Marks Automotive Service and Repair

I had just completed a 10 hour drive to Vero Beach.  Along the way there were a couple of times when the traffic on the interstate came to an abrupt stop.  I had to brake very hard to avoid hitting the car in front of me.  By the time I got to Vero, my brake pedal seemed to go very close to the floor and it felt like it was taking longer to stop the car.

I am not normally a worry wart.  Mechanical things don't usually scare me.  But... when it feels like the brakes aren't working as well as they should, I do get a little concerned.  

So, I looked for a place that I could have my brakes checked out.  In recent years I have tried to give my business to small, local businesses instead of the big national chains.  I found Mark's.

I called and spoke to Josh.   I could tell that he was very busy.  he could schedule an appointment the next day, but I was driving back to North Carolina the next day and really needed someone to just check the brakes.  As I was about to say thanks and try to find someone else to help, he reluctantly said he could look at the car if I could get there in 30 minutes.  

I felt really bad about this because he clearly was busy.  He probably had cars that he had committed to completing that day.  And he was taking the time to try to help me.  That was excellent customer service.  Well, for me it was good!  If I slowed down someone else's car, not so good for them.

I immediately took the car to Mark's.  Josh was awesome.  Very nice.  Very polite.  He did a spot check of all the wheels to look at the brakes.  He checked the brake fluid and (master cylinder???)  Then he took the car for a drive.  When he came back he said that the brakes seemed fine.  He tried hard stops, soft stops and everything in between.  He said that personally, he would have no worries about driving the car with the brakes.  That gave me a tremendous amount of peace of mind.

As I drove away and began "testing" my brakes I realized that maybe I had overreacted to the condition of my brakes.  Maybe after driving for 10 hours with relatively few instances where I had to stop, once I got off the interstate maybe I was simply underestimating how long it would take me to stop.  I don't know.  But, my brakes do seem fine now.  

I am a big believer in customer service.  I will pay more to take my business to someone that appreciates me as a customer and treats me fairly.  (Note: Josh did not charge me for examining the brakes and the test drive so, I don't actually know what the pricing schedule is at Mark's.)  In the future, I will take my car to Mark's.

TL;DR summary: Tire Kingdom, fail.  Mark's Automotive, win.

The story begins with the four original tires on my car.  (I’d estimate ~10K miles’ worth of tread remaining.)  A few months ago, one tire got screwed (literally) – I picked up a screw somewhere and ended up with a flat on I-95.  I took the tire to Tire Kingdom near my home, and was told they couldn’t plug or patch it – the hole was too close to the sidewall.  In a pinch to get the vehicle roadworthy, I ended up buying/installing two new tires there (better to do a pair than just one).  Obviously, the screwed tire was scrapped; I kept the other (still good) one for a spare.  This left me with two new tires and two originals on the vehicle, with one spare original on the shelf.

Yesterday, I hit something in the road on I-95 (thanks again), and it busted a hole in one of the two remaining original tires on the car – just the scenario for which I’d saved the spare original tire!  I head on down to Tire Kingdom with my flat tire (on the wheel of course), and my loose spare tire … I’m barely in the door and they instantly refuse to install it.  “Our policies recently changed; we don’t install used tires anymore.”  Even though THEY just removed that very tire from that very car a few months ago?  Doesn’t matter.  Seriously, I can’t I just pay for their services to put this tire on, and I accept responsibility for it?  Nope.  No used tire installations.  Fine, I told them, then if I have to buy new tires, I’m doing it elsewhere.  Goodbye, Tire Kingdom.

(Sadly, it’s probably a combination of this lawsuit-happy society we live in, and the big corporations trying to make more money.  Places like Tire Kingdom refuse to install used tires?  1) Certainly they’re afraid of getting sued if the tires go bad – even though that wouldn’t be their fault.  2) If they refuse to install used tires, they’ll sell more new tires, right?  … It really makes me wonder about the first incident with the screw – was it REALLY too close to the sidewall?  Or were they just telling me that to coerce me into buying new tires?)

Anyway … now onto the happy ending:  Having driven by Mark’s Automotive every day en route to work, and having seen their used tires, I wondered……  So today, I brought my flat and my spare, and I stopped in.  Wouldn’t you know it – within five minutes I was out the door with the flat removed and the spare mounted & balanced.  Preston was quick, courteous, and obviously proud of their business.  I was treated with respect like a real person – not a dumb hunk of meat with money to be blindly surrendered.  A simple sign at the shop says they make no guarantees on used tires – and I understand and accept that.  Imagine that – a customer CAN be allowed to make a decision, a business CAN be honest and not try to rip you off, and common sense CAN prevail.

Thank you Preston, and thank you Mark’s Automotive.  I will be back.  (Though, hopefully, not too soon.)

--Andy S.

I moved here about a year and a half ago as my parents were planning to retire here (and have now done so).  I made the mistake of going somewhere else for my first oil change (I won't name names) and the entire time they berated me with 100 things they wanted to do to "help me out" and increase the overall bill.  After fighting them off for 30 minutes straight I looked elsewhere for my next oil change and found "Mark's".  Not only did they look over the vehicle, but unlike the previous place, they found nothing else "wrong", did the oil change, and charged me a very reasonable price.  That was the first time.

The second time they rotated my tires for free (I called around, no one else would do so), and of course, changed my oil and it cost the exact same as the 1st oil change without a tire rotation (no hidden fees or anything like that).

The third time I went for an oil change and noticed my breaks vibrating the past couple months and asked them to look into it.  I was bracing for needing new break pads, new rotors, and of course another oil change.  They could have gouged me for new rotors (I honestly thought I would need brand new ones) but to my surprise they said they could machine turn them and save me my hard earned money.  My breaks feel and work as if they just rolled off the factory line in a brand new car.  The guy drove around in my car for 15 minutes just to make sure everything was 100%.  That's customer service at it's very and utmost best.  The total price was once again very reasonable as well.

Needless to say, I could not be happier about the professionalism, timeliness, and overall "putting me (the customer) first" from Mark and his crew.  My parents were helping me this third time around, they turned to me and said "I think we've found our mechanic here in Vero Beach" and I couldn't agree more.  After the superior service we have received we won't be thinking twice about coming to Mark with anything else car related in the future.

Thank you Mark and crew.

-New arrivals to Vero Beach.

I'm fairly new to the area, my car is old and being held together by dust at this point when my engine started to run hot.  At least something is hot other than the weather but I'd prefer it not be my car engine.  The Mechanic that I swore by, was in love with, would happily give my life to, was all the way down in Port St. Lucie and there was no way my POM (Peace of Mind) would have made it that far and Mark's Auto was right here.  

You know that Angel sound you're supposed to hear when something inspiring smacks you in the face?  Yeah, I didn't get that, I heard car engines and figured, 'why not'.  Honestly, these were grease covered Angels.  Excuse me, adorable, grease covered Angels.

The water pump was dead.  Fine, we'll have a funeral for it later.  I was given a ride home by a wonderful woman who also owns a really cool older truck that she picked me up in to get my car when it was done.  I had a tough time getting in it but I asked for that.

Point of this?  I recommend these guys to everyone!  I still love my Mechanic in Port St. Lucie, don't get me wrong and if you live there I'll be only to happy to tell you who he is, but these gentlemen have me heart and soul.