I needed a jump to start my car. Pep Boys ran a test on my alternator, starter and battery and everything was okay, so they referred me to Sarkis electric to fix what was most likely, a short. I took my car over to Sarkis before closing and the mechanic ran some tests and claims it's a short and he may or may not need to put in a new battery. He tells me he'll take a look at it the next day and he'll call before he puts in the battery (the one he's not sure I need). He tells me he'll be out all morning but he'll be back by 11am and I should expect a call around noon.
The next day at noon, I get a call that he fixed my short and that I needed a new battery. I ask how much and he says $200 from $75/hr. I say, ""But you just got in at 11am, how does one hour of labor equate to $200?"" He re-grouped and said his guys were working on it for 3 hours. 3 hours to fix a fuse! He maintained he was doing me a favor at that price, he should've charged $225. He said to replace the battery would be another $60. I was angry and skeptical, so I declined, paid the $200 to fix the short and left. I wasn't positive I was getting hosed, but the guy seemed to make up prices on the spot and I was skeptical that the battery was truly out after it tested okay the previous day at Pep Boys.
I took the car to Pep Boys immediately after and they told me a screw was left loose on the battery, which could've caused the car to stop if I ran over a bump (sloppy job for $200). After running a test on the battery, I found out the battery was truly on its last legs. Was it manipulated? Who knows, the electric system is so tricky, this man could be taking me to the cleaners or he could be right when he said the short was capable of draining a healthy battery in less than a day.
I wanted to believe Sarkis was truly helping me out, but the technician there was so aggressive and was probing me with questions about my knowledge of the electrical system that I could only surmise he was trying to figure out how much I didn't know so he could inevitably take advantage of my ignorance. But maybe he was just passionate about fixing my car, who knows, that's why they get three stars.
Pros: Problem solved? Too early to tell...
Cons: Dicey choice of words/reasoning/pricing system
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