I called them to set up an appointment for a smog check and a second opinion on a transmission issue I've been having. They told me that if they had to look under the hood, they would charge me $95 for an hour's labor, but if they could diagnose the problem just by driving around the block that there would be NO CHARGE. So I set up my appointment and went in the next day.

When I walked in, James the 2nd was speaking with someone and didn't even acknowledge my presence until 5 minutes after I had arrived. Something immediately felt strange about this person, because he wouldn't look the person he was talking to in the eyes the whole time, and that's never a good sign to me.

To make a long story short, they eventually finished my smog test after rudely telling me that I couldn't stand near my own truck as if something was going to happen. James the 3rd then said he was ready to drive the truck. I told him he would immediately notice the problem, which he did. He was very confident that it was a gear problem and not a linkage issue. We literally drove around the block for 5 minutes, while he was grinding the gears and over revving the engine every gear.

When we pulled back into the shop, I waited inside for about 20 minutes while they prepared our bill. When James the 2nd came to the desk he told me the total was $203 and I said "Wait a minute! What for?"

He said "$100 for the smog and $95 for my mechanic to diagnose your problem."

I said "I was told over the phone that if he could diagnose the problem by driving the truck, there would be no charge. And since when is 5 minutes worth of driving equal to an hour's worth of labor?"

He quickly snapped back "When you're paying for 30 years experience."

I proceeded to ask him how old the guy was who drove the truck. He answered 24. Which as you can see makes no sense at all, especially since he was an inexperienced driver. I reiterated that I was told over the phone that there would be no charge for the drive along, and like with the previous customer he looked away from me as he spoke to me.

I ended up paying the bill and leaving disgusted.

I was later told by a friend that I should have just walked away and not given them anything. I can't believe businesses like this have been in business for as long as they have treating people this way.

They chose $95 over thousands in possible future business.