Arcata Lube

Had an apt for 12 said would be done by 1 and didnt get around to it until 3. Also tried putting non synthetic in my wrx. I believe they stalled the car twice pulling it out. When i asked if they put full synthetic they replied that all of their oils are semi synthetic and it should be fine. My car has 180k. They also took the sticker off that said fully synthetic and still put low grade oil in it. I thought this should be common sense for mechanics. On the bright side they changed it right away at no charge. I guess just be more specific when going here. Granted they were pretty busy. But be warned you don’t drive away with oil that isn’t standard to your vehicle !

Simply put, I’ve never had better customer service. You can’t go wrong with this place!
But let me help put things into perspective…
Our pregnant daughter calls us on a Sunday and says, «I think today’s the day», and next thing we know we’re off to Arcata!
Driving from Sacramento (about a 6-​hour drive), we hear a sound that just keeps getting worse and worse. At this point, we’re determined to make it up there, so we keep going. This was the best decision ever… we get into Arcata just when our daughter is heading to the hospital. And three hours later we’re welcoming a beautiful new addition to the family!
But now we need to figure out what’s going on with our Suburban.
After a long night at the hospital, I drive by 2 auto shops. One was filled with broken down cars, and the 2 guys working in the garage weren’t very friendly. At the 2^nd shop, the mechanic is nice, but after listening to the situation he says there is no way he can look at the vehicle until Friday.
Hoping that 3^rd time really is a charm, I drive to the next shop… which just happens to be Arcata Lube Zone.
Pulling up to the shop, the guys in the shop are busy but happy to listen to what’s going on. They say if I can leave the vehicle, they would be able to take a look at it ASAP. I ask about getting a cab and Butch, who introduces himself as the owner, says he’d be happy to get me where I need to go.
Are you kidding me? The owner is offering to give me a ride? You don’t get this service every day!
About an hour later I was called with the news… the rear differential needs to be rebuilt. It wasn’t the best news I was hoping for, but Butch said that he could have the parts overnighted, and he would do everything possible to make sure our Suburban was ready the next day.
The next day Butch calls, says everything looks good and asks if I need a ride to the shop!
Needless to say, Butch and Arcata Lube Zone EXCEEDED my expectations. The Suburban was fixed at the price quoted, and we were off to pick up our granddaughter at the hospital that afternoon.
Since the experience, I’ve told this story a dozen times. I often hear «well that’s just how Arcata is», but I disagree. Arcata is a great place, but it’s people like Butch and his team that make it so. Thanks guys!

This is the mechanic that I recommend to everyone. His prices are decent and the work the shop does is great.
I’ve been to mechanics previously that push you to get all of the work done that day — we’re young adults, we came in for an oil change, we’re not prepared to pay $ 1500 for some other repair. At this shop, Butch will let you know if he finds other work needing to be done and let you know how much of a priority it is, but he isn’t pushy about it. There’s been a couple times that he straight up told us not to bother with a pricey repair because our car was headed downhill and there was no point in sinking more money into it.
Plus, it’s always pretty easy to get an appointment. We’ve gotten a same day oil change before!

This business stands behind what they do! On top of that, they are honest and fast! I will always bring my vehicles in to the Lube Zone to take care of both oil changes and all preventative maintenance.

Oil changes have always been convenient and efficient, especially since their price includes fluid refills, etc. We’ve taken our cars there for over two years now.
However, we will not be going back after last week’s experience. My car was experiencing some brake shudder and I needed to drive to Medford the next day. I scheduled the oil change and told the desk person about the brake shudder. She said it might be the rotors, and they would take a look at it. A few hours later, I picked up my car and they told me it was good to go. I was surprised, but hey! They’re the experts!
I left for Medford next day, and the brakes were SCARY shuddery on Hwy 199. Turns out the rotors DO need resurfacing, but no one actually bothered check them. Miscommunications in repair shops can have serious consequences — these people need to be more careful.

Good for an oil change but only an oil change.

This place was my worst mechanic nightmare. What I thought was a wheel balance, they said, was probably a front end alignment, about $ 80. After they looked at the car, they said «Nope», it was a tie-​rod, around $ 300. When they got it to replace the tie-​rod end, they talked me into changing the oil cover gaskets for another $ 270. When I returned, the tie-​rod end turn into ” … it’s not the tie-​rod. It’s actually the entire steering rack, about $ 640.” Afterwards, I discovered that they ONLY changed one of two gaskets yet charged me full price. I know this because one of the oil cover gaskets was new and blue, the other black and covered in road grime and one of the bolts that would have had to be removed was STILL covered in road grime and never touched. I also found a loose clamp and a VERY cracked vacuum hose that the mechanic should have seen and replaced, had he actually done the work. Even after I showed Butch all the evidence, he became VERY pissed and said he was ” … only refunding my money to get me the hell out of his shop … ” He said that I was trying to get something for nothing. NICE CUSTOMER SERVICE (sarcasm) OH! And they ALSO discovered that one of my motor mounts is broken. Now, I KNOW what a broken motor mount feels like and this car didn’t shutter like one was broken. I was going to wait and have someone else take a look, to confirm my suspicions, but I just found out that my transmission dipstick is missing, pissing me off again, and prompting me to write this. Someone rated this review as «funny». I’d bet they work at Arcata Lube.

