Matt Friese

Review of Carrsmith

I was driving from Daytona Beach to Gainesville, t...

I was driving from Daytona Beach to Gainesville, to visit my brother in Shands Hospital. My car overheated right outside of town on 441. Carrsmith was the closest mechanic to where I broke down. Was able to make it their shop, and they gave me a ride to the hospital while they diagnosed the problem. A few hours later they call to tell me my radiator had cracked and needed to be replaced. Seemed legit, as the radiator was probably old and was steaming badly. Then I was quoted an egregious price of $927 to replace the radiator and thermostat on my 2003 Honda Civic. This is where I should have looked elsewhere; however, I had the misfortune of being from out of town, and had more important things to worry about (my brother was in the hospital because he shot himself in the face). I told them I don't even have that much money, and they were quick to offer an in-house financing credit card application. I was able to borrow money from a friend, and reluctantly told them to do the work. I checked that I wanted my old parts back on the paperwork, they were never returned to me. I should have stuck up for myself more, but I didn't have the energy. I was just grateful to get my car up and running, so I wasn't stuck in Gainesville and could go back to work.They were nice about the whole thing, and they DID stay open an extra hour on Saturday, so I didn't have to wait until Monday to get my car back, but its the least they could do after raping me on the price.