Accurate Automotive & Tire Warehouse

My first experience at Accurate Automotive was excellent! I had a set of new snow tires installed that are difficult to find. Prices on the tires were competitive. I’m happy to buy new tires from them. My repair experience was not as good — won’t be using for maintenance /​repair services, most likely.
The good:
— Reasonable pricing for most work
— Responsive front office, overall good communication
— Gives back to the local community (seriously, I think that’s great)
— Able to custom order just about any tire
— Loaner cars available
The not-​so-​good:
— Misdiagnosis was not handled gracefully (hopefully an isolated case)
— Did not complete diagnostic work before suggesting a costly repair
== Long version ==
When I went in for a mechanical repair, this experience wasn’t quite so positive. My radiator inlet failed catastrophically. I was about a mile from their location when the problem occurred, and since I was a previous customer, I decided to carefully (i.e. monitor the temp gauge like a maniac) drive there and make sure there wasn’t anything going on further than a bad radiator.
I dropped off the car and received a call the following morning — «car needs a new head gasket.» I ask how this conclusion was made and how they can prove it. «It’s definitely blown and you should authorize that we proceed to replace the gasket.» I was provided with a rough cost estimate, which sounded about right if I were to actually replace the gasket.
Hmm. I would have been totally fine authorizing further diagnostics. Not an expensive repair up front unless I’m really sure it’s needed.
Since a head gasket repair is costly (more than a grand) and my particular car model has extremely low head gasket failure rate, I asked how it was verified and stated that I’d prefer a conclusive test before proceeding. The response was a little bit less polite at this point, telling me that I drove the car to them overheating (which, while technically possible, I watched carefully to avoid this on the way over), therefore the head gasket is blown, and that performing the repair is the only way I can drive my car from their shop safely. The conversation continued with a statement about how further testing would cost more money and there might be head damage, which led to the topic of sourcing a replacement engine. Well — that escalated quickly, but at least they’re looking out for my safety. :)
To their credit: When cars blow a radiator, often it’s because they have lost coolant through a head gasket leak. If you drive on an overheated engine, lots of things can go bad quickly, and you are easily faced with the task of finding a new motor. I get that, and perhaps that’s the most common issue the shop sees with cars coming in with empty radiators. However, I’m less fine with doing all that if it’s unnecessary.
To wrap up, I declined the service, asked if I could have the car ready to tow away, and paid the diagnostic fee. The service notes state «vehicle overheating because of bad head gasket. Recommend chemical leak test to check integrity of engine.» (I believe those sentences should be in reverse order.) Since the car was stored around the back of the building where a tow truck can’t access, I asked the shop if it was safe for me to drive the car out to the tow truck. I was told «you drove it here overheating, getting it out of the driveway won’t make a difference.»
Ouch. Sorry, I was just checking to make sure — still looking out for customer safety and all, right?
I took my car to a different shop.
I was all set to bite the bullet for an engine swap. Because the other shop had a backlog of other engine work and the radiator needed to be replaced anyway, the other shop performed diagnostic work and everything turned out…
CLEAN. (well almost):
— Radiator pressure /​chemical test is good.
— Compression /​leakdown is good.
— Oil analysis is good.
— A bad fuel injector was replaced to get rid of a rough idle.
I’ve driven the car a few thousand more miles and gone through a second oil change. Still clean. Really, did I dodge a bullet? Seems so.
I’m still monitoring carefully, but for the time being the engine is running better than it ever has before and it did NOT need a new head gasket, nor a new engine.
I would have spent an incredible amount of money for no good reason had I taken their original diagnosis at face value, and I hope this was an honest mistake on the shop’s part.

Started to frequent this auto center about a year ago. They have done work on both my cars and its done expertly at very fair prices. They give good advice and always give you your options. They only use top notch parts and little things like alignments and balances are as good as I have ever experienced. They have clean new loaners for only $ 15 a day and accommodate my timing when planned out or short notice. Jill is awesome and Brian as well. I pass many other auto repair places to get there from Waltham but will still go to Accurate.

