Gongyu Wang

Review of Carrsmith

I have been a loyal customer of Carrsmith since ha...

I have been a loyal customer of Carrsmith since half a year ago when they figured out the problem with my nissan's brake cylinder, which even the dealer couldn't. It turned out my brake cylinder was under warranty and Carrsmith didn't even ask for money for the diagnosis before they send me to the dealer to claim a replacement under the warranty. For that, I felt that I owed them some and decided to be a loyal customer to them (I joined their customer club right away). It is also why I am taking quite some time writing this review, in hope that they could see it.

My Kia's window was broken last Thursday. There was something wrong with the online appointment system and it didn't register my appointment on Friday but out of my "loyalty" to Carrsmith, I waited over weekend for the next available time slot and I even went out of my way to help them figure out what went wrong with their appointment system. After all, I was planning to have my cars serviced by them in future and it would be very convenient for me if the online appointment worked.

So they looked at my Kia on Tuesday and came back with a diagnosis and a quota. Apparently, my driver-side power windows needs a new regulator assembly and the part is going to cost me about $380. I didn't know what regulator assembly was but I trusted Carrsmith so I agreed to the price. After hanging up, I googled the part out of curiosity but it turns out there are a lot of cheap parts on sale ($80 a piece). Given that my Kia is a very old car, I was wondering if I should just go with a cheap part. So I called Carrsmith, spoke my mind and asked if they could find me a cheap part. But Jeff (my service advisor) told me that they only use Kia OEM part or for the very least famous brands like Dorman, and $380 is a fair price for quality part. I sensed impatience and reluctance in his voice, like he is in a hurry to hang up. So I hinted that maybe I should just take the car back, buy the cheap part and then have it installed. This is when Jeff informed me of the $100 "check-out" fee for their diagnosis work.

I told him that I need to think about it and will call him back. Then I called a Kia dealer and was told that a Kia OEM regulator assembly is priced at $280 after tax. I called Jeff again and this time, he sounded upset and informed me that the $100 gap is their profit. Then I told him that I am not happy about the situation and I am gonna quit even if it costs me $100 to do so. "I can find you a Dorman one", he said, "and it is going to be cheaper". "How much?". "$324". "Let me think about it".

Considering I did have great experiences with them and they became willing to help (finally!), I decided to go ahead with the $324 part. But I didn't appreciate that it took me 3 phone calls and quite some pushing for them to start to help me. The reluctance and the dodgy attitude left me in disbelief that this was the car shop I have been holding close to my heart.

I picked up my car today and Jeff was all smiles when I swiped my credit card. I wanted to tell him that I am a little disappointed with his services but they were in a hurry to close the shop. So here I am, writing this long review. I hate to say that I am a "loyal" customer no more and Carrsmith is starting to become "just another repair shop" for me. But it is the truth and I wish they could see why.

All in all, Carrsmith is not a bad shop and they get the job done. I am disappointed not because they couldn't find me cheap part but for their reluctance and impatience to help. Higher expectation means greater disappointment.