Car-X Auto Service

I, too, have an odd loyalty to this car x. After I moved to this side of town, I started getting my oil changed here. I don’t ask them for body or engine repairs. But they move cars in and out in a timely fashion considering the load of work the get. Doug is always friendly in person and on the phone.
Other than oil changes, they’ve rotated tires and re-​aligned for me. I’ve never had a problem.

I have a strange loyalty to this Car X location. I first started coming here two cars again when I lived in Castleton, and though I am by no means exclusive to it — I have a family friend who works on my car sometimes, I buy used tires, and I often get my oil changed at the Small Business Death Factory that is Wal-​Mart– I’ve ended up at this Car X location about a dozen times over 10 years. I’m here right now for a new battery (I tried to replace it myself but soon realized I didn’t even have the right tools to get the screws loosened). They’ve done everything from oil changes to replacing the clutch in my beloved Pontiac Vibe.
Now, with all the negative reviews below, let me tell you why: in my experience these guys have never BS’ed me. They’ve never recommended an unnecessary service, and they’ve always been spot on with their estimates of what needs to be done– I say this because I’ve had my family friend mechanic (who I would certainly use more if he wasn’t 3 hours away) do the work a few times after getting an estimate here. They’ve never charged for an estimate on my car and even though I don’t always use them for the service the pricing seems comparable or cheaper than other shops. I’m the type of person who squeaks by with the bare amount of maintenance– I’m only now replacing the battery because it needed a jump twice in a row. So, a no nonsense shop like this is perfect for me. They also helped me navigate the great Stan’s Auto Electric Catastrophe of 2011, and I recommend reading my review of that establishment if you want an example of where NOT to go. While I understand some of these negative reviews, it seems silly to trash a business just because they gave you a free estimate you didn’t like. As far as this place being first-​come-​first-​served, I’ve never had a problem with that and usually just hang out in the waiting area– in my experience service has been as quick as a half hour and I’ve never had to wait more than 2 hours. If you’re worried about the wait time just ask and they’ll be upfront with you. Also, the manager Doug is really nice and professional and just made me fresh coffee. Friendly service is the icing on the cake.
(Full disclosure: they did leave the oil cap off after an oil change once– I quickly realized what happened and they replaced the cap and apologized profusely)

Stay away from this place. They do more damage to your car than repairs. Dishonest and very unqualified. Broke a PCV valve, just plugged the intake and never bothered to mention it to me. They will scam you into paying for more than need. One star is too much for them. STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE!!!

First off, 1 star is too high for this place. I have a company account with multiple work trucks and vans that I have taken to car x. Most other car x’s do a VERY good job and are VERY helpful. Particularly the one in greenwood. I do not think the problem here is the guys that actually do work on the cars but the problem is with their manager named don and Doug. They don’t listen to what you want done. I have actually switched to a different auto repair shop because of this. I’ve asked for multiple things to be done (oil changes, new water pumps and new tires along with tire rotations.) only half of what I asked for was completed because Don doesn’t LISTEN and had to keep trucks there longer than I should have if he just listened. I HIGHLY recommend you find a different Carx to go to or just a new shop. Worst customer service I have encountered. Do yourself a favor and avoid the headaches!

UPDATE 6−6−14: Well, Car-​X said there was nothing wrong with my front-​end suspension or brakes, but the car continued to feel dramatically wrong — even dangerous — so I took it to another service provider (Christian Brothers in Fishers). They immediately found that the rotors were warped and in need of machining, and that the CV joints were bone dry due to ripped CV joint boots. They resurfaced the rotors all around and replaced the half shafts & CV boots. The car now feels as it should and stops appropriately. I am revising my rating down to two stars, which I give for the Car-​X staff’s friendliness and willingness to invest time in talking to me and assessing the vehicle (albeit incorrectly).
I’m surprised by reading some of the bad reviews here. I took a Lexus LX470 to this Car-​X and received excellent, Golden Rule treatment by Doug (the manager) and Anthony (the tech who assessed my vehicle).
They didn’t experience what I sense the car’s brakes are doing and, instead of putting a bunch of parts on that the vehicle may not need, they told me they didn’t think the car needs anything at this time, and to just keep an eye on the situation.
I appreciated the time they put into the car (test driving it more than once and fully examining the brakes all around) and the high degree of integrity they showed by not selling me goods & services they didn’t think I needed.
I offered to pay for the assessment, but the declined to take a payment. I think this type of treatment is all-​too-​uncommon in today’s marketplace. I will not hesitate to take another vehicle to them should the need arise.

