Knibbe Automotive Repair

Now, we have been pretty happy with the service Knibbe has provided us in the past, but we were irked by our last visit.
Upon completing a routine checkup on our vehicle, the rep at Knibbe informed my wife that our cabin air filter needed to be replaced and he could do so for around $ 300.
Naturally, she balked at the price and asked if it was something her husband (me) could do. The rep said, reluctantly, that it was, but advised her to do it right then and there.
Long story short: I bought a replacement cabin air filter for $ 27 and replaced it in less than five minutes thanks to a tutorial on YouTube.
Not sure if it was the stereotypical jerk mechanic who was trying to take advantage of a ‘stupid’ woman, but we will be a little more cautious with what exactly they do for us going forward.
You’re better than that Knibbe. We have seen it firsthand.

An update from my last service in march 2015. I had a valve cover gasket replaced and the car leaks some oil so I call and is cover for 20k km or one year. Today they replaced the gasket again under warranties and gave me a valve cover for free. This we can call it service quality. Jordon worked on my car and I have to thank him for help.

Sad to say, we had some expensive repairs done here that did not stand the test of time. Among other things we had a radiator replaced, and only a year and a half later the plastic tank inside the radiator had worn out, necessitating another replacement. Knibbe would do nothing as it was outside of their one year warranty period. Our new mechanic said a radiator should last at minimum 5 years (possibly the life of the car if not damaged by road debris etc), and that most likely the part that had been put in our car was of poor quality. From now on, we will be taking our vehicles to a shop that carries at least the two year warranty coverage offered by NAPA Autocare centers.

This shop (actually, two shops side-​by-​side) repaired my car quickly and efficiently.
I had intermittent starting problems, and they performed a test on the whole starting system, found that the starter itself was burned out and replaced it. Best of all, it was reasonably priced – they managed to give me a reconditioned one instead of a brand new one, saving me a couple hundred bucks.
The people there were courteous, informative, and did only what was necessary. I also appreciated that they were happy to work around my schedule. I’ll be going back.

Brakes are an integral component of vehicle safety.
We went to Knibbe to have the brakes on our Dodge Grand Caravan checked because they were squealing. They said the brakes needed to be replaced and since the existing front rotors could not be machined, they replaced both of them and also installed new brake pads. It was ok for a while, and then started to shudder in the front end when the brakes were applied. The shuddering worsened very quickly over a short time.
My wife returned to Knibbe; they checked the front brakes and said that there were «hot spots causing the pulsations, but the brakes wouldn’t fail». They told my wife that it was «because of the way she drives», and did nothing at all to correct the problem.
The shuddering problem worsened, so this time I returned with my wife. After some discussion they eventually admitted that the rotors were defective and (somewhat reluctantly) agreed to replace them under warranty.
Not long after, the shuddering problem in the front end returned and again it worsened very quickly.
We have since had a very reputable shop check the front brakes and rotors. It was explained to us that the replacement rotors that were used are «white box» (no name) parts, that they are known to be cheap and inferior; hard spots in poor quality metal caused the shuddering. We were told that Knibbe is notorious for using white box parts. We were not aware of this, but do know that quality repairs require the use of quality parts.
Our advice to others is to seek out a reputable automotive repair company and avoid the run around that we experienced with Knibbe. We are very disappointed with the quality of service and do not appreciate that my wife put her trust them but was misled.

It is hard to find a mechanic that is trustworthy and fair. I use to always take my car to the dealership. But on one occasion during a routine checkup the dealer told me my car required a lot of service and repairs. As I was unable to afford the cost of the repairs and after a few recommendations I found Knibbe Automotive.
I brought my car in and found that my car did not require all the repairs the dealership was pushing. After this I have always brought my vehicles to Knibbe. The staff is very easy to deal with and informative.
I recommend this place to everyone I can.

Finding a good doctor, a good hair stylist, or a good mechanic can be hard to do. I already have the first two. Today I found a good honest mechanic.
The parking break light on my van had been stuck on for a while now and I figured I better get it checked out. I called Knibbe on Monday to see if I could drop off my van Wednesday morning. The guy on the phone actually suggested I try to pull up the brake just to make sure it wasn’t sticking. He reassured me they would call me to let me know what was wrong before proceeding with any work.
I arrived around 7am to drop off my van. The girl at the desk, Rose was really pleasant. She said they would check it out and call me later, which she did. Rose called to say that everything looked good and that the problem was simply low brake fluid. (yeah I felt a little stupid but I did look at it and the fluid level looked ok).
After work, I caught the train back up to Crowfoot and walked over to Knibbe to pick up my van. Much to my surprise, they did not charge me for checking out my vehicle. It’s not very often that you get anything for free at an automotive place.
Taking my vehicle in for any service always makes me nervous but Knibbe blew me away with their customer service. Everyone here was friendly, helpful and efficient. The shop looked very clean and nicely organized, too. The location and hours are really convenient for me. The train is a few blocks away. They also have a location on Centre Street NW. I used to see it every day when I took the bus downtown to work. They are a family owned business. And they serve Tim Horton’s coffee. Knibbe is on now my list of favs.