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March 2024 by Veronica G.
$900 for my first visit with them and my car is worse then when it went in. Spent nearly a whole work day with them yesterday 9:30am to 4:30pm my whole day for a routine oil change and I leave with my car bucking and threatening to stall out! How? How is that even possible? I'll tell you how, it's not. I knew something was off when they went under my hood again after doing my oil change and to change my breaks. There's no reason to open the top of my engine to do the breaks (which I'm not too confident in that they actually changed it seemed too fast and the amount pressure is slightly less than what I was using before but it doesn't feel like new breaks.) So I go in with my 2014 Nissan rouge select let them know that I was there for my oil change. Sam let me know it comes with a free tire rotation and a free diagnostic okay cool I'll take it. They do the inspection they give me the report on most recommended I decide well I know I'm going to need breaks so I go ahead and get that service added. They pull my car back into the bay that it was in for the oil change pop the hood again which was odd made a few passes then closed it and began working my breaks for sometime. I'm occasionally checking to see what work is being done. I haven't seen the young man touch my front right tire. I told myself I must have missed it. I pay for my first service and leave. As I'm nearing the high way I start to feel the car choke and it's bucking and rumbling like it wants to shut down as if I didn't have any oil in my car. Too me it felt like anytime it wanted to change gears it was giving that shut down like when your timing is off change gears in a clutch/ manual transmission car. I take my car back slowly with my hazards on driving no more than 20 miles per hour having to ease on the breaks. I bring my car back just in time. Sam comes out and ask what's wrong I tell him what happened. They look at it it told me it was my spark plugs and something else that goes on top of the spark plugs that failed when they plugged in their diagnostic device. I told them fix it and I only have to pay for the parts not the labor since it looked bad that this happened after I just left their shop. They fixed it and the car seemed okay but as I started on the highway the shaking badly. Along the way home I lost my front right hub cap. This is no way to have a customer leave a mechanic shop. I will be writing to the better business bureau and Maryland chamber of commerce.
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February 2024 by Lyndsey Bruce
I got a flat tire driving into work today and I was able to have my car picked up at my office, brought to AAA, and they put a patch on the tire all within six hours definitely have to stay on top of them with communication, but they did a great job and quickly
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February 2024 by Randall O.
Good on the intake, bad on the pickup. There are just some customer service basics that a fundamentally missing, just been a while since I have been treated like that. Ill take my little pennies elsewhere, would probably be fine for others.
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January 2024 by Ademola O.
Good on the intake, bad on the pickup. There are just some customer service basics that were fundamentally missing, just been a while since I have been treated like that, it was very demeaning. Ill take my little pennies elsewhere, would probably be fine for others just not for me.
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January 2024 by rudy iglesias
I usually go to my local Toyota dealership for regular 5,000 mile maintenance on my 2017 Toyota RAV4. During these inspections when something out of the ordinary was pointed out (code for it's going to cost a lot to repair), I would have the work done at the AAA Columbia Car Care Center b/c I know it would cost a lot less and it would be done right. However, during my most recent 5,000 mile maintenance (Jan 2024), I decided to use the AAA Columbia Car Care Center b/c the appointment at my local dealership was too far out. I got the appointment online, confirmed by text and I was set to go. After this most recent experience, I have decided to forego any further maintenance at my local Toyota dealership b/c the service here is outstanding and has always been that way when I used them. In summary, great communication via app and in person, great service and documentation, great use of LYFT service to get me home and back to the Service Center, better prices and a brand (AAA) that I have trusted for many years. Thank you AAA Columbia Car Care Center for being such a trusted service for so many years - you are exemplary.
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December 2023 by Chloe Dinardi
I had my medication in the car and was told I was put into a priority case and that someone would arrive in 15-20 mins. an hour and a half later someone calls and says they're on their way. while my tracker says they got there already for that whole time. terrible service and communication. I could've died.
