Bobby's Coastal Auto Repair

I started going to Bobby's years ago when I first moved to Palm Coast and I always thought he was an honest mechanic until recently. A few months ago I was looking to purchase a new vehicle and before buying it I had Bobby inspect it. He told me it needed some work on the rear end which he estimated to cost about $1000 but otherwise it was fine. I bought the vehicle and let him "fix" it. After the repairs it seemed to still have the same problems- abnormal and loud noises, delayed responses, and a jumpy transmission. Bobby assured the problem was fixed and I had nothing to worry about.



Two weeks ago, however, the problems got much worse to the point where I feared the transmission would fail. At this time, I had recently allowed Bobby to work on my other vehicle and I was suspicious that he overcharged me so I decided to take my problem to another mechanic (Precision Transmissions in Holly Hill). They looked over my vehicle and told me it was a rear end problem (as well as a few other minor issues) that would cost approx $2500. They also told me that there had been no previous work to fix this problem (they said the last mechanic used a thicker oil to try to mask the noise rather than repairing the damage). I allowed them to fix the problem and immediately upon driving the vehicle I noticed that it drove much smoother and was no longer loud or jumpy. I have had no problems since and I am taking my vehicle back to them tomorrow to make sure everything is in order from the repairs.



I would not recommend going to Bobby's Coastal Auto because I believe he builds your trust and then takes advantage of it. I think he overcharges (unfortunately I made the mistake of trusting his estimate rather than getting a second opinion) as well as lies about the repairs he makes. I've since talked to a few people about his business and they seem to have similar issues with him. Had I gotten other opinions on the repairs for my vehicles,Bobby probably wouldn't have had my business for as long as he has and I would've spent my money on actually having the issues resolved.

This used to be a great place to fix your vehicle. Times have changed, I guess. This shop did not fix my vehicle, they made it worse. And charged me a lot more than they should've. $60 for spark plugs, just one of the examples. You be the judge.



Either the customer base has gotten smaller or this economy is taking its' toll on this business, because now Bobby overcharges for his services while at the same time providing a much worse service than before. He's just going off of his previous reputation at this point.



I have been going to Bobby to fix my vihicle for about 10 years now, but I'm not going back after this time. Things have changed drastically since I've been in there last. This is now one of the most overpriced shops around.



They hid my problem, instead of fixing it. It was cleverly "masked" so I woudn't find out until it was too late to take it back. And then he stood there and lied straight to my face. He smiled and fed me his BS, not realizing I knew my vehicle inside out.



Everybody makes mistakes when fixing vehicles, I realize that. But he clearly chose to pocket more money and trick me. That was obvious.



They used to charge you $40 to check you vehicle out, but would drop that charge if you chose to fix your vehicle there. Now they just charge you $40 on top of your fixing charges. And then he stands there and acts like he did you a favor for taking your car in.



Never again for me. Visit at your own risk. There are too many good shops around Flagler county to rely on this hole-in-the-wall.