It’s been a tough winter. This spring I heard a rattle and rumble coming from under the car. Since we moved to the east side last year I haven’t found a new mechanic yet and our old faithful shop (over 25 years) is waay over on the west side. Since I thought it was only something to do with the exhaust system, and we had a coupon for $ 35 off I came here.
After explaining the problem we dropped the car off and went home to wait it out. There’s nothing I hate more than hanging around in one of these car repair waiting rooms. Game shows on TV and sad people sitting around. Not for me.
They called within an hour and said a small pipe needed to be replaced, $ 319.00 installed including clamps, pipe and labor. Rather high for a «small pipe» but what you gonna do? I gave the go ahead.
The repair was done in a couple hours and we picked it up. Wound up $ 284 with the discount. So far so good. My wife drove the car home. Later that night we decided to go to the grocery and I noticed the «check engine» light was on. I tightened the fuel cap (sometimes the problem) and since it was Friday, decided to see if it would «reset» itself over the weekend. I thought their working on the exhaust may have tripped something in the computer causing the faulted light.
Early Monday found us taking the car back as the light was still on. Same SOP, left the car and went home. They called in less than an hour saying the computer indicated we had a «miss» and that we needed a new distributor cap and rotor. Funny, I never felt an engine miss. This time it was $ 184.00. I HATE being nickle and dimed. Gave them the go and told them to save the old parts for my inspection.
Another hour and it was ready. My wife had found another coupon on the net for $ 25.00 off. As we were paying the bill I noticed they had charged $ 44.00 labor for the rotor AND $ 44.00 labor FOR THE DISTRIBUTOR. Since the distributor comes off to replace the rotor I asked why the double labor charge. The guy (Dan) said he had made a mistake and set about getting us a refund on the credit card. Wound up we got $ 47.00 back.
After asking, I was shown the old parts and they did look worn. They were original (2001) and I’m sure they probably needed replacing.
All in all I feel we were treated fairly. Dan refunded the double labor charge without complaint. We MIGHT use Car X again, but in the meantime, I’m still looking for a good east side mechanic.

Good place to get your oil change. Quick, reasonable and they always tighten things up… never oil on my garage floor after.

I went here to get my tires «aligned». I chose this place because it was $ 10 cheaper. The mechanic printed off the standards for minimal tire alignment. In other words the bare minimum. He told me that for them to be perfectly aligned it would have to be in the middle of the scale but that as long as they were within the range, they were aligned ok. He said that it would take to long to get them «perfectly» aligned. Well I thought I paid for a complete alignment. Having a basic working knowledge of cars, I got in and my car was not aligned at all (you can usually tell if the steering wheel pulls to the left or right) My advice, stay away!

CAR-​X Good morning this is Doug
customer: Hello, I’d like to have wiper blades installed, how much will that be please?
CAR-​X They’re $ 10… per blade.
customer: Thank you.
SHAME ON YOU for robbing females blind. That is a 2 minute job with proper knowledge and tools.
7÷22÷2012

Allegedly, they don’t make appointments — first come, first served. After arriving 10 minutes after opening for brake pad replacement, it was a 2 hour wait just to get my car in the garage. Of course, that expectation wasn’t communicated to me until I had waited the 2 hours, saw my car in the lot and assumed it was done. I figured they were just finishing up the paperwork so I asked if that was the case. I figured poorly.
The very nice technician showed me my brakes as it sat on the lift. I agreed with him that the work needed to be done, but didn’t have the time to wait as they had already taken two hours just to get it in the garage. He put my wheels on and I was free to enjoy the rest of my Saturday plans.

My muffler was loud. I took it to this CarX location for a look. They said it would cost $ 450 to repair! This car is 15 years old. I don’t need the gold-​plated solution. The mechanic took me out under the car to show me. He said that I needed to replace virtually the entire exhaust system. I had just replaced most of it within the past year or so. Portions of the exhaust pipe are still shiny! He claimed he could tell «by feel» that it was getting bad. I couldn’t believe this guy was standing there and telling me this with a straight face. The only real problem was that my muffler had become disconnected — apparently something had knocked it loose. I said all I wanted was for the muffler to be replaced. He said they could do that for $ 120, including tax. When it was done and I was paying, the manager tried to charge extra for the tax. I said no, the mechanic said $ 120 total, including tax. He didn’t even try to verify it with the mechanic. It was like he was deliberately trying to just cheat me out of that extra five bucks. Afterwards, I priced mufflers. $ 52 retail. It occurred to me that they deliberately hit me with the $ 450 figure to stun me so that I’d be relieved to have to pay *only* $ 120. But in fact, the muffler comes at the very end of the tailpipe. It is an easy replacement job. Even the $ 120 was too much. The kicker: a few weeks later, I have some rumbling from the back of the car. Wasn’t there before. I suspect they didn’t put the muffler on properly. My opinion: total, multilevel rip-​off shop. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.

The people there are very professional and service oritented and won’t do anything needlessly or take advantage of people who don’t know about cars, or try to upsell, which is very appreciated when you’re dealing with cars. I get my oil changed there every 3,000 miles and they do it well.