Alright - a bit of context here is required to show why Roger and the Kaufman team earned my trust for LIFE even though I don't live in Florida. We were down for an extended family trip from Pennsylvania. While I'm above-average in general handiness, I'm woefully dependent upon a trusted mechanic when it comes to vehicles. Our van started making a rubbing/scratching sound from the wheels when making right turns, but was quiet when driving straight or left. Some googling and talking with friends led me to believe it could be wheel bearings. Slightly problematic because we were supposed to leave Florida to come back home within 3 days. I called Kaufman's at the recommendation of a friend and reading some online reviews. Called on a Tuesday morning and explained the situation and the time urgency. They said they couldn't fix it today, but if I could swing over that afternoon they could test drive it, diagnose, and order any parts that could be needed so they could work on it and fix it Wednesday or Thursday. Perfect - and smart thinking. Drive over and meet up with Roger, who takes it out with me and we successfully reproduce the noise. He agrees it sounds like bearings, but wants to throw it up on the lift to make sure. Does so, and says it doesn't LOOK like a bearings issue, and while he's talking to me from underneath the van all of a sudden says "Fixed it." What? "Yeah - fixed it. This here is your brake cover. It protects your pads from rain and grit from the road. Somehow it got bent a bit, and the rust on your pads then rubbed against it when you'd make the right hand turns. I just bent it back out a bit with my thumb. Your pads and rotors are a bit worn down, but they've got plenty of life to get you back home. Just in the next couple months schedule a time with your mechanic to get them changed. You should be good to go for now, but let's go back out and make sure." Head back out to test drive it - no sound. Amazing. We get back to the shop and he says I'm good to go and thanks me for stopping in. I say "Umm, wait - I need to pay you." He says "Nope, you're good. We didn't have to do any work." "Yeah, but you could have really taken advantage of me, and you did spend some time diagnosing things." "It's fine - seriously." He earned a customer for LIFE ... if I lived in Sarasota. I was already prepared to pay him not just for fixing the problem, but for squeezing me in on such a short time frame. Unfortunately, I don't live in Sarasota and the next time we visit I hope to not have to see Roger and his team ... but if I do have any car issues, I know exactly where to go to. I quite literally could not recommend Kaufman's highly enough.
Thank you so much for the great review you gave us. We appreciate it so much and glad to hear you made it back home. From all of us at Kaufman's Auto Repairs.
- Kaufman's Auto Repair Inc.