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November 2023 by Marissa Collins
This is our go-to place for when we need basic maintenance on our cars, especially tires. It has a nice waiting area with a closed-off room for little kids to play with toys. The only negative is that it can be a long wait even with an appointment; my most recent trip, I don't think they got started on my car till an hour after my appointment time. So I was just waiting a lot longer than I'd anticipated.
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September 2023 by Larry Townsend
The experience was dreadful. Avoid if you care about your vehicle at all. I took my car in for an oil change and was told it needed an alignment although it drove fine at the time. I said ok and after picking up the vehicle the steering had to be turned about 30 degrees to the left to go straight and there was terrible wheel shake above 50 mph. I took it back to have these items fixed and was told the alignment was fine and the tires were bad. The tires had less than 10,000 miles on them and had no issues previously. When I complained I was provided a quote for new tires.Services: General repairs & maintenance
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September 2023 by Nayna Agrawal
Alex apologized for the long hold and was very gracious in honoring my time. He gave me options re: service, recommendations and shared ways I could save money. Thanks, Alex!!!Service: Oil change
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August 2023 by Nicholas Hannah
My experience with them has been awful. While the staff is nice they don't seem very knowledgeable when it comes to car Maintenance. Was having issues with my car starting while I was on vacation visiting family in Columbia so took it to AAA since in case it was the battery that I had bought through AAA and was still under warranty. After telling me at first it was just loose terminals on my battery it turned out it was the starter. After quoting me a price of about $600 and me saying to go ahead and do it, I received a phone call less than an hour later and the price had jumped over $1000! I paid it and got the car fixed and back home to Florida where the starter promptly dies a week and a half later. Now I have jumped through hoops to try to get AAA to honor my warranty and that has been a nightmare. Don't take your car to them as your mechanic. Go elsewhere and get better work for probably better prices done.
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July 2023 by B L
This AAA location was downright awesome! I almost didn’t even realize it was there. After I accidentally hit a curb this past Saturday, and blowing out my passenger side tire, I was able to purchase a new tire there for a reasonable price. Unfortunately, while in the process of having my new tire placed on, the person in charge of my car repair, Soto informed me of other damage to the strut (car part) that his team noticed upon inspection. He stated that AAA could order the part, check the alignment and do a complete final inspection there with no problem but he also gave me the option to call my dealer and look into any factory warranties that could cover the part cost. AAA provided me a really helpful report with pictures of the damage to take to my dealership as well. However, when I went to the dealer, they informed me that my warrantee wouldn’t cover the Strut replacement. Additionally, the dealer suggested/hypothesized that additional damage may have been done (without even seeing the damage on my car) and that I would not only need the first car part but another part connected to the Strut. Then the dealer told me that they were booked out and would not be able to work on my car in until approx. 3 weeks later. It was a blower! I decided to call Soto back and have him and his team do the repairs instead of the dealer. I also informed him of the additional part the dealer suggested may need to be replaced however, Soto assured me that if anything else needs to be purchased or replaced he would let me know after the inspection but for now he wanted to just do one thing at a time so not to run up the bill any higher than it absolutely needed to be. He and his team was so helpful in ordering me the new part and moving quickly to replace it. When I say quickly, I MEAN IT! I spoke to Soto around 12pm. He ordered the part maybe 10 minutes later. The part came in same day. I dropped my car off to AAA before 1pm and I was expecting the repair to take maybe 1-2 days. No! Not if Soto had anything to do with it. He and another mechanic, Alex, worked on my car and called me back around 5pm later that day. My car was finished! I asked about the additional part and if they saw anything else wrong with the car. Alex assured me they did a thorough inspection and nothing else needed to be done and my car was ready to go. I picked up my car minutes before they closed at 6pm. The price was a little high but I mean, what car repair/part replacement isn’t. I’m still positive it is was WAY LESS than what my dealer would have charged me especially with their suggestion of needing an extra part replaced. Overall, the service was amazing!!!! Although I’m sure not every experience may go as quickly, I had a GREAT first impression and will be back if I need anything! All the employees, even the front desk people were super polite and friendly. I also loved that they/Soto did not try to pressure me or upsell me. Quick, Helpful, Knowledgeable, Quality service!Oh and if you are a member of AAA (I am), you get a 10% discount.Definitely worth trying if you need auto repair!
