Pit Stop Auto Repair & Body Shop

First of all, they give you a discount if you write a positive review on google reviews which seems highly unethical to me. Second it is in a horrible part of town. I had to be buzzed in to get into the office. I did not feel safe leaving my car there overnight. Finally they overcharged me for almost everything that was done, and got mad when I ask to see a list of the item and fees that I would be charged. I am new to the city and a young female and felt very taken advantage of. I would not recommend this business to anyone.

UPDATE: My car was making a noise THE DAY I got it back from the second dealer (Toyota of New Orleans).
I took it back there the following day, and they said that Pit Stop was paid by my insurance company to replace the suspension, strut, etc. with new parts. Toyota said all of that had been replaced with used, rusted parts. They fixed the noise free of charge.
Flash forward less than a month later: my car’s check engine light came on today, and when I hit a pothole, it made a terrible noise (tire didn’t pop– this was an internal noise) and the car sputtered to a stop, died, and let out a burning smell.
I’m updating my claim with the BBB, updating State Farm, and contacting a lawyer.

Highly disappointed
I brought my car in to get check and I was told the part had to be ordered from the dealership, shipped overnight and to come back Monday morning. I was charged then 200 dollars for the part. I came back Monday morning and they were not open on time. I waited 30 minutes and then someone arrived. After waiting for 3.5 hours I called to check on my vehicle. Since they don’t call you. I was told that they had to go to the dealership to pick up the part and it would be ready after 1 pm. I was so disappointed with the lack of respect for people’s time. Also I didn’t know they offered a shuttle until the white guy in front of me was offered a shuttle. This would have been very helpful the first time I brought my car. I had to catch the bus back and forth. I recommend anyone reading this review to just take your car to the dealership or somewhere else. After paying over 400 dollars I was dissatisfied. You’ll pay the same price, and get better service elsewhere.

Horrible service. Was charged 68 dollars for a detailing job and picked the car up with nothing done to it. The owner was a jerk and tried to lock me out of the office when I wanted a refund. Don’t do business here.

All that’s keeping me from awarding a one-​star rating is that the owner, Shawn Berger, corrected the attempted ripoff I encountered yesterday.
After the manager tried to charge me $ 1,200 for what should have been a $ 300 ($ 400 max) brake line replacement I called Shawn to let him know about my experience. Bottom-​line, he adjusted the charge to a «fair» price. Had I been charged what I ultimately paid, this would have been a legit 4 star rating, but I know a scam when I see one.
After asking about the invoice showing 10 hours of labor ($ 99.95/hour) to replace a $ 42 part, the service manager took me into the shop, out of earshot of his next potential victim, to try to justify the charge, by refiguring the invoice and telling me that it was really 7.1 hours of labor at $ 135/​hour, due to the technical nature of my repair (still $ 1200). When I still wasn’t buying it, he offered to do a differential service «free» of charge.
I did my research, then called the owner who looked into it and called me back minutes later to let me know that I would be charged $ 350 + tax. That’s more like it, but should I really have been forced to call the owner to get a fair price? If this is how they treat locals who are referred, I pity the poor tourist who needs a repair to get their car back on the road after visiting our great city.
The front office manager is very pleasant and I believe that the owner is a stand-​up guy (you’ve heard him on the radio), but I wouldn’t recommend this shop to anyone based on my experience with the service advisor yesterday.

Can’t speak about the quality of the auto repair or body shop as I’ve not hired them for business. What I can report, however, is the fact that the «courtesy» driver, driving a car with the business’ name plastered in huge letters across the car, ran a stop sign at high speed right in front of me and nearly caused a collision. I followed him for a block where he pulled over to pick up a customer and informed him of having just ran the stop sign. He told me to mind my own business and that I’m not his daddy. He also stated he was the owner of the business.
I called the office to report the incident. I was met with an equally dismissive attitude towards my comments regarding the vehicle that’s clearly representing their business and obviously running stop signs and putting lives at risk. According to the office, the driver’s name was Louis.
Again, cannot speak about their quality as an auto shop. Perhaps you can read the fifty 1 star reviews (many are in the «not recommended by Unilocal» section of the listing) to determine if you should share your money with this entity.

I really don’t know what to say about this place other than:
who on Earth charges $ 120 for an oil change (I’ve paid less in NYC)…
and…
why did it take 3 and a half hours!!!
An ok place to go if you have expendable income and lots of time to kill.

