GDL Automotive Services
27 reviews
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GDL botched a timing belt replacement job. GDL destroyed my engine due to this failed installation. GDL are not trustworthy and should NOT be trusted. I would never use them again and i certainly do not recommend them
Avoid GDL – Avoid GDL Automotive at all costs. We took our Range Rover Evoque to GDL Automotive on the North Shore, Sydney. From start to finish, they were dishonest and unprofessional. They lied about the work being done and even charged us for parts that were never installed. After paying a staggering $8,200, our car was still not fixed. Save yourself the headache and avoid GDL Automotive at all costs.
Excellent car mechanic – GDL has been our mechanic for a couple of years now. We have always had a positive experience and excellent work being completed on our cars. Recently, GDL assisted in selling our previous car and purchasing a new car for our growing family. The cost of the service/work completed is fair. Our experience has been only at their Hornsby shop and… Read more
all of the mechanics there are friendly, helpful and approachable. I have always found GDL to be honest and realistic about the work required for ours cars, even recommending priority work and other work to be done later in order to fit into our budget. I highly recommend GDL to anyone.
Amazing service – I recently took my car to Gdl automotive (Hornsby) for a routine maintenance check, and I couldn’t be happier with the experience. From the moment I walked in, the staff was friendly and professional. They took the time to explain the services they recommended without any pressure, making sure I understood everything. The turnaround time was… Read more
impressive; they completed the oil change and tire rotation much quicker than I anticipated. The prices were transparent, and I appreciated that there were no hidden fees. I highly recommend Gdl automotive for anyone looking for reliable and honest service. I’ll definitely be returning for my future maintenance needs!
JEEP AND LANDROVER SPECIALISTS – without a doubt the best mechanics in the north shore hands down! Excellent service, professional team, very well priced and will even go the extra mile. You won't regret visiting GDL.
Excellent experience – Excellent service and they provide fast, reliable, and high-quality work.
High quality service – High quality service and a very well trained and friendly team. I highly recommend
Excellent – Excellent experience, very friendly mates they have done a quality and quick job.
God job! – I had a good experience with my 4x4, Friendly staff
GDL Automotive, Lots of experience and great service provided! – I know everyone who works there, and I am absolutely certain that they do their work with a lot of love, care and attention. It is very hard work and also quite technical, need to have a lot of knowledge very advanced to do the work they do. And believe me, they are very good at what they do! Therefore, always I will recommend GDL Automotive!!!
TOP NOTCH – Hello, I was having a problem with my 2015 Grand Cherokee 3.0 diesel. I was searching for how to repair videos. I came across CDL's video on how to fix. The video was clear and made the job simple. I had some further questions during the job and sent them a message on facebook, after a few back and forths they helped me walkthrough the job. They… Read more
were there for me, and never mentioned money. Saved me Hundreds of dollars. BIG THANK YOU and GOD BLESS. Keep JESUS FIRST!!
Fast, effective, well priced and really friendly – Best Jeep mechanics / Landrover mechs - by miles. Explained everything from start to finish! Done the job no on else could.
GDL Hornsby – Best place in the north shore to bring your car, I brought my X5 for a service and I was met with nothing but kindness and a quick service. Plus it was cheaper to do it here then BMW!
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Fantastic service and pick up! – Excellent mechanics! My car was collected when advised and serviced at a great cost for what was involved. Great team and excellent service thank you!!!
Dreadful experience – Terrible business Stay away from this place. Dodgy! Manager of Warriewood seems nice but they made a mistake on my car then tried to sell me on getting car fixed for a ridiculous HUGE fee. Had other mechanics look at and it was another error which GDL had caused! So sad what these guys are doing. The stress that this caused was ridiculous. I lost thousands of dollars with these guys and the stress they caused was very upsetting.