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July 2023 by Rusty Patch
Great service. I originally went to Mr. Tire in Lochearn, Baltimore County. They told me my battery could not be changed because it was "put in wrong." I knew this was not true and did not want to risk damage to my vehicle due to their incompetence. I looked for another place with a good reputation. AAA Car Care in Columbia took 15 min to change my battery and they were $50 cheaper than Mr. Tire. And free bottled water, coffee and snacks. Pleasant waiting room with a view of the mechanics working on your car.Service: Auto battery replacement
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July 2023 by Brianna Leonard
This AAA location was downright awesome! I almost didn’t even realize it was there. After I accidentally hit a curb this past Saturday, and blowing out my passenger side tire, I was able to purchase a new tire there for a reasonable price. Unfortunately, while in the process of having my new tire placed on, the person in charge of my car repair, Soto informed me of other damage to the strut (car part) that his team noticed upon inspection. He stated that AAA could order the part, check the alignment and do a complete final inspection there with no problem but he also gave me the option to call my dealer and look into any factory warranties that could cover the part cost. AAA provided me a really helpful report with pictures of the damage to take to my dealership as well. However, when I went to the dealer, they informed me that my warrantee wouldn’t cover the Strut replacement. Additionally, the dealer suggested/hypothesized that additional damage may have been done (without even seeing the damage on my car) and that I would not only need the first car part but another part connected to the Strut. Then the dealer told me that they were booked out and would not be able to work on my car in until approx. 3 weeks later. It was a blower! I decided to call Soto back and have him and his team do the repairs instead of the dealer. I also informed him of the additional part the dealer suggested may need to be replaced however, Soto assured me that if anything else needs to be purchased or replaced he would let me know after the inspection but for now he wanted to just do one thing at a time so not to run up the bill any higher than it absolutely needed to be. He and his team was so helpful in ordering me the new part and moving quickly to replace it. When I say quickly, I MEAN IT! I spoke to Soto around 12pm. He ordered the part maybe 10 minutes later. The part came in same day. I dropped my car off to AAA before 1pm and I was expecting the repair to take maybe 1-2 days. No! Not if Soto had anything to do with it. He and another mechanic, Alex, worked on my car and called me back around 5pm later that day. My car was finished! I asked about the additional part and if they saw anything else wrong with the car. Alex assured me they did a thorough inspection and nothing else needed to be done and my car was ready to go. I picked up my car minutes before they closed at 6pm. The price was a little high but I mean, what car repair/part replacement isn’t. I’m still positive it is was WAY LESS than what my dealer would have charged me especially with their suggestion of needing an extra part replaced. Overall, the service was amazing!!!! Although I’m sure not every experience may go as quickly, I had a GREAT first impression and will be back if I need anything! All the employees, even the front desk people were super polite and friendly. I also loved that they/Soto did not try to pressure me or upsell me. Quick, Helpful, Knowledgeable, Quality service!Oh and if you are a member of AAA (I am), you get a 10% discount.Definitely worth trying if you need auto repair!
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July 2023 by Jean K.
