Bruce’s Mobile Auto and Diesel Repair

Broke down in my Dodge 3500 while driving cross country. Lucky for me i happened to have broken down in Amarillo, TX.
My initial thoughts were that I had blown my power steering pump since I lost power brakes and steering on I-​40. I called Bruce’s and talked to Andy, who walked me through a fair and honest estimate over the phone (priced a remanufactured pump which was immediately available and a more expensive brand new pump that would’ve had to have been ordered).

I called for service and Bruce told me he would send a technician out to give me a boost so I could get the car into their shop. This would mean having to drive it over there and get a ride back from someone, so I’d be spending a 45 minutes to an hour messing with this. I was told when the technician got there that this service would cost $ 50 and I told him that I was not told their would be a cost and thus I will not pay for it. The technician then demanded $ 25 for coming out and I told him I was not going to pay him. He said he should keep my car until I give him $ 25. A mechanic’s price for a tow is usually $ 35 – 40 and the owner doesn’t have to spend their time getting the car to the shop or worrying that the bad battery (or alternator) will break on the way to it.
A good mechanic tells you prices up front and tries to keep things inexpensive. This seemed like a nice thing they were doing (driving over and using jumper cables is a nice way to get some business and some customer loyalty, but charging $ 25 for it is robbery).
AVOID THIS VENDOR.

Andy showed up within 30 minutes of our call. Our family of 5 were driving through when we got a couple check engine lights and a minor scare with what we thought might be radiator fluids. Unfortunately for us, all the shops in town had sent their technicians home already on a Friday night. We were nervous to continue on and find ourselves stranded on the Interstate between Amarillo and OK, so I turned to good ol’ Unilocal and founded Bruce’s. He pulled out his diagnostic computer and found the codes that were triggering the warnings. Turned out to be nothing but a service bulletin with terrible timing but he checked all of our fluids for is ad well while he was there. It meant we could get back on the road instead of waiting until the next morning for repair shops to open. Worth every penny of the $ 236 for minimum service charge plus mileage to give us that peace of mind and get us back on the road quickly!

We got stuck with two blown tires in the middle of nowhere, & although this company couldn’t help us due to the size of our vehicle (we were cruisin’ in the RV at the time) the guy that answered the phone made a couple more phone calls to try & find someone that could help us. None of his contacts worked out (it was a holiday weekend) but kudos to him for taking the time to assist a stranded traveller. That certainly says something about their customer service.