US Collect A Coin » Provo

Review of Action Transmission {5/5 Stars}

Allan — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 06:40:16 +0000

Customer Service [rating:4.5/5]

These guys are the best transmission shop in Provo, Utah. Not only are these guys good but they are straight forward and honest. Our car had the check engine light on with a speed sensor circuit code, which is a transmission problem, so the guys at Action Transmission checked it out and informed us why our speed sensor had failed. It turns out our transmission was falling apart and pieces of it were stuck to the magnet in the speed sensor. We were in some serious need of a new transmission. The way Action Transmission handled the whole thing was fantastic. They informed us of the problem then let us choose. They didn’t fix it and then inform me that I now owed them a million dollars. They called me up and let me choose what to do.

When I brought the kid that was going to buy my dying car from me to their shop they explained over and over the options for repair and how much they would cost. They were so good at honestly explaining what problems the car had and how much it would cost to fix. The helped me sell the car and not feel like I was cheating some kid out of his money just to unload my piece of junk Hyundai Sonata (never buy a Hyundai, this Review Provo Blog would be a lot shorter if I didn’t have to keep going to different car places to fix my dumb car.) The only negative aspect was that I got two slightly different pricing scenarios from the guy on the phone and the lady at the desk until til the guy and the phone walked into the office. But it was cleared up and things went peachy keen.

Price [rating:4.5/5]

Their prices were fair and they kept me informed. Transmission repairs are just expensive.

Quality [rating:5/5]

They did a great job. The speed sensor they put in worked great for the one week we owned the car after they replaced it.

Atmosphere [rating:5/5]

I really liked their shop. They had a transmission in their lobby that had been quarter cut so you could see all the gears and disks and things inside of it and how they meshed together. They also had a bunch of really helpful diagrams put up so you could see what each sensor did and what happens when it fails.

[rating:overall/5]

Action Transmission
430 West 300 South
Provo, UT 84601
Telephone: 801-374-3580
Toll Free: 1-866-274-9580

http://www.actiontranz.com

Review of Mountain America Credit Union {2/5 Stars}

Allan — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 23:20:00 +0000

Customer Service [rating:3/5]

Mountain America Credit Union (MACU) is the worst credit union I’ve ever entered. When I asked about interest rates for auto loans the lady who I asked looked down her nose at me and said, “Probably about 9 to 9.5%.” Then she went on to list all of the conditions that had to be met for the car to be good enough for them to even consider giving me a auto loan. I promptly said, “Ok…Goodbye.”

Now, if this was my only experience with the people at MACU I would have given them a 0 for a customer service rating, but its not. I had an account there for about 6 years. I didn’t frequent the place, but the tellers were all really friendly and nice. So a mediocre score is caused by one bad experience.

Price [rating:0/5]

So as I mentioned in the previous section they offered me a 9.5% car loan. Granted, this was a year ago, but when I went to Zions Bank they said 7%. The place I finally decided on going was Goldenwest Credit Union which gave me a 6.45% auto loan. The real kicker is that MACU would only give a car loan for cars newer than 10 years old. If the vehicle was more than 10 years old they wouldn’t give you a auto loan, but what they “recommended” was that I take out a personal loan with a whopping 13% interest rate. What kind of idiot did they think I was? The worst part is that when I told my coworkers about this one of the told me that she’d went through this exact same process with MACU and got the personal loan! I couldn’t believe it! They prey on people who don’t know enough to say no to their ridiculous requirements! She’d already been paying on it for 3 years and was going to be paying it off in just a couple months, it was too late to help her, but I will never bank there, nor will anyone I know without me giving them a piece of my mind.

Quality [rating:1/5]

I’ve already ranted enough about their shoddy quality. Their interest rates on savings accounts aren’t even that great either. Only .9% (at the time this article was written) while Goldenwest Credit Union is 1%. I won’t even bother comparing savings account rates to banks because credit unions are always superior (excluding ING Direct, which beats most banks and credit unions that I’ve seen–currently giving me 3% on my savings account and 1.74% on my checking account).

Atmosphere [rating:4/5]

It was a nice clean bank. Some fake plants in the corners. The usual.

[rating:overall/5]

Never going to touch my money again. They may change their ridiculous requirements in the future, but Goldenwest Credit Union gets my auto loan and ING Direct gets my money.

88 N 500 W
Provo, UT 84601
(801) 373-0330

Review of Quality Muffler {5/5 Stars}

Allan — Mon, 26 May 2008 14:47:20 +0000

Customer Service [rating:5/5]

This place wins the customer service award by far. Not only is Dale the nicest guy to ever fix my car, but he’s good like mom’s Sunday dinner is good. He just looks, talks, and feels like he knows what your car needs, and he’s honest about it.