Bad Review for GDL Automotive Hornsby - Don't take your Ranger Rover Sport there! – I took my 2018 Range Rover Sport to GDL Automotive Hornsby at the end of May 2024 for a major service. A few weeks later, my car broke down and became completely undrivable. It had to be towed home and then back to GDL to diagnose the issue. GDL replaced the alternator, which my warranty company covered, but the car remained undrivable. They then… Read more
quoted me for a complete Body Control Monitor (BCM) replacement, excluding the cost of towing the car to a Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) dealership for calibration, which would incur additional costs. To make matters worse, GDL quoted me $1,000 more for an aftermarket BCM than a genuine Land Rover BCM from the JLR dealership, and GDL's labour costs were significantly higher than JLR's. When I called GDL and spoke to Karl to get an estimated timeline for the repairs, I was met with hostility, making me feel I had to be submissive out of concern for my car's safety at GDL Hornsby. When I submitted the quote to my warranty company for the replacement BCM, they informed me that GDL had recently been blacklisted by them due to Brandon from GDL verbally abusing the warranty company staff. My warranty company then towed the car to JLR Artarmon for diagnosis and repair. Within only a few hours, JLR identified the cause of the complete vehicle failure as over-tightened ground cable studs, which led to a consequential voltage drop and an unearthed vehicle. They replaced six ground studs and the battery, which had shorted out due to the grounding issue. GDL had had my vehicle for over two weeks and couldn't properly diagnose the issue. JLR fixed the issue and had the car running with 6 hours of labour. That should talk for itself. It was evident that GDL had misdiagnosed the issue, and that neither the alternator nor the BCM had needed replacing. As a female customer, I feel that GDL tried to take advantage of me by replacing functional parts and overcharging for aftermarket parts. This experience has been incredibly unsettling and disappointing, and I will never take my car back to a so-called "Range Rover Specialist" like GDL.
Think twice before you put your trust in this unprofessional team!
They damaged two parts of the car and did not reply to emails. Also grossly over quoted on a job – It's no coincidence these grifters thank their lawyers on their social media posts. My best friend took her Land Rover to these guys in 2023 and they 1. Overquoted $1,200 on a part and repair 2. Broke open the door lock but did not repair the door lock casing after allegedly replacing the lock mechanism 3. Snapped and broke in half the front… Read more
bonnet guard and didn't bother to mention it or replace it. The car was towed to another more qualified and honest auto repair shop and they quoted and repaired the issue at 85% less than the dodgy GDL auto quote. When my friend sent emails to GDL Auto with photos of the damage to the bonnet guard and the door lock casing, the owner avoided responding. Failing to respond to two emails. When she called the reception, he just chuckled that the owner wasn't available.
Avoid these grifters. It seems they cherry-pick who they give good honest service to.
Terrible Customer Service, Communication + Pricing Discrepancies – I took my car in to fix an oil leak on Thursday 3 February 2022. I chatted with owner [Name Removed] (at the Hornsby branch) who seemed very knowledgeable about the work required. Prior to bringing my car in, I had chatted with [Name Removed] over the phone to discuss issue and estimated costings. [Name Removed] explained that the work was routine… Read more
and would cost around $1,200. Upon getting to the store, [Name Removed] requested to conduct an inspection of the car and then quoted my $1,990. I didn't expect a step increase because he had previously explained over the phone that it was a routine procedure. Either ways, he seemed knowledgeable on what was required so I did not give it too much thought. [Name Removed] advised that my car would be ready to be picked up latest by Monday 7 February 2022.
On Monday 7 February at 8:23 am, [Name Removed] advised me by text that my car would be transferred to another branch because the workers at the Hornsby branch have come down with COVID. I was very upset and disappointed because I was promised my car on Monday. So in my mind, if you are unable to meet the deadline then a phone call to explain the situation would be a lot more professional than a text message telling me that you are taking my car somewhere else without my consent.
I called the store and spoke to [Name Removed] who did not apologise for the inconvenience and did not offer me an explanation as to why after 5 days with my car nothing had been done. So, I advised [Name Removed] that I would prefer to come pick up my car because I did not feel like [Name Removed] cared nor realised that I as the customer was gravely inconvenienced.
So, I arrived at the store at about 11:30 on Monday and met [Name Removed]. He still didn't apologise for anything and also looked disinterested in my plight. He handed me my keys and proceeded to explain that I should pay for the part needed to fix my car. I explained that during my conversation with [Name Removed] I was advised that I would pay once the work is completed not before. Besides, I couldn't justify paying for a service that has not been completed yet. So, [Name Removed] was brought in.
