Grismer

NOTE: This location is also reviewed as 1099 S. Main, Centerville, OH 45 458.
Buyer beware. Take your hard-​earned money elsewhere. We are relatively new to the area and had good experiences at the Grismer locations at Dayton Mall and Brandt Pike. Grismer, in general, isn’t cheap, but they’re usually fair, knowledgeable and they get the job done.
When we moved near this particular location, we were expecting the same. Almost right away, I started noticing habitual tack ons or upsells on my service order. It was always in the context of, «you may want to have this done» or «if you want your family to be safe, you should get Nokians for your Subaru.» I didn’t really fault this. This is suggestive selling. It’s annoying but it’s business. All Grismer locations do it to some extent, but this one is pretty agressive the last two times my cars went in.
Well, my old Honda started overheating one day so I thought nothing of bringing it to this location. Usually, cooling problems can be attributed to 4 areas, so it’s not too hard to diagnose, according to some gearhead friends of mine. They said the Honda needed a new radiator a new thermostat and upsold me to have my tie rods done – all to the tune of about 1200 bucks. I cringed because I don’t make alot of money – else, I wouldn’t be driving an old Honda to begin with. But, I knew it was getting old and things had to be done, so I agreed. I did, however remember having my radiator replaced 4 years ago. The thermostat was replaced 2 years ago Can a Honda really go through 2 radiators and 2 thermostats? Well after i picked it up, PAID for it and drove it for 3 days, it started to overheat the same way again.
I brought it back and they said that they’d have a look at it. They let it sit on the lot for 3 days before rolling it in. They get back to you within a day when you’re paying for it, but when they may have to do rework, they just let the cars sit. When they finally called me they said it was the clutch fan and that it would cost me at least 300 dollars MORE. I asked them why did they misdiagnose my car and have me spend 1200 bucks when I came out of Grismer with the same problem? They arrogantly said that they had to take care of the big part of the problem before they took care of the small part. So, what they are really saying is that they weren’t sure that their original fix was the correct fix action and sent me and my Honda back into the world un-​repaired. They did not offer to cut me a break for the fan since they misdiagnosed the car nor were they apologetic. That’s bad business to me. I told them to button up the car because I will not let them have one more penny of mine. Here I am struggling, and after paying 1200 dollars, my car sits in the driveway and I have to ride share with my wife to get to work.
If you take your car to Grismer, BUYER BEWARE. This isn’t the same local garage that the Marshalls started years ago to keep locals on the road. If you do choose to use Grismer, DO NOT take your car to this location (on the corner of State Route 48 and Sheehan Road/​1099 S. Main, 45 458). All they care about is upselling repair orders and selling expensive Finnish tires that no one cares about. This location has soured me on the whole Grismer name and I will NEVER trust Grismer with my vehicles OR my saftey ever again. Readers, if you have to take it to a Grismer location, don’t choose this one. Keep on driving.
UPDATE (¹⁰⁄₁₅): With the car sold to pay for the repair, word of this review got the attention of District management who was willing to rectify problems caused by this experience. Though it does not change the way I feel about this location, but I would give their more customer friendly locations a try. Thank you Jim for cultivating customer relationships.

Last time I came there, they told me this huge laundry list of things my car needed to get done. Now, I have an older car so kind of expect that. But, this guy is like «we cant guarrantee our work unless you get all this *other* stuff done too». Big pressure — big turnoff. Never been back.
Tell me what needs to be done, then let *me* tell *you* what I will do or not do.

On the way to visit the in-​laws for the holidays we got a flat tire. We attached the spare, drove the rest of the way, and on Saturday stopped by Grismer to see about fixing and or replacing it. We were shown that the tire had a large gash and a new one would need to be bought. They didn’t have the tire we required at this location, but they said they could have it brought over from another on Monday and would give us a call when it was in. That was fine with us so we decided to come back on Monday after getting a call.
Monday arrived and we waited until the afternoon without receiving a call. We called to check and they said that the tire was there (no apology for not calling us) and said we could stop on by. We drove out, with another car to take us back, and when we arrived they said it would take two hours. That seemed like a long time for replacing just one tire, but they looked busy and we had some holiday shopping to do that it didn’t bother us. We called after two and a half hours to see what the status was and they said it should be done in 15 minutes, if we headed back now it would be ready.
We pull into the parking lot to find our car still in the same spot we left it with the spare still attached. We went inside to check and were told that «it was ready» and just needs to have the tire put on. What was «ready?» They finally had it replaced and never once offered an apology or explanation of the delay. I do not suggest going here unless there are no other options.