Precision Automotive Clinic

I really wanted this place to become my go-​to mechanic, but over the past 2 months I’ve experienced nothing but a nightmarish ordeal. The amount of BS I’ve put up with from them can’t be explained properly in a paragraph, so get ready for a very long review. Long story short: do NOT take your car here for any serious repairs.
Background: my car started having problems in early November. Other shops couldn’t figure out what was wrong, so I looked around and found Precision. It was close to my house and had great reviews. Jack, the owner, met with me and was really great. They confirmed it was an engine problem and said they could fix it (I needed an entirely new engine, and not many shops could do this sort of work). Took my car in a week or two before Thanksgiving. They said they could have a new engine installed in a week, and that I’d have my car ready by the time I got back from visiting family.
This is where things start getting weird. I returned from Thanksgiving to find out that my car isn’t ready. It’s not really a huge problem at this point– I had final exams coming up and was studying all the time, so I didn’t really need my car to go anywhere. I keep calling the shop to get an update, but no one ever calls me back. I can’t get in touch with Jack. This continues for WEEKS. I try to remain patient, and I was so busy studying for finals that I didn’t have the time or energy to push the issue too much.
My dad comes in town and visits the shop. They say they needed a deposit before they could work on the engine. Which is weird, since they never asked for one, but it seemed like a routine thing and we had no problem with paying for such an expensive part up front. We chalk it up to communication issues and give them $ 800 on December 22^nd. I have a signed receipt confirming this, and they say my car will be ready on December 29^th. At this point, their excuse for the delay is that Jack is having health problems and isn’t there a lot.
I call on December 29^th to pick up my car. Surprise, it’s not ready. They say they haven’t even bought the engine yet, despite having our $ 800 in cash for a week. I call every other day, and each time I get a different excuse: they can’t go pick up the engine when it’s raining (convenient, since it rained everyday for 2 weeks), the guy who they asked to pick up the engine has disappeared, someone has been sick, etc. The worst part is that the phone at the shop was cut off! You couldn’t even get in touch with anyone unless you got one of the mechanics’ cell phone numbers, which is what we did. The final straw was when they said that they bought an engine and installed it, but it didn’t work, so they had to get another one. Bear in mind that I’ve NEVER seen the new engine I paid for, even though my boyfriend and I stopped by the shop multiple times.
I tell them that I’ve had it, and that I will be picking my car up at the end of the week (January 15^th). They have the nerve to ask for more time. My boyfriend and I overheard another couple outside, complaining that their car has been there for over a month with no progress because the shop «lost their keys.» I’m not surprised, considering the shop is very messy and disorganized, and there doesn’t appear to be any oversight from the owner or communication between the employees.
Now, I’m getting my car towed from the shop. Of course, it still doesn’t have a new engine. I asked to see the new engine they were supposed to buy– hoping that I can just take it to another shop to have it installed– and the mechanic told me they finally got it, but already returned it when I told them I was taking my car back. I reminded him that my boyfriend and I had been here the day before (and twice earlier in the week, and I had been texting them everyday…) and that no one ever showed me an engine. I took pictures of my car in the shop with the old engine taken out– there’s no other engine anywhere nearby. He just shrugged.
I told them that I expect my $ 800 deposit back since they obviously never bought an engine. One of the mechanics informed me that they’ll have to talk with Jack to figure out how much I owe for labor. That’s laughable since they haven’t done anything to my car, but whatever– I told them I’ll pay whatever labor costs are for taking the old engine out. I’ve been trying to get in touch with them for the past 3 days to figure out what labor will cost, and again, no one has gotten back to me. So they have $ 800 of mine, I still don’t have a working car or an engine, and no one bothers to answer their phone.
I’ve never been screwed over this badly by any business. I think the problems have something to do with Jack’s alleged health issues. If he really is sick, that’s sad, but he needs to stop accepting business until he gets better and can get his shop in order. His employees clearly can’t handle anything while he’s gone. If you’re looking for a reliable mechanic, look anywhere else but here.

