R & P Automotive Service

R and P is awesome. Recently we were on our way out of town and we stopped by for some help. They fixed our problem quickly and with no charge. They have done this before for us if the issue was minor and no repairs were needed. When our car has needed repairs, they are efficient and do good work. We will send all our friends there!

I took my Prius here to get my state inspection done. As I’m sure most people know the Prius is a hybrid and rated PZEV and as such has very low emissions. After it was done the guy came out with the paperwork and told me my car had failed the inspection and would need repairs. I asked why it had failed and he said emissions. I don’t know what they had to do to make it look like a Prius failed it’s emissions test but I knew they were either incompetent or trying to scam me so I took my paperwork and went to the dealership. Unsurprisingly my car was totally fine.

We’ve been taking our cars to R&P since we moved to Chelmsford in 2006. The prices were always reasonable and the service was excellent. I recently bought a seasonal project car that I needed some assistance with. They were very helpful with suggestions on proper maintenance, improvements, etc. Pete spent a number of hours with my car to go through it from top to bottom. When I went to pick it up, he said not to worry about it. He recognized that we were loyal customers. Bring your car here if you want an honest opinion.

I love these guys. I am a woman and we have a particular perspective on mechanics. Going to the mechanic can be very intimidating for a woman. Well, I have never been made to feel anything but a valued customer here.
The work they do is quality and done on time. I have never been overcharged or advised to have anything unnecessary done. Indeed, on occasion, I have gone in thinking I needed something pricey done, only to be told it was something minor and inexpensive! How can I help but rave?!

It’s never easy to find a good automotive place because I neither trust anyone when it comes to cars nor know anything about cars. Since I don’t generally go to the dealership for service because I feel I’m going to get ripped off, I was happy to stumble upon R&P Automotive. We’ve gone here several times, and I have found them to be honest, quick, and fairly priced, so much so that I have recommended them to a few other people, who have also been happy with the work.
The service men aren’t very friendly, but as I’ve said in another post, I don’t go to service stations to find a BFF.
One minus is that this establishment has an antiquated system for keeping track of what service needs to be done (instead of a computer, they hand-​write everything on a large sheet of paper). I know we’re not talking about amputating the wrong arm or leg, but this type of log makes me nervous nevertheless: I don’t need them pulling out the engine when all I needed was a new pair of windshield wipers.
My most recent tuneup and timing belt cost less than half of what I would have paid at the dealership, so that made it easy on the pocket.
On my recommendation, my sister came here for a 90k mile tuneup (including an oil change), a timing belt, and a water pump, and the price was very reasonable – once again, much less than would have been charged at the dealer. The job was fine… except she had to return the next day to have them tighten the fan belt because it «squealed.» She was in and out in a couple of minutes.
So now my sister’s car has 94k miles on it, a.k.a. time for the next oil change. Instead of taking the car to R&P, she took it to the dealership. For $ 19.95 and a set appointment, it was a good deal, except for the fact that this particular oil change turned out to cost $ 400+. The dealership claims that when my sister had her previous oil change (the one at R&P), the oil pan wasn’t replaced properly, i.e., the screw holding it in place was totally stripped so the whole oil pan had to be replaced. Armed with the pan and screw in question, we went back to R&P who (as of yesterday) claimed they didn’t do anything wrong; R&P then called the dealership, who claimed THEY didn’t do anything wrong. Well, «I» didn’t do it.
Right now there are fingers pointing everywhere, and we’re just waiting to see how this will be resolved. It probably won’t be, in which case we will both be hunting for a new service station. I hope Unilocal can help. Sigh. (For now, I’m giving three stars, because the service we have had has generally been ok. However, I reserve the right to modify the star count up or down, depending on how this situation shakes out.) Stay tuned…