‘Your car is in pieces’: B.C. woman speaks out after $33 oil change turns into $1,700 bill

One woman's trip to a Surrey garage began as a $33 oil change and quickly morphed into a $1,700 bill.

Tina House never imagined a routine oil change could lead to a $1,700 bill and require police to keep the peace.

She said after pulling in for the original service, staff at Surrey Centre Auto Repairs in Whalley told her she also needed new brakes.

They agreed on a price of $770.

House said staff at the business would later call her back and tell her she needed new calipers, as well – and the quote jumped to $1,880.

She said she was unsure and told the person on the phone she might not be able to afford it.

“He said, ‘Your car is in pieces. Come and pick it up,’” House told CTV News.

Feeling she now had no choice but to go ahead with the additional repairs, House haggled the price down to $1,700 in a cash deal.

But she wasn’t happy about it and wishes she had gone somewhere else.

According to BCAA automotive specialist and customer care manager Josh Smythe, it’s important for people to do their homework before deciding where to have their vehicles serviced.

“Reviews online often give a good indication of reputation,” Smythe told CTV News. “And a lot of that is very important in order to have the confidence to give them your vehicle.”

Smythe also made it clear he could not comment specifically on the dispute in question, or the business involved.

Surrey Centre Auto Repairs has a 1.6 rating on Yelp, with dozens of negative reviews left by customers over the last decade.

“Worst nightmare ever,” wrote one person.

“Do not go to this mechanic,” chimed in another.

“Whatever you do, do not take your vehicle to Surrey Centre Auto Repairs,” added a third.

CTV News attempted to give a man who identified himself as the owner an opportunity to respond to the negative reviews.

“Please leave my building. Thank you,” he said in response to questions about customer satisfaction. “I don’t want to talk about anything. Please get out.”

Before the CTV News crew left the property, he did accuse a friend of House’s of kicking his door and damaging it.

He also used his cellphone to show video of the alleged incident.

“Last night, they were here. They kicked my door, you know. Look at this,” the man said.

The business reported the alleged door kicking damage to Surrey police, who then contacted House.

That’s when she told them about the dispute over the bill and officers agreed to accompany her to the business to keep the peace while she paid the bill and picked up her car.

House said if her friend kicked the door, she didn’t see it.

She plans to take her car to another mechanic to check the work done by Surrey Centre Auto Repairs.

“I really, really wish I looked at the reviews first,” she said.

Now that she has her car back, she’s chalking the whole experience up as a lesson learned.