So we had some car trouble on our way to New Orleans and had to drive back to Austin so we brought our car here to get checked out.
We told the mechanic what was happening, coolant disappearing faster than it should, and a power issue with the transmission. We expected a radiator leak, and had read that the transmission issue was more than likely an electrical issue and if we unplugged the battery for 30 min to reset it the problem would probably be fixed (it was an old mercedes).
They do a standard $ 100 search to figure out what the issue is, and come back and tell us that the car just needs a standard tuneup, and we get a quote for a little over $ 500. Since we didn’t want to pay that much, we ask how much to just get the car back to Austin, and he says all it needs is a new radiator cap and we should be good to go. Then he kind of back tracked and said that might not fix the power problem, and we both got the feeling he really didn’t even know what was wrong with the transmission.
We pick up the car, $ 128 later. Once we’re on the road it’s obvious the power problem wasn’t fixed at all, and that he didn’t even unplug the battery to reset the electrical system like we suggested. Then about ¹⁄₃ of the way back to Austin, we run out of coolant again, so he didn’t fix that either.
Honestly I’m not even confident these guys did an actual «discovery,» I think they might have just replaced the radiator cap and called it a day. It’s probably a good place for an oil change or something, but as far as serious problems with your car I’d probably go somewhere else.

I took my car here on Aug 18 2015. I paid 115.00 for a diagnosis. The day they looked at it ed at the front desk said he was to busy to tell what they found was wrong. I went home and waited for the call. The next morning I called and again too busy to talk to me. The third day I got Shawn he took a second to look up my file on his computer, and told me a total. I agree d to that price and asked when I could bring it in. Ten days later I went in to see what was going on. Ed blew up at me saying I was being rude by calling so much and he couldn’t take any blame. this guys a real jerk. I’d advise everyone to stay clear of this very unprofessional and rude place.

Every driver in New Orleans owes it to their self to find a mechanic /​car repair shop as good as Pit Stop. I’ve been here twice, both for different issues and received the same, high quality level of customer service and care each time.
The first time I came in, I was not sure what was wrong with my Toyota Avalon. I had gotten a flat tire the night before, and AAA fixed it but towed me home. When I asked why they felt the need to tow me home instead of let me drive the spare home, they were vague but assertive. The next day, I went to go to the store and my car wouldn’t start. As a college student who doesn’t have family or even relatives in NOLA, I of course didn’t know where to go or who to ask for an automotive shop referral. I looked at AAA’s recommendations list and chose Pit Stop for being rated well on Unilocal and for being close to my house. AAA towed my car to the shop for me, and Charmaine immediately took me to the waiting area, asked me what was going on, and offered me coffee, a choice of magazine, and a seat. She even handed me the TV remote and later offered me some peanuts when we realized it might be a while.
Despite being very busy, they took me right away. The shop normally charges $ 99 for a diagnostic, but upon realizing that I was going to donate the car if it was too expensive to fix, provided me the service free of charge. It turned out to be an electrical issue (I drove over a pothole and a piece of pavement debris ruined the car’s computer). They then allowed me to leave the non working car at their shop until Bridge House could pick it up as a donation. I was even given a ride home! Saved me a $ 20 taxi ride, and it turns out this is a service they offer to all customers.
Today, I went back to the shop to see if they could check my tires for any nails. They were low on air, and I was afraid of a potential puncture. Even though they were busy, and it was 10 minutes before closing time, Ed dropped what he was doing to come check my tires for me. It took all of maybe 7 minutes, and I left with peace of mind and a really positive impression of everyone at this shop.
It might sound weird, but I can’t wait for something to actually go wrong with my car so I can pay this shop to fix it. Everyone I’ve come into contact with at Pit Stop enjoys their work, enjoys helping customers, and is not there to nickel and dime you. They are honest, thorough, and personable. As a female, I am especially impressed with their ability to speak to me without being condescending or assuming I’m too young or dumb to understand.
It goes without saying, this is a shop I’m proud to support.
(And they offer a AAA member discount!)

COMPANY IS A JOKE. Very disappointed. Beyond really. I had two areas of concern and honestly they both looked worse after cleaning– AFTER BOTH CHANCES. After paying 100+ to have the full detail there were tape marks and other blatant things they ignored. I had a phone charger that they broke and the outlet no longer works. SO I gave them another chance. Pointed out the problems and things they missed. I took Charmaine out to the car and she «wrote down» everything. Well a day later when I called to check because they never let you know when the car is ready– I went to pick it up. There was still tape from the temporary license– my car seat looked like someone went to the bathroom and the problem area with baking soda in the backseat WAS NOT TOUCHED. I was so angry that i did not give them another chance. Once I figured out my outlet was broken I called a few times– left messages but never got a return call. THEY DON’T CARE ABOUT YOU and THEY CERTAINLY DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOUR CAR. I gave them two chances. I was kind and calm. THIS COMPANY IS A JOKE.