Not sure the name of who helped us today (assuming it was Jack based on other reviews?) but he was a rockstar– A ROCKSTAR. On a roadtrip and the gas tank wouldn’t fill up, went to the Toyota dealership and they said we would need to replace a part and the piece would only be received in 5 – 7 days– not an option obviously because we were road tripping. Found Precision on Unilocal and within a second of my rolling in, Jack (?) was at work, looking for the problem, and fixing what he assumed to be the problem. He then sent us to a gas station to make sure that it had worked (spoiler, it did.) The least pretentious guy I’ve ever met, proved himself to be really trustworthy and we ended up paying $ 20 to have something fixed that Toyota was ready to charge us who knows how much for. THANK YOU!

These guys are the real deal. We stopped in on a SUNDAY (super bonus points for them humoring us on a pseudo «work day» when the saints were playing!) because we had a minor serpentine belt issue – and he took the time to fix it for me the SAME DAY, which is epic if you’re a student. He explained what happened, texted us a photo of what was needing to be fixed with an estimate and boom: problem solved. Granted, you can’t expect same day service all the time from any mechanic, but when you find a mechanic who is honest, dependable, trustworthy, and knowledgable…3 days later would have even been acceptable, amirite? Don’t waste your time with mechanics who have espresso: save that for your overpriced dealership repairs and go to someone who knows what they’re doing. These guys just got two new regulars.

I took my car in for a new oil pan and sensor. The owner turned me down twice when i brought my car in because both of the parts didn’t come in together and he wanted to fix both problems the same day. Needless to say, my engine seized from not having oil. He didnt put oil in my car when he checked it, and assured me that my car would run fine in the mean time. This guy is a joke!
Don’t waste your money on this fool.

Jack isn’t going to bring you an espresso while you wait. But you aren’t going to be paying for his espresso machine bills either. Good honest work at an honest price. And quick too. Trustworthy, solid shop.

Can’t say enough about Jack at Precision Auto. If you want a mechanic you can trust Jack is your guy. He’s a good man and great mechanic always doing that much extra to make sure you and the car are take care of.

I’ve finally found an excellent mechanic in NOLA. I called Jack on a Saturday and asked him about some new tires and a rear brake job for my car.
After being told by other shops that I needed new tires, not only did Jack not try to sell me new tires but assured me mine were good to go for at least a few more months (his tire quotes were less than other shops too).
Next I asked Jack about my rear brake job, he quoted me ½ the price of 3 other nation-​wide tire shops and replaced the rotors and pads. The job was done timely and I didn’t feel like I was emptying my bank account.
Jack is also very friendly and I felt like I was dealing with a friend rather than a business. Because they’re open on Saturday and the shop is located in my neighborhood it’s extremely convenient. The location is in a residential neighborhood so you can easily walk to Matt and Naddie’s, Dante’s kitchen, or any of the dozen places on Oak Street while you’re waiting.
Thanks Jack!

This place is the best. Jack (the owner) is the sweetest and most honest mechanic I’ve ever been to. I’ve had some very strange issues with my Jeep Grand Cherokee which the previous owner couldn’t figure out, and with my schedule under time constraints. Jack has gone above and beyond to deal with several things at the drop of a hat, and for much cheaper than other mechanics have quoted me!
I’ll never go anywhere else!

