Self-Serve Garage

Awesome shop and super convenient! I came down from the Federal Way area, super new to town, and was surprised to see a shop like this. Never heard of anything like it. It’s frowned upon to use my apartments parking lot, and doing maintenance on the street makes me nervous so this is right up my alley. Price is beyond reasonable, and to agree with other reviews the shop is no frills while at the same time having all the stuff I needed. Anything else I asked about either the owner George or his employee Doug knew how to call around and find it. They have a computer there for quick reference as well as you can order any parts from o’reillys and have them delivered.
Also had a friend snag a uhaul here a couple weeks back while moving apartments and he said that process was smooth
Only thing is don’t ask George about basketball, you’ll get stuck talking for far too long. Ha! Thanks again guys! Go Hawks!

After getting sick and tired of changing my own oil in my driveway, I was pleased to find Self Service Garage!
This is a no frills, self service garage that has everything you need to work on your car. I have seen people doing some major repairs to things as easy as an oil change. George, the owner, is a super chill, cool guy that has a smooth business running for him.
There are 4 total bays, 2 of which have lifts (1: 4 post lift & 1: 2 post lift). The bays are clean, floors are not slippery or oily and the equipment feel safe and sturdy. I have only done my oil changes here & at $ 10 for 30 minutes to change your own oil, its a steal! Also, they provide an oil catch (Even recycle it for you) and provide shop towels if you need them. All you need to do is bring your oil, filter and wrenches. Highly recommend this place and I’ll be coming here to do my own oil changes from now on.

I recently installed a new trailer hitch on my car and needed to install the trailer wiring harness. While I was able to do the hitch install easily in my own garage, I needed to drop one of the mufflers and it’s heat shield to properly route the wiring harness. Doing this in my garage would have been a serious pain in the butt and I had put it off for a couple of weeks.
I had a couple of hours free this afternoon so I gathered up the tools I would need and swung by Self-​Serve Garage to see if they had a bay with a two-​post lift open, and they did. I filled out the «we’re not responsible if you hurt yourself doing something stupid» form and George had me drive into the lift bay. After making sure I had everything I needed out of the car, it was quickly up on the lift with stabilizer jacks in place and I got to work on my car.
Twenty minutes later I had finished my wiring work and George was lowering my car. Use of the lift bay was ten bucks and change. I’m done laying on cold concrete. Next time I need to work under my car, I’ll definitely go back to SSG.
While William P had a less than satisfactory interaction over the phone with George, he was perfectly pleasant with me. Perhaps because I wasn’t expecting him to take time out of his busy workday in order to give a complete stranger free business advice. Go figure.

This review is for the facility itself, when rented for DIY repairs. For people like me, car guys that don’t have access to a lift, Self Serve Garage is a godsend. I’m not in the military so I can’t use the «hobby shop» at Lewis-​McChord — my car is older and requires a lot of work, and I’m determined to do as much of it myself as possible.
They have 6 bays, and 3 lifts — the bays without lifts are dirt cheap, but I always splurge for a lift because they are simply great. Auto repair is not ergonomic, so having the lift saves your back, knees, etc.
The owner is a benevolent person, he is terse over the phone but very helpful in person. If you get in over your head, like I have, they will work with you and the overnight fee is only $ 10. I have used this place a half-​dozen times this year, and the cost of parts + shop rental usually is much less than paying a professional shop. When it’s not cheaper, it’s only because I’m such a noob, and the experience I gain will pay off later. This place is a tremendous asset for an aspiring gearhead.

Spoke with George (the owner) about coming in to do some exhaust work recently. I came in, and tried doing some of the work myself.
As I got through some of it, I realized that some of the bolts on my exhaust system were rusted so badly that they needed to be cut. Another mechanic on site (Anthony) was just finishing up his job and was about to leave. Instead of leaving, he not only stayed to give me advice on the work I was doing, he also helped to cut the bolts, since I mentioned that I hadn’t worked with a cutter before!
After Anthony had helped me get on my way with taking my test pipe out (APS turboback exhaust) and left the shop, I had to stay a bit longer to get the part I was installing (APS high flow catalytic converter) in place. However, this also proved to be difficult since I was the only customer left at the shop and had no one left to help out. George noticed this, and took the time to come and help me install the part even after the time that the shop was supposed to close (stayed until around 10:15 to install and test the installation with me!). He didn’t try to kick me out early, or make me pay extra for overtime or anything. He just did the right thing and helped a brother out.
Now I’m not sure these guys knew every single in and out of my specific year/​model of car with the specific after-​market modifications that were done, but I do know one thing. These guys treat their customers right. They work hard to make sure you’ve got what you need, or they’ll tell you what you need in order to get going. They’ll help you out if you need help, and they make sure that your work’s done until either you’re satisfied, or to the best of their abilities.
TL;DR These guys know their shit, and they are the shit.

Oil change. The Service was good. I was a little bit over 30 minutes, but the cost was still $ 10. The only problem is it’s too far away from where I live, round trip 40 miles which means extra $ 8 on gas.

