Alva’s Automotive & Tire Center

Had to juggle two cars and a baby here. Two tires needed replaced on one and an oil change, another needed an alignment (and ended up needing a replacement bolt.)
I can’t really speak to quality of work as it was an oil change and a tire change and a bolt change and the only way I can measure that is that the oil hasn’t leaked out, the tires didn’t fall off, and the car with the alignment issues doesn’t appear to have them any more.
Price for labor on everything except the bolt change was fair. That wa a bit higher than I found in suggested price listings, but not so much that I felt it was completely out of line.
The people there seemed very nice, also seemed as though they had been dealing with a set of great customers and hell customers alternatingly, but that may have just been the day.
I’ve been going to their oil change place (right next door,) for quite a while, and they’ve always done it correctly as far as I can tell (no car or van has blown up due to oil related reasons.)
I do as much work myself as possible, so going to an auto center these days is rare for me, but I can’t align a vehicle, nor do I feel like dealing with recycling several quarts of oil, and I have yet to invest in that tire balancing machine.
What I looked up which may or may not be true: tires were 17% over wholesale 2% under best retail (good to great), labor was 50% national service dealer rates (average/​good), bolt replacement was $ 22 too much (meh) oil change was right on par with everywhere else, alignment price was what it should have been.
I dropped nearly 900 that day (truck tires are expensive) and I feel like I paid overall about $ 7 more than I would expect all things factored. So slightly less than 1% too much.
During the course of the two vehicle juggle they drove me back to my car once, which was cool as I was getting tired of the mile or so uphill walk.
Here’s the thing, I probably am not going to use them again for a very long time, I can’t give a running track record of my experience unless something really odd goes wrong with my or the wife’s vehicles, so this is based on one mechanic shop interaction (and several oil changes, seriously not going to mess with that) — my general mechanic interaction has been … not pleasant… this one was more or less a good experience.
I’ll be back when there’s something I can’t fix ;)

I used to use Alva’s for everything! They were inexpensive, honest, and hard-​working… My recent visit though brought pure disappointment.
Used to be that with any oil change they would vacuum your car and make sure you were satisfied with everything. This visit, they advised they no longer vacuum (because they didn’t want to replace their vacuum), they added service fees that were not there before… And they lost their «genuine» feel. Maybe they don’t enjoy their job as much as they used to.

Friday, June 21^st: My car broke down on me on the way to work and I had it towed to a shop in the Nashville West/​West Meade area. They diagnosed the problem as an O2 Sensor, spark plug replacement, and a Mass Air Flow Sensor at an estimate of $ 1,300. Upon hearing this I was advised to call Alva’s for a second estimate as they have had RAVE reviews for doing great work at a very reasonable cost for someone like me trying to stretch the life of a car when you are unable to purchase a different car. I told Alva’s what the previous shop quoted and he came back with a quote of $ 450 for the same repair.
Tuesday, June 24^th: Paid previous shop $ 115 for a diagnostic fee and $ 100 for the tow to Alva’s. Wednesday, the 25^th Alva’s received the car and I told them that I understood that the estimate was just that, and that I realize that other things can surface in diagnosing the condition. They ordered parts and after two days of «parts delays and incorrect part deliveries» I was told that it would be Friday the 28^th or the following Monday.
Monday, July 1^st: Was told that the above quoted repairs were done, the vehicle was running great, and that they could not reset the «Check Engine» light because they did not have the software that is necessary to do so. Not an issue since it is a 95 Volvo, but only has 103k miles on it. A vehicle that runs was the necessity. I arrived at Alva’s extremely complimentary of their ability to save folks money and of their reviews/​recommendations and excited to patronize an earnest small business in the community. I paid $ 198.43 on my check card and $ 250 cash from my «emergency fund». I went to retrieve the car and it choked and sputtered, putting out noises and noxious black smoke and not starting or running. I left the car for them to diagnose the continue issue.
Tuesday, July 2^nd: 1pm I was told that they replaced the spark plugs and an ignition coil. They again said the car was running great. I asked repeatedly if someone had road tested the car and was assured they had and all was good. I went to pick up the car paid them $ 160 in cash and $ 53.48 on my debit card (eliminating my emergency fund and now grocery/​gasoline funds) only to find that it was extremely hesitant to start, made terrible noises, emitted black smoke, the engine raced, and would not stay running.
I let them know that this car was NOT repaired properly and there is NO way that anyone tested it. They then told me that it was MY problem since they made the repairs that I told them that the previous shop diagnosed, and that they did not «run a diagnostic» on it since I did not specifically request it, blaming me for the negligence. I told them that I would expect any mechanic to diagnose before repairing blindly on another shop’s word. They grasped at straws telling me that they were limited as to what they could do with this make. I let them know that they should have told me that they were not able to handle the work and expected the vehicle repaired at no additional cost and a partial or full refund. This was not anything they were willing to explore, only to further blame the car, my negligence to specifically ask for a diagnosis, the gas I used (mid-​grade unleaded, by the way), etc. We continued this extremely heated conversation in his lot in front of his employees and other customers, telling him that a diagnosis was an industry norm and that we felt this was extremely bad business practices. After many of his staff circled the vehicle in the lot for the last two days (speaking in their native tongue of Spanish to each other-​then receiving vague translations, which I normally would have no issue with being that I spent the last 5 years in the Miami area), they seemed unphased and unwilling to accommodate us. Despite my better judgment, I finally got the car running in a scary manner and had someone follow me home. It stalled twice on surface streets during rush hour and then the engine raced at complete stops, wanting to lurch into the rear of the car in front of me at each stop. HUGE safety issue and what I consider to be a giant liability issue for not only the shop but also myself.
Upon finally arriving home safely, I proceed to dispute all debit card transactions which are terribly long term investigations with an extensive burden of proof on my time, while completely no option to recoup the cash that I handed the shop in good faith.
Breakdown:
First diagnosis: 115.00
Tow to Alva’s: 100.00
Cash to Alva’s: 410.00
Debit Card to Alva’s: 251.91
Grand Total: 876.91 ($ 661.91 to Alva’s Automotive with NO resolution)
All in an attempt to save money. $ 1300 vs. $ 450 in which I gladly assume the first diagnosis, any further diagnosis, and tow of $ 215.
Please help me get resolution to this. I am stranded with no option to even rent a car at this point to avoid ramifications from my employer.