Merlin 200,000 Miles

We have been coming here for years and Ron has never let us down. He has time and time again helped us out, given us straight answers, and although he will inform us of all the work that needs to be done he will also let us know what MUST be done and what can wait. Sadly, some of our favorite managers have moved and it took us time to trust the new guys, but we are getting there and until that trust is built Ron always takes care of us. Rick has finally won us over, but not Justin. No personality at all. Ask for Ron or Rick when you go

I scheduled a oil change and tire rotation for 10am the day before my appointment with the owner Ron, and he never put my appointment in the book. It took an hour just to get into a bay. I’ve never had to wait 1 ½ hours for a basic oil change and tire rotation!
First time there… last time there!

You really have to earn 5 stars. And these guys did! Merlin really helped me out of a jam. I took on a project of replacing control arms on the front of my car myself. While the project is not a difficult one, it becomes challenging when certain parts are rusted in and you don’t have the tools to break the rust. On a Saturday afternoon, very near closing time, Merlin took my car in and got the project done for me. In addition to getting me in last minute when nobody else could, they charged me less than others that I called to do the work. Finally, I know my car needs some work in other areas. The last thing I want to hear when I take my car in somewhere is what all needs to be done and what they are going to charge me to do it all. They did not bring up any other issues at all. Just took care of what I needed them to get done. Couldn’t ask for better service.

I have been taking my three cars to Merlins for several years. Today, I asked them to check into a noise in the back of my car. They came back with a $ 2800 estimate, telling me that they all four struts were rusting through and needed to be replaced along with a wheel and a parking brake. I took it to another mechanic for a second opinion who spent about an hour looking it over and showed me that the rust was just on the covers and «cosmetic», none of the struts were leaking. Only one strut had a broken dust cover. The wheel did not need to be replaced, which was not even part of the $ 2800 estimate. My second estimate was not to replace the struts, saving me at least $ 2600. The mechanic is still looking into the parking brake issue so perhaps that issue is legit.

Been coming here for a few oil changes. The manager usually recognizes who I am. Today i got no acknowledgment when I walked in. Waited 2 hours for an OIL CHANGE. ridiculous. Manager failed to tell me a wait time and did not apologize for my wait. When they were checking me out the man did not look at me and looked like he hated his job. Gave me the usual ‘this is wrong with your car, have an estimate for another 500 bucks’. Usually the problems that they point out dont add up because eaither they are fine or i had just replaced repaired them. Just because I am a woman doesnt mean they can screw me over on everything. I only rate this a 1 star because I couldnt give it no stars. Save yourself some time and frustration and literally go anywhere else.

I brought my Jeep Commander here a couple of years ago for rear brakes, and they told me I needed front and rear brakes and quoted me a price of over $ 800! I then picked up the car and took it to Benoy Jeep in Woodstock, which replaced the rears for $ 240 and confirmed that the front brakes were fine. I reported this to the BBB, and the owner’s response was that his shop is often more expensive than the dealer! Gee, why pay dealer prices for OEM parts and service, when you can pay double for the experts at Merlin!

Always get a good deal with these guys and they are nice people. Great service

«I can fix anything on my car with one hand. .. by handing over my debt card.»
So if you cannot figure out from above when it comes to a vehicle I am johnny clueless. That being said, long ago I determined that I would have to find a mechanic I can trust. Something that is not the easiest thing to do…
I have seen Ron (the owner of the shop) on a multitude of occasions. I have gone through multiple helices in multiple forms of disrepair (between my dead grand father’s Oldsmobile, to a Toyota Camry, to a Dodge Caravan (how cool am I and my vehicles). Each time he has focused on making sure that each vehicle’s maintenance was as inexpensive and good for the long term care of the vehicle. He has made sure to understand what my goals are with said vehicle:
How long am I looking to get out of the vehicle?
What is it that ‘needs’ to get done?
Any preventative issues?
What should i be cautious about with this potential repair.
How this effects other systems in the vehicle.
They have lent me a vehicle when i still needed to get around (no charge, not even for gas).
They have even consulted with me on repairs outside of their shop at another location and helped me to ask the right questions to get reduced costs in services.
I have never questioned the service level or the quality of the work as I have never had repeat issues.
They are prompt and always make time for servicing vehicles.
Integrity is big there in the case they notice I needed new tires they even sent me elsewhere for the business as they advised me that they were not able to compete on he pricing of another local tire spot.
I happen to know as well that this local owner runs food and clothing drives for charities and that is really just a star on top of their tree.
When service and the customer are the focus I am overjoyed to recommend their facilities!

I wanted to like Merlin. It was so convenient — I lived super-​close and could just drop my car off for oil changes, repair work, etc. and walk back home. And the guys were always pretty friendly and helpful; they even put my new license plate holder on for me free.
But. First off, they’re kinda pricy. You can get the same or better service for less at most local places. And they really overcharge for a lot of routine maintenance (tire replacement, brake work, etc.)
Second, I doubt some of their techs’ commitment to excellence, or perhaps just their attention span. My husband got his oil changed there once, and they not only overfilled his engine but forgot to put the cap back on, causing a funky smell and resulting in a visit to the dealership to see if anything was seriously wrong.
To their credit, when I confronted them about the snafu, the manager immediately offered to write us a check for the resulting work. And that was appreciated.
But between the inattention/​bad service and high prices, I would not recommend Merlin.
[I can’t believe I have to specify this — liveD — previously. Used to live in Algonquin. Not anymore.]