Impact Engineering

I actually would have given less than a star if I could have.
I literally had to wait months to calm down before I wrote this review.
So, I have had a LOT of work done at Impact. I have given them a LOT of my hard-​earned money. I totalled my car in an accident in Feb of 07 and had another accident in Sept of 07 (in between I was a passenger in 3 other accidents, one being a really bad three-​car-​pile-​up on the highway — of which I was in the middle car — the last accident I brought my car in for was definitely my fault, but in case you all think I am a terrible driver, it really just by that point was a result of a hard-​core case of PTSD).
ANYWAY. In December of ’07, I brought my car in again to be winterized being very scared to drive after all the accidents and asked that he fix whatever might give me trouble come bad weather. THOUSANDS I spent, literally THOUSANDS — just for being winterized, not including however much I had already spent that year at Impact after the two accidents I was in.
So, this past summer, I was driving to work and it was raining. I put my windshield wipers on, and the base of my steering wheel started smoking and they immediately stopped working. So, I brought my car into Impact.
In the past, my dealings with Impact have been mildly satisfactory. I always felt everything I had done there was expensive, but figured that since everything seemed fixed, quality and peace of mind went a long way. The customer service is pretty nil. I generally am spoken to as a dumb female, not worth a detailed explanation, because I obviously wouldn’t understand it. The attitude of the owner is on the condescending side.
When I brought my car in to be winterized, I got a funny note on my seat telling me I was customer of the year — that is how much I spent there in 2007. One would imagine I would get quality customer service in the future, right?
WRONG. So, I brought my car for the windshield wipers. I asked for a rough estimate up front, as I simply don’t have much money, and really got the run-​around. They had my car from Friday until Tueday (to fix WINDSHIELD WIPERS) and could not provide an estimate until Monday. Clearly, despite the thousands I had given them, I was not a preferred customer.
So, I picked my car up Tuesday morning, paid the as always seemingly pricey bill, and went on my way. Less than three blocks from the place, my car stalled out coming to a stop (I have an manual transmission). I turned it back on and drove some more. Twice more it stalled out.
I turned around, and drove back to Impact. I ran in and found the owner and explained that while driving my car off the lot of HIS SERVICE SHOP my car had stalled out three times. He gave me a total attitude, became very defensive and said that he hadn’t touched the engine, only the inside of the car to get to the windshield wipers. He didn’t even want me to pop the hood, so he could look at it.
Regardless of whether or not it had been a result of the job they had done on my windshield wipers, what kind of work ethic, what kind of pride does one take in their job that within FIVE MINUTES of my picking up my car from your service station it stalls out three times and you can’t even be bothered to look under the hood for me???
So, he told me to keep driving it and let him know what happens. Ummm. What if it had happened again and I got stranded?
I left and realized that someone at Impact had left my air conditioning on (I am really anal about shutting everything off, so I knew it wasn’t me). I shut it off and continued on my way — the stalling out did not happen again. So I decided to test it and sure enough, as soon as I put my air conditioner back on, my car started stalling out when I came to a stop again.
I spoke to the owner on the phone later that day and explained what I had noticed. He told me that it must be that I needed a new air conditioning system, that it was likely «just its time.» He said to bring it in and they would give me a new air conditioning system. He FURTHER said that it would likely run me $ 800+ — suddenly you can quote prices without even looking at my car and when you had it for THREE days, you couldn’t give me an estimate on WINDSHIELD WIPERS?
Needless to say, I did not go back there. My dad looked under my hood for me and fixed it — for free — in five minutes. No need to replace my air conditioner; it worked fine the whole rest of the summer.
I have since brought my car to have a few things fixed at the Getty Walpole Service Station on 1A and have had nothing but prompt, respectful service. They certainly don’t make me feel like an idiot, and should I have any questions, they take the time to make sure I understand and am satisfied before they send me on my way.
So, had Impact Engineering had literally any sense of pride in the service they provide or respect for the people who are giving them their hard-​earned money they might not have lost this customer. Too bad for them.