I needed a paint job on the hood, bumper, roof, and two doors of my car because of some bug gut damage. After collecting about 5 estimates from different body shops I found Pit Stop to be not only the most reasonably priced, but also the best in customer service. Tamara assisted me in getting my estimate together. She was very straightforward, polite, and helpful and made sure to give me an honest, accurate estimate. I told them that I needed my car back within three business days because I’m moving out of town. I talked to the painter, Justin, who was also very helpful, and he said he would have it ready for me by Tuesday (this was on Thursday afternoon). Justin not only did an AMAZING job on the paint, but he also had it ready by MONDAY AFTERNOON — almost a whole day early. He also threw in a couple little favors like fastening a loose bolt on my front lower grill, and buffing my headlights to give them a nice shine. The paint job makes the car look like it just came off of the dealership lot, such good quality and a really high shine. I highly recommend Pit Stop, and especially Justin. He is a real professional!

Finding an honest and forward mechanic is not easy to find. Luck has it, that I know quite enough about cars to protect myself when talking to a shop. Having experienced three other mechanics in the city, I have heard comments that leads me to believe most shops are looking to squeeze every last dollar out of my pocket. At Pit Stop, I was able to have a real car conversation. In the end, prices were reasonable, and everyone was super friendly. I’d come back here.

Everyone was so amazing here! I got my car broken into and Ms. Charmaine was able to fit me in to get my drivers side door fixed the same day. This was the Friday of Mardi Gras and I could tell this was a busy day for them. Ms. Charmaine and the other gentleman in the office were so nice and accommodating. I know where I will go for any other body work I need!!! Thanks again y’all!

Wow. I can truly say that I’ve never felt to obviously ripped off in my life. This place is like the poster boy for sleezy auto repair shops. How in the name of God they are on AAA’s recommended repair shop list is beyond me. I’ll be calling AAA to hopefully get that corrected.
Where to start. First of all, they charge $ 99 just to look at your car. In the hundreds of times I’ve taken my car in to get looked at, at probably dozens of places, I have never been charged just for the privilege of the shop doing a once over. Best part: the guy gave me a «discount» of only $ 80 because it only took them about ten minutes to check it out. Thanks, guy!
OK, I brought my car in because I thought the rear struts were loose. I specifically told them that that’s all I wanted looked at. I was fully aware of other sounds and possible long-​term issues with the car, but I wanted a very specific issue addressed because I was about to drive from New Orleans to Tucson, AZ and wanted to know if I was likely to die.
Well, completely ignoring my request, the shop guys looked over the whole vehicle (that’s them earning the $ 80, apparently). I kid you not: when I came to get the car, they told me — straight-​faced — that it needed $ 4,000 worth of repairs. My car is a 2001 Dodge Stratus, worth maybe $ 800 on a good day.
Most insultingly, they suggested that the entire strut system needed to be replaced. Unfortunately for them, I had recently had the car checked out at a AAA repair shop (before I drove to New Orleans) and they informed me that, despite the annoying creaks and groans, the system was generally in good repair and wasn’t likely to cause me any problems. In fact, my brother-​in-​law — a car repairman himself — had replaced the front control arms just two years before.
The «pros» at Pit Stop suggested I needed all of the cars control arms replaced. I actually saved the print-​out of suggested repairs they gave me. It reads like a checklist of «let’s f**k this guy over in the following ways.» It took me significant effort not to laugh in their faces.
Anyway, after the guy told me the car was a «safety hazard,» I asked him what could go wrong with my rear struts being partially detached from the frame (I already knew that the only harm was in a rough ride and lots of annoying noises). He proceeded to provide me with a nightmare list of possible scenarios. He literally said that a piece of metal could, hypothetically, come loose and sever a break line. Well, I can’t argue with him on that. I assume he uses that line on everyone, including owners of 2014 Mercedes, since it’s literally always possible that a piece of metal could break off and sever a break line.
Suffice to say, I took my car and drove the 25 hours back to Tucson with zero problems. The guys at Pit Stop are the epitome of sleazebags, and they are the reason people don’t trust auto mechanics.
I

I realized I had a partially flat tire at the start of my commute home from NOLA to Baton Rouge, so I stopped in here to get some air in the tire. They found a nail in it, so they plugged the tire up, filled it with air, and sent me safely home — at no charge! I’ll definitely be back when we move to NOLA next month!

