Our experience with Pearl City Auto Works has been a shocking disappointment. We trusted the reviews, and were happy to think that the place was owned by a woman. Having already paid $400 for a diagnostic elsewhere on our Jeep Sahara Edition 1994, for the installation of a remanufactured YJ 4.0 L engine ($2,800 with labor), we decided to take it to Pearl City Auto Works as one of only two Jeep specialists of excellent reviews and long standing to have this done. $200 later, we received estimates for two possible procedures; the installation of a used engine with 67,000 miles on it (which is probably not a YJ engine since they stopped making those in 1997 and all of the used ones have many more miles than that); or the installation of a remanufactured engine. Labor charge $100 per hour, but we can't say what the work would have been like. The problem is parts. Customers can check their cost online now! Every item on the estimate was inflated to about three times its cost online, and the remanufactured engine can be found online for a third of the price quoted with a 7-year, 70-thousand-mile guarantee, (not to mention the Pearl City charge of $350 for freight). The explanation for this is "retail profit" which sounds a lot like "dealer markup" on a used car invoice. We gambled on good service from Pearl City Auto Works, to the tune of a total of $200 diagnostic and $240 to an independent towing firm for two-way towing to Pearl City. We still have a broken vehicle and feel a lot less like trusting reviews.
I'm sorry to hear you've got a negative impression of us, Cynthia. While I certainly understand that your situation is frustrating, I want to assure you that we don't charge any more than any other shop would for our parts. In fact, we pride ourselves on our fair pricing. Replacing an engine, as I'm sure you know, is a big job that takes a lot of time and a lot of costly parts. You're right: you can find parts cheaper online, but they don't come with the guarantees that our parts do. When we install a new engine into a vehicle, we're absolutely sure it's in good shape. You just don't get that kind of assurance online. It's really too bad you weren't happy with our quote, and didn't get your Jeep fixed at our place. But, I hope you were able to get it taken care of. Best wishes. -Erin R., Owner
- Pearl City Auto Works