Greg Clark Automotive Specialists

One of my co-​workers came to work very angry this morning. She told me that she took her car to Greg Clark Automotive and they gave her a dishonest opinion of her vehicle. They told her her radiator had huge hole and couldn’t hold fluid, and that her A/​C line had a leak and her A/​C wouldn’t work. She said that she challenged them on it they got really angry and refused to give her any paperwork and told her she could leave their shop. So now she took her car in to get looked at and she had to leave with a car not running as good as it was when she took it in. She then took it to another shop to get a 2^nd opinion same day, and low and behold there was just minor leakage from the radiator, where they didn’t reconnect the hose and left our a few bolts. (same thing they did to my car years ago)
This reminded me of the experience I had with Greg Clark Automotive:
2012
Not To Be Trusted — I went to this shop to have them look at my 1977 Oldsmobile Cutlass. It wasnt giving me the Uumph that it used to give me so I wanted to have it looked at.
I let them keep the car overnight to look it over, and they called me the next day with a really big list of leaks. Just leaks so i was okay with it. The main leak that they said needed to be fixed immediately was my head gaskets. I paid them $ 700 to do the head gaskets and when they finished they told me they located a hairpin crack in my block and that it could be as much as $ 4000 to fix it. I drove home and within 3 days the car began to leak like I have never seen it leak before. Pissing Oil!
I parked my car so I wouldnt damage it and I didnt have $ 4000. My car stayed parked for 1 year and 6 months while I saved up my money. I called a differant mechanic to just get the car started for me, and he took a look at the engine and found that (1) my head gaskets was installed incorrectly, (2) the right valve cover was bent, and (3) there was no crack in the block, they just left the screws loose on the valve covers.
This is totally unfair to the average consumer that knows nothing about cars. Always get a second opinion. I cant say the entire shop is fraudulent but at least the mechanic that looked at my car is a dishonest thief and I will never go to this shop again and I will never recommend this shop to a friend or enemy.

So, on my way out early one morning, not only did I almost run out of gas, but my tire was nearly flat, and I was not in my neighborhood. With those scary dash lights flashing little red triangles and little yellow tire icons, I pulled into this place (yikes, I know I’m now at their mercy – are they going to sell me new tires?), asked for help and they were GREAT! Friendly, got to me right away, ridiculously affordable, took the nail out, patched me up, nice air conditioned lobby to wait in, definitely would use them again. Thanks, guys!

Have been using this business for years. Can rely on them to do only needed repairs at fair price.

I came in here to get my car inspected for an extended warranty, and was told by a AAA rep I would be charged around $ 50 for the inspection. These guys inspected me for free. Thanks!

This place was recommended. I spoke to the manager and he seemed nice, but my problem is with the front desk guy. I think his name is Frank. He needs to retire because he tries to rip people off. I came in and got a quote. After getting my car done, I asked if this place is AAA authorized which I know it was and I was entitled to a 10% discount. He said they were and I said oh okay I’m a AAA member. Then he says oh I gave you a discount. I’m thinking how can you give me a discount without me telling you I was a AAA member? After i heard that I felt this was the last time I would patronage this place. Businesses should be honest, that is not asking a lot. After comparing their prices to other places I have used — they are a lot more expensive.

