Return-Path: Received: from natasha.mach.cs.cmu.edu by K.GP.CS.CMU.EDU id aa26537; 17 Jun 91 11:32:09 EDT Date: Mon, 17 Jun 1991 10:19-EDT From: Erik.Altmann@NATASHA.MACH.CS.CMU.EDU To: CMU-CS.Guide.to.Living.in.Pgh@K.GP.CS.CMU.EDU CC: bovik@NATASHA.MACH.CS.CMU.EDU, altmann@NATASHA.MACH.CS.CMU.EDU Subject: Automobile repair; tires; body-work Message-Id: <677168384/altmann@NATASHA.MACH.CS.CMU.EDU> In-Reply-To: CMU-CS.Guide.to.Living.in.Pgh's bboard message of 16-Jun-91 17:13 Doug Hess Exxon has gotten some bad press since I've been here. From personal experience: they misdiagnosed a simple problem that I was having with my truck, "fixed" something irrelevant, charged me $20, and sent me on my way. The Mobil on Beacon and Murray and the AAA-approved Gulf on the corner of Forbes and Murray both did exactly the same thing. I disrecommend all three places on the basis of how the mechanics handled the problem: they were unprofessionally disinterested in actually solving it. I suspect the positive recomendations are from people who haven't been to any of the better places around. Having experimented with most of the local service stations, I ended up at Pawlak's Service, on Center by Mervis Nissan (not in the current Guide). I found them to be pleasant, responsive to questions, and interested in actually fixing things. On the same problem I mentioned above, they also didn't find the root cause, but worked hard on it and found something else that was definitely wrong, and sent me to a specialist. They charged only a nominal fee, because they couldn't actually fix it. My truck is a Datsun (yes, Datsun, it's that old); they have a mechanic who's apparently familiar with at least Japanese imports. My officemate Francesmary has had similar good experience with work they did on her Buick. They tend to use top-quality parts unless you tell them otherwise, for which you pay a premium, and their labor is reaonably priced, but not rock-bottom. I've been a regular there for over two years, and have always been very pleased with their work. Bruno's Garage has gotten some great press recently, and I've heard probably half-a-dozen word-of-mouth recommendations for them in the past few weeks. I've never been there, but bovik probably knows something. The next repair I have, I may go try them out. I probably would have gone there earlier, had I known about them. For tires and alignments, there's Baum Boulevard Tire, just up Neville off Baum. They have good tires at very good prices, their labor is inexpensive, and the turnaround time is fast. My officemate Skef went there on my recommendation, and was pleased. I got the name from someone who did some extensive comparison shopping before he went there. For body work, M. & D. Autoworks, on Penn in Wilkinsburg, gets rave reviews in bovik, but they don't do rust work. For rust damage and basic structural repair, there's Liberty Welding on Washington Boulevard. They seem* professional, their labor rates are reasonable, and they're willing to do cheap, effective fixes, which is great if you're trying to nurse an old heap along till you graduate. I got their name both by word-of-mouth and from bovik, so there are others that have been pleased as well. Erik. ---- * - I'm having some work done on my truck right now; if something untoward happens, I'll let you know, but otherwise my recommendation stands.