Reviewed : 07/31/2025
Comment : WOW, THE REVIEWS HERE ABOUT AUTO-BON'S HIGH PRICES ARE NOT EXAGGERATING! ALSO, DIAGNOSTIC SKILLS ARE PRETTY WEAK.
On 7/29/25, I brought my 2017 MB C300 to Auto-Bon for a Service B and to diagnose & repair a “spring sound” during trunk opening & closing. What I received was a $382.16 oil change. I've attached a copy of the invoice along with the quotes for other services they recommended. I'll let you judge whether or not their prices are fair and in line with the local market. For comparison, I contacted MB of Springfield (Massachusetts) this morning and Tiffany quoted me $231+tax (that comes out to $245.44 here in MA) for the same service I received from Auto-bon.
Auto-bon charged me 55.7% HIGHER THAN THE DEALERSHIP for what was essentially an oil change and "inspection report".
As a side note, nearly all shops do "vehicle inspections" and will often include a report (for free) because it gives them a chance to upsell services. It's a good deal - customer gets a "free" vehicle inspection and the shop gets the opportunity to upsell the customer for further services.
Regarding the "inspection report" I was given after my visit there, I was surprised to find it included a picture of my open engine air box (see attached photo) with leaves & debris inside. So if I understand correctly, the tech took the time to open up the air box, discovered the debris, took a picture of the debris, CLOSED UP THE AIRBOX WITH THE DEBRIS STILL IN THERE, and then took the time to generate a quote that included "debris removal".
So after paying $382 for my oil change and "inspection report”, it took me all of 5 minutes at home to open up the air box, vacuum out the debris, and close up the air box. I agree that shops need to make money but taking more time to quote the "debris removal" rather than simply clearing it out when the customer is paying hundreds of dollars for an oil change is truly laughable.
To be honest, I’m glad they didn’t offer to change the air filter and “remove the debris” while I was there. As you can see in the attached quote, they would have charged me $215 for it, which, upon reading that, literally caused me to laugh out loud! For those who are unfamiliar with car repair, an engine air filter change in this vehicle takes roughly 5 minutes. Likely faster for experienced pro techs. $215 for a simple engine air filter change really is just taking advantage of less mechanically inclined owners who don't know how easy the task is to complete.
Regarding the "trunk makes spring sound" - the tech told me that "it's a normal vehicle sound" for this particular model and recommended not doing anything about it. He said “he could lube it but lube would get all over the vehicle and make a mess”.
This morning, I spent approximately 15 minutes diagnosing it and discovered a plastic grommet that holds the trunk spring in place and prevents it from rubbing on the metal mount had become disconnected. I simply reattached the plastic grommet and lo and behold the "spring sound" noise disappeared. C'mon guys, I'm not even a pro tech...
While this repair is a minor squawk, their tech’s inability to correctly diagnose something so simple prevents me from ever trusting Auto-bon with a more complex issue. Techs with poor diagnostics skill will often take the “parts cannon” approach (continuously installing new parts until the problem is finally fixed) which quickly gets expensive, especially at these prices!
That said, I did add a star because the facility is quite nice with a comfortable waiting area and Erica at the front desk was extremely pleasant and friendly. She was quick to offer water and fresh coffee while I waited.
In summary, I had high hopes for this shop. I drove over an hour to bring my car to Auto-bon but the hilariously high prices, poor diagnostic skills, and the refusal to do something so simple as quickly clearing an air box out while you already have it open unless it is ensured that the customer is charged more for it made it clear that my search for a superior shop continues.