So I had to bring the car back to Accuarate a few times, because the same strut mount continued to snap. This latest time I called my local Dodge dealership and they said I have to use factory mounts only, no after market mounts. I called Accurate and explained. They said okay we will order the parts and call you when they’re in. After 3 weeks and a couple more calls nobody has called me back. I guess they got tired of me and don’t like to warranty their work. Is it really my fault that they as certified mechanics didn’t know about or ask Dodge about this? Honestly how many different mechanics do I have to pay before this gets done right. I’ll be paying top dollar for dealership repairs from now on and get it done right the first time.

They don’t warranty alignments unlike most every other shop in the country. Called to see if they would realign my steering wheel a couple of months after getting my alignment there and was told «No, not on alignments like that.»
I’m not sure what a regular alignment, aka «an alignment like that» means.
Go elsewhere to have your car serviced where shops warranty their work. Most shops that do alignments, like Sears, will warranty their work for 12 months.

They charged me $ 57 to tell me my good battery was bad.
My electrical system failed on 95 south at ~6PM. I had the car towed to Accurate Automotive since it was highly reviewed and close to where I broke down.
The next morning I called them to ask if they could look at it. They said yes and that there would be a $ 57 diagnostic fee that would be rolled into the cost if I had the work done there.
Shortly thereafter I received a call from them saying that my alternator wasn’t charging my battery and that they charged and tested my battery and it failed and would need to be replaced. To replace the battery, alternator, and alternator belt would be a little less than $ 800. Or maybe a little more than $ 800 its hard to remember. But it was in that ball park.
I bought my battery from Advance Auto less than 2 years ago and it was still in the free replacement period so I told them that I would be by to pick up the battery and would replace it myself. They were OK with that and the new total would be $ 580. So around $ 200 to replace a battery. That was my first real red flag.
So I took a long lunch break and drove from Beverly to Burlington to pick up my battery. I brought it to Advance Auto — it checks out fine. I then brought it back to the shop and they test it — it tests fine. They claim that when they previously tested it it read ~100 cold crank amps when currently (no pun intended) it was reading 587 out of 590 amps. So magically it gained 500 amps between the shop and the parts store.
If I hadn’t decided to do the battery myself they would have been perfectly happy to take my $ 200 and my good battery.
So I told them that I was not thrilled about having to pay for a diagnostic fee for a mis-​diagnosis. They said that since they had someone look at it and my alternator was most likely still broken (which I happen to agree with) I still owe them the money. I wasn’t happy about a diagnostic to to begin with since my regular garage and many others eat that cost but this really got my goat. I wanted the key back so I paid, but I will never go there again and am encouraging all of my friends and colleagues in the area to go elsewhere.
tl;dr: Got swindled out of $ 57 (could have been $ 200) for falsely telling me my battery was dead. I will never go back.

This place was amazing! VERY good prices … Excellent customer service! We spoke with Chris and he helped us step by step. Today we were only able to get a few things done but for the rest of the work we will be traveling the 30mins right back here. We got here and the brought us right in and explain in great detail everything our car needed. We initially were just going to get rid of the car because of all the issue but after working with Chris at accurate automotive we will be getting the needed work done and standing by our car! Thanks Accurate Automotive I will be sending more business your way!

Found this place on Unilocal,and couldn’t have been happier. The owner explained what he was charging me, and for what. He also suggested a couple things (maintenance stuff) that I might want to do later, but basically told me it wasn’t necessary any time soon. I was in school at the time, and basically broke — so I really appreciated not getting ripped off (like every other mechanic I had gone to).
Fair price, good service, and generally just nice people. I’m a fan!

