Craig's Auto Electric

Although this business was highly recommended to me by a friend who had taken her vehicles there for a number of years, I did not have a positive experience. I owned a 2002 Kia Sportage that broke down on Telegraph due to a broken timing belt. The vehicle had almost 87,000 miles on it and I had neglected to have the belt changed around the 60,000 miles mark. I had my vehicle towed to Craigs Auto Electric and they kept it overnight and got it running again at the cost of $555.17. I thought this was reasonable until I drove the car home. I soon found out the car might be running, but it was pulling and tugging, struggling to get any speed. I called the shop on Monday and they advised me to bring i t back. I figured a little tweaking would work and took it back the following week. This time the vehicle was hooked up to a device that would help diagnose the problem. I was told it needed a tune up at an additional $338.00. I picked up the vehicle and discovered it was running about 80% better but still was struggling once it warmed up. Forty miles later it really started acting up and was much worse off then it was the first time I picked it up. I again reported the problem and was advised to bring it back a third time. This time they ordered a part at the cost of $200 and said they would only charge me for the part and not the labor. To my dismay when I picked up the vehicle I could tell it still was not running the way it should have run. People on the road were getting annoyed with me and pass me up when they seen my car slowing down and bucking and pulling. I was afraid to get on the freeway just in case it had a major breakdown. The engine light came on and stayed on. I called the shop again and they offered to pick up the vehicle with their tow truck but than I would have a problem getting home. I had already borrowed my son's car, had a friend help out with picking me up while my car was being serviced. I was fed up with having to make arrangements to get around and I felt like everytime I went in to have the vehicle worked on, it would cost me even more. The bottom line is, they did get my car running again, but it was not running properly and I was afraid when the bad weather came, it would really go bad on me.

After dropping $1,100 in repairs, I ended up trading this car in on the Cash for Klunkers program.

This was my first experience at the shop and of course my last. It seems many others, including my friend have had positive experiences with this shop, but that was not the case for me personally. I now regret not just taking the vehicle to a Kia Dealership. I am not sure Craigs is qualified to work on foreign vehicle.s