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High Praise for Don at Hilltop Auto Service

Joined
28 March 2000
Messages
3,245
Location
Redwood City, CA
Much has been written about this man, and I've been in his shop before, but never for engine work. I had some, on hindsight, lame idea that since my car was under a warranty that I would be best served taking it to the dealer where I purchased the car. Now that the warranty had expired, I decided to give Don a crack at the engine.

And O. M. F. G.! I cannot believe this is even the same car! It's running better now that I can recall it ever did. It's so smooth and quick. I had no idea how bad it had gotten, because even running poorly the NSX is still a monster machine. But man, it is slick now!

While doing the tune-up, there were some things that bugged Don, and he kept the car for an extra few days. That is some kind of dedication, and I really appreciate it. Don's friendliness and professionalism are legendary as well.

don.jpg

THE MAN

Hilltop Auto Service
 
I might have to consider him on my next maintenance.

Just curious..does he owns a NSX himself?
 
Andrie Hartanto said:
Don doesn't own an NSX. But my old NSX was almost considered his.

And now my 93 NSX is considered his. In fact my three Legends (now sold), TL Type S, Honda Accord, and Infiniti G20 practically belong to him... I just pay the insurance on them... And every now and then Don will let me take one of my cars out for the weekend...

I echo all good words said about Don...

Remember folks, there is no one that is perfect and does everything right 100% of the time, but Don is close. And by the remote chance something does go wrong, Don will make it right. The best thing I appreciate about Don is his HONESTY...

Mike
 
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:tongue: Ditto on that....Don is the only mechanic that works on my NSX. Hes done my Comptech intake/headers/exhaust, Exedy stage III clutch, slotted/cross drilled rotors, Eibach springs. I've been nothing short of impressed with the work hes done. Mind you I live about an hour from Don's shop, hes well worth the drive. Although I must say that when I first drove into his lot I honestly thought I made a mistake, just by the looks of the place :confused:
 
I do not have an NSX...But I can tell you guys that He is a great. He has been my mechanic since 1997. He does have a special affection for NSX. He is a really good guy and a good mechanic/engineer.
 
vtec888 said:
I might have to consider him on my next maintenance.

Just curious..does he owns a NSX himself?

:smile: He knows NSX more than you and I can say... I asked his wife once the same question... He really wanted to own one, but he don't have time to enjoy it, since he is always busy fixing other people's NSX. High Praise for Don for his dedication!!! :biggrin: Yeah, thanks for the reminder, it's almost time for that oil change, I better call Don for an appointment. :wink:
 
I concur with all good things being said about Don, but the most important attribute is what Mike stated, that Don is honest, and to me that means everything. I have taken my "X" to Don exclusively and have always been impressed by the quality of the work, his care for the car (yes, I am picky), and I value his friendship.

I'm moving to HI and just had my car serviced and prepped for a long trip and unfortunately away from Don. I already talked to him about flying him out to work on my car, don't know if he's going to accept my offer.....

George
 
I wouldn't even consider him for tire, wheel, or alignment work. As for any other work, I would suggest first having him confirm in writing that he would be personally doing the work before I left my car with him as he has a weak second string. But that's just me, and I'm particular about my Zanardi, regardless of cost...
 
Dinan M3 said:
I wouldn't even consider him for tire, wheel, or alignment work. As for any other work, I would suggest first having him confirm in writing that he would be personally doing the work before I left my car with him as he has a weak second string. But that's just me, and I'm particular about my Zanardi, regardless of cost...
For what i have hear so far: Don's the MAN!!!!
Well looks like i'm almost due for my first oil change.
But do i really need Don to do my oild change or just let his assistants do it? any risk if Don does not do the oil change himself??? pls let me know so i'll ask for Don to personally do the oil change.

I just feel bad for Dom he must be tired like Hell.

Also if they do a test drive after service... who drives our NSX? Don or someone else??? (i'm very very very picky with my car too, just like everyone in Prime)
 
amgnsx said:
For what i have hear so far: Don's the MAN!!!!
I'm speaking from experience, not from what "I have hear so far" [sic - and English is my second language]. And as for your oil change, I agree, I don't care who does it.
 
Dinan M3 said:
I'm speaking from experience, not from what "I have hear so far" [sic - and English is my second language]. And as for your oil change, I agree, I don't care who does it.
Pardon me. That was just a typo, i missed the letter “D” on the word “Hear”.
So there. “For what i have heard so far: Don's the MAN!!!! “
[and yes English is also my second language.]
picky picky picky... :smile:

Got to watch more Sesame Street, I must have missed the letter “D” when it was the letter of the day. :biggrin:

amgnsx said:
Also if they do a test drive after service... who drives our NSX? Don or someone else??? (i'm very very very picky with my car too, just like everyone in Prime)
Regarding this comment. it was not directive to you(i meant that in a good way). I am picky with my car too, the only reason I Quote your msg is because u mentioned he has a weak second string (i wanted to know more about it). that's all... no offence... (sorry if u took it the wrong way)
 
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amgnsx said:
Pardon me. That was just a typo, i missed the letter “D” on the word “Hear”.
So there. “For what i have heard so far: Don's the MAN!!!! “
[and yes English is also my second language.]
picky picky picky... :smile:

Got to watch more Sesame Street must have missed the letter of the day when they were doing Letter “D” :biggrin:
In addition to the missing letter "D," the appropriate idiomatic expression is "from what I have heard," so you need to watch the Sesame Street show where they talk about the letter "R" also. :tongue: Seriously, though, you can all take your cars where you want - I'm just offering additional empirical data and you can take it or ignore it as you please. I love my Zanardi and Don won't be allowed to touch it or any of its parts ever again...
 