My beloved Taurus wouldn’t start one day when I was at Basha’s on 7^th Ave and Osborn. So I called AAA and they sent out a tow truck. I requested that the car be towed to the nearest AAA repair facility at 12^th and Camelback, but the tow truck driver had a better idea: Clark’s on 19^th Ave (which was a lot closer to my house than the official AAA repair facility). The driver also said I’d get a 15% AAA discount for taking my car there. I also (incorrectly) assumed this repair shop was affiliated with Kelly Clark Automotive. Big Mistake. That’s because I found Greg Clark Automotive not to be particularly honest, and that they’ll try to take you for everything they can cajole and bamboozle out of you.
After they looked at my car, they called me and said I needed a new starter ($ 342). But then the service guy said I also needed a least a half dozen other things, and that it would cost me in excess of $ 2,000. I said my car (aka known as «The Greatest Car in World History») had over 300,000 miles on it, and that it had also been previously totaled so it wasn’t worth anything; and I adamantly said I didn’t feel this was a good investment, putting that kind of money into an old car that could go out at any moment. But «No» does not mean «No» to Greg Clark Automotive. And it that didn’t stop the service guy from transforming into a used-​car salesman, trying to convince me that my car would be «as good as new» and that I have «many more years left in it» after the repairs. I even got the scare tactic from him: «Your wheels could fall off if you hit a speed bump.» After I heard that I should have called AAA and had my car towed off the lot, but I went ahead and had them fix the starter. Big mistake.
As I later found out, this shop charged nearly double what that repair typically costs for that vehicle, and when I went to pick up the car, I asked, «You took the 15% off (as promised by the tow truck driver) for my AAA membership, right?» And he said, «Yes.» Lie. First of all, as I later discovered, there was no discount on the receipt, and I also realized that he had no way of knowing I was a AAA member. I never mentioned it on the phone! Heck, I was too busy insisting that I would take my chances with my wheels not falling off with each trip over a speed bump.
Needless to say, after this escapade, I complained to AAA. Which didn’t do any good, since this shop is still a AAA shop, and it makes me wonder about the credibility of that seal of approval. (I’m guessing other people have complained about Greg Clark Automotive as well.)
And as far as the car needing those additional repairs, the only thing I had done to the car in the 33 months following this episode was to have the radiator replaced under warranty. I never did any of the other work (!) suggested, and the car was only recently retired to that car graveyard in the sky with nearly 340K on it. So I saved myself nearly $ 2,000 by not doing the suggested repairs. And, NO, the wheels never did fall off (!), even after going over a great many speed bumps. (Including those whiplash-​causing ones at L.A. Fitness.)
Update: Regarding the owner comment directed at my review, I can only say I hope that you do learn from our feedback, and that you do clean up your act. Because we (i.e., the customers) want you to succeed. We want you to thrive. But for you to do that, we can’t feel as though we’re getting the short end of the stick; that we’ve been taken for a ride. WE WANT RESULTS, NOT HOLLOW WORDS AND EMPTY PROMISES. Through the Internet, customer experiences can now be broadcast to the entire world. Now, more than ever, those businesses that fail to heed this will quickly perish. In the past, a wonderful (or poor) experience would have limited us to telling our acquaintances. Now, we can tell the world! And so, I really hope you are listening to us. We will make, or break, you; in very short order. I hope it’s the former, not the latter.

I found this place online after having a horrible trip into Phoenix from the San Francisco bay area. After driving 11 straight hours through the night, our Mercury Mountaineer starting sounding like I was driving on the rumble strip on the shoulder. I pulled over at the first rest stop and as I did the clunking was ridiculously loud. At this point, we were about 70 miles from our destination. Needless to say, after the sun came up we white knuckled it into Phoenix just as the kids were starting to wake up.
After finding Greg Clark online, we took the car in. I was expecting to be raped — out of towner stranded and all. This was about 2PM on a Saturday afternoon. By 5PM, they had called with a diagnosis — the U joint on the drive shaft had failed. Luckily the car is all wheel drive, so we were able to limp in on the 2 wheels that were still under power.
After being closed on Sunday, they called me at 11AM on Monday saying that they had a new drive shaft machined at an off site machine shop and that the car was ready to pick up. ‘Here comes the damage’ I thought. Surely a rush job like this won’t be cheap. I went down and paid and was very surprised when the only charged me $ 500.00 out the door.
The saved the trip and my sanity. Great job and thanks guys!

Greg also repairs ATVs. He maintains my Yamaha Rhino and provides the service at a fair price. I highly recommend Greg and his ATV service.