FINEST AUTO REPAIR SHOP **EVER**
My old 99 Plymouth van started acting weird.. one day it would start up fine and the electric windows/wipers/heater fan would work.. then the next day none of them would work.. then the next day the windows would work but not the heater fan or the wipers, and so on and so on
Then I started needing to jumpstart the van if I didn't start it every day- and after a jumpstart everything worked fine! So I decided it was the battery, and replaced it
Unfortunately, that didn't help; again, the different systems worked one day then not the next.. so I had the alternator tested at 3 different companies, who all told me the alternator had a "bad diode" and needed to be replaced
So I researched a few repair shops, got quotes and Armstrong's was the most reasonable so I dropped the van off, went home and crossed my fingers that this wouldn't be yet another shop to tell me that a bunch of other (expensive) work needed to be done in addition to the work I wanted
Imagine my surprise when Alex called to say that my alternator was, in fact, fine, and he recommended an electrical inspection to see why the systems were failing.. I have to be honest and say I was very skeptical about that because the places who said the alternator was bad were not auto repair shops, why would they say it if it wasn't true? But I decided to trust Alex and authorize the inspection ..
Hope you're sitting down, because here's a shocker: turns out the ignition switch was bad and was draining the battery, preventing the alternator from working properly and powering those systems --and even more shocking, the cost of repair was HALF of the cost of replacing the alternator!
This is hugely significant because he could have easily done the cheaper work and charged me for the more expensive work that I *thought* was needed.. and I never would have known because to me, one alternator looks like the others, and if the systems worked afterwards, I wouldn't have questioned it. Sad to say, I've had that happen in the past with other shops... and which is why I've learned to be skeptical about mechanics in general in the decades of my ownership of various cars..
But no more!
I'm beyond impressed by how Alex didn't take advantage of my ignorance about the electrical system; he did the work quickly and correctly and also gave a squirt of "new car smell" that eliminated the dog smell in the back of the van
I've been struggling with LOL
Folks, it's rare to have an auto repair shop that cares about saving the customer's money.. a lot of them SAY they do, but Armstrong's really DID.. so let me say that I have no hesitation to recommend this business.. I'd give it 10 stars if it was possible!!!!!
Edit: I apologize for the length of this review but IMO it's not helpful to read a one- or two- word review that simply says "Great work!" without any explanation of WHY the reviewer feels that way. Too many bots and paid promoters out there giving us unsound advice, isn't there?
Thanks for reading!