Fred`s Auto Service / Winston, Georgia

Rating: ★★

Auto Repair & Service, Automobile Parts & Supplies, Brake Repair

Address: 99 Commodore Path, Winston

Postal code: 30141

Phone: (770) 222-7004

I`m a disabled retired Industrial Mechanic. All my life I have done ALL my own car repairs, so I generally know what is wrong when I take my vehicle to Freds now that I`m no longer able to do the repairs myself. Freds has been totally honest with me so far, and I have three older vehicles that need fairly frequent repairs. I even let Fred work on my 3//4 ton Dodge Cummins Diesel pick up truck. I think a lot of the co... view moremplaints I read on here are of the owners own doing for the most part. When you take a vehicle into ANY mechanics shop you specify UPFRONT for them to troubleshoot the vehicle (if you don`t already know what is wrong) and for them to call you and tell you exactly what is wrong, what parts they want to replace, and how much it is going to cost. You do this UPFRONT. This keeps their from there being any misunderstandings on everyones part, and if you think they are charging too much for labor or a part, take it somewhere else! Fred`s is just like every other car repair shop out there. There are some things they are really good at, and some things they aren`t quite as good at due to no experience on that particular car. ALL repair shops are like this! As I said, I`m pretty well knowledged on vehicles, and I have NEVER caught Fred at trying to do unneccessary repairs or other little dirty tricks some auto repair shops do. I have even taken my truck back after a small repair because I still smelled axle grease burning and had him recheck his repair, and to check the other side too, because I had specified to Fred to only do that one side because I had already troubleshot what I thought the problem was, and Fred did exactly as I told him. Turned out it was just residual grease smoking due to the friction of the rear brakes. I knew that was a possibility. If Fred`s was dishonest he could have tried to get me to repair the other side also, he didn`t, he`s honest. And really, honesty is what most unskilled vehicle owners should be concerned about with a car repair shop. If I had to make one complaint about Fred`s, and the only reason I didn`t give them the full five stars, is because I think his labor charges are a little on the high side. Not much, but a little too close to what the stealerships charge. It`s worth it though, to know your car is going to be repaired in a timely manner, by honest people. Aside from that one time I took my truck back,(and that was my fault, not Fred`s) I have never had to return a vehicle due to faulty repairs. And as far as the poster that said they were rude..... You must have been incredibly rude to them first! In my dealings with them they are always very pleasant, bend over backwards to help you, call you a few times just to confirm things, everything you should do. I wouldn`t hesitate to recommend them to my own Mother. Oh, BTW, you people that take your vehicle to the stealership as I call the dealerships, to get you vehicle worked on...... You are out of your mind! That is where I have found all the dishonesty and overcharging, not Fred`s!

MarkMelton / 5/14/2013

OK I used to take my vehicle there all the time several vehicles to be honest did some service and exhaustetc... I used to like fred and his shop until one day I was only like 17 or 18 at the time my timing was off on my truck so I was there getting a rotation and was going to take to the dealer later to get fixed he said he can fix it. The mechanic was working on it like 2 hrs finally I heard the loudest noise from ... view morean engine I have never heard It was my truck he cranked it MY TRUCK STARTED KNOCKING SO BAD. he told me he could fix it I pulled my truck out brought to hardy boys they had my timing corrected in less than 5 minutes and told me Something about if the distributor isnt in all the way there is no oil pressure (SOMETHING LIKE THAT DONT REMEMBER EXACTLY BUT THE TOLD ME SOMETHING CAN HAPPEN IF NOT DONE CORRECTLY AND THATS WHAT HAPPENED) I ASKED HARDY HOW MUCH TO FIX THE KNOCKING THEY SAID IT WAS LIKE 1000 JUST TO FIND OUT WHAT IT IS AND IT WOULD GET ALOT MORE EXPENSIVE. SO I DROVE MY TRUCK KNOCKING ALL THE WAY TO FREDS AUTO SERVICE TOLD HIM THE PRICE HE SAID I WOULD HAVE TO GET A LAWYER.......... NOW I AM ONLY 17 YEARS OLD JUST HAD MY ENGINE SCREWED UP BY A AUTO SERVICE THAT HAD AT THAT TIME CROSSES EVERYWHERE AND APPEARED VERY RELIGIOUS SAID I WOULD HAVE TO SUE HIM. I HAD TO START A JOB THE NEXT DAY AND SHOULD HAVE SUED OUT OF PRINCIPAL BUT I WAS YOUNG AND DUMB NOW ITS BEEN SEVERAL YEARS MORE THAN 5 BUT THOUGHT I WOULD SHARE SOMETHING STRAIGHT FROM THE OWNERS MOUTH MY DAD CALLED ALSO AND HE TOLD HIM THE SAME THING. DALLAS AUTO IS THE BEST SHOP AROUND THERE IN MY OPINION. I DONT WORK FOR THEM OR HAVE ANY AFFILIATION. It made me choose 1 star by the way there is no 0 stars