When [Name Removed] arrived, I explained that I wasn't satisfied with the level of service I was rendered and the additional cost associated with their missed deadline and lacklustre communication. [Name Removed], looking even more disinterested in my plight that [Name Removed] explained that he was trying to do the best but he is short staffed in a defensive tone. I countered that I understood that, but because of the lack of communication my car was just sitting in your shop for 5 days and nothing had still been done on it. It cost me $60 to uber to the shop to pick up my car plus all the Ubers I used all weekend because I didn't have my car but justified it because I would get it on Monday. [Name Removed], looking very irritated proceeded to tell me to get out of his shop that we couldn't do business together.
Ultimately, I think he was having a bad day but in my eyes, the testament of a successful businessman is in their ability to be a professional in the face of adversity / bad days. Unfortunately, while GDL Automotive services may possess the technical knowledge, they lack the emotional maturity, transparency, communication and people skill the puts the customer first.
Overpriced and terrible work – Gdl is broadly one of the worst mechanics out there you can use avoid this butcher at all cost he will con you into spending money on things that your car does not need
Very expensive quote – You can't blame someone for making a dollar out of you but a price quote of $ 10.000 more then 3 other Garages is some what over the top. Asked for a price to replace the Eco diesel engine of a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee. As there are not many secondhand wrecking yard engines around for this car with low KM the price of these engines are around $9K… Read more
. So the average quote I got from 3 other garages was around $ 12000,- . But here it would cost me $ 22000,- . That's just wrong ! But it's a free world so I suppose they can try and see how stupid I am. Be aware ...
Excellent service! – I recently took our family car VW Passat to GDL for a blue slip and some other minor work. I was very impressed with Dannie's and Chris's professionalism, nothing was too hard. You can just tell that these guys don't cut corners and everything is done by the book. I will definitely be coming back to these guys.
absolute amatures at there best – Dodgey dogs ute got serviced here 3 times last year a month later took it somewhere else and found out ute was not properly serviced and did more damage to the vehicle then good they didnt change the air filter and everything they were suppose to karma works in mysterious especially when you cheat people of their hard earnt money
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Service – This company people beware to not take any vehicle of any sort to GDL,I promise you they will rip you off with things your vehicle does not need please you will save a lot of money going else were
Excellent Service – Dannie and GDL team, Thank you for getting my car running again after an embarrassing break down. A great service the car is running very smoothly. I would highly recommend GDL
Expensive and arrogant - a ‘bad’ joke – GDL Automotive is overpriced $$$$$$ and expensive for the standard of service they deliver even though their website claims one $ symbol signifying they are not expensive. That’s the first deception. When querying their prices GDL say they use better parts than everyone else, and they do a better job than everyone else so that’s why they cost… Read more
more?? So I guess they use spare parts that are made and imported just for them that no one else has??? No! I checked prices with other reputable mechanics on the same parts they used and they are expensive and it’s just that GDL have a massive superiority complex, so GDL just charge more than they should. I don’t know if they thought because I’m a girl they think I don’t have a clue so why not just rip me off blind. And to make it worse you are surrounded by bad, really bad, crass, very crass and sometimes inappropriate humor everywhere it’s a cultural thing at GDL and it made me feel uncomfortable. It’s one thing to be expensive it’s another to just rip someone off and then pretend they are nice and funny and friendly and I actually think they believe that they’re funny, so they can win an awkward smile from you when they give you the overpriced bill. Not a good experience all round. I’ve also heard similar things from others locally and my friends just won’t go there either. Go somewhere else. Plenty of places use genuine parts and don’t rip you off I’ve owned a number of cars of different makes and GDL Automotive are NOT the best. They’re not!!! It’s like they’ve watched too many Top Gear episodes and they think they can be funny too, except they’re not. It’s just bad. They pretend they are the good guys and every other mechanic is not so they think they can charge a premium for a standard service and joke about it.
Excellent service and customer care – Recommended by my shuttle bus company boss, as GDL had been highly recommended. I was most impressed by GDL's recommendations and the servicing of my old Benz A160. GDL were able to fix all my problems and the car is running very well. A most impressive customer care service which I have never experienced from anywhere else.
GDL Automotive Services – Business has pick up, repair and return options which are great for the busy person. They contact you if items are found beyond what you asked for and seek permission to repair. There are no funny services charges that I have had at other places e.g. environment charges what ever that means. Cost have been cheaper than I have had at the established dealerships yet the service is better.
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