They are awesome. I went in for an oil change and they found that the previous mechanics from a cheap shop in Eureka used an air filter that was so cheap it had been shreeded by normal use. They replaced it and the total charge for the air filter and oil change was just $ 60. I’ll definitely be coming back for any service they offer that I need done.

Recently my husband and I had to move from Arcata to the Bay Area, and leave our favorite spot for oil changes. I appreciated Butch, his wife, and daughter Alyssa. They were always very helpful, explained my cars problems in simple terms, and have great rates. In response to the other reviewer who said they are «pricey» for an oil change and all the other great stuff included in the cost, they are actually a great deal at $ 45! In the Bay Area it costs $ 75 bucks for nothing but a quick oil change.
Highly recommend going here for all of your cars basic needs :)

I have been taking my car to Lube Zone for a couple of years now. Every experience I’ve had has been positive. They are not only good at what they do but are honest and courteous too. I have found them to be very accommodating, their work is completed timely, and they truly stand behind their work. Thank you Lube Zone!

Very unprofessional place.
I came here to get an oil change — costing $ 41 which includes all the normal stuff like vacuuming inside the car. After they were done, I drove a few miles back to my apartment before I noticed that they had never vacuumed my car. If I had to pay that much, I should get the full and entire service.
Well, that night, my check engine light came on when I drove into town so I decided I would take my car back into the shop in the morning.
At 8am, I called to ask if I could come in. The guy said I could come in ASAP. When I got there, I brought up that my car was never vacuumed but he refused to do anything about it. Then, after 3 times of him running the code on my car to see why the check engine light was on and not knowing what to do he finally got help from the manager who tried to tell me that I needed to come in later and pay for a check up to see what was wrong. I told him no and repeated the situation again so then he went out to check my car himself.
After a quick look through, the manager turns on my car, drives by where I’m sitting outside the shop and yells at me out the window, «I’m going to take it out on a test drive.» and drives out of the lot without my permission. Before I have a chance to say anything, he majorly scrapes my low-​hanging front bumper on the driveway and completely cracks my bumper in two places! But of course I can’t ‘prove’ he was the one that did it.
Upon returning to the lot, he says he doesn’t know what’s wrong and that if I want a more precise answer I’ll have to make an appointment, come in later, and pay for it all.
I will NEVER come here again and I am telling everyone I know in the area about my horrible experience here.

I have been taking both my vehicles to Lube Zone for a few years. They began as just the most local option for an oil change, but they have become my go to mechanic of choice as well. The are friendly and capable, but my favorite thing about them is that they are fast. So many local mechanics are good at what they do, but it is so easy to get ‘back burnered’ and one day stretches into three and five all the time. I used to joke about mechanic time being different than real time, watching tomorrow turn into next week– but not so with these guys.
I drive a couple of older cars, and they have done plenty of jobs on them. They are always happy to tell me when something is unnecessary to fix on an older car– a mark of honesty. Also, a couple of times, the repair didn’t work due to a faulty part, and they were happy to fix the fix for free. I just wanted to give a shout to this fine and honest shop.

I was selling a car and a possible buyer took it there to have it checked. Their diagnosis was that the pump of the power stealing wheel was licking and that its tank almost empty… they may know about car but not about Subaru. I took my Subaru to the dealer, whom know about Subaru that’s obvious, and they said that the gasket had to be replaced and nothing was wrong with the other part.
And they added that my tires were used (?)…you can imagine I didn’t make the deal, what it turn out better because the dealer bought it and at a higher value that what I expected.

Fast service, great care! I went in because I found a screw embedded in my tire. The mechanics at the shop had me fixed and ready to go within 10 minutes. Before I drove away, one of them wanted to just check my oil level quickly because he said it sounded dangerously low. Sure enough, there was basically no oil in the car! He filled it up for me on the spot, checked it again, and sent me on my way. Thanks for for the great service and genuine care! I will definitely be back again.

I called Arcata Lube after my oil lamp went on. The consistent beeping from my car wouldn’t stop so I took my car over to Arcata Lube to have it serviced.
They were prompt, reasonable, and knowledgeable. The cashier was friendly and he made waiting for my car bearable. I’ll most likely get my oil changed here again.
Also good to note — new owners.

Talk about poor customer service. I came in for an oil change, and I asked the person at the front counter if they could switch my two front tires (left and right), never mentioning rotating all my tires, as i have good new tires in back. The person at the counter could have said no, we can’t do that here and it would have been fine. But they said yes. So when I come back, my tires are rotated, with my brand new good tires in the front. On my rear wheel drive truck. I think wow, thats funny, why would they do that. Well, no biggy, just a misunderstanding, I’ll just ask them to switch it back, (which should take all of about 10 minutes). Well, it’s 330 on friday and I guess they’d rather go home early rather than fix my wheels. They tell me to come back on monday. Kinda irritated but oh well. Come Monday, I come in and they want to charge me to put my wheels back where they were, and wont refund me for the rotation that I never wanted. Great. I was really surprised that they wanted me to pay them for their mistake, I definately wont be going there again. There are plenty of other shops in the neighborhood who care about their customers alot more.

These folks have helped me out with basic tune up and services several times. Both times I just walked in and they got to work right away. Prices seemed fair and I could not have hoped for better walk in service.