Chan Foreign Car

Time to write a review… been going here for the last two years or so bringing in a 1995 Nissan Quest and a 2004 4Runner. We had quotes from other Auto shops up to $ 1000 or more for what has been fixed for a couple hundred dollars at Chan Auto. They are great at getting the real problem properly and quickly diagnosed and not replacing more than what is needed. In my many years of dealing with different auto repair shops, this one clearly stands out as the best, most honest and reputable place to have work done on my vehicles.

Service with a smile.
I was referred to Chan Foreign Car by my mechanic up in Maine. He reported that many of his customers that moved out this way had rave reviews of this garage.
I have stopped into Chan on several occasions mostly for questions or minor concerns with my car (Yes, embarrassing things like can you replace my side mirror I just bashed into the parking structure of the car I still have temporary plates on).
Most recently I went in to have my windshield wipers replaced. The staff was happy to pull my car into their garage and take a look right away (I had no appointment). As it turns out my wipers were good and I just needed to Windex the outside and inside of my windshield as it was somehow greasy (yes, another embarrassing visit).
I was charged nothing and left happy knowing that my windshield wipers were safe and ok. I honestly don’t know if another repair shop would have been as honest.
I of course made sure to buy a candy bar and some windshield wiper fluid (some that doesn’t freeze) to show my appreciation.

We’ve been getting our Toyotas (currently Highlander and Tacoma) serviced at Chan’s since 1994. This is a family owned business and their service standards are exceptionally high, we have trusted them since our first visit. On more than one occasion they have gone out of their way to help us out when we were in true binds. The last time I was in, I was given plants for our garden. How awesome is that?
From oil changes to timing belts to new starters, I wouldn’t consider any other mechanic in Boulder.

Chan has worked on my 2002 Volvo S60 several times. The service has always been great. Several times they were very frank about certain issues with didn’t need to be fixed immediately.
This last time, I took the car in because I could smell gas. Debbie told me there was a recall on the fuel pump and told me where to go get it fixed for free. They are awesome. Awesome awesome. Highly recommend.

If you are looking for a shop to do very basic work for low cost then this is not a bad place. They are cheap and have a pretty good turnaround on vehicles. Unfortunately they are not experts. I took my 95 4runner in there to be worked on and they proved to be largely incompetent. I am not an expert mechanic, but I have always done a lot of the work on my own cars. When I took my car there I was trying to figure out why my car was running rich (burning too much fuel). As a non-​expert I knew some of the probably causes, but wanted to have a toyota specialist take a look. Chans basically worked on it for a couple of days and told me they did not know what could be the matter and they wouldn’t work on it any longer. When I questioned them about whether they had checked some of the things that I knew to be prime suspects they said they had not. I was pretty blow away that a toyota repair shop would not be able to diagnose a pretty common problem. Sure enough after taking it to another shop they were able to diagnose the problem in a day or so. Seems like chans is the kind of place that is very good at plugging in the diagnostic computer and replacing parts in accordance with their diagnostic codes. Unfortunately they have very little actual automotive knowledge and should not be trusted outside of your basic oil or filter changes.

I have been going to Chan’s since 1986, so it is time for me to write a review! I am not in the habit of writing reviews, but this place deserves my review. The people, their work, and their car advice have been terrific for me and my family. They are working on my seventh 240 Volvo that I have owned or do own at present. They have kept my Volvos (and my daughters’ Volvos) going for hundreds of thousands of miles. Over the 27 years that I have going to them, they have been totally trustworthy and very good mechanics. They explain what needs to be done carefully. They explain to me what I need to fix immediately and what I can wait a little on. Their work is excellent and they stand by it 100%. I have driven my 20 year-​old 240s with confidence all over the country without problems. They know what they are doing! They are fair in what they charge, and they can fix anything I have thrown at them. I know all of the staff personally and they know me and my family. They work quickly and competently. Really, I feel like they are a blessing to me! They are my friends. Honest, skilled, dependable, reasonable, understanding, and the best! Contact me if you want specific examples.

I went to Chan Foreign Car for my oil changes for the last year or so, and this last time, I was unable to get over there and went to another place in Longmont instead. I was then informed that the people at Chan’s who changed my oil last (around February 2012), stripped my oil plug threads. I will now need to buy a new oil pan, which of course is only available at the dealership. This means $$$ out of my pocket, as a result of poor attention to detail on Chan’s part.
I also wasn’t going to post this, until the oil plug incident, but my car was also scratched (2 in scratch) by their technicians when I left it there once.
So, yeah. I’m not too happy with their service. And what’s with itemizing windshield washer fluid?! Just include it in the price of the oil change!
Not cool, Chan, not cool.

