Thalia Automotive Services

I took my car to Thalia Automotive on a Friday afternoon, due to the fact that I was having to continually jump start my car. While I knew the battery was only a couple of years old, they had convinced me that the battery was my problem, and I had them replace it at $136.00. After sitting in my driveway for 48 hours, (with my new battery) my car WOULD NOT START and I was forced to jump start my car, again. When I called to explain my car was having the same problem with the new battery, they said to bring it back up so they could look at it. Upon my arrival, and my suggestion that the battery wasn't the problem, he insisted in trying to show me that my old battery was the problem. Which clearly it wasn't, as a new battery was installed and the same problem occured. If the battery was my problem I wouldn't have had to return, obviously. He became aggitated and told me he would put my old battery in and take the new one back. I stated that would be great and went to retrieve my receipt from the glove box. When I came back in, he stated "you can take the battery out yourself" because he didnt like it when I told him I would write a review of this transaction online. After our disagreement I took my car to Paul's Automotive Service, who diagnosed that my car had a PARASITIC BATTERY DRAIN.

I will no longer be using Thalia Automotive for any repairs. I could have looked past the mistake, had they been willing to admit they were wrong and did not address the issue. Everyone makes mistakes. However, their insistence that they addressed my issue after having to return with the same exact problem was not something I was able to overlook.

The owner of Thalia Automotive Services on the Boulevard is terrible at communication and customer relations. My husband and I purchased service cards for each of our cars from a salesman for $50 each. We have only used a couple of the services at this point and have not recouped our cost, let alone saved any money.
The next to last time we tried to use the cards we were going on a long trip and my husband's car needed an oil change. He also wanted to have them check about replacing his spark plugs, something he had discussed with the owner when he had his brakes worked on a couple months prior. My husband called and told them that he had a discount card and that he needed an appointment, as per the instructions on the discount card, for the oil change and also for possible spark plug replacement. He was told to bring the car in the next day. He brought the car in and told the office manager that he had spoken with the owner the last time he was there and told them what services had been recommended. Apparently there was some kind of miscommunication and he was not put down for an appointment. He explained we were leaving town the next day, and they said they would try to get to it but would not promise it would be done. He never received a call, and as 5 o'clock approached, he called to check on the status, only to find out that they were just about to call and say they weren't going to be able to get to it. We were left scrambling to find someone to change our oil the next morning.
This past Saturday my husband called and left a message that he had a discount card and wanted to make an appointment for an inspection and oil change, and asked for a call back regarding availability. No one called him back. Having heard nothing, he called them Tuesday afternoon. The office manager implied that they had gotten the message and said to bring it right in, and he said he would not able to bring it in until the morning. When we brought the car in on Wednesday, we were informed that the owner was no longer accepting the discount card.
We asked to speak to the owner. The owner asked if we mentioned the discount card when we called on Tuesday. I assumed my husband had told the office manager that he spoke with about the card again, however, he can’t remember. Rather than apologize for any misunderstanding, the owner was looking for any chance he could to blame the problem on us, and he got stuck on the point that I said one thing and my husband said another and that is all he got out of our conversation. The owner then explained that he stopped honoring the discount cards because he had not seen a dime from the guy who sold the cards over the past 5-6 months, and that he had been promised to receive $40 for each card sold.
I tried repeatedly to tell him the point I was trying to make was that their communication with customers is not good. We will not be back, not only because they expect us to pay for their poor business deal, but also because they have left us in a bind twice because of poor communication. Rather than be apologetic he kept saying that my husband and I were saying two different things and that he couldn’t run his business for free with those cards. I understand that. Had he said “I can no longer honor those cards but…here’s what I can do” we might have considered using them one more time. Even an "I am so sorry for the miscommunications, we will try do better in the future" would have made me feel better but he chose to make excuses and look for any possible way he could turn it around and make it all the customer's fault. “Oh well” and a shoulder shrug left me feeling more upset than when I went in and not at all heard. This post, however, has made me feel much better since it will be “heard” by many.

I also have not had good experiences with Thalia automotive. I have found their capabilities lacking and I now question the owners honesty.

I also purchased the service card and it went south. Initially the owner seemed to go out of his way to make getting the services on the card difficult. After only getting 1 oil change and 1 free state inspection out of the $200 I paid for 3 cards, he is now no longer honoring them at all.

Since purchasing the card I have used them 3 other times for services not included on the card. Each time I was only minimally satisfied with the service and/or the price. It took them two tries to get a water pump replaced correctly.

He also told me about not getting the money from the company that sells the cards and claims it is all their fault. He does not seem to understand that the Card has his companies name on it and thus he will (and should) be held responsible. He did admit to authorizing the company to sell the cards on his behalf but does not seem to understand how business relationships work.

For anyone else that got screwed with these cards. Call the phone number on the back of the cards and talk to them. They will not refund your money but they will replace the cards with another local company. The man I talked to seemed fairly up front in explaining how the deal works between the companies and did a good job convincing me that it is Thalia Auto that is not living up to the deal.

From the initial visit years ago and every subsequent service and from the 31 other people that I have sent to Wayne ALL of us are completely happy with his honesty, very reasonable prices, his vast knowledge of all makes and models. He is the fastest and best at what he does. He does his best to save u money. He will NEVER tell u that u need something that u don't. The services we have had performed ranges from inspections, oil changes, brakes, transmissions, engine overhauls, rotors and so on. He is an awesome, honest, knowledgeable mechanic. We are loyal customers because he's the best. Signed: Judy and "The Crew".

I went there for an inspection and oil change. Oil change was fine... $38 for an '06 ram... Failed inspect due to a brake rotor and then proceeded to tell me it would be $300 to fix. First off, you can buy a rotor at advance auto for $40 and have someone install for a small fee or labor time. Second off, I took it to R&G Automotive and they said I passed with flying colors and they were absolutely wonderful!!! DO NOT go to Thalia... Wait is absurd and prices are lies and ridiculous!! Awful awful awful!!! If you are female they will try to run you under!!!!