The thing that really sealed the deal with Quality Muffler is that when I picked up my car only 3 hours after I dropped it off (unlike 10 days with Jim’s Auto & Rip You Off Shop) he said he wanted to show me my old catalytic converter. I thought, “Wow, that would be awesome. I’d love to look at it. No one has ever offered such a thing to me before!” My wife and I went into his shop and he pulled my catalytic converter from a pile and explained to me what was going on inside of mine. It was a super thing for him to do. It didn’t change anything, it wasn’t really necessary, but it just made me like Dale and his Quality Muffler even more.

Price [rating:5/5]

The price was perfect. Less than I expected and worth every penny.

Quality [rating:5/5]

After Quality Muffler replaced my catalytic converter my car has been better than ever, and I mean that quite literally. Its been a week and that means its already out lasted the previous attempt to fix it.

Atmosphere [rating:4/5]

Well, it wasn’t exactly the Ritz Carlton, but he was sweeping the shop out as we drove up, it was bright, uncluttered, and overall pretty darn good.

[rating:overall/5]

If I know anyone that has a muffer or catalytic converter problem, or if I even overhear anyone talking about their problems I’m going to pipe up and tell them all about the Quality Muffler of Provo, Utah.
Quality Muffler
1122 S. State St. #25
Provo, UT 84606
801-377-9166

Review of Jim's Auto Accessories & Muffler Shop {0.5/5 Stars}

Allan — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 07:48:19 +0000

Customer Service [rating:0/5]
As far as customer service goes, Jim’s Auto Accessories & Muffler Shop could not get worse. (If your looking for the best muffler shop in Provo then check out my review of Quality Muffler.) This is my experience: Jim tried to tell me that I had air being sucked into my exhaust line just before the muffler…I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to blow into your muffler while the car is running…good luck. I don’t see how a pin sized hole right before the muffler could do it either. I’m not a rocket scientist, yet, but I have taken a fluid dynamics class. No gas is going to go upstream into a pressurized line. As you can imagine that didn’t go over so well with me since I’d just given him $600 two weeks earlier to fix the problem with my catalytic converters. So we started arguing about it, right there in his lobby, with 4 or 5 other people just watching. I’m not ashamed of the fact that I found it invigorating to stand up for my self against this jerk. He told me that my regular mechanic didn’t perform an adequate tune up; therefore the warranty was no longer valid. He had no where specified what an adequate tune up was; just that mine was not good enough. He told me, while we were yelling, that since I didn’t replace all the wiring and spark plugs, even though my mechanic tested them all, that he would not fix the problem which he told me was caused by a tiny little exhaust leak right in front of the catalytic converter (which was there when he fixed the car and said it would be fine until the next time I had to have my emissions tested), but I’ve already discussed how much bologna that is.

So moral of the story is that Jim doesn’t care one whit about you. I talked to my other mechanic afterwards about the situation and when I told him who I had gone to the first thing he said was, “Well that was your first mistake going to him.” That’s comforting to me to know that other people are aware of the wonderful customer service that can be found at Jim’s Auto Accessories & Muffler Shop and are steering others away.

Price [rating:1/5]
The reason why I went to Jim’s Auto Accessories & Muffler Shop was price. I called around and found that he was the cheapest shop in my neighborhood so I went. But the value for the money I spent is astronomically low. I won’t launch into another rant here, but needless to say the reason for the low rating is clearly explained in the customer service section.

Quality [rating:0/5]
Let’s just say that if the quality were any lower I wouldn’t have made it out of the parking lot. The problem that was “fixed” resurfaced in about two week’s time. Make sure you keep your receipt, not that it will do you any good. Your best bet is finding some expert witnesses and trying small claims court.

Atmosphere [rating:1.5/5]
I’m giving Jim’s Auto a star and half because I found the adrenaline of confrontation quite energizing. But if a heated argument with spectators is not for you I’d steer clear. The place is also dirty. Now I’m sure you’re thinking “It’s a car repair shop, its going to be dirty.” Not true, I’ve been to more than one shop that is not only clean but dusted, mopped, and the bathroom is shiny. I read in a high class restaurant reviewers comments that the bathroom reflects on the way a restaurant is run. I think the same is true for all places and especially of Jim’s. The bathroom just like Jim’s customer service is dirty and unkempt.

[rating:overall/5]
Jim’s Auto Accessories & Muffler Shop, I’d say the worst place in Provo to get your car worked on. But, if you like to yell this may be the place for you.

Jim’s Auto Accessories & Muffler Shop
907 W Center St
Provo, UT 84601

http://www.jimsautoutah.com/