Gallant Tire and Automotive

Gallant Tire and Automotive is probably the most honest service station I have ever visited. They are up front about the problem and make sure they have your permission to fix it before they do the work. There are no nasty surprises here at all. The problem is resolved and you don't need to keep coming back for the same repair. Emile and Jasmine are two of the nicest people I have met in Lindsborg. They will have my business as long as I am living in Kansas. I can't recommend them highly enough.

I took my Toyota Prius to Gallant for an oil change and tire balancing. I was made wary by customer service area far more filthy and disordered than any other auto shop that I'd seen. But I chose not to let housekeeping represent mechanical ability. A quarter-mile afterward the service, a dashboard warning light that I'd never seen came on. I just made it back to the shop, but soon the car wouldn't move, and then wouldn't even start. The mechanic couldn't diagnose the problem with his diagnostic plug-in device. He pumped the gas pedal, which I rather doubt would solve the problem for a hybrid, fuel-injected car, and it didn't. I learned that during the oil change he had, unasked, also opened the air filter. I suspected that in doing so he had dumped in mouse or rat droppings, because this had happened with another mechanic. That cost me a towing fee and a new battery before we figured out the problem. The first mechanic at least returned $100 to help with about $300 in costs. You could say I should've learned from this and warned Gallant, but I didn't think of the air filter, because I hadn't asked them to address it. They did finally find the turds -- and then charged me almost $100 for cleaning out the filter assembly. They backed off when I emphasized that it was their meddling error that had done the damage. This exchange came the next day. The hired mechanic hadn't been able to find the problem late the earlier afternoon, and although Gallant said its closing time was not until 7 p.m., that day the owner/boss couldn't be bothered and effectively shut down at 5. I had to ask a friend to drive 36 miles to get me home that evening. Next day I had to drive back, with my wife, in our other car. The owner/boss told me the repair had been made, but that the instruments didn't show the electric motor working. He said that for the motor battery to die was typical by the time a Prius was 19 years old. In fact, the battery and motor still worked fine.