Wow! The staff at Chan Foreign car are awesome! I always suspect some form of dishonesty from a car repair joint. Not at Chan’s! I cannot sing their accolades enough! I brought in a long list of things I thought my car needed, not only did they have the best prices but they expressed the sort of honesty I might expect from a family member. Even when they are busy they make sure that when it is your turn they pay attention to you and listen to everything you are saying. I am consistently impressed by the quality of their service and the reasonable prices. The only drawback I can note is that they do not work on all types of cars. If you own a make that they work on I guarantee Chan’s outstanding service will not disappoint.

Chan Foreign Car has been servicing my Volvo S80 (a LEMON I bought used from Pederson Volvo in Fort Collins) for over a year. I admit it. I have a huge crush on Debbie. She knows cars and has been great about keeping my car going in spite of ALL THE PROBLEMS it came with.
I agree with the other comments regarding their desire to save you money. Sometimes they need to be asked to fix something regardless of their recommendation to let it go for a while. With my lemon, this was with a bad circuit board ($ 1000!!!). They tried to do some fiddling and patches to save me that expense, but unfortunately, the real fix was replacing the board. :(
The people are honest and go above and beyond to save you from unnecessary repairs. I also appreciate the relationship they established with me. It feels good to go in and have them remember my name and all the details of my car. I highly recommend them.

I thought I had reviewed Chan already! What’s wrong with me? They are awesome and I wish I could still take my car there, but I moved to another state.
When we bought our car, they were the mechanics we took it to for inspection. Debbie was not thrilled with us for buying a Mazda instead of a Honda or Toyota, and made it known, but she still deigned to accept the car into the shop for repair.
Like other reviewers have said, they will never fix anything that doesn’t need to be fixed.
We had a loose bar in the front of our car that rattled when going over bumps. «Could fix it,» they said, shrugging. «90 dollars. Don’t need to do it though.»
We also had a plastic thing on the front bumper that kept getting caught on curbs and concrete parking bumpers. They fixed it once with staples. The second time, «We’re just going to cut it off — you don’t need it and you’re just going to keep tearing it if we keep fixing it.» That time they did it for free — and that’s when they knew we were moving in a week, so they definitely didn’t do it for the repeat business.
Every time they quoted us for something, it ended up being cheaper than the quote.
And when they couldn’t figure out something, they admitted it. I drove around with Ming in the car to replicate the squeaking noise in our back brake. He couldn’t place it. He didn’t just make up something — he said he couldn’t place it.
It’s been squeaking for a year to no ill effect, so I guess it doesn’t matter!

Super Nice, Honest, and Accommodating.
Cheaper than Larry Miller Boulder Toyota dealership for the service items I priced on my Tacoma.
Would recommend to anyone who has a Toyota, Volvo, or Subaru.
Here’s their web site:
Glad to support a local, independent business :-)

Chan’s is almost TOO good at saving you money. They are super honest. They will tell you only what you really need done, and nothing more, and charge you a fair price. However, they may try a little too hard to save you money– resulting in more expensive repairs later. This happened with me when they said I could get away with not changing my timing belt for a while longer. WHOOPS. That car went straight to the junkyard when the belt snapped a week later!
I still go to chans though when I know I need something done.

HONEST. Cheap! Great mechanics, never had an issue here & been using them for three years now. Treat your car like their own, meaning that they won’t waste your money on stuff that doesn’t really need doing. They even tell me that my brakes don’t need work yet, but to bring it back in a year, a year later it’s hey, they’re still good, let’s go another few months or few thousand miles.
If you’re not lucky enough to have an import, they also know the other good mechanics in town – my wife bought a jeep & though they couldn’t work on it, they recommended someone else like them.

New to the Boulder area, my girlfriend and I were worried about finding a trustworthy new mechanic. Long story short, we found one! They explained the problem to us, charged less than we expected to pay, fixed the problem quickly, and did this all without making us feel as if we were being taken advantage of. Wing and Ming (not kidding, seriously their names,) did a cracker jack job. The ‘maintanence required light is off’ and the squeaky noise is gone.
We’d definitely go back.

These guys are great… when I bought my toyota corolla they were real helpful and honest with telling me what I needed to fix.
No fibbing just to make your money, and prices are lower than many other places.

Great service on my Toyota Avalon at 100k miles. Did the whole job for a couple hundred less than quoted by other shops and did a great job.
I had a couple other nagging issues (engine light and light bulb light) that had been torturing me and I had been unable to get resolved. They fixed them first time through. Such a relief to get rid of those annoying waring lights.

Honest and friendly service for Toyotas. You can see Lexus owners dropping their cars off along with Corolla owners.