Maddie’s Garage

quote!
«Fix it yourself»
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«$ 60 for a diagnosis.» said Mr. John Buss.
maybe I wasn’t clear:
I know what to fix.
I just need the part, and you can put it in.
«Fix it yourself»
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I was invited to leave…
WOW!

Had a horrible experience with Maddie’s. When I voiced my dissatisfaction over the quality of work performed, John began arguing with me. It then escalated into a shouting match! While I can see both sides of the argument, in my opinion it is never O.K. for a business owner to actually yell at a customer who simply disagrees with them. I will have to pay another shop to finish the repair because I will never do business with them again. Too bad. All John had to do was work with me a little on the added cost to do the job right. When I told him I would post my dissatisfaction on Unilocal,John asked me if I knew what liable was!

I had my car worked on back in July of 2014 and had my alternator replaced. The alternator came with a 12 month 12 000 mile warranty. I came back a few weeks ago because my battery light came on and my car was acting up. They «diagnosed» my alternator and told me that my battery light came on because of a short somewhere else in my car other than the alternator. I tore my car apart trying to find this «short» and finally got tired of it and took it to another shop. They took the alternator out, tested it and it ended up being a defective alternator. They replaced it without question and charged me a fair price. Instead of the $ 230 «diagnosis» for the «short» that was no where to be found. In my opinion this is NOT a shop anyone should go to for anything. I’d give them a ZERO if it were possible.

Very happy with Maddie’s.
I found them through Unilocal looking for a garage open on a Sunday. I was driving down from Seattle to look at a used car and wanted a buyers inspection. I called on very short notice and they would take me in on Sunday afternoon.
When I did my own inspection of the car I immediately identified an exhaust leak and oil leaks — so I was already skeptical (as the car was well below the advertised condition).
Maddie’s allowed me to get under the lift with their mechanic, as someone who knew the weaknesses and what to look to for. They documented all of the problems with the vehicle (to quote the movie Gung Ho — that is a some list — ha!) and confirmed my belief that buying that car wouldn’t be a bad idea if I was looking for an extensive project car to work on. It would be, however, a terrible car to buy if I was looking for a vehicle in need of maybe some TLC, but could use a fun turbo charged toy from time to time.
$ 62 saved me thousands. They were courteous, patient, stayed open a bit past closing, and offered me one hell of a pear to eat.
I can’t say I will use Maddie’s again with the geography, 200 miles is a bit of a haul for service — but I would recommend them based upon the service I received.

John has worked on several of my cars for a few years now. He is far more knowledgable and upfront than other shops I have worked with in the past. I feel he cares more about his customers than making money. I have been offered a loaner car or a ride home several times, even on smaller repairs. I have not seen this at other shops. They are always flexible with appointments and have kept me updated every step of the way. I have worked with different mechanics and staff and have always been happy with the customer service and credibility there.

I love classic cars. The shops nowadays don’t want to work on them. Maddie’s Garage will work on any car. That’s what I like about them. The workmanship is A+. Honest work. I’ve taken 3 different classic cars to this shop and have received awesome work. I won’t be going to any other shop. Not only for classic cars but for newer car too. I recommend this shop highly.

The Unilocal!app comes through again with an outstanding referral. From the first call and email I could tell that the owner, John Buss, was a stand-​up guy. Equally knowledgeable and empathatic, he did not over promise and under deliver. I appreciate a shop or mechanic that takes a root-​cause approach to a situation, rather than slapping some bandaids all over it to mitigate the bleeding. (I drive an old Range Rover and duct tape equates to serious issues!) Customer service was also very above the norm. I was given a ride to my house, received daily updates on my vehicle from the shop, and also was given a look at things in progress when I stopped by a few times. I highly recommend Maddie’s Garage to anyone who is looking for honesty and value, also to anyone who really cares about their investment.