S & M Repair of Goodland, Kansas is unethical, unprofessional, and overcharges customers.

I broke down in Goodland, Kansas off I-70. Goodland is hours from the nearest specialists or dealers for my VW in Wichita or Denver.

I had my VW Passat towed to S & M Repair. S & M repair said that they could fix my car. They did not give me an estimate.

First, S & M said the problem was the air filter. They did not have one so they went to get one in Burlington, Colorado. A couple hours later they replaced the air filter and the car still was not fixed.

After a couple of more hours, S & M declares the problem to be the throttle position sensor. They do not have one and they say that it could not be express mailed to Goodland. I get on-line and I find a dealer that can express mail it.

An hour later, S & M tells us that the sensor is good and that is not the problem.

Now we realise S & M is unfamiliar with any foreign cars and they have no idea what they are doing. However, now we are stuck.

The hours tick by and finally as closing time nears S & M asks if I can call a VW repair shop in Salt Lake City that I know. I did not know that mechanics work with each other. If I had been told that right away when we walked into S & M at 9 am I would have asked them to call the VW place right away or S & M could have initiated it themselves. S & M knew common business practices among mechanics but I, as a lay person, did not. It is quite suspicious that as closing time nears S & M asks me to call the VW shop. After speaking to the VW shop for a few minutes the problem is miraculously found. A tiny 5 dollar hose that goes to the car computer had a hole in it. Problem is fixed and coincidentally, S & M has us out by 5:30 pm closing time. I have spent the entire day at S & M repair. The bill comes to $541.51. It is broken down into 7 hours of labor at $65/hr and then 5 dollars for the hose and $38.50 for the unnecessary air filter. At the time, I just wanted to get out of there but I was shocked at the charges. This was the worst stereotype of an auto repair shop come true. People stuck in the middle of an unfamiliar place and a mechanic shop taking advantage of them because stranded people have little choice. We were kept at S & M Repair all day so they could charge us- and then- right before closing they miraculously ask for help and fix the car with a 5 dollar part?

We break down again a bit further down the road in Quinter, Kansas due to S & M's handy work that caused a new problem. This time we have the car towed to Denver so we are not taken advantage of again.

The VW mechanic in Denver is shocked at what was done and what we paid. To change all the hoses in the car- the typical charge is 100 dollars. We are also told that to diagnose the problem is very easy and it does not take 7 hours of saying other things are the problem.

I called S & M the following day and I spoke to Drew. I told him that I was unhappy with the work he did and I felt that we were taken advantage of. I was calm and matter of fact and I told him that I would like a partial refund. He proceeded to swear at me.

I filed a complaint with the BBB but S & M refused to resolve the complaint. I am currently disputing the charges with my credit card company.

S & M Repair takes advantage of travelers on I-70. S & M scams its customers. If one breaks down in Goodland, Kansas have your car towed to either Denver or Wichita. If you are local do not patronize this shop. Beware! Highway robbery is alive and well in Goodland, Kansas at S & M Repair.