Westside Garage - Lufkin (TX)

1 /5 Christopher Verhoef: My grandpas truck was brought here because the air conditioner went out. We asked for them to find the issue and provide an estimate. The owner, who worked on the truck, came back and said that he had already done the work and it would cost $257 after tax. He said he had replaced the high pressure valve. The ac worked for a few weeks then stopped blowing cold again. We took it back to the same shop since we thought that they might guarantee their work. We asked for an estimate this time as well, but again, no estimate was provided before work was done. This time they performed a dye test, which they didnt do the first time. The test was inconclusive. They said it would be $285 this time, again without any estimate given beforehand, on the same issue they thought they already fixed. When we pushed the issue, they brought the price down to $218 and they said they wouldnt let us have the truck until we paid in cash. They said they would impound the truck and charge fees on top of the labor that we never got an estimate for. The AC issue is still unresolved and undiagnosed. The price wasnt broken down for parts or labor for either visit so there was no way to know if it was a fair price. If we didnt have the money (no estimate beforehand) we wouldnt have a truck and theres no way to know how much we would have been charged. If youre on hard times, Id recommend avoiding this shop as you might lose your car.

5 /5 Jim Erbey: Best shop " Great crew they do good work

1 /5 Linda Kay: Took vehicle for AC repair. Work was done without an estimate given prior. No delineated repair bill so no idea what charges were and if they were fair. AC stopped blowing cool again soon after work was done. Took it back but they do not stand behind their work so AC is still not working. Do not recommend this garage for mechanical work. Side note: the garage is filthy and full of junk. Would think a good business would have a clean and organized workspace.

5 /5 Steven Quesenberry: I was finishing up a business trip in Lufkin when my f350 dually started vibrating and shaking violently. I knew my u-joints were shot and needed to park my truck until I could get it in any referred shop. Jim’s shop was referred and man I’m glad it was. I called him on the prior Friday, explained my situation, and he told me to bring it in first thing Monday morning. My truck is a northern truck so pretty much everything is seized or rusted and I gave him a warning as I’ve worked on it many times mostly having to use pry and breaker bars. Jim had broke several tools trying to get my drive shaft off, ended up having to buy some new tools, and eventually had to whip out the torch.me from experience I know that when someone is using breaker bars and a torch they’re not having fun. Jim didn’t charge me for the new tools, bought new u-joints since the one I was supplying were the wrong ones, and had my truck fixed and running like it was ice on glass. Hell of a nice guy and definitely one of those guys that never met a stranger. Even a couple of days later I needed to swap out my hitch but didn’t have the key for the old pin. I was in a pinch again as I was pulling a car dolly and needed the drop hitch in instead as my truck is lifted. I swung buy to see if he could cut it off, he got the torch out and cut it off in a matter of minutes. Tried to pay for his time but he wouldn’t accept a dime. Stand up guy that I can’t recommend enough. I made a friend and he’s welcome at my place anytime should he ever come to Indianapolis. Thanks Jim!

1 /5 Aaron Diggens: Went to them to fix my daughters power steering. It then became the valve cover gaskets, then it was an intake manifold gasket, then it was a coil pack. The engine ran smooth when I brought it in. When I got it back, it seemed a bit off, but it ran. It continually got worse to the point that it couldnt run anymore. Mind you, this was in the middle of relocating my family to a new home, so we had to just park it until it could be dealt with. After finally getting some time to look at it, I discovered the mechanic that worked on it failed to put two of the mounting nuts back in the throttle body. I replaced the nuts, and it still didnt run. I ran a smoke test and found it, and the throttle body gasket was bad. I called and wanted to speak to the owner, and I was ignored. Finally the person answering the phone told me I had to bring the car back. Its a little hard when it doesnt run. I wasnt going to pay to have it towed, and apparently, neither were they. This wasnt a my bad, whoopsie thing. This was plain old failing to do the job right. Update: Forgot to add that I had them change the spark plugs during the visit, and one of them shot out of the head a few weeks later. After checking, all of them were loose and had to be tightened properly with a torque wrench. They have made no attempts to make this right or discuss the issue.