Dave’s Auto Repair

Dear potential customers,
Below is a review from a «Kaya w»
I will go on record to state that this person has not been a customer of this Dave’s auto repair. This person does not reside in Canada as per her profile and previous reviews. A painful review for the wrong shop. Do with the information as you will.

Customer service lacking
Company failed to notify me when the car would not be ready on time. After calling to enquire a new time frame was established. Eventually I got a call that vehicle was ready to pick up. After arriving my car was not on premise and I was told that the tech «must be doing a test drive». I waited 30 minutes and he was still not back. What test drive takes over 30 minutes and why call me to tell me it’s ready if the test drive had not been completed? Ultimately I had to leave for another appointment and pick up the next day.
Repair and testing
The reason for the repair was a failed clutch master/​slave cylinder. They allegedly replaced the part and the after picking up the car it was able to shift better than when it was dropped off. However, following the appointment the clutch pedal would not always return from the floor board. It was suggested this was different problem with the system and maybe I should get the clutch (disk and pressure plate) replaced. The car dealer had already verified the clutch and pressure plate had plenty of life left.
Nine months after the repair the clutch master/​slave cylinder catastrophically failed while out of town. After a different shop installed the parts the performance of the clutch was so profoundly different and improved that it calls into question the work, parts or testing performed by Dave’s.
This was the only work I had performed at Dave’s and between the customer service and the questionable repair work I can’t recommend them.

I like Dave!
The water pump blew on Reuben my Jeep. Yes I name and anthropomorphize my vehicles, don’t hate me. I was stuck on Hastings and I live in Marpole. Called Dave and he helped me organize a tow to his shop (he uses a company that gives him a deal)
Then he called me when it was there and I went down gave him my keys, and picked up his courtesy car to drive to work in the next morning. He then diagnosed the issue and called me with a quote and let me decide if we were going forward to fix it or not.
There were a bunch of little things wrong with the vehicle besides just the water pump so I told him to go for it.
He fixed everything! And the price was low for all those little headaches gone.
When I went to pick up my Jeep, he held up a pump and explained to me what was going on and why. Honestly, he could have held up any random piece of machinery and spun a magical tale of mechanical unicorns and automobile twinkle fairies, but I still nodded, furrowed my eyebrows and tried to conceptualize the inner workings of Reuben. I appreciated his valiant efforts to explain the deets to me regardless of the deaf ears to which they fell.
Caveats — there doesn’t seem to be a storefront or office. You walk straight into his shop and he does business at a desk in the corner. So no place to hang if you are having a quick job done.
He only takes cash or checks — no Visa or Debit
I recommend him. A man of few words… But the words have purpose and he gets the job done!

Dave has cared for all my vehicles for over 20 yrs and I hope to continue with him wherever he goes. Like his other customers, I have found him honest and fair in this pricing. Whenever he needs to replace a part, he always shows me the old part and explains the reasons for replacement. He never tries to up-​sell me with additional or unnecessary work. His building is slated for demolition at the end of Oct./14, and I hope he can manage to stay in the neighbourhood.

Best place to get your car fixed at in the lower mainland. He has been looking after my family and friends cars for 15 years and he always does an honest price to get fixed. I don’t know what I would do without him working on my car. If you want to get your car fixed for a fair price by one of the few honest mechanics then take it to Dave’s.

Wish they had 3.5 stars to pick, cause that’s what I would pick. Had my car repaired here on the recommendation of a friend. It wasn’t always starting, and now it does. Don’t ask me what they did, but it wasn’t as expensive as the quote I got from Canadian Tire, so I was happy. I would have preferred quicker service (took them three days) and wish they were closer to downtown, but it’s worth it when you’ve found someone trustworthy.

I have an older car that runs me anywhere from $ 300 to $ 500 a year to keep it running. The same repairs at another shop would cost me $ 1000. Dave is the man. Ive been going to him for about 8 years and wouldn’t trust my car to anyone else.