We've been going to IAM since moving here a year-and-a-half ago and thought that they were great but.........
At the end of August 2011, one week before a trip, I took my car in for an oil change, tire rotation, alignment, and pre-trip inspection. The next day, I was called and told that new front rotors and brakes were needed to which I gave them the okay to do. The third day, I got a call informing me that they were having difficulty aligning the tires and that the car needed a new steering rack and tie rods. It was at this point that I called our trusted mechanic in our hometown, one of my husband's oldest friends. It was decided that we'd wait for him to take a look at the rack and rods because this is all adding up to well over $2000. Mind you, we're talking about a 2001 Outback so we're obviously not ""loaded"".
Picked up the car and paid in total over $1000. The first leg of our trip was the first time that we'd driven the car on the interstate since getting it back. We noticed a new noise and feel in the front end but continued on, thinking it might be the new brakes settling in. The next day, the noise and feel were getting worse. Because we happened to be in our hometown, we called the trusted mechanic who came in on a Saturday to take a look. The lug nuts were not tightened on the wheels! After taking care of that, he put the car on the lift to take a look at the rack and rods. It was at this point that it was noted the brakes HAD NOT been worked on and the rack and rods didn't appear to need replacement.
I notified IAM via email (because it was on a weekend) about the discoveries and asked that we please receive a call to address the problems. The call was received the following Tuesday and they admitted that the brake had not been done. Their ""solution"" was to refund HALF of the brake work and finish the job. I had a week to think over this and decided that I had lost ALL confidence in them. Upon returning from our trip, I went in to request a refund of ALL ($791+/-) the brake money to which they complied. All that was said was, ""Sorry 'bout that"" as I walked out the door.
Follow up: Received call from owner who was very apologetic and said this was a most embarrassing mistake and the worst one made since they'd been in business. I DO appreciate his call!
more