Kellenberger Auto Service

My compressor needed it to be replaced. I went to Firestone and they told me it will cost $ 2200 to fix it. I went to Kellenberger and they offered the same service for half the price. The service was great and efficient.

Fantastic family owned business. Everyone looks for a quality, honest place for car maintenance. I can say I have found one in Kellenberger.

Brought a «certified «car we were looking to buy here. Carlton was very friendly & helpful. The staff was quick to take the car back & did a through inspection. The staff located two issues (differential piñon seal seeping & power steering rack boot leak) that was not found on the dealers 160 point inspection. The $ 79 we spend to get the car check out with Kellerburger saved us thousands. We cannot thank the entire staff at Kellenburger enough & recommend them highly.

Was told after spending almost $ 1,900 on repairs I had to immediately return to have my thermostat housing redone. Saying it was a faulty part. After a couple days i was called saying it was done, but was told I needed a new radiator for $ 500. Robbery I say. I declined their offer over the phone and when I got home my brakes went out. Blew a line. Strange, second time I’ve had my brakes go out after declining one of their offers. Oh, by the way; saved myself $ 500 by closing my radiator cap!

I was so impressed with the service and help received on our emergency stop here! Our tire was flat and we really appreciated the quick help!

So helpful and knowledgeable. Reasonable pricing. They worked hard to find a used engine for my car and saved me from having to buy a new car. They kept me posted through the entire process. I will continue to have my car serviced with them. It’s been more than a year and car is running great.

I had several issues with my vehicle. While it was being diagnosed, I received phone calls with each update with recommended options and repairs were completed immediately at my direction. I was given fair recommendations at more than fair prices. The one expensive repair they didn’t do was because they told me it was likely my kind of car would have recurrent issues and I’ve decided to sell instead. I appreciated such honesty and will use them again for all future repairs, even routine maintenance.

Kellenberger Auto does three things very well: High quality auto service, trustworthy auto service, and affordable auto service. i’ve had my car in here twice, once for a rear mirror replacement and another for an issue starting my car that came down to the battery. The guys at the front-​desk are polite and do an excellent job talking you through the process.

Been in 3 times in the past month with different vehicles and always get top notch, professional and personalized service. This place is also very reasonably priced and most importantly, HONEST! For your next service or mechanical issue, try this place, you’ll love them too!

Highly reputable, well run community establishment. They did a pre-​purchase inspection for us and they were extremely professional and thorough. We were very satisfied. We left wishing we could work with them every time we needed auto service. Thanks, Kellenberger.

My car broke down midway from Bloomington Indiana to Minneapolis and I was stranded on top of the Fox River bridge. Called one mechanic who was not able to take my car, but recommended these guys. Took it in and good things happened.
At this point the mechanics COULD HAVE told me all kinds of stories about what needed to be done since the engine died and would start for a few seconds before dying again.
This kind of thing a sleazy person would love to get their hands to rake in the money for diagnosing and «fixing» the problem.
Not the case here, being the honest people that they are, they diagnosed the problem and fixed it within hours.
I made it to Minnesota that same day.
Problem: Mass Air Flow System sensor got dirty and needed cleaning.
Thanks dudes.

Kellenberger has been my primary automotive shop for 3 years now, I have been to many others including working at one thru college. I can say that the Kellenbergers are straight shooters that have a decent price. I know when they tell me something is broken it is, in fact they have told me that things are fine more then they have said something is broken. It takes time to find a mechanic you can trust, and that is just what they have my trust. I routinely drop my car off on a Thursday night in the key drop box and have a call around noon with the diagnosis and a price estimate. Don’t hesitate to use them, you wont be disappointed.

So, you’re charging me a $ 60 guessing fee? As well as another amount to fix the problem? I would have ended up paying around $ 150 or more to replace the bad cable? Why charge a $ 60 diagnostic fee to pinpoint the issue? And then, your technician doesn’t even solve the problem from the beginning!
Scott T’s did not remove the alternator, etc., except for the bad cable he replaced. Also, he didn’t charge me a «diagnostic» fee. He figured from the get go what the issue was and he FIXED the problem… (parts & labor) for only $ 40!

