Kwik Kar Lube & Tune

10/25/09

Rip Off!

by Impiltdownman at Citysearch

This place has ripped me off for the last time. I took our 2000 Lexus RX300 in for state inspection. The "Check Engine" light has been on for months but there has been no problem with the car. Kwik Kar told me in order to see why the light was on they'd have to do a diagnostic test that cost $80 for 1 hour labor. Less than 5 minutes after they began the test, they said the car (66K miles) needed a tune up and had bad plugs. The cost was $380 PLUS $84 for special “Iridium” spark plugs. I happened to know the owner’s manual says to replace the plugs at 120K miles and it uses Platinum plugs. I paid the $80 but refused the service and left to investigate. I found the recommended plugs at Walmart for less than $2.50 each! The place I subsequently took the car said the engine check light was just alerting to a routine scheduled service check. Instead of $544 at Kwik Kar I spent less than $50 to get the inspection. Of course that doesn't include the $80 I wasted at Kwik Kar for their 5 minute "Diagnostic Test"!

• Pros: Convenient for oil change
• Cons: They'll lie to you about what you need