough gas to help the engine turn over. This part most definitely should have not malfunctioned at roughly 80,000 miles on a four year old car. Along with a few other minor problems that are caused by simple wear and tear, the total estimate I received from the first car shop I went to quoted me at roughly $950. I brought this information and concern to the Scaffidi. I was honestly impressed by the service because Scaffidi dropped my estimate down to around $750, paid half of that amount, gave me a free rental car for a day, and had my car finished within a day or so. Not only that, but they allowed me to pay half of my bill while still returning my car since I could only afford half of the bill until I got paid the following week. I've never had a car shop do that and with the location of my work, I was sincerely appreciative of Scaffidi's flexibility in the matter. Two weeks later, I brought my car in again because as I was driving to work at night, my car literally shut down in the middle of the road and had all of the dashboard lights come on. With the repairs I just had completed and regularly scheduled oil changes since my purchase, there should have been absolutely no reason for my car to shut down and not turn over as it did. I had the car towed to Scaffidi to have their Hyundai certified mechanics take a look at the vehicle. Turns out that at 86,000 miles, the engine seized up due to an assembly problem with the engine's crankshaft. Thankfully, there was a recall issued by Hyundai during the fall of 2015 because this problem, meaning the new engine was free of charge. However, I felt slightly disappointed that I wasn't at least informed of this recall even if the dealership doesn't have to legally inform the buyer. I understand there are a multitude of recalls for more minor car problems these days, but I would have at least liked to have known there was a fairly recent recall on the engine of the car I was interested in buying. Despite all of that, Scaffidi ordered the new engine and installed within a week. With a repair this significant, I thought the service center would need more time, but I received a call yesterday afternoon my car would be ready to pick up today, 8/5/16. So overall, in my book, Scaffidi gets over five stars for their quality and efficiency for their service. They are very flexible with the customers needs. I understand that Scaffidi, of course, is not directly responsible for the problems with this car and risk I took in purchasing a used vehicle. However, I gave only three stars because I'm disappointed in the amount of major problems I've experienced in the five months I've owned...

6/5/2025

Now here is a story. I noticed at my age I am getting older and had a stroke and had a good life and am still in good shape, but I can't drive anymore because of the stroke. So I had to get rid of a car and truck and buy a new car for my wife to haul me around; money is tight. The only thing I can do is look on the internet to shop for an SUV that would last the next 20 years. Laughing. In my years as a young man till now, I have had many cars, trucks, and vans and driven many makes and models. I knew what I wanted, but the direction was not mine anymore. My wife must make a choice of what she wants to drive, and of course it must be safe, have good gas mileage, and have a warranty.

I was looking on the internet and came across many dealerships that had SUVs that could haul my body around and that my sweet wife would love to drive. So I got a list of questions to ask and deal with and was ready to get the best price and warranty. So after many weeks of searching for SUVs, I knew what she wanted to drive. So I looked for a dealership close by to start with and just showed up, no appointment.

Here we go. We drove to Stevens Point Auto Center and got out of the car to look at what they had in stock and what we wanted. A young man introduces himself as Tyler, the salesman. We told him that we wanted a test drive, and to our surprise, it was not what we were looking for in that make or model, so I asked what else they had in stock in that style.

Oh my, I said to myself, why did you ask that? And he showed us what we might like. Not pressured by Tyler at all. Remember I had a list of questions and a reliability scale of the vehicle and so forth, as I knew what was coming next from a salesperson. Nope, not one peep from him, but we like the color and the make and model of that SUV. So I asked the questions, and so Tyler got on the ground and told us about the underside of that vehicle. In our minds, we were sold, but we said to each other, Here comes the letdown. Well, let me tell you the best experience we have ever had, and it was from Tyler, the salesman. He went past what he should do.

Now the price was introduced to us by a man named Ken. Wow, what a good price, and we will never forget him. We left there with a new SUV for us. I am 72, and maybe this is the last car I will see, and my wife can drive a very safe vehicle. We are sure glad to have met Tyler and Ken from Steven Point Auto Center. (So the internet is not always right, or is it?)

So we leave the dealership and staff with a 5-star rating. (As of 9/3/25) So it's been 3 months and no problems, and very importantly, the company contacted us 2 times to make sure all was fine.)

Thanks,...