Imperial Street Auto Repair

I’m just gonna address the points you tried to make in your comment Datis.
1) Whether I owned the vehicle then is completely besides the point. I was the one paying you to do the check on it and I think you owe it to me to do an honest check of the vehicle; apparently that’s asking for a lot.
2) I can see that you’re confused about this so let me try and explain it to you this way: the mechanic replacing my breaks had my car up on stilts with the wheels off when he took the old brakes out and showed me them. So according to you he should just put everything back, forego payment that I promised him and let me drive away no charge? Yeah I wonder why he didn’t do that. And as to why I didn’t get a brake inspection? Like I’ve tried to explain to you before, I didn’t get a brake inspection because you people already told me I needed new pads. Why in the world would I spend another $ 20 just for them to tell me what I already paid you guys to do?
3) When you say ‘tires’ I can only assume you mean wheels, though I would expect an experienced mechanic/​auto shop employee like yourself to know the difference between the two. As to what Elizabeth said, both me and my girlfriend heard her say that a used car check doesn’t include the brakes being physically inspected with the wheels off.
4) The one thing you’re right about is that Dave did refund the inspection but not once did he or Elizabeth apologize or take any accountability. Had either of them done that I wouldn’t have had to resort to writing my earlier review. Neither me or my girlfriend heard him or Elizabeth so much as whisper an apology.
I did bring the old pads back to Dave and he could clearly see that they weren’t anywhere near ‘under 50%’. I am still in possession of the them so it baffles me how you continue to claim they were under 50% despite this.
You’re welcome to try again Datis. I hope it’ll be a better use of my time than reading your last comment was.
Thanks.

We brought in a very dirty truck today and Imperial Street Auto Repair took it on! We called with short notice and it was done by 4pm. Amazing! I would recommend them without hesitation…

Went in for an oil change for $ 24.95 and ended up waiting about 40 mins. While I was waiting, they recommended a new air filter (which I was going to be changing anyways) so I said to go ahead and do it. Came to just under $ 50, which is reasonable, and I was happy with the service. However after looking under the hood yesterday afternoon I found that my air filter cover was not installed properly. They had dropped one screw down in a crevice on the engine and hadn’t bothered to fish it out… so I did it myself. I’ll probably be back for an oil change in the future, but it’s the little details like that that go a long way as a customer. Was a little disappointed to say the least.
Update: Took the car to a different mechanic for something else today, and he mentioned that the oil filter was loose, and hadn’t been properly tightened… Knocked another star off for that.

I have a 2008 Mazda 3 with less than 60,000 km. Had an oil changed done as well as full inspection by Mazda and was told my car was in great shape! NO issues! Anyways I ended up having a spun bearing and failed compression in ¼ chambers and low in all others 6 weeks after service. Dave was nice enough to take a day to diagnose the issue, especially explaining what could have happened to my engine. Also didn’t charge me for the diagnosis seeing I was looking at atleast a 5000 $ bill. I wasn’t able to get my engine replaced through this company but I sure would have and I highly recommend them to others! This is how a shop should treat a customer!

I have been to this place a few times, and I thought it was great until I had a severe breakdown in Salmon Arm and someone else took a look at my car.
1. Oil Changes — I had been paid $ 39.99 for an oil change, only to have my Oil Light come on again not 2 months later. I went in for another oil change, being that I do a lot of driving for my work. It turns out that they had only been topping up my oil and not actually changing it. When another mechanic check it, the oil was black and metallic smelling, and very gritty despite only being 2 months post oil change. The filter was disgusting.
2. Brake Pads — I had my brakes replaced in December, and when the mechanic in Salmon Arm lifted my car, he showed me that they were only at 20%. It has barely been 5 months. I was told they were mid-​range brake pads, and how is that even possible to wear them down to 20% in 5 months? I usually change them every year and a half!!!
3. Radiator — Now I had asked for a fluid top up and check the last time I was there, which was in February. I was told that everything was fine, and charged $ 89.99 for a diagnostic check. The radiator cap had, in fact, melted over time and corroded itself shut and my radiator overflow cap was missing. The radiator hadn’t been flushed in a long time. What the hell was I charged for? Also my brake fluid was only at about 30%.
All in all, I paid a large amount of money to end up stranded in Salmon Arm. Luckily the mechanic there was able to get me back on the road with minimal fuss, but warned me away from going back.
Maybe it’s because I’m a woman, and maybe it’s because I went in alone and trusted this shop to take care of my car. Maybe it’s because I’m naïve and didn’t check up on the work after I paid for it and trusted that it would be done because I PAID FOR IT.
Who knows. But I’m never going here again, and I’m lucky I didn’t breakdown on the Coquihalla hwy.

