Rychlik’s Auto Service

Had my SUV towed here to Rychlik’s for overheating. I had called ahead and was quoted $ 75.00 to pick up my SUV and bring it to their shop. The tow truck driver, was very professional & friendly.
Later, I Received e-​mail of estimate for new radiator and thermostat. Estimate said $ 80.00 for engine diagnostics. Via phone, I questioned the owner, Mr. Rychlik, about the $ 80.00 for engine diagnostics. He started whining about how he invested $ 30,000 in diagnostic equipment and that engine diagnostics should be done. Pardon me, but when the temperature gauge redlines, the engine overheats, the «check engine» light goes on and you can see coolant leaking from the radiator, you don’t need $ 30,000 of diagnostic equipment to know what the problem is. I told him I thought the $ 80.00 charge to shut off the «check engine» light was excessive. He agreed to charge me $ 30.00 for the so called «diagnostics».
In the same conversation, Mr. Rychlik also whined that he usually charges $ 150.00 for towing from where my vehicle was located. Really? As I mentioned, I had called ahead and Rychlik’s quoted $ 75.00, right from the start, to pick up my SUV and bring it to their shop.
Immediately after paying for the repair I started the SUV, while still in the lot at Rychlik’s Auto Service, to see the «check engine» light was on. I immediately went back inside and spoke with Mrs. Rychlik about the «check engine» light, she said that the shop staff was out at the site of a wreck and I would have to come back to have the «check engine» light turned off. I called back spoke to Mrs. Rychlik’ a couple days later to make arrangements to shut of the «check engine» light off and was treated very rudely and told I didn’t pay to have the check engine light turned off. I simply hung up the phone.
Now while the SUV was at Rychlik’s I also asked that the brakes be inspected. I was advised via e-​mail that I needed pads front and rear. The front rotors needed to be ground. The rear rotors needed to be replaced. However, the written estimate stated the cost of new rear rotors plus the cost of grinding the rear rotors. So which is it? Again I spoke with Mr. Rychlik, who said I needed new rotors and the charge for grinding the rotors was a mistake. Really? Another local shop gave me an estimate, for front and rear brakes, within days and said don’t let any one tell me that I need anything but pads and grind the front and rear rotors. Needless to say I’ll go elsewhere for the brakes
I paid $ 645.00 for a new radiator, thermostat coolant and towing; but Rychlik’s didn’t think I paid enough to turn off the «check engine» light?
I’m from out of State, but I may have about 500 Texas facebook friends. I guess they’ll be getting a copy of this posting.

The last time our van had a problem, it was en route home from Florida, on a sunday, with nothing open in Benson, NC, and it turned out our van’s transmission was caput. Talk about a kick in our collective crotches.
So this time around, on a longer trip, and the van having aged a bit more, we were all half expecting to not make it home. And cue the funny noises and bouncing. We pulled over to investigate what the cause might be, assuming the worst, and feeling uncomfortable with continuing the remaining three hours to Hot Springs, we called Triple A to find a reputable helper.
The only time I had ever been to rural Texas (where we were wasn’t particularly «rural» but it wasn’t a city, and we could have been stranded) was via films like «Texas Chainsaw Massacre» so I had no idea what to expect. We pulled off the back road type setting to Rychlik to find a parking lot FULL of vehicles, and a bunch of garages with occupied lifts. We assumed we’d be stranded for hours – DAYS EVEN!!! – and had every plan to call the next venue and tell them we wouldn’t make it. However, within 20 minutes, they had diagnosed the problem, and less than an hour later, we were back on the road heading to our next show.
I can’t say enough for a mechanics shop that puts other projects on hold to help the city folk get to their next concert on time. Amazing service – really got us out of a bind!