DO NOT GO HERE FOR CAR REPAIR! I called a week ahead to schedule an appointment for a muffler issue. They were busy but could squeeze me in for a quick assessment and I could schedule the repair appointment at a later time. It took them a few hours to get to my car, but I didn't say anything as they were busy and they squeezed me in. After looking at the muffler issue, they informed me of a long list of parts that needed to be replaced. Then they said they noticed my a/c wasn't cooling like it should and they could fix it by recharging and adding freon. I didn't expect them to do any work, but they said they had the time so I told them to go ahead and do it - while I waited. A short bit later, I noticed my car in a parking spot outside the shop. It sat in this same spot for 2 hours. As I was walking up to the sales counter to ask when they would be able to look at my car, the clerk informed me my car was ready. I asked if they even did any work and he pointed out the freon added and system recharged. So then my car sat for 2 HOURS, done/ready and they did NOT tell me! WHY? That is not all......I scheduled the muffler repair for the following week. I arrived at the scheduled appointment time, 10 minutes early. They didn't even look at my car for 5 hours and 45 minutes. Then they told me they could NOT do the repair because they had to order parts. They wanted me to keep my car there overnight or schedule the actual repair ANOTHER TIME. WHY DIDN'T THEY ORDER THE PART WHEN THEY REVIEWED THE SITUATION THE WEEK PRIOR AND THE REPAIR APPOINTMENT SCHEDULED????! Since this is my only car, I had no choice but to schedule another appointment. They said they would call me when the parts came in - the "parts were coming from D.C. and Laurel." They believed 'the parts wouldn't be in until at least 4:00 pm, at the earliest, which wasn't long enough time to do the repair." (even though their shop is open until 6:00pm). Yes, they work like snails. It is now 3 days later and they still have not called me! I believe they did not know how to do the repairs and did not want to do it! I went to another repair shop and they fixed my car in 2 hours! - FOR $500 LESS. They said my car did NOT need all the parts AAA said I needed for the repair. AAA rips you off for as much $$$ as they can get!!
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June 2023 by Brianna L.
This AAA location was downright awesome! I almost didn't even realize it was there. After I accidentally hit a curb this past Saturday, and blowing out my passenger side tire, I was able to purchase a new tire there for a reasonable price. Unfortunately, while in the process of having my new tire placed on, the person in charge of my car repair, Soto informed me of other damage to the strut (car part) that his team noticed upon inspection. He stated that AAA could order the part, check the alignment and do a complete final inspection there with no problem but he also gave me the option to call my dealer and look into any factory warranties that could cover the part cost. AAA provided me a really helpful report with pictures of the damage to take to my dealership as well. However, when I went to the dealer, they informed me that my warrantee wouldn't cover the Strut replacement. Additionally, the dealer suggested/hypothesized that additional damage may have been done (without even seeing the damage on my car) and that I would not only need the first car part but another part connected to the Strut. Then the dealer told me that they were booked out and would not be able to work on my car in until approx. 3 weeks later. It was a blower! I decided to call Soto back and have him and his team do the repairs instead of the dealer. I also informed him of the additional part the dealer suggested may need to be replaced however, Soto assured me that if anything else needs to be purchased or replaced he would let me know after the inspection but for now he wanted to just do one thing at a time so not to run up the bill any higher than it absolutely needed to be. He and his team was so helpful in ordering me the new part and moving quickly to replace it. When I say quickly, I MEAN IT! I spoke to Soto around 12pm. He ordered the part maybe 10 minutes later. The part came in same day. I dropped my car off to AAA before 1pm and I was expecting the repair to take maybe 1-2 days. No! Not if Soto had anything to do with it. He and another mechanic, Alex, worked on my car and called me back around 5pm later that day. My car was finished! I asked about the additional part and if they saw anything else wrong with the car. Alex assured me they did a thorough inspection and nothing else needed to be done and my car was ready to go. I picked up my car minutes before they closed at 6pm. The price was a little high but I mean, what car repair/part replacement isn't. I'm still positive it is was WAY LESS than what my dealer would have charged me especially with their suggestion of needing an extra part replaced. Overall, the service was amazing!!!! Although I'm sure not every experience may go as quickly, I had a GREAT first impression and will be back if I need anything! All the employees, even the front desk people were super polite and friendly. I also loved that they/Soto did not try to pressure me or upsell me. Quick, Helpful, Knowledgeable, Quality service! Oh and if you are a member of AAA (I am), you get a 10% discount. Definitely worth trying if you need auto repair!