Gene’s Auto Repair

Went to Gene’s Auto Repair today because the dealership did not have any technicians available. Very glad I discovered him! We received EXCELLENT service and pricing, and the repairs were completed on the same day. Highly recommended!

TL;DR
zero stars. A Nightmare on 32^nd Street ! my experience with Gene’s Auto was horrific. find a different shop.
REVIEW:
i’m a «weekend-​mechanic» and enjoy working on my cars, though now i opt to call a shop if i don’t have time or if the repairs require special tools. this time i needed some help with my air conditioning and didn’t want to mess with it. i had read the good reviews (and bad) plus noted some other good points about Gene’s, so i called to make an appointment.
BOTTOM LINE IS THIS:
i took my car in to get fixed, … that’s F-​I-​X-​E-​D — drive in with problem, drive out without problem. easy.
however at the end of the day i paid Gene’s Auto 250 $ and left the parking lot with a vehicle in the same condition as i initially left it — my A/​C didn’t work. on top of that, they had my car for 8 hours and *never even looked for the actual issue* though they did all of the prep-​work to do so. how do i know that they didn’t look for the leak? … because they told me.
15 min after leaving the parking lot, i got home and called to tell them my A/​C didn’t work at all. after the unconcerned «i guess it all [refrigerant] already leaked out», i was told to bring it in the next day so they could search for the leak.
i never returned because that night, as i researched A/​C systems, UV-​dyed refrigerant, and watched dozens of videos of mechanics doing A/​C repair work, i realized that they really did nothing reasonable to fix or *even troubleshoot my car*.
basically the work they did would be considered *part* of the troubleshooting phase, not anything close to «we’re done, give back to customer». lastly, i feel that the labor cost was over-​charged by about double.
BRO, NEED MORE DEETS:
* they FULLY charged my A/​C system with 32 oz of refrigerant, even with a good assumption that the issue was a result of a leak. i found this quote online from a mechanic (emphasis mine):
«The a/​c does not consume refrigerant, if it is low, then it has a leak. **A shop will not likely recharge without fixing the leak.**»
Gene’s Auto didn’t get that memo; instead figured the best approach was to vacuum/​fully charge my system and give my keys back.
most of the videos i watched showed non-​working A/​C systems being charged *just enough* to get refrigerant flowing so the leak *can be found*. reason being, what is put in will leak out, so waste as little as possible and «because it’s a waste of the customers money» (from a video). «just enough» is not a full 32 oz charge.
(oh, that and it’s a federal offense to dump the old-​style refrigerant into the atmosphere. i’m sure the new R134a has similar restrictions… oops! buh bye, 32 oz)
* i learned UV dye is used mainly *as a troubleshooting tool* to find leaks. once found, then you know the REPAIRS to be made, so it’s really the first steps. my A/​C leak was so bad that the refrigerant charge was gone by the time i drove away (within 2 – 3 hours of charge?). without a doubt, that size of leak would have been found had anyone even attempted to look.
* troubleshooting A/​C consists of — 1. vacuum, 2. charge, 3. look for leaks. vacuuming can take time (15−60+ min, more doesn’t hurt), but you can turn on the machine and *leave it* to go do other things, so hook up and go. charging can be done in two ways, and even the slow method is relatively quick. looking for leaks involves simply shining a UV light over the various parts of the A/​C system looking for the glowing dye.
in total they billed approx 1.75 hours of work. based on the videos (ALL around 10 min long), my time estimate to do this is about 45 minutes of *actual work* for pros. and yet, in the extra hour (over my estimate) they billed, they never actually looked for the source of the leak !
* later that evening i purchased a $ 10 keychain UV light so that *i* could hunt for the leak myself (and verify that *some* UV dye refrigerant was put in my car). guess what… i found the leak within 5 minutes ! (see the photo)
* i also checked the price of the tools — the vacuum, gauges and refrigerant cost ~160 $ via Amazon Prime. the work itself would be about 1 hour of my time, so i would have easily saved money and time just by doing it myself. (esp consider the time to leave/​get your car two days in a row)
CLOSING:
how could this happen? two possibilities either 1. they don’t know what they’re doing or 2. they overcharge and scam customers when they can.
based on the good reviews, apparently there are those who have had a good experience with Gene’s. i’d say to brave, future customers, maybe things would have been different had my work involved «tangible» parts (eg, brake pads). i’d advise to be *very* wary of any work done, maybe even take the time to know what’s involved. i know they’ll never touch my car again.
ps, i spoke with Zach exclusively during this ordeal — a cordial enough fellow, but realize he’s not going to win any awards for customer service. just sayin’.

Took our 2005 Toyota Sequoia here for the first time the other week. They were able to fix a problem with our brakes that our prior mechanic had misdiagnosed. Good service, great communication and seemed like fair pricing. I will definitely be back.