Dinan M3 said:
But that's just me, and I'm particular about my Zanardi, regardless of cost...
I don't blame you... as I'm just as picky with my 93 NSX... I do know that I will not take it to any dealer, unless they are recommended by an inner circle of friends. Your NSX maybe serviced by an NSX Technician at the dealer, but you never know if it has been taken out for a test drive, by the person who does the courtesy car washes.

amgnsx said:
Also if they do a test drive after service... who drives our NSX? Don or someone else??? (i'm very very very picky with my car too, just like everyone in Prime)
Speaking from experience, Don does all the test drives on the NSX...

Mike
 
MikeC_587 said:
Speaking from experience, Don does all the test drives on the NSX...

Mike

good to know. thanks Mike.

Heard u got new stuff for the ride. shhhhh i wont tell anyone.
Just post some pix when it's all done. :biggrin:
 
With all the hot rave about Don, how about the pricing? Is the pricing better than Foreign Affairs? I thought Foreign Affairs quote was kind of on the high end. I"m located near Foreign Affairs, but I would be willing to drive to Don if his price is better....

Daly City is quite a distance for me....
 
vtec888 said:
With all the hot rave about Don, how about the pricing? Is the pricing better than Foreign Affairs? I thought Foreign Affairs quote was kind of on the high end. I"m located near Foreign Affairs, but I would be willing to drive to Don if his price is better....

Daly City is quite a distance for me....

Pricing at Don is better, but Foreign Affair's work is better, notwithstanding the higher price. At least one NSXPrime member, who shall remain nameless, has had to have his CTSC install fixed by Comptech after having it done by Don. I had my CTSC install fixed by Foreign Affair after having it installed by MB. YMMV.
 
Dinan M3 said:
Seriously, though, you can all take your cars where you want - I'm just offering additional empirical data and you can take it or ignore it as you please. I love my Zanardi and Don won't be allowed to touch it or any of its parts ever again...

Dinan,

Care to elaborate on your experience :confused: , if you do not wish to disclose it on a public forum, how about a PM?

thanks,
 
As with everything mechanical, it all depends who physically does the work. All the shops people mention on this board have atleast 1 person who knows what they are doing with the NSX. Personally, I had a horrible experience at Foreign Affair with my old NSX (brought my car there after seeing glowing reviews of the shop on here). I probably just had someone who didn't know what the fuck they were doing, and wanted to 'learn' on my car. I could deal with that if they were upfront about it and stood behind their work to actually get it fixed properly. But, the 'tone' and support FA gave me after the fact, when the car was obviously fucked up, took the cake. I'll never set foot anywhere near that place.

Your best bet is to get a recommendation for a specific person at a specific shop, and to take your car there and talk to that person. Make it clear you want *that* person touching your car and no one else, if it takes a little longer, so be-it. Ofcourse, you'll have to trust that's what they will actually do, but you don't have any other option if you can't or don't want to do it yourself.

ps: the work i had them do was a clutch and short gear install (no r&p).

-mike
 
Mikeh,

this really show that everyone make mistake. And I'm sorry that FA didn't take care of you after their mistake.

I heard of story of MB and Don made mistake and took care of the problem when they found out. Remember, we all human and make mistake. Give the guy a chance to repair his mistake if he indeed do so.
 
Dinan M3,

Can you PM me when you get the chance with your experiences with Don and Foreign Affair? I need a clutch and short gear install and can't decide where to take it. Thanks!!!
 
Ted,

I think for the benefit of the group, you should post your bad experience. I consider Don as personal friend of mine, but so do you and lots of other people on this board.

I did talk to Don about this matter. And he very much like to know what kind of mistake did he do. He would like to know to make sure that the problem won't repeat, and that he can take care of said unsatisfied customer.

I applaud Don on his willingness to work with customer and his effor to get some quality input form his customers to improve his work quality.
 
Reviving an old thread here.

But yeah, judging from all these posts, I think I'll have don do the timing belt and 60k on my 94.

FA, while it has a great reputation with a lot of people has left me with a bad experience. It was a small thing I admit, a matter of some Type-SH specific seals and fluids making it into the parts list that they billed me for. I called them up and explained. I guess all I was looking for was, sorry, lousy software, won't happen again. But no, they never apologized! Never did mail me the check for the extra amount they charged me either. The forgetting to mail I could forgive, but not apologizing for what could be construed as dishonest billing, I will not forgive. As far as I am concerned they have lost my business and all of my honda owning friends's as well. I'd rather pay more and have the Los Gatos Acura NSX Tech handle the car (He is super) if I cannot drive all the way to don.

-vamsi
 
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