I’ve been taking my beloved Ford Crown Vic here for several years now. My first visit was good, I had a problem with the motor on my windshield wipers and I was satisfied with the work and price. My second visit was incredible. It was nearly a year later and upon walking up to Jack (the owner) he immediately remembered the work he had done before. Talk about an expert in his craft; what a memory! That’s the kind of shop Jack runs, personal and professional. I’ve referred my friends here and they thanked me afterward.
Jack doesn’t run a large shop, so if you’re looking for a 40 point inspection with your oil change it’s probably not going to happen. He will fix your problem and alert you to any other potential problems, but there is only so much space to work with. So, unless you ask for it specifically, he probably doesn’t have the time/​space to do extra.
The event that prompted me to finally write a review is this: I had gotten new tires at the Clearview Sears and was told they couldn’t do my alignment due to a cambolt being frozen (the specifics aren’t important, but beware if they tell you the same thing). I went back a week later to get the cambolts replaced and was told that the problem was actually two bent tie rods and it would cost $ 500 to fix. My nose started twitching so I decided to take it to Jack for a second opinion. 30 minutes later he saved me $ 500. There was nothing wrong with the rods, there was nothing wrong with the cambolts. The problem was Sears’ dishonesty and the solution was Jack’s honesty. He also told me he had noticed a potential problem that would be expensive to fix, but said that unless it became a problem, it wasn’t worth worrying about. This is important to me: a mechanic who doesn’t try to sell you unnecessary work is a good get.
Honesty, integrity, quality, and fairness are the only things you need to know about Jack and his shop. Oh, yeah! He’s also in a band. How cool is that?

Nice guys but, I’m unsure of their thoroughness.
Shop is an absolute mess. Stopped by for an oil change. Paid $ 40. They didn’t check any other fluids or conduct any other courtesies (such as tire pressure check, wiper fluid top-​up, etc.). Exhaust is somewhat smokey and blue after only a few hundred miles since visiting. Bummer. Won’t visit again. Wouldn’t trust any serious automotive issues with this shop (not for lack of knowledge or experience — simply organization and thereby, clarity).
I should’ve stuck with GR Automotive, as I will do so from now on.
Update: originally gave two stars but after reading the nasty response from the business owner, one star is more accurate.

Someone recommended Precision Automotive to me and now I’m recommending Precision Automotive to you. My AC stopped blowing cold air at the peak of the suffocatingly hot and humid Louisiana summer. I was desperate for it to be fixed but unfortunately the problem wasn’t easily identifiable. I know that Jack, the owner and main mechanic, put many more hours of labor into my car than he charged me for. He removed and replaced the compressor and when that didn’t fix it, he replaced other (fortunately less costly!) parts until it finally worked again. He could have just left the new compressor in and charged me for the parts and labor, but he removed it because it wasn’t necessary and he is a more honest mechanic than that. You do need to be proactive in calling him for updates though if you’d like to stay posted on progress and more importantly the projected timeline for completion.

I have an older Dodge Ram that is starting to need more routine service and also has broken down once landing at Precision off of a tow truck (water pump failure). Each time I have used Precision Auto for both scheduled and «Oh crap my truck just broke» work I have been happy with the outcome. Jack has never tried to up-​sell me on unneeded service and provides a very competitive labor rate. Jack is honest and has a level of customer service that is sometimes hard to find. All the work performed has been good and I have no complaints and plan to keep coming back.

Nice guy. Easy to deal with. And he did the best thing a mechanic can do — tell me I didn’t need the work that I thought I did.
Follow up:
I was having a new engine issue and stopped by again to ask him about it. He walked me through what he thought was probably going on, was very nice about taking the time to chat with me despite having a lot to do, and told me to keep watching it rather than throw money at the problem before its totally clear what the problem is. Couldn’t have been more helpful.

I would never go back to precision auto, I went there to fix my brake cylinder I dropped my car off and they told me it would b done in the morning, I called at 11 and they were just starting they told me it would be done in an hour, 3 rolls around and they are not done they ended up puncturing my break line an had to order new part and wouldn’t be ready for few hours they quoted me for an hour repair and ended up taking them 5 hours for a routine repair

Friendly. Helpful. Honest. Won’t try to sell you things you don’t need and make you feel guilty when you don’t buy them. Chuck will take the time and effort to provide explanations for costs. They seem to love what they do and it shows in the pride they take in their work. 5 GINORMOUS stars.