Reviewed : 06/05/2025
Comment : I am the owner of a Jeep Gladiator that, as a result of major incompetency on the part of the service department of the dealership where I bought the truck, is in need of a whole new engine after only 106K miles. I Google-searched shops that can do engine swaps and discovered Maclane's. When I called, I spoke with Josh, the sales advisor, who probably spent 15 minutes on the phone listening to my situation. Josh recommended to me (paraphrasing), "Whether you let us do it...which we're happy to do and at no charge for the first 30 minutes...or whether you take it to a different shop you're more comfortable with, you should confirm you definitely need another engine." I share this to point out he was more concerned with me getting a second look, than generating business for Maclane's. When I dropped the truck off a couple of days later, I was met by Alan, the shop manager. Alan gave me a dissertation on engines and how and why they break down, gave me a list of potential causes of my engine failure, ran through the potential scenarios, and assured me they would conduct full analysis on the truck to confirm or deny I need a new engine.
Sadly, it was confirmed I indeed need a new engine. But between first speaking with Josh on the phone to finally picking up the truck several days later, the communication between me and those guys was incredible. I was speaking almost daily with Josh about options I should be exploring with Jeep to remedy a problem Jeep caused (some of which I hadn't thought of. At one point I spoke with Rob on the phone, the shop foreman, who thoroughly explained some technical things to me in layman's terms because I'm an idiot with this type of stuff. Here's the kicker: Jeep ultimately agreed to partially remedy the situation, which means I avoided having to spend approximately 12-15K on a job I was prepared to have Maclane's do. When I arrived at the shop to pick up my truck and delivered this news, Alan and Josh were EXCITED for me. They were about to have a major job on their schedule, but they were genuinely happy for me, that I will not have to pay this insane amount of money for something that was not my fault. That speaks volumes. The experience was arguably one of the best customer/service provider experiences I have ever had, and I'm 52. A great experience even right to the end, with a very pleasant car ride provided by Addison, a budding mechanic who's only been at Maclane's for four months, who drove me back to Maclane's from Jeep after dropping off the truck for the engine replacement.
This shop is "squared away." I had a whole team of people converge on my problem, who took their time, showed empathy and exceptional "bedside manner," communicated brilliantly, very quickly diagnosed the issue and confirmed the need for a new engine, and I didn't even have any repairs done. Think of it like this: You go to your average shop and it's like walking into urgent care with a brain tumor. You walk into Maclane's and it's like walking into Johns Hopkins with a brain tumor. They will heretofore (you like that word), do the repairs/maintenance on this truck or any other vehicle I ever own. A shop like no other.