First and foremost, I would like to say that the Mike Sanford seems to be a great and friendly guy. The second time I brought him my vehicle, he even offered to pick me up and bring me to his shop instead of me having to depend on finding a ride or taking an Uber (which I did the first time I picked up my vehicle).
Now to my issue:
I am a Seminary student and a NC native. I know nothing about the Columbia area and chose Sanford's Auto due to high ratings on multiple sites. I drive a 2004 Chevy S10 ZR5 with a 4.3L V6.
First Repair (Mileage: 152524):
I had broken down in Columbia and requested Mr. Sanford tow my vehicle and repair the issues. At the time, my truck's power was bogging down (no/little power when at highway/interstate speed and could not climb hills unless at 4.5K RPM), needed a tire plugged and had a dead battery. Mr. Sanford towed my truck ($120 for a 9 mile tow from breakdown location). Mr. Sanford repaired the tire, check/charged the battery and found the cause of the battery to be a nut on the back of the alternator (charged $105 for just a charge and labor!). Mr. Sanford also found P0172 and P0175 codes on my truck. He interpreted these codes as being due to a faulty fuel injector, to which he replaced all of them. Total, the repair costed $1905. The lack of power issue, in Mr. Sanford's words, were solved. "I drove it around a bit and it's all good," he stated.
Only 70 miles later, the engine continued to bog down (could not make it over 60 mph on interstate, could not climb medium size hill without almost redlining the engine). I took my truck to Autozone and had the codes pulled. The code that was found was a P0171 (Fuel Trim Lean). I became infuriated due to this being a fuel issue. So being frustrated, I brought my truck back to Mr. Sanford in hopes he would correct the fact that he DID NOT repair my vehicle.
Second Repair (Mileage 152702): Mr. Sanford stated that he found O2 sensor codes (reported low voltage). He replaced B2S1 O2 sensor with new sensor, then opted to take the same sensor and deemed that it was fairly new and place it in the B1S1. (If it is new, then why did it need replaced at all?!) The bogging issue still existed so Mr. Sanford interpreted that to mean that there was a clogged fuel filter, which he replaced. Total parts and labor was: $265.73. He then told me that it was still bogging down and the catalytic converter would cost $700-900 (though I was told, when I dropped off my truck, that a new cat would only run about $300-400).
Summary:
I have paid this gentleman almost $2,200 and he has failed to properly repair my vehicle. My truck is driving the exact same way it was when I had it towed. My truck has very little power when climbing small hills and no power on interstates. He never called to give price estimates, he just gave a bill when repairs were completed. To me, this man's idea of mechanics is throwing money at problem, and when his repair fails, he just throws more money at it. I am extremely dissatisfied with the work of this gentleman and strongly recommend you look elsewhere for a mechanic.