moh.vze.com

Autoshop owner said he needed 2 days when I dropped my car off. I called on second day 1 hour before closing and he said he needed more time and will give me a call tomorrow morning. So... is it normal for them to not give me updates ahead of time if they needed more time? I thought it was weird that I had to call them instead of them calling me with the updates.

If its a small independent like mine if you are busy you tend to lose track of who needs to be called. I dont have  multiple "service writers"  that can sit and just make calls all day like you would get at a dealer. He may have lost track and forgot to call.   

It's a small shop and he's had it since 1981. I think the business is mainly ran by him and his son (early thirties) and a few older mechanic guys. Last time I was there I can see his three year old grandson chillin at the front desk with them. I pretty much just showed up and payed the bill and shook his hand and said thanks for working on my car.

I asked him how was it working on the Camry and he noted that there were a lot of water everywhere when he did the valve gasket changing. He also asked me if I did my own oil change because he noticed there was something down the oil pan area that needs replacement (probably needs a new washer for the bolt).

Overall, he was a man of very few words but my instincts tell me he does good work when he needs to complete any given task and he's not afraid to keep the car for a couple more days to make sure it gets done right.

My co-worker was the one that recommended the shop and also let me know that the old mechanic owner there is just and old grumpy guy but does good work (he had 3 cars done there).

Also, I tried to ask the old guy if it would be possible to get dual alternators going in my Camry with custom brackets and he kinda refused that job request lol. Dude didn't even recommend any other shops that might be able to do it ( I guess it's not that common to have dual alts in a Camry).