I have a 2000 Toyota Echo with 266,000 miles. I had the alternator light come on driving home from work one Friday recently. Since I’m relatively new to the Elgin area I went online to read reviews on local auto repair garages. Reading Unilocal,Kellenberger seemed like a safe bet.
I brought my car to them, told them about the alternator and also told them that I had a check engine light on and would they please find out what the problem was and fix it. Note: the engine ran fine and even Larry agreed. They replaced the alternator and phoned me and said they did a smoke test to look for leaks which could be one of the reasons the check engine light was on. I was told my car needed a new catalytic converter for $ 500 and a new fuel filler tube for $ 200. After the catalytic converter and fuel filler tube and the alternator were installed they phoned me and said now the engine was running rough. Remember the engine ran fine when I brought it to them. I was told the engine could use a new set of spark plugs $ 90, I said ok. The total bill was $ 1483. My wife picked up the car the next morning and drove it that day. The next morning I drove it to work. Two blocks from the house the check engine light came on. I phoned Kellenberger and made an appointment for the following Friday evening January 24^th to drop off my car so they could work on the car on Saturday. Thursday January 23^rd at 5:45am I went out to start my car and let it warm up because it was –3 degrees. Ten minutes later I went out the car was dead. I opened the door and the dome light was very dim. I hooked up my battery charger and went back inside for 15 minutes. When I came out the car fired right up, so I went off to work. A block and a half from my home the head lights were getting very dim so I turned around and made it within a block of my home and the car just died. When I got back to the house my wife call AAA for a tow back to Kellenberger. Later that morning I got a call from Kellenberger and was told the new alternator was bad and they needed to order another new one. The next day, Friday the 24^th in the afternoon I got a call and was told the car was ready. I asked about the check engine light. I was told that it wasn’t a coil; it could be an injector or the computer that is giving erroneous error codes. I was told about some of the tests they could do on the car, but they never did any of those tests. I was thinking, why did you tell me the car is ready? You haven’t fixed the check engine light issue and that’s why I made an appointment for you to work on it on Saturday. I told them I needed this fixed because I need to pass my emissions test. I was then asked; when is the test? I said I need to have it pass before the end of March because that’s when I have to have a new license sticker. I was then told to bring the car back at the beginning of March. I picked up my car Friday night after they closed and drove home.
As far as what actually got fixed was #1 a new alternator, #2 a new set of spark plugs at a cost of $ 1483. The new catalectic converter and new fuel filler did nothing to make the error codes and the check engine light go away. Remember I made an appointment for Saturday the 25^th for Kellenberger to fix what was causing the check engine light to come on. I brought the car in on Thursday morning because of the alternator. They replaced the alternator but it appears they made no attempt to run tests they told me they could do but instead said bring the car back at the beginning of March. I took that as, we don’t want to work on your car anymore, it’s a waste of our time, go away. I felt, if they had integrity they should have just come out and said, we can’t fix your issue with the check engine light, we recommend you take your car to a Toyota dealer and reimburse me for the fuel filler and the catalytic converter. I can’t recommend them for any serious troubleshooting.

You know that auto shop where you drop your car off on a Tuesday, and then you have to call them, and they tell you that, maybe, it will be done on Thursday? This is not that place.
I had two pretty serious repairs that needed to be done to my vehicle, and I wanted them to be done on the same day that I dropped it off. Even though the mechanic I spoke to told me that he probably would not be able to get the parts needed until the next business day, I was overjoyed to find out that both repairs had been completed by COB that day.
These guys are the real deal. They are family-​owned, honest, and they won’t try to up-​sell you or convince you that you need unnecessary repairs. There aren’t too many shops like this anymore. Cannot recommend highly enough!

I tried this shop because it was highly rated by multiple sources and it was close by.
Well don’t believe what you read.
A simple brake job on Honda accord, no big deal. The prices on parts were not any thing special and the rotors hats were not z-​coated like most. This creates a alot of rust residue on the wheels .
Regarding the service, they DO NOT do test drives after doing work !!!
I know this when I drove the car home I thought something was very wrong,
I park the car and did walk a round kicking the tires.
When I did this, one of the lug nuts fell off, So I grabbed my toque wrench.
All the lug nuts were loose !!!
When called them back, I was told that I could bring the car back in and they would tighten the lug nuts. (probably wanted to charge me the service at that !)
This was after I had all ready done that.
I could have had very major accident
Use this shop only if like living dangerously

Good service, quality care, trustworthy expertise, good looking gentleman at the front desk. Fist bumps all around.