mikehiam / 2/4/2012

Our family has dealt with Fred`s auto for 15 years with a variety of vehicles from a mini van to SUVs to luxury cars and compacts. He was recommended to us by someone who had also used him for many years. We have never had anything but honest,straightforward dealings with him, his family, and staff. We have always received prompt service at a reasonable price. Highly recommended!!

Mizrudy / 1/28/2012

Dirty Ethics at Fred`s We`ve been to Fred`s twice. Once was about 3 or 4 years ago when our catalytic converter on our Explorer needed to be replaced. We asked if they could do duel exhaust while they were at it. They agreed, then said it actually wouldn`t work but suggested `turndowns` instead. We agreed and paid $650 for it ALL. Being relatively please with the service, we used them again about 2 weeks a... view morego when our Explorer was having problems of all kinds. Long story short, we wound up paying them $1350 to make all the necessary repairs. Went to pick it up and as I pulled up, I saw that a pair of needle nose pliers had been left in my truck, just behind the grill. -That was a little unsettling. We removed the pliers, returned them and left. Fast forward to yesterday, I get pulled over by a Hiram cop and am completely shocked when he informs me that my `turndowns` are actually ILLEGALLY done and gives me a TICKET! He said that the exhaust pipes have to go past the passengers seat in back, otherwise the car fills with Co2 and can be fatal to all passengers. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I take the ticket and head to Fred`s to inform him of what just happened. In my naivete, I assume he`ll be equally shocked that it`s illegal and offer to either pay the ticket or fix the problem to `legal` at no cost. Instead, what happened is he turned stone cold and said, "I do what people ask me to do". Then denied knowing it was illegal and said he would be willing to fix them to be legal but we had to PAY for it. Now,I had no idea what turndowns were, but FRED did...that`s why HE suggested them to us. If you`re doing this, surely you know whether or not it`s illegal; he`s not a beginner at this. But let`s give him the benefit of the doubt and say he didn`t know it was illegal. He still had ZERO care for the fact that we just got ticketed for something HE SUGGESTED we have him do to our Explorer. Remember, we wanted duel exhaust. He couldn`t make that happen, and then HE told US about turndowns. It was not the other way around. -Now his response to us is, "I do what people ask me to do." YOU suggested it to us Fred. As though it was completely legal. This was an error on his part. A greedy one. And yet, we`ll be paying for it. We`ll have to pay the ticket and we`ll have to find an HONEST mechanic now to fix the problem. Let`s remember that I`ve paid him $650 for the turndowns, catalytic converter and a new muffler so the turndowns would work. Then we come back to him a few years later (which was two weeks ago) for more work and pay him $1350. He`s now made $2000 off us, has suggested an illegal service to us without informing us it was illegal and is now refusing to make it right at no additional cost to us. This `repair` shop (and I use that term lightly) isn`t deserving of your business. Consider yourself warned.

