Thursday evening I was delivering a load in the Greenville SC area. After I had spotted the trailer into the unload bay, I placed the transmission shifter into neutral...but the tranny stayed in reverse.
Needless to say..I needed a mechanic...in a town which I had only been to once before. After talking with International (whom does not make service calls) and calling the road service company they recommended...I waited over an hour with no call back..from Fleetmaster. I called Freightliner (whom also does not do road service calls) then contacted the service company they recommended...A-Tech.
Not only did I get the call answered by the third ring.....there was a service truck sitting in front of my truck within 1 & 1/2 hours (10 PM eastern)..it was one of three service trucks the company runs at night...and was the first to get finished with a service call...and came straight to me, instead of going to the shop for "supplies & coffee". Before the mechanic even pulled the rear door of his unit open, he told me that he had a good idea what happened...one of three springs that stabilize the shifter had broken...hence leaving the tranny in reverse.
20 minutes later he had the tranny unstuck and the bill made out..$127.00! I followed him out of the plant and to their facility..where friday they rebuilt the bottom end of the shifter, and fixed an A/C problem...which has been a running nightmare for the past year. The tranny repair cost me $689.00 including the night service call..and with the parts for the A/C, which included a replaced hose that had been kinked the entire time I have owned the truck, my full bill was $847.98.
I expected to pay over $450 just for the road call, like so many other shops charge! A-Tech has a $125.00 minimum, at $65 an hour (which is their standard shop rate).
I don't usually recommend any service company...just for the reason that so many other's don't have the same experience that I may have had...But I wanted to let those of you whom may get stuck in the Greenville SC area, and need a mechanic..road call or not.
Their name is; A-Tech Services, 1321-B White Horse Road (exit 44 off I-85 then south 2 lights, on right), in Greenville. Phone number is 864-236-9997. They run 2 full shifts, until 10 PM, with 14 mechanics each shift. Their facility is the former service shop for Cranston Trucking..and has 5 full length service bays. Road service is operated 24 hours a day, with separate mechanics. They don't pull a mechanic out of the shop to make a road call.
I have used more shop's than I really would have liked, this last year and a half. These guy's have been the best I have run across, with reasonable shop rates, at $65.00 an hour, and quick service.
Just so ya know.