Toyota Yaris Forums - Ultimate Yaris Enthusiast Site
 

 


 
Go Back   Toyota Yaris Forums - Ultimate Yaris Enthusiast Site > Technical Forums > DIY / Maintenance / Service
  The Tire Rack

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 05-25-2009, 11:32 AM   #1
robkay
 
Drives: Hatch
Join Date: May 2009
Location: NW OH
Posts: 89
Question Toyota owners in NW-OH/SE-MI/Indiana/Windsor

Hey everybody,

I have a question for any Toyota owners in NW Ohio, SE Michigan, Indiana, Windsor, Ont (CA).

I have the unfortunate circumstance of living in a small city in the Great Lakes region where there are few, if any, competent and trustworthy shops. Over the years I've tried most of them--even the specialty shops--and they are generally dolts and rip-off artists. Just to confirm that I know that of which I speak, I have a friend whose family owns an aftermarket parts franchise. They call on all of the shops in the area. When I ask my friend if he can recommend a good, honest shop he just grimaces and shakes his head, and answers, "Hardly any of them really care." My friend sent me to a couple of his customers whom they feel are among the "more reliable" and I still got what I would call "crap work" (to put it politely), or ripped off.

Before I ramble on further, my question is whether anyone can recommend a private shop in the OH/MI/IN region that they trust. Even Windsor, Ont would not be that long a drive for me.

Please don't suggest going to a local dealer, because I do not trust them--particularly the one whom I bought my Yaris from new. They screwed up on the one and only service visit I made, and subsequently tried to ream me on a scheduled maintenance that I thought I would take the car in for and, thus, decided did not go there anymore. I am done with them.

I don't mind driving a couple hours if I have to.

When I had my Volvo I found a great shop in Ft. Wayne, IN. It was a 2-1/4 hour drive for me, but it was worth it. It's the only shop I ever found that was competent, reliable, and customer oriented. The were not "cheap" but they were a great value. They always did things right, and whenever they could do something to save me money they would do so. Can you imagine that? An auto shop looking to save the customer money! You can understand why the place was always packed with exotics (cars..). I loved going down there because it was like going to a car show!

Obviously, due to the distance I could not run down there for every little thing, but I would take my car there twice a year for regular service and rarely did I ever have any problems in the interim. If I did have a problem I would telephone them and they would put on my mechanic who would try to help me out over the phone. One time they even UPS'd me a part and told me how to install it. They told me that if it didn't solve the problem I could send the part back and we would go from there.

I would love to take my Toyota to them, but a couple unfortunate things happened. A) They decided to become a VW dealer. They would still take in other brands for service but, unfortunately, after they opened the dealership things changed dramatically--and not for the better. A lot of people started leaving, including my mechanic. B) My mechanic ended up going to work for the local Volvo dealer. That dealer's level of customer care was not as high, but at least I still had access to my mechanic whom I fully trusted. Before buying my Yaris I sold my 240 which had 235,000 miles on it and still looked and ran great. The kid who bought it took it to a local shop for inspection and the mechanic told him, "This car has been very well cared for." I share that not as a tribute to myself, but as a tribute to the mechanic who worked on it for me.

So, if anyone knows of a shop staffed by people who care and actually like cars, I would appreciate some recommendations. I've had my Yaris going on 3 years and have not had to do much to it other than change the oil, but I feel like I need to develop a relationship with a good shop when the time comes that I need to have some work done that is beyond my ability.

I don't know whether the forum has any terms of use rules that would prevent making specific recommendations but, if so, please PM me (or if you want to specifically caution me against any particular shops).

Thanks in advance!

Rob

Last edited by robkay; 05-25-2009 at 11:47 AM.
robkay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2009, 05:26 PM   #2
Cosworth
 
Drives: S sedan
Join Date: May 2009
Location: MI
Posts: 120
I don't know how far NW MI you are, but I'm probably pretty close by you (< 2 hours). I cannot recommend any shops or dealers, but I usually maintain my car on small stuff. If you ever need to compare your car to mine to trouble shoot, feel free to let me know.

-Sean
Cosworth is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2009, 11:44 PM   #3
yaris-me
Learn to Relax
 
Drives: 2007, Meteorite, LB
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Anaheim, CA
Posts: 2,070
If you learn to do your own maintenance, the Yaris is very reliable and you won't have to worry about repairs.
yaris-me is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-01-2010, 10:47 PM   #4
robkay
 
Drives: Hatch
Join Date: May 2009
Location: NW OH
Posts: 89
Thumbs up

I wanted to let anyone who might need a professional shop know that I found an excellent one.

I've known about this place for many years but had never used it because, back in the day when I was driving Volvo, I already had a great shop and just had never gotten around to checking this place out.

Now, this is a shop in Ann Arbor, MI that has always kind of specialized in Volvo. But, I had a nice conversation with the Service Manager who informed me that they also have a tech who specializes in Asian makes, and they have several customers who bring their Yaris's in.

OK--this is the kind of place you dream of. They are customer oriented and have the philosophy that success is based on properly taking care of their customer's needs, not extracting every last dime out of every single person who walks in the the door. That being said, in this day and age a good shop is not going to be "cheap," but they will treat you right and fairly, and will not nickle and dime you for every little thing. I know this to be a fact because I took my Yaris in there today to have something checked out. I was very impressed and happy with the outcome.

Another cool thing is that they are a TireRack installation center. So, if you order tires from TireRack you can have them delivered there and they will install them for you. Installation ain't free, but they aren't TireRack haters. They are very positive on TireRack and they will take care of you. They also handle some other brands, including Nokian.

The shop is called Swedish Engineering. The Service Manager is "Corky." He is a peach of a guy and has a lot of respect for the Yaris. If you need a shop, give Corky a call and check 'em out. Below is a link to their website.

http://www.swedishengineering.com/index.html
robkay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-03-2010, 08:33 PM   #5
yaris prime
Yes- I fit in it.
 
yaris prime's Avatar
 
Drives: 2007 Yaris liftback, MT
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Michigan
Posts: 90
hey, thanks for the tip.
__________________
I'm surprised it doesn't have a pull-start !
yaris prime is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Response from Toyota on my special order drdavidr4u New YARIS Purchase Forum 14 04-27-2010 08:59 PM
Scion xB, Toyota Echo, older gen Yaris owners... NonStopTuning NonStopTuning 1 01-23-2009 11:44 PM
Response from Toyota Driver New YARIS Purchase Forum 22 09-04-2006 07:44 PM
Toyota Delays Buckethead General Yaris / Vitz Discussion 3 08-26-2006 03:16 AM
Toyota Yaris to Sponsor FOX's "Prison Break" YarisBueller General Yaris / Vitz Discussion 0 04-30-2006 08:01 PM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 08:49 AM.




YarisWorld
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.