I had my tires shipped here from TireRack to have them installed on my summer rims. I have had problems in the past with tire mounting because my wheels require the tires to be reverse mounted and a couple of them let out some air if a bead sealant is not used. I decided that since they are a recommended installer on TireRack that I would try them out and not even tell them what needs to be done and see how they do. The tires were installed with no problems and I think they also put sealant on the wheels that needed it and I did not even ask them to, they just knew, which means they checked for leaks before they gave them to me.
I have had the tires installed since March or April and I have not had to go back which is a good thing because it means there is no air escaping from my tires. I plan to come back to this place when I need an alignment done because I have run into problems with other places with alignments as well.

I’ve known Brian Hohmann since about 1988 when he was working as a mechanic for another garage. We would talk about what level of service that garage did and did not provide and how it could be improved. When Brian eventually started his own shop, I followed him there. I think that other garage might now be gone. Nevertheless, I’ve been a customer of Accurate ever since and they have maintained all my cars, new or used and I have been extremely happy with the results. Jill, Brian’s right-​hand gal, will always call me with the lowdown and sees the big picture. («Yeah, but if you don’t fix that brake light, the cops might stop you.») Chris is the other mechanic whom I deal with a lot because he’s in charge when Brian is not around. He’s always friendly and helpful. All the guys there are great and they’ll give me a ride or I can rent a car from Accurate as needed .
Brian was quite helpful lately when our very old «grandma» car died. I wasn’t in a position to buy a brand new car and so he patiently helped me by looking over a few used cars and ultimately assisting me in finding an extraordinary deal on one he had been maintaining. And this process of finding one went on for a couple of weeks. Brian’s a good guy too. But I don’t go there just for that reason. If he was a good guy but I didn’t like his service, I wouldn’t have been a customer of his for 25 years. I think I’m a reasonably savvy consumer and that longevity, a generation if you will, should tell you something right there.

Had my summer tires shipped here from TireRack and Rims from another CA Retailer. These guys were nice enough to store the tires until the rims arrived.
I am happy with the result. The rims were in perfect condition after the tires were mounted and balanced. They have a high end Hunter balance machine. My car feel very stable at any speed so I know the balance is spot on.
These guys are open late most weekdays until 8pm which helps with getting there after work. I will use again for my tire needs.
Highly recommend

These used to be great. Overpriced, not trustworthy. They told me I’d get a refund because they did not fix a problem. They decided to fix it instead… even though I told them not to.
And the loaner car they gave me HAD NO BRAKES! They almost killed me over a $ 600 misrepair… rather than honor their word to give me a refund!

I have been going to Accurate Automotive for years now, they have always been extremely helpful and honest when I need it most! It is always inconvenient and stressful to have to get your car fixed and they have have always made it as easy as possible for me. I won’t take my car anywhere else anymore at this point.

So when my car was kaput and the tow truck guy showed up to look at my car, he was kind enough to do some investigation and let me know that I had a broken shifter cable. I was desperate because it was a Sunday night and no one was open so I did some Googling and decided to go with Accurate Automotive since they were nearby. I called Accurate the next day to let them know what the issue was with the car. Although I already let them know the issue, (hell, even the tow truck guy knew my issue), they charged me $ 50 to inspect the vehicle.
They then proceeded to tell me that the total cost to fix it was $ 400+ because «a lot of labor was needed to take off certain parts to get to the cable» — even though I saw with my own eyes the tow truck guy reach into my engine in plain sight to show me the broken cable, and how easy it was to fix.
Because I’m always in horrible fear that I’m going to get ripped off by mechanics, I then called Hometown Garage for a quote, and the guy there, Herb (who’s fantastic — GO THERE FOR YOUR AUTO NEEDS) was like, «Yep, shifter cable… that should be about $ 175 total.» A savings of $ 200! Herb at Hometown told me later that he spotted Accurate’s estimate sitting on my passenger seat, and said that they were outrageously overcharging me, that there wasn’t much labor involved at all, and that they were charging me WAY OVER the standard recommended fees for my vehicle, etc.
As you can tell by now, I will NEVER go back to Accurate. If you take pride in not getting ripped off, stay FAR AWAY from Accurate Automotive.

