Reviewed : 12/10/2025
Comment : Terrible Experience! Buyers beware. My daughter, a student at ECU called me on Thursday about an unusual noise her car was making. She mentioned due to the proximity to the school she had found Capital Auto. I called Capital Auto and spoke to Sean who said to bring the car in around 2:00 pm so that he could have a look at it to diagnose the problem. I asked him to please call me, and keep me informed once they had uncovered the issue prior to completing any repairs. My daughter dropped the car off at 2:00 as planned with the service rep and she was informed at the time that Sean was not there at the time. We never received a call, so my daughter called early that evening and they were already closed for the weekend and remained closed until Monday. On Monday morning I received a call that the car was ready to be picked up and that it was low on power steering fluid. The charge was a total of $59.90 :$50 for LABOR, $4.99 for parts, $.99 for SHOP SUPPLIES, and $ 3.92 For Tax. She confirmed there was no issue and no work completed, and no leaks. I told her that that seemed a bit excessive, since no repairs were needed, and that I had asked before any work was to be completed, to call me. She said she would have the owner Dean to give me a call to discuss. Later that day I spoke to Dean and it was obvious with his disposition, that he was agitated, that I would even ask for explanation of the cost. He further explained how difficult it is to find good workers these days to show up and that he personally had to diagnose the car himself. When I explained the situation that my daughters car was locked in the shop all weekend, and that no one had ever called us, he stated that it was not his fault the car broke down. I explained that it was not broke down, and that it was only making an unusual sound. He said that he apologized no one called us, and that he personally added the steering fluid as part of the diagnosis. With that said, he wanted to know what I wanted to do about the cost. I stated that I would be willing to meet him 1/2 way, though even that seemed costly since no work was rendered. He then became even more upset and began yelling stating that he should have charged me a minimum of $100 and even that would be fair since he had to take the time to look at the car himself. He also said that he has a minimum $ 83 fee for diagnosing any vehicle and that is disclosed to everyone up front. I thought that didn’t make sense either since the charge was for $59.90. He further yelled that I will pay the charge! I stated that I would, and further explained that I will not be a return customer. At that point, Dean screamed, “you will being paying cash, No Credit card, and No Debit Card!” I stated that would be difficult since I am not in town as I had explained before, and that my daughter is a student. He yelled, Exactly!” and then proceeded to hang up. Be careful, even though this is a AAA certified garage, that does not equate to good service, or honest work. Buyers beware! I would suggest checking with a reputable and recognizable name such as Precision Auto Tune, Midas, or Meineke, especiallly if you live out of town and your child too, is a student. Good luck and scratch this one off the list.