Feb 21 2008
Another Positive Experience at Chip’s
As I reported in my previous post about Chip’s Subaru Center, She and I both own Subarus. Prior to a recent ski trip to New Hampshire, after which She would be taking my 2002 WRX to New York to see her family and some friends, I scheduled my car for an overdue oil change and a thorough pre-roadtrip inspection. When I spoke to Chip to schedule the appointment, I mentioned that I only ran synthetic oil in my car and would be willing to bring my own if that was a problem. He suggested that I should pick up a case of whatever I wanted to run and he’d happily use that instead.
We dropped my car off at about 8:30 AM last Tuesday. Aside from the oil change and once-over, I mentioned an annoying brake rub in the right rear wheel when cornering hard to the left. He promised he’d check it out. I heard back from Chip before 10:00 AM with a handful of recommendations. In addition to the oil change, I was told that my fuel filter should probably be replaced, and that my alternator belt was pretty weather-worn (I’d noticed some cracking, but didn’t mention it—I wanted to see just how thorough their inspection was). The brake rubbing was caused by a backing plate that was not seated quite correctly. All of this was taken care of for $110 (plus the cost of the oil). Chip also mentioned that the a/c belt was looking a little ragged but would probably last another 5000 miles and so could be replaced with my next oil change. Best of all, my car was ready by lunch time! Fast, thorough service at a fair price—what more can you ask for in a mechanic?
We’ll definitely be trusting both our cars to Chip and his crew in the future. If you own a Subaru and are within reasonable driving distance of Portland, I’d highly recommend you give him a call – (207) 775-2020. If you’re looking for your next car and aren’t quite sure what to get, I’d even suggest looking at Subarus just so you can go to Chip. He’s that good.
I got a used Legacy wagon from Chip’s a while back, and it was only a couple of weeks before the air conditioner stopped putting out cold air. It turned out that the condenser was leaking, and the repair would be around $500. I felt that whoever had sold the car to Chip (it was from an auction) had probably recharged the system just long enough to get it sold, and was willing to reach some fair accomodation, a split of the cost, whatever. The warranty with the car covered the drive train only, so the air conditioner was not technically Chip’s legal concern.
However, he insisted that I had bought the car with the expectation of air conditioning, and fully covered the cost of the repair (even though it had to be done at another shop because of the air conditioning certification/scavenging rules).
I’d definitely go out of my way to get another car from Chip’s. Good cars, bend-over-backward honesty.
Hi, Chip’s Subaru – I was given your name through a friend. I have a Hyundai (2006) that I would like to trade in on a used Subaru. What can you do for me? My phone number is 841-9599 after 5:00 PM