J & S Diesel Service

Very very disappointed. Left there feeling completely ripped off.

I had a mixed experience with this shop. On the one hand, I’m sure they do great, quality work. On the other, I believe they have a tendency to charge people for unnecessary repairs. So my 2 star rating is a reflection of my perception of their character, not workmanship.
I took my 04 Cummins here with a broken piston ring, I asked for a ring job. James told me he would tear down the engine and make sure nothing more than the rings are bad, then quote me. He came back a week or so later with a quote for:
New rings and pistons
A valve job
A new cooling system
New injectors
All new belts and pullys
I asked what was wrong with the head:
«That’s just what we do, so we can guarantee our work»
I asked :
Well, what’s wrong with the head? Burnt or bent valves? Are they not sealing?
«We haven’t checked, it’ll cost extra for us to do that «
What about the cooling system? Is it leaking or something?
«We can check, but that will cost extra. My recommendation is to replace it «
What’s wrong with the injectors?
«They’re not delivering enough fuel «
OK, can you just repair the piston ring (the only part they bothered to confirm was broken) and put the rest of it back together?
«Look, I’m not going to have a customer dictate to be what needs to be fixed «
Long story short, they refused to do any work on my truck (after they broke the engine down to the block) unless I allowed them to fix a whole bunch of things that weren’t broken. I had to get my truck out of there with a tow truck and haul it to Diesel Specialist inc. To have it fixed. Even the guys over at diesel specialist didn’t know why J & S was trying to extort me into a full engine rebuild other than they wanted money out of me. They went through the heads, they were fine, the rest of the cylinders were fine, the cooling system was fine; they put the whole thing back together and it’s been running like a champ ever since. No compression leaks, no coolant looks, no oil leaks, nothing. That was about 20k miles ago.
I’ll update this post after 100k but so far my experience with J & S diesel has left me with the perception that they’re extortionist who’s primary goal is to put you in a position where you have little choice but to pay them as much money as they can suck out of you. He literally threatened to park my truck around back until I payed for a full rebuild… Fortunately I had the good sense (at least this once) to call a tow and get the hell out of there.
That being said, the guys over at diesel specialist were consummate professionals who we’re not only willing to take in the work but did a great job at a reasonable rate. In fact they were able to save me money by reusing the pistons, which I originally thought should be replaced. It’s refreshing that there are still shops out there that don’t feal the need to fix what ain’t broke.
Take your truck to the diesel specialist, avoid J & S, that’s my advice.

I had to have a very expensive part replaced, and James gave me the best quote for price for the apart and labor. I didn’t have time limitations like a lot of people do, so I expected the job to get done right since I was not trying to rush the service crew. I was able to pick up my car less than a week from dropping it off!
James was very pleasant when I explained what I needed done. I was pretty confident of which part would need to correct the problem. He suggested a diagnostic anyway, which he would waive the fee for if I turned out to be right.
James made sure to call almost every day over the course of the week to keep me in the loop as to what was going on. When I went to pay the bill and pick my car up today, the bill had no trace as to the cost of the diagnostic, and the expensive part was $ 30 less than what was originally quoted. I didn’t have to haggle the cost at all!
I am VERY happy with James and his crew here at J&S! If I have any more trouble with my diesel VW car, I know where I’m going!

Short version:
J&S Diesel Service repaired our truck properly with quality parts for less than the estimate in a very timely and professional manner… I would recommend J&S to any of my friends.
** If you are looking for someone to fix your diesel, want it done right and realize the cost of diesel work, then go see James. J&S is family owned (second generation ?). James is straight forward and to the point. He runs a busy shop, so being efficient is a must. Most diesels are heavy or extreme duty vehicles, because of this, when they break, repairs can be costly. In my case, James is who called me to go over what they found and the price to rectify the problem. … Maybe the repair $$$ and James’s no BS «matter of fact» news delivery could be the reason for negative reviews … Diesels Aren’t Cheap!
Summary:
If FIXING IT RIGHT is the most important … Take it to J&S Diesel on Dean Martin (15 FWY & Hacienda area)
Long Version:
I recently had one of our company trucks repaired at J&S Diesel. After reading some of the reviews posted, I wondered what had changed from 18 years ago when I had a number of dodge (cummins) 5.9’s and a couple Chevys (6.3’s) that used to get serviced and repaired at J&S Diesel. I was always pleased with the service back then.
After checking with a few respected opinions, I took our ’97 5.9 cummins (that was leaving oil slicks like an Exxon tanker every time you stopped longer than a short signal) into J&S and spoke with James. He explained that the leak could be from a number of places other than where I pointed out as the source, so I offered to go pressure wash it and come back. He said they could clean it and it wouldn’t be a charge if I had them do the repairs (pretty cheap if I decided to go elsewhere).
So, I left the truck and received a call with an estimate the next morning. The price wasn’t cheap compared to other verbal quotes I’d been given, but the when I actually looked into what J&S did, I was very pleased to find that there are still shops around that take pride in their work! Everything they said they would do and a number of things they didn’t mention had been repaired, modified or replaced.
**All within the original estimate.
UPDATE: 5 months later and still know problems

Do you want your money taken from you and get a repair you didn’t need, then go here! Even after the obvious mistake James made with my truck he flat out refused to listen and blamed ME because my truck wasn’t fixed correctly, because I was in a hurry, well who isn’t? He also charged me for an upper and lower radiator hose that were never installed. It was VERY obvious they were the old original parts… Disputed the credit card charge and filed a complaint with the BBB, which by the way they have an F rating with, wish I had checked with the BBB first. This guy is not good enough to have that much pride!

Over priced and did a bad install on an injector that had problems almost immediately then ultimately ended up going out less then 20,000 after install.

I’ve been very pleased with the quality of work, the communication, and overall level of service from James and J&S. They inspected my truck when I was halfway across the country, took care of everything, and the bill came in right where they quoted. Thanks James.