AAA had to tow my car here, because I had a flat tire and a dud spare. They charged me $ 250 for a tire worth $ 180, and made me wait all day because they ordered it instead of just telling me they didn’t have it and I should get the tire from somewhere else. I would have been happy to get a friend to bring the tire over if it meant not waiting from 10 am in the morning to 4:30 pm for an overpriced tire!

When my brakes started acting funky, I took my beloved car (Bobbi Blue) to my usual auto wizard, Rick at G&R on Louisiana. He sent me to Pit Stop.
Being relativity unschooled in the inner workings of brake systems and fuel lines and other important car type things, I initially balked at the quote Rose gave me to replace my brake line and fuel line.
Y’all, I called 4 different mechanics in this city, and each one of them confirmed the Pit Stop price, and said they regularly send clients there for this type of work.
Although my sweet little Saturn is still in the shop, I have every assurance from Pit Stop (and my new friend Rose) that she will be totally fine within a day or so, and regardless of what those other Unilocalers say, many mechanics seem to agree.
I’ll update this review when I get Bobbi Blue back, but for now, color me impressed with the service at Pit Stop.

I am supes terrible at listening to Rhonda’s needs. By Rhonda, I’m referring to my Honda Civic. She rarely gets a bath, and if it weren’t for the oil change meter in the car, I’d never know when to go in.
Well Rhonda had been having some issues starting recently. I got her a new battery because she was due for one, but then I noticed she was still having issues starting… Do I immediately go to fix it? Of course not…
So my car is dead as a door nail at 8 am in the morning in the CBD when I’m trying to escape sans makeup in my FUGGs. Bad morning news on top of that, and a no-​dice attempt to charge this puppy, led to me calling AAA. (Thank you to my stepmother for hooking me up with the card).
I had checked Unilocal for a close shop because AAA will only take you so far, but the joint I looked up wasn’t open on Mondays. The AAA guy was so sweet, and figured it was my starter. He suggested I go to Pit Stop, and he drove me on over.
A friend picked me up though Pit Stop offers you a ride. Thought that was cool.
So I have NO idea how much automotive stuff should cost nor do I know how long anything should take. They called me with an estimate for the starter. I called my boyfriend, he said that sounded totally reasonable. I called back to approve the estimate.
They had my car ready within 2 or 3 hours. To me, that’s nuts. I was able to pick up my parents flying in that afternoon, and have had no problems with the starter since. I like to wait a few weeks after car work, to confirm that nothing goes wrong, and it didn’t.
The staff was really nice, and obviously efficient in my case. The receptionist even offered me a slice of pizza. :) I would most likely go back here for any other work needed on old Rhonda!

Awesome service! Been here twice and very impressed with fast service, friendly staff, and quality of service.

2012 brought my GMC Acadia here for driver side rear body work. It was an expensive mess. My park assist still doesn’t work, they took SUPER Long to do the body work. My fender pops off at will. Very poorly run & over priced. I do hope they get it together b/​c they’re in a great location. They should be bursting at the seams w/​business… But their pricing & service is their road block… I could break down right at their door & I’d get towed to another mechanic shop…

I wish I could give 0 stars.
I’m not sure why I keep getting sucked back into Pit Stop. Maybe because I hadn’t found a new garage I like until recently (Donald at Park Place Auto is amazing).
The first time I brought my VW in, I paid $ 200 for an oil change and some fluid refills. The second time, they wanted to charge me $ 1000 to fix my AC (I got it fixed for $ 400 elsewhere).
The third time, my skid plate needed to be replaced. They quoted me $ 2000 for repairs and AGGRESSIVELY told me that I needed to call my insurance company so I could leave the car there and only pay my deductible. Well… that would have been great expect when I brought it to another garage, the plate was repaired for $ 45, including labor.
I can’t help but feel like this is the kind of shop who urges people to make an insurance claim, pay the deductible and then sit and wait for Pit Stop to make a million (unnecessary?) repairs and charge your insurance company an arm and a leg. I will never be going back.