I wanted to change my own oil, but had no desire to get under the car. What a PINTA that is. I found this place about a year ago and paid for two oil changes since then because this place is really far from me. I finally stopped being lazy and drove down to Kent to change my own oil. $ 10 to rent the lift bay for an oil change is a steal. I think the website says you have to be done in 30 minutes. I don’t know how long it took me but I only paid $ 10. I even brought the wrong socket and they let me use one of theirs. I have some other work to do on my my car and I will definitely go back. The place is spotless, which I did not expect for a self service garage.
Also when you’re done they just take the oil away. Poof! No hassle. If you’ve ever had your oil changed at Jiffy Lube or Firestone they advertise $ 19.99 oil change or some other low price like that, and when you’re done they charge you for oil disposal and other hidden charges.

This is a great place to become familiar with your car. An oil change is a good place to start but one can choose to do something else. The lift is first rate. George, the man behind the desk, is helpful. One can rent tools but if one brings their own, it actually helps with repair because one has to think through exactly what one is going to do and what one needs (or you can bring all of your tools without planning).
There’s a lounge if one wants to catch their breath or relax for a minute (or pat yourself on the back for savings some money) after finishing the job.
The only drawback is don’t bring your best shoes because there’s an occasional micro-​splatter of oil on the floor. That’s probably normal in any repair place.
This place might be the only one of its kind in the Seattle area. It’s worth the drive from Seattle.

The concept of self serve garage is not a new idea. Almost every military base as a DIY garage for the military personnel to use.
Being located in Philadelphia, I decided to reach out to ask the owner a couple of questions in an effort to expand starting a similar business in the NE USA. Instead of taking 3 – 5 minutes to talk with me I was met with a «my time is worth money if you want to talk to me».
I got to say, just the general attitude over the phone was not only a turn off, but completely disgusting. Good luck maybe he’s different in person.

After discovering this place, we thought it was an awesome idea and promoted, without even trying the place out yet, Self Serve Garage to several friends and family, we ended up having a horrible experience with Self Serve Garage.
We brought my van here a mechanic offered to fix it for us for a fee. We paid the extra $ 10 to have them store our van in the garage after being told that the area was bad and that if left in the parking lot it would get broken into. Well, they FORGOT to put it in the garage and, low and behold, our van got broken into, stereo was stolen and so were miscellaneous tools and CDs. Now, after numerous attempts to communicate with George, the owner is not willing to compensate us and action is currently being taken toward Self Serve Garage. We are a 2 minivan family as we have a large family and having a car out of commission for so long is very difficult.
I love small businesses and love to see them flourish but if all you have to offer is pretty girls in your ads and not ANY kind of customer service or insurance to cover mishaps… then that’s just bad business. Have a little more backbone and show some substance not flakiness.

Highly Recommend Self Serve Garage:
A couple of weekends ago I went for an appointment with the Self Serve Garage. My dealer had told me that my lower control arm bushing and belts were cracked and quoted me $ 1500 for the repair. They made this observation as part of a «complimentary tire and break inspection.» Since my car had been driving fine and the repair was a substantial investment, I thought to get a second opinion. Really I wanted to see the problem myself, but since my car (Mercedes SLK230) is low to the ground I would minimally need a car lift. That is when I contacted the Self Serve Garage. I corresponded with the owner who was extremely responsive to my emails and I asked to «rent a mechanic.» By fiancé and I arrived to our appointment. The garage and office were clean and well kept. Everyone we spoke with was courteous and professional. They put my car on the lift and the mechanic took the time to show me the bushings and the belt. I had to agree with the mechanic, there was no cracking in the bushings or the belt. He also took the time to show me what a cracked control arm looks like. The experience was empowering, not only did I learn something about my car; we saved $ 1500 in unnecessary expenses. I think this is what the shop is about, helping vehicle owners learn that what is under the hood isn’t so intimidating and that there can be a real cost savings if one can afford the time to learn some of the basics. I am writing this review as a way of saying thanks, we’ll be back.

What a G R E A T experience at this garage yesterday!
I have worked on cars (Fords and Toyotas) for 20 years but needed HELP with doing a LOT of work on my «Trusty-​Rusty-​Tercel». I hired and worked with a mechanic who the owner referred to me.
A great experience, I was able to guide the hired mechanic to do what I no longer CAN do, and my Tercel is once again running like a top @ 309K miles!
GREAT shop. GREAT PRICES… GREAT owner (George) … GREAT for hire mechanic who has NO PROBLEM working with a female… very unusual!
If you have followed my Unilocal you KNOW how picky I am about my car. my food.and all things!
I have more work to be done and will go back and hire my guy again!
PS it is a little hard to find the shop… I suggested he get a sign by the road. but very worth the extra time trying to find it!
A+++++++++++

A beginner in automotive repair, succesfully changed catalytic convertor and o2 sensor at self serve in 2 hrs. George owner of the shop helped me when ever i got stuck. The place is clean & cheap and has got all the tools to fix your car. Recommend this place over any mechanic shop as you can save on parts, labor while gaining some knowledge about cars

Self Serve Garage in Kent is absolutely the best! You cannot beat the customer service or clean and relaxed atmosphere. Most auto repair shops are gross! I hate using the restroom in them. Self Serve is inviting for all. My sister did her own oil change and diagnosed a lighting problem on her car. She left feeling knowledgeable and capable of doing the work. This place is one of the smartest ideas around! Not to mention the shop owner is cute! Check it out!