Doc Able's Auto Clinic & Tire Co

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CLOSED NOW - Opens at 8:00am

I recently had my 2003 Jaguar towed to Doc Able’s to quote repair work on the brakes, battery, transmition and some smaller items. I gave the go ahead to perform the work but told them no hurry as I was headed out of town. Within a couple of days, I received a call that the work was complete but could not pick up until I returned to Evanston a week or so thereafter.

When I picked up the car, I immediately noticed that the engine was growling and it would not back up. Drove the car a total of 52 miles and the transmition completely went out-so I called and spoke with the service advisor to see what they could do. He informed me that the Owner would call and after several days of waiting-I informed him that I was going to file a complaint. Within an hour, the Owner called to tell me that not only wasn’t it his fault, but somehow it was my fault and offered no rebate or assistance. $1,600 for 52 miles and a lecture by the owner. Be very careful of this place.

(before you read my review below, take note of the 5 star ratings sprees in the reviews history. many occur within days of each other, and are entered by the same user. This company is not above scamming people, and it seems, is certainly not above inflating its ratings history on its shady business practices)



I just got done fixing the windshield wipers on my 2001 Jetta. The problem: my windshield wipers stopped going up and down after a snowstorm. The actual fix: going under my hood and screwing the nut back on that attaches the wiper motor to the wiper linkage(30mins total, $0). The diagnosis from Doc Ables 2 hrs earlier: $600 for parts and labor to repair the problem.

I was told by Doc Ables that a gear in the wiper motor had sheared off, and the connection from the motor to the linkage was stripped. They said it would be $350 in parts and 4 hours of shop time to fix the problem, plus the one hour shop time it took them to open my car and diagnose the problem. After I got off the phone with them, i looked online to see if I could buy the parts myself. The motor was $79 at Autozone, and the linkage was $20.(That makes $99 in parts.) I called back and told them I'd do the repairs myself.

When I went to take a look at the damage, it was clear that my car had not been touched(I know that sounds cliched to say, but in this case the cliche was true). When I removed the guard above the wipers, there were years of dirt caked in between the windshield and the guard that all fell away when I pulled it off. It had definitely never been moved. Once in, I could see that the nut attaching the linkage to the motor had come unscrewed, and was sitting on the metal frame. I picked it up, screwed it back on, and turned the wipers on. The wiper posts moved(I had taken the wiper arms off). I then made some adjustments, screwed the wiper arms back on, and everything worked properly. There was no problem with the motor, and no damage to the linkage, or any part of the wiper system.



There should be a branch of the law that monitors this type of fraud. No "buyer beware." No "get a second opinion." It's fraud, plain and simple. I'll be contacting law enforcement to see if there is any recourse for prosecuting this type of brazen scam. I do not understand how companies like this are allowed to continue to operate as though we live in a society where its acceptable to fund your business by scamming people.

(not to mention the scarier fact that if they'd not been as brazen about it as they were when they completely overcharged me for parts, I would have never found this out.)



Ridiculous.

I cringe every time I drive by this place. First off, I find it hard to believe all the positive ratings on this site and citysearch. Based on my experience with them, this is a stretch. A very long one!



I live down the street and I used to go there for basic service, as they lured me in with their $9.99 oil change specials. Had some other minor work done, but nothing major for this simple reason:



Everytime I had an oil change, they would come out with a mile long list of things I needed to get done. I would then go to my mechanic friend, who, 9 times out of 10, would tell me the work isn't necessary, or he felt the estimate was high.



They also provided me with a "comment card" one day after an oil change. It clearly said to fill it out and bring it in the next time you come in and you get a free tire rotation. So upon my next oil change, I gave them the card and asked them to rotate my tires.



When I went to pick the car up, my bill was almost $60 (not $12.00 as usual.) I asked what was going on and they told me they did the whole "20 point or whatever inspection," which is $45.00. I explained very clearly that all I wanted was my tires rotated, and that should be free!



Things got heated and an old man, probably the owner, came up front to see what was going on. I pleaded my case and the person I was dealing with, in front of everyone there, said "He only comes in for the oil changes!."



The old man then said to me repeatedly, "Just leave."



I was astonished- that is the way they treat a customer? Especially in public? They ended up not charging me the $45, but I think the feeling was mutual- we will no doubt, NEVER do business together again. I suggest you do the same.

DISHONEST SHOP, AVOID: I naively took my car in for an oil change and was told I needed $1500 in repair work on my car. I refused and took my car elsewhere and was told almost nothing needed to be fixed. The terse, vague positive reviews you see on this site are bogus reviews generated by the owners.