My 1993 Honda Accord Wagon would not start. Based on positive internet reviews, I had the car towed to Evans Automotive. I gave Linda a printed sheet with a description of the starting problem, along with attempts to repair the issue. Since the car was in the shop, I also asked them to look into two other issues: a non-working horn, and the Anti-Lock Brake light (ABS) on. The car was dropped of on Monday, October 30. I called the following Thursday, November 2, and Linda said that they were still working on the car, and she would call me the following day. On Friday, she called and said that they needed to keep the car over the weekend, and the bill was currently at $900.00. On Monday, 11/6, Linda called saying that they had not finished, and thought it would be ready by Wednesday. Linda told me that they had repaired the starting problem, and were working on the horn. When I heard that the cost, so far, was around $1,000.00, I told her to cancel the ABS light repair. On Wednesday, 11/8, Linda called saying that the car would be ready on Thursday, 11/9, and that the total bill would be $1,108.92. When the service manager called, saying that the car was ready, I asked him to have the owner review the bill to ensure that it was accurate. The service manager told me later that the owner had reviewed the bill. Please remember that this is my first visit to this shop. In reviewing the bill I saw that, for each of the three items listed, Evans had charged a diagnosis fee: $104.65 for the Brake light, $104.65 for the horn, and $209.30 for the starting problem. The repair parts included a distributor cap ($72.26), a relay ($147.85), and a roll of wire ($22.00). The towing fee ($70.00) was included on the bill, as I expected. When I picked up the car, it had been washed and vacuumed. The car started and ran well, and the horn worked. Since I was a new customer, I received a blue bag with some candy, a small flashlight, and a certificate for a free car wash. From my limited experience with Evans Automotive, I learned ithat, for each problem that you ask Evans to check you will spend at least $104.65. In my case, the total diagnostic fee was $418.60 ($209.30 + $104.65 + $104.65). Had I known this, I would not have had them investigate the horn or (ABS) problem. If this fee was mentioned, or printed on the sheet that I signed, I did not notice it. This shop did repair my starting problem, and my horn, and the total cost was $1,108.92. I cannot recommend this business because of the cost.
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