Bothel’s Mechanical Repair

These guys are incredible. I was visiting Portland for the weekend from Boston and broke down. I thought it was a blown piston and a total engine rebuild. The guys checked it out and ran a few necessary tests and found it was only a bad coil. They then test drove it and found a bad axel which I knew and fixed that too. They talked me through the whole process including what tests they ran and how they diagnosed the issue, which I really appreciate since I like to do most of my own work myself.
Steve was awesome and even changed his weekend plans to hang around on a Saturday so I could pick it up. Shop does great work, very respectable, thorough and trust worthy. If I am ever in the same situation I am coming straight back to Bothels.

Disappointed with these guys. I took my wife’s volkswagen Jetta in to them after it sprang a major oil leak. It was a bit of an emergency as it was completely out of oil.
They told me I had a leak in the oil pan and it would need replacing. I was quoted $ 450 over the phone by the mechanic. I authorized them to do the work for that price. When my wife went to pick up the car, the final price was $ 637. A 40% increase from the estimate! In the state I came from (Oregon), this is an illegal practice. Final prices cannot be more than 10% of the estimate. If they are, the mechanic is obligated to call with that news. I received no call from Bothel’s.
Either they completely lowballed their estimate to get my business or they just completely underestimated the time it would take to fix because they are not familiar enough with that car to do the work in a timely manner.
Either way, I won’t be going back to Bothel’s.

Steve is great!
My family moved to Cape Elizabeth back in 2000 and have been taking our cars to Bothel’s ever since. Honest service, great prices, and you’re supporting a local business! Steve has saved us from dishonest mechanics more than once. I don’t live in ME anymore but I know my parents will continue to see Steve for problems, and I’ve already used him to get a second opinion even though I live in MA!