Ray’s Muffler Service

I’m torn giving Ray’s a great rating — because I want to be selfish and have them all to myself. But I also want them to be wildly successful because they work so hard at being so incredible all the time. I used them once seven years ago on a recommendation from a trusted coworker. As long as they are around, Ray’s is the last shop I will ever need. As others have written, they are honest to a fault. They work to make sure the correct problem is found and fixed correctly. They find the best parts for the money. They know that they are, in the end, spending someone else’s money. Go there. You’ll be so happy.

These guys are the best! They could have screwed me over but they saved me about 1000 $ I was told my car was missing two catalytic converters. So I called Steve to find out when I could have this done. We talked and he did some research and found out what I was missing was resonators not cats. Thank you so much for your honesty.

Home run! These guys have taken care of me and my family’s vehicles. 100% service all the time. They will not treat you like a large shop. They are great even when we got a car they did a quality pre purchase inspections. They coached me on the cars I took them and helped me find the right one.

I am not sure why the other reviewer had problems since I have been going to Rays since the mid-​1970s and have never had a problem. Rays is always my first choice when it comes to car repairs. They have always worked with me on the cost of repairs and never tried to upsell me. In fact, when I have had to take my car to another shop because Rays didn’t provide the service I needed (example tires, transmission repair), the shops have tried to tell me I needed work done immediately on a different problem they «discovered». When I took the car back to Rays, they’ve examined the supposed problem and found nothing wrong. Now they could have sold me a repair and made the extra income and I never would have known the difference. But because Rays is an HONEST shop they didn’t. Rays is the ONLY repair service that actually gives me the exact cost of the repair — not a estimate. I have never been surprised when the time came to pay the repair bill. There have been times when it was even lower than quoted because they were able to find the part at a lower price. I would highly recommend Rays to anyone.

***FRAUD ALERT***
I went into this shop yesterday to inquire about upgrading my exhaust. I spoke with a salesperson named Dustin Bishop and asked specifically if they stocked Flowmaster (I have used this brand on past vehicles and have heard from others that it would be a good match for my vehicle). He informed me that do carry Flowmaster, but wasn’t sure if they had any in stock for my vehicle. He said they also carried some Magnaflow products as well as some foreign equivalents to Flowmaster that might suit me. We then moved to the shop where his team cut out my old muffler and let me hear the difference between 3 different products, assuring me that any one of the options would increase air flow and ultimately increase efficiency and performance, albeit a probable unnoticeable bump. The 3^rd unit produced a good sound while my vehicle was on the rack, and the price was reasonable too. When I asked him what brand that specific one was, he replied «FLOWMASTER». I agreed to purchase that muffler and have it installed for $ 150.
Here are the problems that followed:
When Dustin rang me up, he included over $ 19 worth of shop supplies that were never mentioned when I was quoted $ 150. I didn’t argue this at the time, not knowing whether or not this was standard (I’m not savvy in this industry, and I didn’t want to sound whiny over $ 20).
When I left the shop, the sound produced while driving was not anything like the sound in the shop. Although disappointed, I accepted this, knowing that varying factors would produce different results than experienced at the shop.
Next, I did a «test drive» to see if there would be a noticeable difference in power. Not only was there no noticeable increase, there was a VERY significant DECREASE in power in the low end RPM’s in second gear.
Next, I got under my vehicle to take a look at the unit that they installed. I expected to see «Flowmaster» embossed somewhere on the muffler, but all I could find was a numeric part number «77 443». I did a google search for that number, which returned results indicating that THEY INSTALLED A LOW-​END, KNOCK-​OFF BRAND called «Lawson». I quickly grabbed the Ray’s Muffler receipt to see what they rang me up for, and it was invoiced as «Chinese Flowmaster Muffle». Obviously upset about being misled and lied to, I returned to the shop the next day. On my way to the shop, I refueled and was also surprised to find that my MPG had DECREASED by more than 3 points. When I returned to the shop, I was greeted by Dustin Bishop again, who acted defensive and rude before I even started explaining why I had returned. Although I was polite and calm in explaining my concerns, he was unwilling to do anything to make restitution, citing that he’d be losing money all the time if he swapped out mufflers when people weren’t happy. We went back and forth for a few minutes, reiterating my position that he had told me he was installing a name brand, but instead installed a knock-​off. He tried appeasing me, assuring that the knock-​off brand was every bit as good as the authentic part. While still insisting that my claims were invalid, he offered to swap it out for $ 95, which he claims is the difference in cost between the two units (although the authentic unit can be purchased for $ 75 privately). When I brought this up, he said they needed to make up on the labor side too.
Frustrated and short on time, I told him I would like to speak with his manager Steve at the Bountiful location.
When I contacted Steve just 5 minutes after leaving the shop, he was already apprised of the situation and had immediately begun to defend his employee and the company before I even begun to explain my side of the story. He acted rushed and impatient, and told me he would call me back when his shop was slower. When I received his return call, he said he didn’t want to discuss the details any further, but offered to install the authentic part for $ 65 more. I told him that I already paid to have an authentic part installed, and that I would like to receive what I paid for. He then became belligerent and started accusing me of being the type of person who isn’t ever satisfied, called me a liar, then told me he didn’t have time to deal with people like me.
This was my first experience, an my last, with Ray’s Muffler. I have since called several shops, all who say that the price I paid was what they charge for an authentic Flowmaster, complete with installation. Most shops I spoke with indicated that they have heard similar complaints about Ray’s Muffler.
Needless to say, I will not be returning to Ray’s Muffler for future services. It’s unfortunate that there are companies who represent themselves in this manner.
Take your business elsewhere. Midas is just around the corner if you need exhaust work done.