Fairfield Gas and Auto

Right around the corner from my house. Ill use it in a pinch. They are hardly ever open and It takes forever to get your gas pumped (they wont let ya pump, pump, pump your own)! I wouldnt recomend getting a car fixed their either…

Cheap gas, although I don’t usually fill up here. I was pretty down on the place for a while. I have never had any work done here. It seems to be a revolving door of mechanics. They have done a bad job on a friend’s brakes among other things. However, on the way to a bar last week, it was discovered that my friend’s tire was flat and he was riding rim. We left his car parked on Jefferson, recovered it in the morning. A guy at the bar recommended Tire Guy, on 37^th and Lorain. I told my friend to go here because it was convenient and cheap. $ 10 for a tire plug, and the friend got to drive back to Columbus without any problem! I wouldn’t get any real work done here though. Find a hillbilly that would do it for you on the side of the street or in his garage. If you walk around the neighborhood and ask, you will find one.

I think I’m entering Cleveland’s desperation-​proximity-​value continuum.
At first, I thought that staying local was the way to go while getting to know what’s around, even if it paid a little more. Especially with something like car maintenance, where you’re sort of eager to have it done right away no matter the cost. I’ve reviewed Fairfield Gas & Auto three times now, and that’s because each time I’ve gone there, I’ve walked out just a tad more skeptical if the work done was worth it, or even necessary. Being an optimist in theory, I’d like to think the owner wasn’t trying to take advantage of my knowing next to nothing about cars. But as experience would show, people always have to take advantage of an opportunity to make more money.
In the past, I had this thought: I know it’s pricey, but it’s right down the street and I can walk home while I wait for it. Now that I know some surrounding areas (as well as all of YOU NICE Unilocal PEOPLE who will give/​have given me suggestions), I think I’m going to avoid this place. I always leave having more done than I want, and paying MUCH more than you want. Not just because you get «talked into» getting more, but because they throw it on you and say it’s absolutely necessary or you could be asking for more trouble. It’s our only car, and I don’t want it to break down.
And while I used to think this cigarette-​filled, teensy-​weensy waiting area with one foldout chair was sort of charismatic and authentic, now I am just annoyed by the seeming lack of cleanliness in the place (and the fact that my car smells like smoke every time they work on it).
On Friday I went in for an oil change. I also inquired about new windshield wipers. I was told that I definitely needed new ones (big surprise there). When I asked about price, of course they gave me that iffy «anywhere from $ 13.99 to $ 39.99 each wiper depending on size» stuff. Okay, okay.
While I was waiting, the owner’s wife (I think) was there make a loud ruckus («Can you describe the ruckus, sir?»). Let’s just say she was teasing her kid by trying to steal his toy truck, while simultaneously ignoring calls on her cell phone and saying «Fuck OFF!» That, and she kept trying to include me in on her little conversations with herself. It was super pleasant.
When the other mechanic was «done,» he brought the car around but when the owner asked him if he had put new washer fluid in, he said, «Aw shit, no.» And then I had to wait another ten minutes. And then of course they forgot about the windshield wipers. And then there were none left, so they had to go to the back and get a new box… all in all, I could have just gone home and not dealt with this but since he told me it was only gonna be ten minutes, I waited. I should have known that «ten minutes» means at least half an hour in auto-​mechanic land.
This is the best part. He said to me, «usually an oil change is $ 29.99. But you need V5 oil in your car, so it’s ten dollars more.» AFTER he already did it! I didn’t even have the energy to tell him that I have a receipt from him for a month earlier with the $ 29.99 charge. I don’t know if he thinks I’m dumb, but I guess I am for not fighting that. Truth is, he seemed pretty out of sorts in general, and not very professional. In any case, I am DEFINITELY going somewhere else next time. Suggestions?