I really wanted to like Accurate because they are so close to my house but my visit was such a disappointment that both my husband and I decided it was worth it to go further. First off, they charge 54 dollars to look at an «issue» whereas if I had taken it to the dealer, the charge would have been 42.50. Putting aside the fact that mechanics I used in Silicon Valley in CA didn’t charge to diagnose a problem, it baffles me that they would charge more than the dealer to diagnose a problem. It would have been helpful to tell customers *in advance* the amount they charge for diagnosing to save them for the unpleasant sticker shock when they pick up their cars. Given another garage in the vicinity charges 29 dollars to diagnose *several* problems instead of charging per item, I will accept that it is a Boston tradition for garages to charge for diagnosis but charging more than the dealer is a bit jaw-​dropping.
Furthermore, the prices they quoted were 15%-40% more than another mechanic on brakes and tires as well as parts inside the door.
To make my trip complete, after I was given my keys, I had no idea where my car was parked, and I had to walk around to their garage to the back to hunt for my car in pouring rain. It would have been nice to be told where the car was when I handed over the credit card slip after I signed.

I was stuck in Woburn, MA– about 3 hours from my home in Maine. My truck would not start. First my AAA tow guy Brian Hennesey who was himself courteous and a wealth of information recommended Accurate Automotive. I was bracing for spending an additional night and getting the usual «we’ll get to it when we can» runaround.
Jill and the team at Accurate Automotive said they’d fit me right in and if possible, they’d have me back on the road same day. They found the problem– turned out to be relatively simple and went right to it; and the price was reasonable.
I’d send anyone to Accurate without hesitation!

I had a horrible experience with these guys. Here is my story:
1. I got new 22″ custom forged 3-​piece wheels for my BMW X5
2. I purchased 4 new tires from these guys and scheduled an appointment for installation.
3. On the day of the install, they were unable to put the TPMS sensors on the wheels. I had to arrange a conference call between them and the wheel company. It took at least 10 minutes for the wheel company to make them understand ‘how to install TPMS on the wheels’!
4. Finally the tires were mounted, balanced and installed.
5. During the next few days I felt lot of vibrations on the steering and floor of the car.
6. I noticed that 3 of 4 tires were incorrectly mounted (front sidewall facing backward). I asked Brian@Accurate to correctly remount and rebalance the 3 wheels. He did it, test drove the car @90mph and told me that there were no vibrations.
7. Next few days, I tested thoroughly and the vibrations were even more now! Also, I noticed that they scratched badly the clear-​coat on one of the wheels!
8. I called Brian@Accurate, explained him my problem and he suggested me to ‘get new wheels’! I mean com’mon…you got to be kidding me! These were pricey custom made forged wheels, made specifically for my car! They were not purchased at eBay or a street side tire shop for cheap!
9. I went to a wheel repair shop to confirm if there was indeed a problem with the wheel (s). They told me that my wheels were prefect and they just need to be ‘balanced correctly’.
10. So this was a shocker! I went to a tire shop, had them balance all 4 wheels again and voila… this time everything was done perfectly and my car was as smooth as it should have been on Day 1.
11. I went to Brian@Accurate with the detailed balancing results of all 4 wheels. I had the balancing results that he provided to me and even a kid could compare the results and infer that these guys did not balance the wheels correctly. I mean after 2 iterations, still the balancing was imperfect?
12. I proved to Brian@Accurate that they did not do a good job and either they are not experts at handling big wheels or their balancing machine is crap. He had no answer to this and kept mum.
Brian, a humble suggestion for you… rename your repair shop from ‘Accurate’ to ‘Inaccurate’, because ‘Inaccurate’ is more accurate for you guys!
Advice to the reader: Please avoid this repair shop at all costs… go to any other shop, but NOT this one.