Arboretum Tire & Auto

I take my car to Arboretum tire and auto because of the prompt, professional service and the efficient reliability of the shop.
Ive been a customer for years, and will be for years to come.
You should try for yourself.

Our daughter’s car was having trouble starting so she asked us if we can have her car checked as she will be out of town. We have had a couple of cars serviced at Arboretum Tire and Auto and we were satisfied with their services so we thought we will just bring our daughter’s car to them again since they are the one closest to our place. My husband brought the car in Saturday before Thanksgiving. Mike told my husband to just leave the car as they were quite busy. A few hours later, Mike called and told my husband that they checked the battery and the alternator and they were both okay. The starter, however, was a little iffy according to Mike. They said they will keep the car over the weekend as they need to do more tests. By Monday my husband called them and he was told that they still don’t know what was wrong with the car. He was told, however, that the battery died because somebody left the lights on. No one was admitting who may have left the lights on. Tuesday came and passed and not a word from them. By Wednesday afternoon I asked my husband to give them another call and again, he was told that they still have not found what exactly was wrong with the car. By late afternoon of Friday, my daughter gave them a call and was told that the car has been fixed and that they replaced the battery and the starter and the charge was $ 609.00. My daughter was very surprised because she actually just had her battery replaced by them a couple of year ago and she did not think that the battery would become useless after just 2 years. What was even more infuriating was that they went ahead with the repairs without asking first if we were okay with whatever they planned to do. Initially their quote was $ 313.00 to replace the starter and now all of a sudden my daughter was being charged $ 609.00. When my daughter complained about her battery still being under warranty, they said that it’s a prorated warranty and not a full warranty so they lowered the charge to $ 527.00. What makes us very upset is that there was no communication at all from their end to update us on what was going on with car and then all of a sudden they went ahead with he repairs without getting the owner’s go signal. And, Mike had this ridiculous notion that she is doing my daughter a favor for not charging her any storage fees. HELLOOOO!!! You had the car for almost a week because for 4 days you could not find out what was wrong with it. Did you even call to inform us that you did the repairs behind our backs? Of course you did not! And when I pointed this all to Mike, all he said was «Okay». Okay then, Arboretum Tire and Auto, that’s the last time you will ever see us or our cars. And to those who might be reading this review, be warned. If it’s taking them a long time to diagnose what is wrong with your car, BEWARE! They might be cooking up some surprise for you. Get your car out of there and go somewhere else.

I use to get my car serviced here, thinking the prices were good and they were honest but I was wrong. I came in for a rattle and they said they tightened a few screws and I needed a new roll bar because mine was broken. Funny thing is I just had the roll bar replaced a few weeks prior. When I told Mike he was quiet, he didn’t even defend himself. He lied about my roll bar being broken! Arboretum is one of those auto shops you see on Dateline hidden camera to catch dishonest businesses. Never again did I go to Arboretum. It’s been a year later and my roll bar is still fine.
I now use Auto Pros in Chaska.

My car stopped on the side of the road one day and AAA recommended Arboretum as one of their preferred shops and said they could get me in right away. I agreed to have my car towed there and they diagnosed it quickly as an alternator issue and recommended it be replaced. They laid out my options and I chose to use a re-​manufactured alternator which had to be ordered so I was told it would take a couple days. I did check another local shop (Bobby and Steve’s) to see how the price compared and I was quoted almost the exact same price from them as I got from Arboretum, so if nothing else the prices are in line with the market rate. I did have to call to check on my car on the 3^rd day, at which point the guy who answered the phone said, «Oh I meant to call you sooner, yeah it’s done.» Would have been good to know as soon as possible since I had to make alternate travel arrangements due to, ya know, having no car. Which leads me to my only big concern — they don’t offer car service. I know at some shops they will drive you to work, or let you borrow a loaner car if your car is gonna be in the shop for a few days. This place doesn’t do that. I had to find someone to pick me up after the tow truck driver dropped me off and then I had to make arrangements for 3 days while my car was being worked on. Considering I gave them $ 700, it would have been nice to get a complimentary car or ride to work.
Aside from that everything with the car seems to be in order. The car runs and drives like it did before the alternator blew. I had them change the oil while they had it but they didn’t talk to me about the service engine light which was on before I dropped it off and still on after I picked it up. They also put a sticker on my window for another oil change in 3,000 miles even though the manufacturer recommends every 10,000 for my car (Audi with full synthetic), either they don’t know and didn’t care to check manufacturer specs or they just want the extra cash from doing 3 times as many oil changes as are necessary.

3 or 5 stars? This is a tough decision. These guys get 5 stars for quality, honesty, and personability. Down side: their prices are steep. That said, in an economy that dictates a charge of $ 80 for $ 30 of gas or a $ 100 for $ 25 worth of groceries, what should one expect? Granted, their customer care and professional expertise are first rate. Therefore, if you want to be confident the job is completed correctly, the cost might be well worth the peace of mind. Albeit, be aware these guys are not cheap. No matter how you cut it, $ 900+ for a brake job and $ 200+ for a battery are prices obviously on the ridiculous side. I’ll split the difference and give 4 stars, but their prices rate 3 at best.

Been going to Arboretum for years. Over the course of time, I have had them serve four separate vehicles that I’ve owned. I have always found them friendly, helpful, and most importantly — honest. Mike, the owner of Arboretum always goes out of his way to help customers, and Erik, the tech writer is also courteous and diligent as well. In addition to auto and tire service, they’re also one of the few shops in the are that refill propane tanks.

Service was awesome. I loved the little waiting area.
I called them after I saw my tire was a bit shredded. Snow was in the forecast and I was worried about that so I drove down there.
They checked out the car right away, I got two new installed and was on my way.