Ralph's Garage

I tried this local mechanic out for some regular servicing and diagnostic work on a Triton Ute. Simmo was fantastic! Quality mechanical work! Very attentive, thorough, and knowledgeable. They found cost saving along the way. He even took the time to explain components of the engine to me. I highly recommended Ralph’s garage! Keep up the good work 🤙

Very helpful and honest mechanic's. Wouldn't try another place

Amazing customer service. It's so nice to find a quality mechanic that cares as much about the driver as the vehicle.

I’m sorry I have to do this, But because of their ignorance they have wasted hours of my life. I booked in for a vehicle check over, told them exactly what vehicle I have, even called in a second time to ask about options and then said what my vehicle was again. Drove for half an hour away from where I need to go for my assessment at uni that starts in an hour this morning, arrived there and was told to park the van up the road. That took me a long time to find a park big enough and also check everything was locked and clear the front seats for engine access. Only to be told, after all that, walking all the way back, that they can’t service my vehicle because it was too long. Why not at least tell me when I stopped past to not bother trying to find a park??? I have exams and I literally drove 30 minutes away from where I already needed to be to get this serviced, they saw the vehicle, and still told me to park and come by with the keys. ‘I thought you’d been called’. Was the response. I have zero missed calls. I don’t have spare time to waste right now. I sacrificed time for study and practice and my life to get this here in the morning during the time period they stated it needed to be in. No compensation was offered for wasting my time. I clearly said at least twice what my vehicle is. And they still let me waste even more of my time parking it. I would like something back for all of this. I know I can’t get time back but at least something. I did nothing wrong here and it was their ignorance. I may lose marks for my assessment today because I wasted now 2 hours because now I have to go back to where I came from in traffic for class. I literally was 5 minutes away from uni this morning. They said there is nothing they can do but they could of at least told me not to park and I could of just driven back without extra hassle. So sad I was recommended this place and know some people affiliated with it. Please try and make this feel a bit better for me if you care. Thank you.

I recently booked in my car via phone. When I initially called and booked it in I specifically asked, among a couple of other services, to have my cam belt replaced. I asked for a quote of the agreed services that I requested. After they provided the quote, I specifically sought confirmation that this included the cam belt and its replacement, to which he confirmed the quote given was comprehensive of all services I had asked for. I confirmed this agreed amount for the services discussed. Upon receiving my car back, when I reviewed the invoice and it said that the drive belt had been replaced and no service of the cam belt occurred. I called the garage to clarify, asking them why my drive belt had been replaced and why, when it was the agreed service and included in my quote, the cam belt had not ben replaced as it was something I specifically asked for and clarified at the time of booking. The guy on the phone was extremely rude and tried to gaslight me - he argued that there is no such thing as a "cam belt" however, according to many sources this is factually incorrect. Moreover, this assertion is inconsistent with the agreed service, which specifically included the cam belt replacement. If, at any stage, the garage did not understand what was included in the service that I agreed and paid for, it is their obligation to seek clarification prior to the installation of some other service which was not discussed nor agreed on. I was initially willing to accept that this had been due to a genuine miscommunication on their part, however after being spoken to in an extremely demeaning tone with the intent to shift the blame onto me and a clear attempt to take advantage of the assumption that I wouldn't know the correct mechanical terminology, they are not only refusing to take any accountability, but they have also tried to bully me into believing that the miscommunication was my fault. When I did not back down and accept this, the guy flipped a switch and apologised to me saying it had been a long day and that he would get his manager to give me a call. I was expecting that there would have been some rectification, however I was extremely disappointed when the manager took the same attitude and the nature of the phone call was the same as the first, while they acknowledged that this was a miscommunication, they refused to accept that this fell on them, further trying to take advantage of the fact that I am not a mechanic myself and seeking to shift the blame on me for calling it a cam belt and not a timing belt. Regardless of any difference in colloquial name, it makes no commercial sense to assume a customer means one thing, seek no further clarification and instead do as they please without reference to the owner of the vehicle. Namely there are two issues here, firstly I did not receive the service that was agreed between us, and secondly that payment was made for unsolicited services. Both of which fall within the definition of "Unfair practices" by application of s39-43 of the Competition in Consumer Act. When choosing a mechanic I did extensive research, and ultimately chose Ralphs garage as their reviews seemed to reflect that they did not take advantage of their customers, however in my experience I have found this not to be true, not only have they not upheld the stipulations of our verbal contract, but after failing to do so they have tried to use tactics such as gaslighting and deception which fall under the definition of psychological manipulation, to make me think that I am the one at fault. This is extremely unprofessional, unethical and makes me question their compliance with the terms for businesses under the Australian Consumer Law.

I initially trusted this garage and was happy with their service. However, my experience changed when I took my car in for an oil leak, and they replaced the rocker cover gasket. When I got my car back, there was a very strong burning smell and white smoke coming from the engine. Concerned, I called them, and they told me not to worry, saying it was just the cleaning chemical they had used. Since it was a Friday, I waited over the weekend, but the smoke and strong smell persisted for four days. As I transport patients for work, many were scared to get in my car, and I started to worry myself. I decided to take the car back, and they found that the rocker cover gasket had not been properly fixed. Mistakes happen, and I understand that, but what disappointed me was the complete lack of acknowledgment or apology. My car could have caught fire, putting both me and my clients in danger. On top of that, I had to miss work, resulting in a lost day of pay. The least I expected was a simple “sorry.” This experience has really shaken my trust in this garage.

Simmo is the best. I don’t know anything about cars and not interested to learn, I clearly bought a lemon and got ripped off and Simmo was the only mechanic that helped me out and actually understood the assignment (“Im broke, I need this car to get me to work, please help me without judging my poor choices”). I really trust him and everyone else there is also very kind. Also my car works which is great lol.