Master Tech Auto Repair

If you want to get mercilessly overcharged, scammed or both — Mastertech is your place.
Ari Gordon (the owner) is a living testament to why most mechanics are notorious for such bad rep.
As one of the reviewers on Google+ pointed out a while ago, Ari is out for blood. Here is a quick quote which sums up this poor guy’s experience: «He’s out for blood. $ 480 repair turns into $ 3300 and it still didn’t run right and he wouldn’t stand by his work. Go somewhere else.»
My experience is a bit different though pretty similar in nature. A simple oil and fuel filter change which Ari quoted me at $ 43 + tax turned into a $ 150 bill. To top that off Ari took 4 full hours to do an at most 1.5 hour basic job.
Now, I’m not the type of person to nickel and dime, especially when it comes to my business vehicle. And I honestly don’t ever mind paying top dollar for the job done right. However when someone like Ari Gordon pulls some despicable, low-​rent B.S. on me, this «used car salesman weasel» deserves every bit of my wrath.
Here is how this went down. When I called his shop, the receptionist (Misty) gave me a quote after putting me on a long hold. Then she proceeded to tell me that they’ll have a loaner vehicle for me when I show up, because they were highly concerned about me waiting around. I thought that was kind of weird, since nobody ever offered a loaner vehicle for such a small job as an oil & fuel filter change but decided to play along. When I showed up at the shop the receptionist let me know they ran out of those mystery loaner vehicles they promised, to which I replied: «Not a big deal, I’ll wait.»
Four full hours later Ari came out with my bill. Looking through it I noticed he charged me $ 50 extra for a little plastic cap for the fuel filter, which nobody mentioned anything about previously. There was also an extra $ 43 labor charge on top of that. When confronted, Ari made up an elaborate story of how he had to personally drive to the dealership to buy the cap, which is why a 1hour job took him 4 hours to complete.
In addition to that Ari tried to sling me over $ 1,700.00 worth of repairs he was convinced I needed right away.
Smelling Ari’s B.S. about this whole outrageously not believable story, I personally drove to the dealership (there is only one in Santa Fe) to confirm my suspicions. As it turned out, Ari had lied through his rotten teeth. The dealer didn’t have those fuel caps in stock all day and informed me I’d had to order one. When I asked: «Are you sure nobody bought one from you earlier today?» the parts department guy looked at me like I had a fetus growing out of the side of my head. «Did I just not tell you, we haven’t had them in stock all day, and you’d need to special order one if you want it?» That’s all I needed to hear.
(As a side note the dealer price on those caps is $ 32.38+ tax. Ari charged $ 49.13.
Everyone knows dealer’s prices are usually the highest around.)
When I went back to Mastertech to confront Ari, he kept insisting that he really did drive to the dealer to buy that cap. Except for the moment when I asked him to show me the receipt. At that point Ari turned around and ran back into his shop with his tail between his legs yelling something to the effect of: «I’m finished talking to you because of your attitude.»
Truthfully, that $ 50 extra for the stupid cap and extra $ 43 for labor is not what really infuriated me. It was Ari’s cunning way of nickel-​and-​diming a potentially lucrative long-​term customer/​mechanic relationship. I have a total of three vehicles. Between my truck a sedan and a business van I would probably have given Mastertech thousands of dollars over the years had Ari been a decent human being and not a scumbag most people view most mechanics to be. Unfortunately Ari fully embraced that stereotype a little too well that day.
From now on I’m taking all my vehicles to the dealership. A little extra money is well worth not dealing with slime-​bags like Ari ever again.
So if you’re still wandering if you should take your car to Ari at Mastertech, your wallet and your time have my most sincere condolences.

I was turned on to Master Tech Auto Repair in Sante Fe, NM by a friend. Had them replace the original glow plugs in my sister’s Diesel Jeep. The #4 Glow Plug was broken off and even when the ceramic core came out the metal sleeve stayed in… they ended up tapping the sleeve, fitting a bolt in with lock-​tite and pulling it out… They originally quoted 3 hours for the swap (which seemed very expedient)… By my math they probably put in 20+ hours on the issue (the owner was working on the jeep and texting me at 1am because he knew we were anxious to get on the road. They only ended up charging us for 8 hours of labor. The owner Ari, and all of his techs and people in the front office are amazing… wonderfully positive and incredibly helpful. I couldn’t recommend a mechanic anymore than these guys!

Took my truck there when we moved to Santa Fe I was having a problem with the turn signal not working. Had it checked out, they did a complete check and then had a consultation with me on what needed to be done first and what could wait. They prepared the list and the cost of service. I have taken my 14 year old truck to them twice and both time they have repaired what was needed at the cost they quoted me. The staff if friendly and competent.