I found out about Kellenberger’s from a friend whom I had dropped off after his car was repaired. He spoke very well of them and said he did not take his cars anywhere else for repair. I had moved back to the area recently and was looking for a reputable, independent shop, as I was beginning to distrust one of the nearby Toyota dealers I had been using.
One day I had a slow leak in one of my tires that had been bought the prior year from a Firestone store. I returned to Firestone and the smarmy service advisor there tried to convince me that the tire couldn’t be repaired — it needed to be replaced — and that I had a host of suspension issues (about $ 500 all told), which I knew wasn’t the case. I told them not to touch the car and immediately retrieved it from that shop.
Recalling my friend’s recommendation, I drove to Kellenberger’s and explained that I had a slow leak. They said they’d look at it and let me know. I received a call a short while later — the leak was located and a patch kit resolved the trouble. Total cost? $ 19.90. I was floored! No fleecing, bilking, etc., just honest work.
Since then I’ve taken all my vehicles there, whether during or beyond the warranty period, and haven’t been disappointed at all. I can trust them to tell me if something urgently needs repair, if it’s an item that can wait for the next service appointment, etc. Everyone with whom I have interacted have been friendly and professional. It’s a place to which I would feel confident sending my own mother (see below). The only work they don’t do is body /​collision repair (for that see A&L Auto Body in Palatine), though one time the splash guards under the radiator of one of my cars were hanging low and Kellenberger’s rigged it up (for free!) until I could get to the body shop for a proper repair.
Other good points: They soon know you by name (and vehicle (s)). Their waiting room is comfortable and free Wi-​Fi service is available (along with power outlets and a small desk). The location is convenient — it’s within walking distance of Gail Borden Public Library and my kids’ school, along with a number of other downtown Elgin businesses.
A couple more stories: my mother, who has a Chevy Malibu, had been taking her vehicle to the dealer where she purchased it for the past 11 years. On a recent visit to the dealer she was socked with a huge repair estimate that caused her to question whether she should even keep the vehicle, and began wondering if perhaps she was being misled (what is it with these dealership service departments?)
My mother, who always heard nothing but glowing remarks from me about Kellenberger’s, said she was willing to have them look at her car. While indeed their analysis showed that some repairs were necessary, it was found that the dealer had grossly overstated the situation, and it was far less expensive for my mother to get her vehicle repaired at Kellenberger’s. (As Chris M. notes, the staff there does not talk down to women, but treats them with all due respect.) She has since kept her vehicle and remains a loyal Kellenberger’s customer.
The last story: one day I was getting a simple oil change at Kellenberger’s when another customer walked into the waiting area from outside, carrying a tray full of baked goodies and tears in her eyes. From what I could hear of her conversation, she was moving to North Carolina and was so moved by the level of care provided by Kellenberger’s for the past several years that she was literally crying, knowing that she couldn’t return there for service (her car was having its final service and pre-​trip inspection before being driven across the country). Now how often does that happen at an auto repair place!?!
Trust me, just go there and you won’t be disappointed. (Xexilia B.: not sure if you’re still in the area, but maybe give them one more chance?)

Have used them for a number of minor repairs on my wife’s car and they have always been up front and honest. Being the son of an advanced backyard mechanic I know a thing or two about cars and can spot when a shop is trying throw in having to replace a «johnson rod». My wife has done most of the interactions with them and has always felt comfortable dealing with them. In the past shops usually talked down to her or treated her differently for being a woman. But not here. Are they the best value? I don’t know, but I’d rather pay a premium knowing my wife is being treated well, and the work is getting done honestly.

Towing — $ 184.40. Recharge battery, scan codes, and «test» — $ 218.90. I start my car and my SES is still on… PRICELESS. They were never able to find the problem. For $ 80.00 another shop fixed the problem by replacing the crank shaft positioning sensor.