Dobbs Tire & Auto Centers

I had my car towed to Dobbs at Chesterfield Pkwy and Olive because the serpentine belt broke. Dobbs told me that due to the pulley that locked up causing the serpentine belt to break, it also ruined the alternator and that needed to be replaced. The quote given to me was $ 900. After being given advice from my dad to get a second opinion, I had it towed to another repair shop. Dobbs misdiagnosed the problem. Nothing wrong with the alternator or the pulley that the alternator is attached to. It cost me $ 182 to have it fixed at another shop. I called Dobbs to tell them the situation and they refunded the tow bill however if I had not gotten a second opinion, I would have needlessly spent an additional $ 700. Very disappointed.

We were in the way home from Grandma’s and ended up with a flat coming through St. Louis. Dobbs got us in and back on the road quickly.

Ever had anyone stay open past their regular closing time to help you? Even when you arrive 10 minutes before that closing time? Right. Very few, if any, will do that. Most businesses will just tell you «Sorry, we don’t have time before we close. You’ll have to come back tomorrow.»
Well, we were desperate. We were traveling across the country to take our family’s first kid and all his «stuff» to college. We were in a hurry. He had to be on the other side of the country to meet the deadline for checking in at the dorm and we had no time to spare. No time for car troubles.
When we drove into St. Louis and got out of the car to meet a friend that we were staying with for the night, we noticed that we had a serious leak. Whatever it was, it was running across the parking lot.
Our St. Louis friend told us that there was a Sears Auto shop not too far away that he believed was open late. When we rushed over there and arrived at 6:40 we were informed that they closed at 7:00 and there was no time to look at the car. Huh? Weren’t they still open another 20 minutes? We weren’t asking for major auto repair; we just wanted to be sure that if we drove it off the parking lot the entire engine wasn’t going to seize up. «Nope, Can’t help you. Come back in the morning.»
Ugh! Well he could tell that that wasn’t going to happen, so he suggested a Dobbs Tire & Auto Center that was just up the street and «open later.»
We quickly drove up to Dobbs. Arrived at 6:50. They closed at 7:00 also. The mechanic was helping another customer, but said that if we waited a few minutes he would look at it. No mention of closing time. They put it up on the lift. Before they took it down he had us come look at the «problem.» The problem was simply the AC condensing excessively — apparently a common problem in high humidity parts of the country. We are from the dry West, so were not familiar with that much condensation. He also pointed out a couple other things that he said we should keep our eyes on since we were doing some heavy duty days of driving. He did this, even though he knew we were heading out the very next day. He knew we would not be back in to have Dobbs“fix” the car. Then or later.
We offered to pay for his time. .. obviously we were there way past his closing time. He never charged us a dime. Now, that is not just good customer service, but great customer service. Kindness to strangers. Courteous. And all after closing time.
If we lived in Chesterfield /​St. Louis, MO, Dobbs Tire & Auto Center on Chesterfield Parkway East would definitely be our mechanic. Certainly not Sears Auto Center. Customer service wins the toss-​up every time!

When I first moved to St. Louis my battery had died in the car that I transported across the country with on a car carrier. It was obvious it was the battery. Nothing worked in the whole car. After two hours I was handed a bill for a new battery and a battery test. The battery test was nearly equal to the cost of the new battery. I asked what’s the point of doing a battery test, which by the way takes 2 minutes to do, if it’s almost the same cost as a new battery? To which I got the response, «Visa or Mastercard». I have never and will NEVER go back.

After renting a vehicle fromThrifty Rent a Car, I noticed a foreign object in the tire. Thrifty told me it was my responsibility to repair the tire. Took it to the Dobbs at 6:48 pm (they close at 7). Tire was patched and repaired by 7:15. Great service, great people! And my vacation was able to start on time!
DOBBS ROCKS!