Dave Horne Automotive LTD
6 reviews 15 Borden Ave, Dartmouth, NS +1 902-477-2818 davehorneautomotive.ca suggest an edit
30 July 2023 8:14
Unreliable, untrustworthy, condescending.
With all the five star reviews, I wasn't expecting the experience I had.
We had such a bad experience *attempting* to get an MVI done on our car. I would not recommend this shop. I will detail below mine and my partner's experience, but in summary Dave did not keep to his appointment, or the continued agreements to look at the car in timeframes *he* provided, blamed his shortcomings on losing half his staff in the two work days this week, and my husband (who wasn't there at pickup) stating that he (Dave) had always communicated accurately and any unmet expectations should be taken up with my partner. (We know gaslighting when we see it, honey.)
To start, we had been waiting for a returned call from Dave to inquire on booking an appointment for a full business day. We had to call again to get in touch and he was condescending in his response. He claimed that "I already told you no- I can't book you in, " which had not been the communication by one of his staff. He agreed that he could look at our car the following business day, which was after the long weekend. Upon arrival my partner was told that the shop was short staffed and the car wouldn't be looked at until later in the day. We expect work needs to be done, and so asked if he would be able to do the work to pass an inspection, and he said he could if we left it overnight. (If any work did need to be done).
We had great difficulty getting through to get an update on if the car was looked at for the MVI after the first day. When we did get through Dave said he would look at it on Wednesday morning (the following day) and call to let us know in the morning if any work needed to be done.
We did not receive a call, and so called at 10: 30 (the garage opens at 8) to see if there was an update. He responded to my partner by saying: "Did I call you? No? Because I didn't look at your car yet. I'll call you when I look at it. " This left an extremely sour taste in our mouth, since he had yet to follow through on any of the things he said he would do, and chose to snap at us when we were asking for communication.
We did not receive an update all day, and called multiple times as it neared the end of the day to see if he had done the MVI yet, as we had decided to take our service elsewhere. We could not reach anyone for hours, and finally got through after 5: 00pm (they close at 6 and we are having to bus or cab in traffic after work, as we don't have a second car, so this was pretty frustrating.)
He had not looked at the car, and so I hopped in a cab to get there before closing. Upon receiving my key, I explained that this has been a really horrible experience, to which he said "I know, I do apologize for that. It's been a hard week as I've lost 2 out of my 5 employees" (in two days). I said I understand being short staffed, but the manner in which we were spoken to was also inappropriate. He was confused, as he was the only one speaking to my partner, to which I confirmed was the problem. I brought up that we also had an appointment, and had not been seen in two days. His response was to say that he communicated that he wouldn't look at it for two days (which was not true, see above). I called him out by saying I didn't believe him. He said "I think I did - no actually I know I did. You should take that up with your husband since I know I told him I wouldn't look at the car until today. " If this had been the case, we wouldn't have left the car there as it is our only mode of transportation. He doubled down on shifting blame to my husband, and then admitted that he did say he would look at it today and didn't. This was because he lost another employee, to which I said speaks for itself and wished him luck with his business.
To his credit, he wasn't as short in this last interaction as he had been for the past few days, if it counts for anything.
With all the five star reviews, I wasn't expecting the experience I had.
We had such a bad experience *attempting* to get an MVI done on our car. I would not recommend this shop. I will detail below mine and my partner's experience, but in summary Dave did not keep to his appointment, or the continued agreements to look at the car in timeframes *he* provided, blamed his shortcomings on losing half his staff in the two work days this week, and my husband (who wasn't there at pickup) stating that he (Dave) had always communicated accurately and any unmet expectations should be taken up with my partner. (We know gaslighting when we see it, honey.)
To start, we had been waiting for a returned call from Dave to inquire on booking an appointment for a full business day. We had to call again to get in touch and he was condescending in his response. He claimed that "I already told you no- I can't book you in, " which had not been the communication by one of his staff. He agreed that he could look at our car the following business day, which was after the long weekend. Upon arrival my partner was told that the shop was short staffed and the car wouldn't be looked at until later in the day. We expect work needs to be done, and so asked if he would be able to do the work to pass an inspection, and he said he could if we left it overnight. (If any work did need to be done).
We had great difficulty getting through to get an update on if the car was looked at for the MVI after the first day. When we did get through Dave said he would look at it on Wednesday morning (the following day) and call to let us know in the morning if any work needed to be done.
We did not receive a call, and so called at 10: 30 (the garage opens at 8) to see if there was an update. He responded to my partner by saying: "Did I call you? No? Because I didn't look at your car yet. I'll call you when I look at it. " This left an extremely sour taste in our mouth, since he had yet to follow through on any of the things he said he would do, and chose to snap at us when we were asking for communication.
We did not receive an update all day, and called multiple times as it neared the end of the day to see if he had done the MVI yet, as we had decided to take our service elsewhere. We could not reach anyone for hours, and finally got through after 5: 00pm (they close at 6 and we are having to bus or cab in traffic after work, as we don't have a second car, so this was pretty frustrating.)
He had not looked at the car, and so I hopped in a cab to get there before closing. Upon receiving my key, I explained that this has been a really horrible experience, to which he said "I know, I do apologize for that. It's been a hard week as I've lost 2 out of my 5 employees" (in two days). I said I understand being short staffed, but the manner in which we were spoken to was also inappropriate. He was confused, as he was the only one speaking to my partner, to which I confirmed was the problem. I brought up that we also had an appointment, and had not been seen in two days. His response was to say that he communicated that he wouldn't look at it for two days (which was not true, see above). I called him out by saying I didn't believe him. He said "I think I did - no actually I know I did. You should take that up with your husband since I know I told him I wouldn't look at the car until today. " If this had been the case, we wouldn't have left the car there as it is our only mode of transportation. He doubled down on shifting blame to my husband, and then admitted that he did say he would look at it today and didn't. This was because he lost another employee, to which I said speaks for itself and wished him luck with his business.
To his credit, he wasn't as short in this last interaction as he had been for the past few days, if it counts for anything.
06 May 2023 2:01
Went in got my bmw fixed service, which was amazing.price was very very reasonable
23 April 2023 23:47
The work required on my SUV was complex & meant taking apart the engine. Outside the costly dealer, Dave's was the only place that could do it. Did they ever! And at great cost and super customer service. It's nice to deal with a business that actually believes in delivering customer value.
20 October 2022 5:52
I have been going to Dave’s for years now, the crew there is fantastic and has always repaired my car perfectly, they also offer a towing service if needed. Easily the best mechanics I’ve had work on my cars.
09 August 2022 10:52
Easy access and good hours of operation. Friendly and trustworthy. Will be a returning customer.
03 August 2022 18:29
Great staff, they always fit me into the busy schedule. Plus you can snuggle with the dog? While you wait.