I so much appreciate this place! I was quoted $ 800 in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and they were able to fix it for under $ 200. This was huge to me. They are also helpful in setting up you up with a loner car if they have one available– which makes a world of difference!

Integrity, Honesty and they work on Mercedes!

Read some good reviews so I decided to try this place. They quoted me $ 700 to replace the thermostat in my VW GTI– $ 350 labor and $ 350 parts. I called the dealership and the part was $ 30. Then with limited mechanical know-​how, I went home and replaced the little thing on my own!
Zach, in the office at Gene’s, wouldn’t hear me out when I was explaining the car’s issue and when I asked why the price was so high, he told me in a very annoyed way that I could call around and no one would be cheaper. The dealer quoted me $ 300 altogether.
After writing the review, the owner called several times to express his frustration and to tell me I was incorrect about the estimate. I was clear on the price I was quoted. Had it been for less, I would have gone through with it. Note his snarky response to my review below. He asked me to remove this review but you all really ought to know.

A friend of mine referred me to Gene’s and I have to say WHAT AN AMAZING GROUP OF PEOPLE! Far too many repair shops only care about money. But at Gene’s, they care about service and their customers.
They are truly honest, knowledgeable, affordable and enjoy what they do. They guarantee their work and will guide you through any concerns you have about your vehicle.
I will be referring everyone I know!

They’ve done a great job with my wife’s Jeep. Fair price and able to get to it quickly. I’ll be back.

Took my jeep in to get a knocking sound looked at. The mechanics here told me my shocks were broken and needed replacement; 1k for all four or 500 $ for the rear. I looked at the shocks myself and found the shock slipped off the bushing. New bushing = $ 5.99. Easy repair. I’d take my business elsewhere.

I am new in town and Gene’s had good reviews. Friendly service and they finished earlier than promised. Then they called to say it was finished. I would recommend.

I moved to Boulder about 6 months ago and was so lucky to find this amazing shop! After the honda dealership overestimated the damage to my car, I brought it to Gene’s who fixed it quickly and spent a great deal of time explaining everything to me. I will not take my SUV anywhere else.

Amazing customer service and much less expensive than the dealership!

This is by far the most honest auto mechanic I have ever been to. Had my thermostat replaced in my Jeep Liberty by Jason after my Jeep overheated. He replaced it at a very fair rate and had it done in a day. My check engine light came on a week later with the same codes and Jason had me bring it by, he examined the car again and found the issue (a different one-​temp sensor), and fixed it. Gene’s is a very reliable shop and Jason and crew truly have a passion for what they do. I highly recommend Gene’s.

Jason is very committed to quality workmanship and service. I had an intermittent problem which was very difficult to diagnose on my 1997 Jeep Cherokee. Jason and his staff worked hard to determine the issue, but had to take a ‘best guess’ because it couldn’t reliably be reproduced. $ 450. The problem worsened a few months later and at that time they were able to truly determine the cause. Unfortunately, it was another $ 900 repair — which I was hesitant to invest given the previous $ 450 repair. Jason went above and beyond in his customer service working with me on the charges. I very much appreciated his willingness to satisfy his customer and will happily recommend Gene’s Auto Repair to future customers.

Just got my oil changed here since my husband didn’t have time and I was overdue. The plus was they could get me in the same day which was nice. When I asked what brand oil they use the lady on the phone says «5 – 30 or mobil1» like 5 – 30 is a brand. She then proceeds to tell me she puts in the VIN to determine which oil they use so I was thinking, ok maybe they don’t offer mobil1 in certain weight oils. FYI they use Napa oil or mobil1. I wasn’t given the option of Mobil1 so I got Napa which in my opinion is subpar and would have paid extra if given the option. I will say that the oil change for synthetic was a good price ($ 52) but you get what you pay for which is generic oil. They did try to up sell me on somethings that needed to be done on my car and I’m not sure if they have good rates or not since we typically do our own work. They told me they recommended replacing the battery clamps (they do need to be replaced) but first they said they would replace the cables then when I asked they were just going to replace the clamps which is a big difference in price so I do think it would have been over priced. Then, when I go to pick up my car they inform me that I could’ve gotten mobil1 but it’s more expensive (duh). Basically, if you go to this place be very informed and very clear about what you want because the person you are talking to will likely be neither of those things.

We are traveling through Boulder and needed help. These guys understood and agreed to push aside some other business to help us out. They did and in a few hours were on our way. The price was right too. Highly recommend!

I had my alternator blow out in boulder on my way to CA. These guys got it replaced the same day, staying late to complete it. when I got on the road again and saw the battery light come on wheni downshifted and the rpms went above 4500. I called them, he came back from his house to figure out what was going on at 6:30. After some investigation and online research he figured out there was a problem with the voltage regulator connection, and tweaked the pins on the connector to get a better connection. problem solved in about 30 minutes. For an out of town customer that was obviously not going to be repeat business I thought this was both exceptional service and evidence of a good mechanic.