A-1 Lawnmower Shop & Mobile Repair

Took my 40 year old Yardman push mower in for sharpening and adjustment. It came back like new. Looks and cuts great. I’ve always mowed both directions for a good look. It wasn’t necessary after the repair. Call first and read his website.

Hard to give a favorable review, needed work on a lawnmower. Called and left message for callback and quote and never got the call back.

unknown

failure

It took a little while to get the mower back but service and everything else was very good. I plan on calling him again this year.

First the summary. A-1 Lawnmower replaced the cylinder head, head gasket, and sharpened the blade, all for $30.50!!!! But it took two and a half months. The problem was that my 15-year-old Toro GTS2 was working fine last fall but would not start the first time I tried it this spring. When I removed the spark plug to vent the chamber, a thin coil of metal came out also, which had apparently been put in during a previous repair. When I re-inserted the plug it fit loosely, so there was no compression, and I could not find a product to fix it myself. I found A-1in Angie's List. The owner runs it out of his home on Cully Blvd. There is no receptionist, so if ringing the doorbell doesn't raise anybody, he is probably out back working, so a sign on the door tells you what phone number to call. (It might help if the owner were to install an intercom at his front door to connect to his shop.) I had my cell phone, so called him and he came to the door. I described the problem and he immediately said that replacing the head was the best solution. I was surprised how little it would cost, because I knew what a similar operation would cost for my car. I found the owner to be very polite and knowledgable. The work took a long time to complete. I originally took it in on May 14 and told him that speed was not essential because I had a manual mower I could use in the meantime. I called a couple of times and he said the delay was getting the correct head gasket, because his supplier kept sending him the wrong one. Understandable, I guess, for a mower that old. He called July 22, saying the mower was ready. I went to pick it up the next day, and realized I should have called first, because he was just about to leave to pick up a part. But he had his assistant bring out the mower and demonstrate the repair by starting it up. I paid cash and they helped me load it into my car. In conclusion I would definitely recommend them for their technical competence, price, and friendliness, but their informal business setup requires some customer patience. I'm not sure if work might have been completed sooner if I had expressed a greater sense of urgency.

unknown

I was looking for a lawn mower repair place in my area and through Angie's list, found this wonderful fellow, Patrick. He said he'd grown up around his dad's lawn mower business, and watched and learned. Now the business is his and my, does he do it right! I've read other reviews on him and it is rave reviews all the way!!! My job was simple - I have an electric mower, so needed only the blade sharpened. His price was very reasonable. He charged me $12 and even ground out 2 large chips in the blade. He cleaned my mower real pretty, too. I didn't expect that. Patrick works out of his home in a workshop behind his house. I think it's the house he grew up in. When I went to get my mower, it was kind of amazing. I was maybe 3 blocks from his house and getting off work time. There went one vehicle after another, all bearing a lawn mower! In looking for his business, I stopped at an auto painting place. and quot;Oh, he's just down the road here...... Can you see that house down there with a really huge yard?and quot; (Patrick has a double lot.) He said that every year in early Spring like this, he must give directions to at least 4 customers a day. He said it's amazing how many cars take their mowers to him. and quot;He must be doing something right!and quot; the painter said. From the driveway of the auto paint shop, I think I counted 4 just while waiting to turn onto that street! When I arrived, there were more vehicles there, with folks picking their mower up! Clearly, this man has a reputation. I'm going on like this because this fellow, partly from reading other reviews on the internet, and partly from my own experience, strikes me as someone from another era. He doesn't complicate things, he uses paper and pencil or ink, instead of a computer (for the things I observed), he looks at what's needed and does it, and charges the least he can(!) (Several people have commented how very much less he has charged compared to his estimate!) He comes out, greets you, helps lift the mower down, and is just a good old nice, honest, sweet guy! That doesn't sound so amazing, but he has a different feel about him that is very wholesome and uncorrupted. His last comment to me, and quot;I better get going. I think I hit 45 today.and quot; and quot;Forty-five?and quot; I asked. and quot;Yeh, I got 45 mowers out back! Got my work cut out! Bye now. Thanks for stopping by.and quot;