I was driving to Alderwood yesterday when I noticed the «Check Engine» light was on – it’s a 2005 Plymouth Sunfire, and we watch the gauges and indicators pretty closely. I took it to CDN Tire to find out what it meant, and they told me that just to tell me what the fault number was it would be $ 45 and to do a complete diagnostic would be $ 99 and take up to 4 hours.
I immediately went to Dave’s shop (Imperial Street Auto Repair) and they also said it would be $ 45 to get the fault checked. They checked it within half an hour and told me it was something to do with getting gas on Monday; maybe I hadn’t tightened the cap properly or something.
Anyway, they tightened the cap, reset the indicator and told me I was okay. I offered to pay and Dave said «No charge.»
They will have my business forever!

The guy who owns this place just thugs customers out of their money. I came here for an oil change one day and I saw the sign outside that said it was $ 19.99 for an oil change. Pretty cheap right? So I went in and I tell the guy at the desk (he wears a baseball cap and glasses, older looking guy, pretty sure he’s the owner cause he’s always there) that I want the $ 19.99 oil change. He asks me what car I drive and I told him it was a 2008 Volkswagon Jetta. He told me for this that I need synthetic oil since my car is newer and blah blah blah. The sign outside says $ 69.99 for synthetic oil so I assumed that would be the price. Instead he told me that it would be $ 79.99 because my car needs a special type of synthetic oil because its a Jetta… WTF?! So from $ 19.99 its gonna cost me $ 79.99 for an oil change?! I was pressed for time and I needed to get it done so I paid and took a seat. While I was waiting another man comes in and I overhear him asking for the $ 19.99 oil change that I wanted. The same old guy asks him what kinda car he has and he was driving a pretty new black Cadillac, and he told him the same thing that he told me, that his car needed a special kind of synthetic oil because it was a Cadillac and it was gonna cost him $ 89.99!!! These people are thugs and false advertisers, the only reason why they are even getting a star from me is because they are fast, if you have the time to spare I suggest you go somewhere else.
xx

I took my 1983 Chevy to service and change brake pads, I left my car and two hours later I came back to have an up date and the manager told me that the the car need new brakes and that for service and parts he will charge me $ 700.00 I bought the car six weeks a go for $ 800.00 and I drive it without any issue all that time and because he is a Generous guy, he offer me the oil change and tune up of the car for an extra $ 150.00 if was in cash money. Total of $ 850.00 cash for brakes, oil change and tune up, don’t get left with your pants down, the place and service is cheap but they charge a Fancy $$TOP$$ when I asked for a receive he said he dont know how much was for parts so he can separate parts and service. The manager mention then to me that he was loosing money in the service, I insist for the receive and then he complain about the taxes, he was just trying to distract me for the fact the he over charge me for the service, and was nervously changing numbers on screen trying to match $ 850.00 on the rec

Took my vehicle here for an oil change b/​c of the good reviews. It was done on time &price was good but the manager wasnt very friendly had nothing new to report didnt ask anything about my vehicle if it needed a tune up or anything to get my repeat business. Further more when I got my vehicle back the steering wheel was filthy from the mechanic who drove it. I was not impressed.

Dave runs the best auto repair shop that I know of. Brought in my car for a squeaking noise. I was prepared to come back at the end of the day. Nope. He test drove it, showed me that nothing was wrong — probably just brake dust — managed his super team of mechanics like a boss and satisfied all the other smiling customers. I was out in less than 30 mins. Other shops charge you a mortgage just for the privilege of having your car hoisted up and make you wait. Not here.
Dave and his skilled team correctly diagnose problems, fix them fast and deliver exceptional customer service. It’s a business model others should strive to emulate on a daily basis.

Was in today as I needed an oil change and was in the area. Great price for an oil change, but not only that, great service.
I was certain I needed a brake job as well, as my brakes had been squeaking. Dave had a tech look at my car and advised me there was still over 30% left on my pads. He also educated me as to why they may have been squeaking prior to needing new pads. I was prepared to pay for a brake job and he was honest with me. I thank Dave and his staff for the honest opinion and great prices. Thanks!

My car was in need of an oil change and I saw this place one evening on my way to a friend’s. Took it in the next day, no appointments need which was good for me because I don’t like to make appointments for stuff like that otherwise I’d look for groupon stuff for this kind of thing. Wasn’t too long before they got my car in and started the oil change, all bays were full when I got there. The oil change was quick enough but one thing they did for me, which I wasn’t expecting, was to take care of an issue that I had was that my door would groan every time I get in and out of my car that I got from an accident from an idiot who changed into my lane without checking his blind spot or even signalling. But that’s another story. At least I’m not gritting my teeth anymore every time I get in an out of my car.
These are good people, and they’ll take care of you. Definatly a recommend.

Went by requesting an alignment due to a minor pulse. I was immediately informed that I needed a complete change of my front ball joints and tire rods: a job to cost ~$ 450 after their ‘generous’ discounts. The diagnosis was based solely on a visual inspection: no measurements. I thought better of the scare tactic about losing my steering or breaks and took the vehicle to another shop. After a quick inspection I was told not only that I didn’t need an alignment, the only issue was wear on my tires.
Stay away from this place. They aren’t doing honest work.
Also, it’s pretty pathetic how they quite obviously post their own positive reviews. They couldn’t even make them believable. Fool me once…