Wendymd252 / 10/8/2011

We`ve used Fred`s twice. Once was about 3 or 4 years ago when our catalytic converter on our Explorer needed to be replaced. We asked if they could do duel exhaust while they were at it. They agreed, then said it actually wouldn`t work but suggested `turndowns` instead. We agreed and paid $650 for it ALL. Being relatively please with the service, we used them again about 2 weeks ago when our Explorer was having... view more problems of all kinds. Long story short, we wound up paying them $1350 to make all the necessary repairs. Went to pick it up and as I pulled up, I saw that a pair of orange needle nose pliers had been left in my truck, just behind the grill. -That was a little unsettling but we removed the pliers, returned them and left. Fast forward to yesterday, I get pulled over by a Hiram cop and am completely shocked when he informs me that my `turndowns` are actually ILLEGALLY done and gives me a TICKET! He said that the exhaust pipes have to go past the passengers seat in back, otherwise the car fills with Co2 and can be fatal to all passengers. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I take the ticket and head to Fred`s to inform him of what just happened. In my naivete, I assume he`ll be equally shocked that it`s illegal and offer to either pay the ticket or fix the problem to `legal` at no cost. Instead, what happened is he turned stone cold and said, ""I do what people ask me to do"". Then denied knowing it was illegal and said he would be willing to fix them to be legal but we had to PAY for it. Now, I had no idea what turndowns were, but FRED did...that`s why HE suggested them to us. If you`re doing this, surely you know whether or not it`s illegal; he`s not a beginner at this. But let`s give him the benefit of the doubt and say he didn`t know it was illegal. He still had ZERO care for the fact that we just got ticketed for something HE SUGGESTED we have him do to our Explorer. Remember, we wanted duel exhaust? He couldn`t make that happen, and then HE told US about turndowns. It was not the other way around. -Now his response to us is, ""I do what people ask me to do."" YOU suggested it to US Fred. Never in a million years did I think to ask if what you were suggesting was ILLEGAL. This was an error on his part, and a greedy one. And yet, WE`LL be paying for it. We`ll have to pay the ticket and we`ll have to find an HONEST mechanic now to fix the problem. Let`s remember that I`ve paid him $650 for the turndowns, catalytic converter and a new muffler so the turndowns would work. Then we come back to him a few years later (which was two weeks ago) for more work and pay him $1350. He`s now made $2000 off us and yet still wants more money to fix something HE did that turns out is illegal. G-R-E-E-D-Y. This `repair` shop (and I use that term lightly) isn`t deserving of your business. Consider yourself warned.

wendymd25281 / 10/7/2011

Please help us run this trash from our city! They are dishonest! Tell you one price then when you pick up your car it`s quite a bit more. Then they have the nerve to get rude or call the police or call you disgusting names. Thieves in a Whiskey Tango operation. Go anywhere else and you will save yourself the headache!

Gearlose / 9/30/2011

My family has been using Fred`s Auto Service for over 7 years. They are honest, reasonably priced, friendly, and truly care about you & your vehicle. I recommend them to everyone I know!!!! For the best service around, go to Fred`s!

dblittlemama / 8/30/2011

We brought our van in to this scam artist last year to have our 60,000 mile service done. They quoted me one price on the phone then gave me another once the job was done. We paid it...not happy. We drove the van home and it was misfiring and surging down the road. We took it back to them and they said that a plug wire was pinched during the first repair. They wanted us to pay to have it replaced. We refused and they... view more reluctantly said they`d fix it. We drove the car home after they fixed it and the owner, Fred Hobbes, called me at work the next day and told me that they did a full tune up on the van and I was supposed to come in and pay the bill. I refused of course. If this isn`t enough......a year later, the van starts acting up again and we take it to a real repair shop and they tell us that whomever did the last tune up on the car unplugged some wires and put the wrong type of plugs in it causing a solenoid to short out. This was a $450 repair caused by Fred`s. We are taking them to small claims court.

mlp657 / 3/11/2011

We had a repair done and when we picked up our car they were completely rude and beyond uneducated. The owner said, well the price on the invoice for the part is NOT how much it cost me. (insinuating that I got a ""bargain"") so I asked him, well, how much was it then? He replied THAT`S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!!! Wow! Really?!? I said, you should be out of business with how you treat your customers. Pay a little more ... view moresomewhere else and get good customer service. Hopefully the repair will hold up because I refuse to step foot in there again.

goodcustomer1 / 2/9/2011

I purchased an old Audi from another state and it needed a GA emissions test. It failed on the NOx readings. I called Fred`s and they installed a catalytic converter at an affordable price and in record time. Thank you Fred for your dedication and appreciation for my doing business with you.

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