Honest A1 Diamond Lake

These people are the antitheses of there name. I found out after I used them that they have a reputation for recomending repairs that are not needed. I brought my car in for a muffler. They came back with a laundry list of repairs needed. I had them do a couple of things and assumed that the price included the muffler. When I picked up the car they did everything but the muffler. I brought it back a few days later. When I picked the car up I had forgotten to bring the flyer (which they send to all their customers). They refused to give me the $ 50 discount. They said if I brought it in they would credit my account. When I returned to claim part of it for an oil change they said they had no record of the credit. Avoid this place like the plague.

I went in person to make an appointment. I stated I wanted new OEM rotors and pads. Told them I use the car daily — I need a Saturday appointment. They said fine. I offered to pay for the pads and rotors up front — so they would have them. They said no worry.
I bring the car in at 7:45 am Saturday. Service tech opens the door. He has my appointment — I once again make sure the service order is for new pads and rotors. Tell him to call me when finished.
I get no call. At 11:00 I call — they say they will call me right back. Five minutes later they call and say I need new rotors and pads — they can do it next week. I shouldn’t, but I blow-​up on the phone, I tell them I’ll be over for the car. They call back — someone is going to pick up the parts at the dealer before they close at 12:00 pm Saturday.
They get the job done by 3:00 pm Saturday. But what an emotional roller coaster.
They tell me I need new struts. I ask why? They say: «Well the struts are OK, but at over 100,000 miles we recommend they be replaced».
Don’t go here. They don’t listen, they are confused, and seemingly bumble through life.

I’ve only had routine work done at this location (oil changes, maintenance and snow tire change out) but they have always been courteous, professional and fair priced. The granola bars and coffee in the waiting room is a nice touch too. They’ve always let me know what work they suggest I do, but have never tried to pressure me into anything. There have been many times where they have matched a competitors price for me when I asked. But today was the icing on the cake; i just had them change out my snow tires, but I have a lifting restriction and so they came to my house (within 2 blocks) and put the used tires back on my garage shelf for me! That kind of above and beyond service is what prompted my review today. I was really appreciative and impressed at their generosity!

We dropped in this weekend for the $ 18.99 oil change and we were delighted.
I’m always a little nervous when trying a new car-​care place, because of the reputation (deserved or not) of the automotive industry to be less than honest.
We purchased our Jeep just two months ago. Before purchase, we had it thoroughly checked by an independent mechanic, who declared the vehicle «pristine». With that knowledge in mind, I was all ready to deflect the technicians at Honest-​1 when they were about to tell me that I needed to replace this belt or that filter.
Surprise! The technician basically repeated what our mechanic had said: the car is in great condition, and they had no recommendations for anything we might need to fix. How refreshing! They didn’t make any money by «upselling», but they’ve gained another two loyal customers. This is definitely our new oil change place.
(Also, the comfy waiting room with leather chairs, free coffee or hot chocolate, free wi-​fi, and big screen TV didn’t hurt.)

I took my van there for rough idle. I asked the mechanic supervisor what he thought it might take — «I don’t know». When I asked how long before he would know — «maybe today; we’ll have to see how busy we get». I brought the car at 8am; there were two cars in the lot (which was just paved, super nice looking btw). Like their website says, the office/​lobby is really clean and kid friendly. I’m there for a fair price of auto repair, not daycare. I should have grabbed my keys and left, because:
PCV + hose, spark plugs = $ 500. Did you know a PCV hose, alone, costs $ 100? Me neither.
So, some thoughts of lessons learned re. Honest A1 Diamond Lake:
1-​High price
2-​Trust/​honesty (do they know what they are doing?)
3-​They did not post any of my balanced view on their «feedback website». «Honest/​A1» — really?!
I can think of several shops that would be WAY more fair (price) and honest (give you a good understanding/​estimate including *when*) than this shop. I kept a copy of what I posted on their site to my own email and went back and re-​read it; it even follows the Unilocal guidelines.
4-​When I spoke to the mechanic supervisor re. the price his response was very much «well, we are not a cheap shop; we’re not marketing ourselves as low priced repair».
I went through thoughts 1 through 3. When i got to 4, I threw out their business blue/​green pen and after weeks of thinking finally thought to sit down and write this review so others are more savvy consumers.
NOTE: they have a kid mat with street scene and the coffee is pretty good if that’s something that’s important to you.
Re. the repair — *I* asked *THEM* if it could be PCV or plugs. Their answer was (call them up — verify this) «we charge one hour of labor for any repair for diagnostics, regardless». If you call, please ask them their labor rate; you *can* find better work for the same price; I *did*.