Benson & Wood Incorporated

I gave Bruce, service manager at Benson & Wood ample opportunity to rip me off due to my own automotive ineptitude. And he didn't. (I could stop right here.) I brought my '91 Nissan Maxima in because there was some serious rust hanging off the tailpipe, and I figured it had rotted through and said so. "It's probably just the shield," he said, as I steeled myself to replace half the exhaust system. Lo and behold, it was just the shield, and it didn't even show up on my bill. No appointment, just show up at 7-8 AM and your car's ready by 5 PM, no hassle, no fancy waiting room or anything.

Unfortunately, I've had two bad experiences with Benson and Wood. In the first one, my girlfriend brought her car in telling them she thought the alternator was going. They told her there was no problem with the alternator. To their credit, they didn't try to fix something they didn't think was broken! To their detriment, three days later the alternator crapped out on the highway 50 miles from home. In the second experience, the "check engine" light was on recently, so I brought the car in to have the oxygen sensors replaced, which I'd already determined at another shop needed replacing. They did the work, but the light is still on. I don't blame them so much for this, but in general I feel like they don't really check out a car when it's brought in, but just do one thing at a time.

Bruce & Cy have worked on my vehicles for many years. Thay have always been honest, which I feel is one of the most important traits in an auto repair facility, in addition to a high level of competence! I have never had an unpleasant experience with them.

The guys at Benson & Woods are great--honest, straight- dealing & courteous. I've used them for my old 1989 Toyota and then 1992 used Taurus for the past 15 years. They've never overcharged (as compared to dealerships and other shops) or used scare tactics to get me to do something that was not needed. In fact, the dealership said to me once "oh, we can fix the oxygen sensor, but do you realize you need a $600 brake job"...I had the sensor fixed and RAN to my guys at B&W in Worcester. They looked at my brakes, reported nothing was out of the ordinary, did a little upkeep job (est. $190). I love them and would marry any one of the guys if they just asked!

My relationship with Benson & Wood started in 1978 or so with my beloved Datsun B210 GX 5-speed hatchback. They made an incredible first impression when they took the time to go over the problem that took me there and, even though I was a clueless teenage girl, I never felt talked down to. They've always been reliable, reasonably priced and available when I needed them. I'm on the third car of my lifetime and, after straying a bit while it was under warranty, I wouldn't entrust it to anyone other than Benson & Wood now.