1

On 1/13/14, my car died in Monona. I had it towed to Toms. I told them how the car died and that I thought it might be a problem with the fuel. I was told some wiring had gone bad, and as the part was no longer made, they would have to solder in some new wiring. I was charged one hour diagnostic fee, and paid for the repair and labor. They also indicated that they had found that 2 of my ignition coils were cracked and needed replacing. The estimate ($300) to replace the ignition coils was high, but I resolved to have the work done the following week. The car worked fine for the week, but as I was trying to drive it to Toms, it died - exactly as it had previously. After it sat for a few hours, it started and I drove it to Toms (I should have drove it somewhere else). After explaining the problem to them, they checked and said the fuel pressure was low. They charged me a one hour diagnostic labor fee to diagnose the problem they had supposedly diagnosed a week before. They replaced the fuel filter. The fuel pressure was still low. They quoted me $700 to replace the fuel pump. I picked up my car and took it to an honest shop. My biggest problem: Don't charge me twice to diagnose a problem. Next on the list: The shop that did replace the fuel pump (for half what you would have charged), tested the ignition coils and said they are great (in fact they had replaced 2 of them previously). So I don't know what that was about, but it seems like you were trying to get me to replace parts that were working, and not "cracked". Also, they checked on your fuel filter, and although you DID replace it (I wouldn't have been surprised if you didn't at this point), you used the old gaskets - which were leaking fuel everywhere. Maybe that saved me $30 in shop fees. Never again. I'd say if you can afford $300 for 2 cookies, this is a pretty great place to go. Otherwise, Tom's doesn't need your business.

5

Thanks for the review Scott. By giving feedback we can better serve our customers in the future. We take pride in our work and we will continue to strive for perfection. We feel we let you down by not properly explaining the related charges for your recent repair work. Shop supply charges are charged for each job that leaves the shop and they cover the many items that are used in the process of auto repair. The supplies are many & a true expense. All supplies bought are entered into our computer system and are charged out at a rate of 5-7% depending on what type of job is being performed. The supplies vary from sanding discs, chemicals, cleaners, lubes, towels, floor cleaners and safety tools & equipment related to proper disposal of fluids & hazardous waste. We believe without these items we would not be performing the type of quality job our many customers have grown to expect from us. We will continue to try to keep expenses down for our customers in the future and we will work to better convey all of our charges in the future - not just the bottom line. Thanks again, Tom Schoenmann

5

I had been told by my auto dealership during a routine oil chnage that I had a small exhaust leak that needed welding and a bad power steering motor that needed replacing. They quoted $1200 for the repairs and so I spoke with my husband and he suggested I get a second opinion from Tom's Auto Center in McFarland. Boy howdy, am I glad I did! Tom is a stand-up guy, truly one of the good ones. He had his guys check out the issues my dealership had told me about and they found zero exhaust leaks. None! He did agree that my power steering motor needed to be replaced, but he said also the pulley was also bad. he even pulled the part to show me so I could get a visual and also proved to me he wasn't making it up (like the non-existent exhaust leak). So for HALF the price of what the dealership quoted me, I got the work done that actually needed to be done plus I got a free loaner car for the duration of the repairs. AND when I picked up my car, there were homemade cookies sitting on the passenger seat with a thank you from Tom. Seriously - so awesome! I live on the East side of Madison and I'm happy to drive to McFarland for Tom. I won't take my car anywhere else for repairs as long as Tom's is around. Well worth it!

2

I recently had some brake trouble and went to Tom's Auto to get it taken care of. I had been there before for repairs and have had no issues with their work. Today however, I have issues with their billing. I was charged $24 to look at my brakes, $627.78 for the repair which included 2 new rotors (I expected 2 new rotors, having looked at the noisy one myself), tax, and $34.37 in "shop supplies". I told them flat out that that "shop supplies" was a dishonest charge and got a shrug for a response. Now I question the honesty in every charge from these guys. I'll try Ken's next time I need work done.