This should be a two-​part review; when the owner, Shawn, ran the place, it was great. But, he hired someone else to run it about a year ago and it just isn’t the same.
After many fine dealings with Shawn, we brought a vehicle in and was given numerous run-​arounds by the guy at the desk, who just didn’t give a damn.
I called and asked to speak to Shawn; no response.
I e-​mailed and asked to speak to Shawn, no response.
I went by in person and asked to speak to Shawn, answer was «No».
Bottom line is this: Shawn was building a business and was competent, careful, and reasonable. The «guy behind the desk» is punching a clock and just doesn’t care !
I would go back in a moment if Shawn were running the place. But, he’s not, so I’m not. Kinda sad, isn’t it ?
Rick

Really wish I came to Unilocal prior to visiting this place.
This is an auto repair shop, and they have computer generated prices on whatever repair you need. So far so good. The amount you pay is determined by the amount of hours your job takes. Still good. At a rate of 79/​hr. OK. The amount of time a job will take is inflated. Not so good. They charge a «diagnostic» fee. SCAM.
I had a front window that got stuck in the open position. This problem is so common there’s a youtube video on how to fix this. Amount of time it should take any competent mechanic? 20 minutes, 30 minutes TOPS. Time I was charged? 1 hour (they count time required for a job in 6 minute increments which means they could’ve easily charged me .4 — .6 hours). Never mind the fact that the job I had for them was incredibly easy. They also wanted to charge me a diagnostic fee because they «have to find out what’s wrong with it.»
Holy shit, you’re a REPAIR SHOP. And surprise, the estimated time the computer shoots out in order to charge you takes into account diagnosing the problem. (What are you, going to repair something without knowing what to repair?) I pointed this out, and since I didn’t pay the diagnostic fee, rather than repairing my window, they took the time to put my window back up, and took ADDITIONAL time to disable my power window. What in the actual fuck?

Cross posted from my previous review on the other listing for the same business (on that listing, they only have like 1 star. This one? 4. Interesting…)
10/​18/​2011
I feel like it’s my duty as a citizen of New Orleans to out these fucks.
Background: My car had a leak where the windshield connects to the roof. I thought this was causing an electrical problem. The blinkers and A/​C would intermittently quit working. Sometimes I’d start the car up and everything would be A-​OK, sometimes I’d start it up and I had no A/​C and no blinkers.
They kept my car for a week. No progress. They kept it for another week. Still no progress. I asked for my car back, seeing as they hadn’t done shit for TWO FUCKING WEEKS. Then they said they couldn’t give it back to me just then, because the windshield was off of it and the dashboard was off and I couldn’t take it home that day unless I wanted to tow it in pieces. Plus, I owed them for the labor they’d already done. Um, ok? Cool. Welp, I guess I can’t get pissy with you, seeing as you have my fucking car in pieces and there’s nothing I can do about it.
Fast forward 2 more weeks. After dealing with their bullshit even longer, I finally tell them to have my car ready the next day, I’m coming to get it.
Their excuse was the Superbowl. OK yes, I fucking love the Saints too, but that doesn’t mean taking the fucking bus to work for a month doesn’t fucking suck. By the way: the Superbowl was like a week or 2 before that. So yeah. Geaux Saints, but you had 4 WEEKS to fix my car, too.
And that’s not the worst of it.
They fixed NOTHING. N O T H I N G. They admitted to fixing nothing. They charged me $ 300+ for «diagnostics.» I was like, wtf? You’ve had my car for a month and you haven’t done shit, and now I have to pay you $ 300??? I never agreed to this! But no, they wouldn’t release my car till I paid them.
So basically, I paid $ 300 to live for a month without my problematic car, or any car at all.
But wait, there’s more!
I realized, the next time I turned the car on and the A/​C worked (this was a few days later) that the A/​C was no longer the kind that worked on 4 levels, from low to high. The fan was either full blast or off. I asked around about it, and I learned that they took my fucking A/​C and switched it out with a shitty one that isn’t adjustable. Nice, you fucking douchebags. (btw, check out january review on the other listing – sounds familiar!)
And the fucked up thing about this is that a family member referred me to them. Apparently the owner (Shawn) is a friend of a friend or a brother of a friend of hers. I never told her what happened because I didn’t want to start shit or make her feel bad, but I hope those motherfuckers choke on a bag of dicks.
Oh, and by the way? Turns out the problem had nothing to do with the leak. It was a simple problem with the starter that didn’t even necessitate repair: it was just picky. If you didn’t turn the key far enough, even if it was just a hair off where it wanted to be, the connection that worked the blinkers and A/​C didn’t turn on. Yes folks, this is a layman’s description, but trust me, it’s fucking solid – turning the key that extra hair is how I had A/​C in my car this summer.

It’s hard to trust mechanics because most of the time we really don’t know if we are getting overcharged or not. Most of us cant say whether $ 100 – 200 is too much for labor or the average asking price for most of our automotive needs.
I, for one, trust Shawn at Pit Stop. He is professional and takes the time to answer and and all concerns/​questions. He even replies back to anyone that has a complaint or bad comment to make to him or his staff. Not many mechanics will reply back to you. Shawn is a wonderful person who really does care about his customers and their cars.
They do a great job of fixing all of your automotive needs!