Rick’s Tire & Service

Okay so, I’m a younger than average customer (22) and I’m always looking out for being taken advantage of because of my age. I went to Rick’s strictly because it was convenient and was next door to the emissions station. BIG MISTAKE. I dropped my car off around 12pm one day and was told I would get a phone call that evening with some updates, which I never received. The next day when I went in, the man at the front desk, who I’m assuming is Rick, proceeded to tell me that he hadn’t fixed anything on my car because I didn’t fulfill my responsibilities as a customer and answer his phone call (WHICH NEVER HAPPENED). He then told me there was only one option for fixing my car and said it would cost around $ 200. After talking to him (more like being patronized by him) for another 5 minutes or so, he then said there was a $ 50 alternative… This was extremely shady and made me realize he was probably just trying to take advantage of me because I’m younger. I stood my ground and got the cheaper, but equal, repair and got the hell out of there… AVOID THIS PLACE AT ALL COSTS!

Very happy, satisfied and highly recommend.
Wife’s car was surging, brakes grinding and had 2 bald tires… they thoroughly explained and discussed everything needed, did the work perfectly and charged as estimated. Surprisingly low prices and perfect service. On a personal note… they really do go above and beyond to do it all right. I’m picky about service, being fully informed and I have a mechanical background, so I truly know they did everything righteously, and will for you too.

Rick’s was a referral for me from a friend who has used Rick’s for years.
I had previously gone to the dealership to get a quote on some items. My friend said that Rick would not only beat their prices, but would be honest and tell me what I needed to do right away and what could wait for a few weeks or months.
Mark was the one who helped me and he was really nice. My car was in his shop for 3 days and he called each day to tell me the status. It would have been there for only 2, but it was during the big storms last week and Rick’s lost power for a few hours on the first day.
Rick’s did beat the dealership… by over 1000 $! I would use Rick’s again! They were great!

Rick’s Tire & Service restored my trust in auto repair shops. If you look for a reliable service and/​or repair for your vehicle, I cannot think of a better place than this one — and I tried quite a few before.

I’ve actually moved away from Seattle. Just checked for address to refer a friend. I should have posted this before. Rick’s served my 3 different cars while I lived in Seattle. Great service. Every time. Mark is especially pleasant. While I was up there over December/​January, I took in my friend’s car to be serviced. It was on a Friday afternoon of a busy holiday weekend. Got me right in, fixed up and on my way. They are one of the merchants I miss the most.

This place is a joke. Customer service is horrible and the gentleman at the front desk was very rude. Wouldn’t recommend

After being disatified with the service of a large chain franchise tire repair store (will remain nameless), I found Rick’s Tire & Service.
Right off the bat, I was extremely pleased with the professionalism and friendliness when I called and spoke with Troy.
I went in for a simple flat tire repair but I will be returning for other services. BTW, Hank is the cutest puppy ever! I think its the shops unofficial mascot.

Executive Summary: DISHONEST/​AVOID!
What happened:
A few years back I took my 91′ Jetta GLI to Rick’s. I had failed emissions, and stopped at the closest place to see about addressing the issue, or at least spending $ 175 on it to get a waiver. (I had an aftermarket cam shaft that made the idle lopey and resulted in a misfire on cylinder 1 as I found out later) Anyhow, they wouldn’t service my car at this location, but at their other shop which they encouraged me to stop by. Since they were referring me, they said I could get a discount for my effort and being a loyal customer. Well, the other shop is attached to a Chevron gas station as it turns out… I probably should have stopped right there… yeah well I was already there. So I dropped the car off with the failed emissions report. They said they would look at it and get back to me the following day and that they wouldn’t exceed a bill of $ 175. I got a call the next day and they told me I could come get the car. When I showed up the car was still in the shop and the «mechanic» said the car wouldn’t run… because all of a sudden the fuel pump went out. Mr. Mechanic was spraying carburetor cleaner into the intake and trying to start it… Note that carburetor cleaner does not work the same as starting fluid… He then told me that my fuel pump needed to be replaced… Turns out that car has an external fuel pump and you can easily hear it working when you turn the key on. Since I wasn’t convinced they knew what was going on I asked them to stop working on the car and put it outside. I called the owner, Rick, and we discussed what happened. He said that I should let them replace the fuel pump and everything would be fine… I said that I would take the car to a VW dealer and have them confirm the diagnosis. He said that if the VW dealer confirmed that the issue wasn’t a fuel pump, then he would refund my money, but in the mean time to get my car back, I would pay the now $ 220 bill… reluctantly, I payed to get the keys back so I could tow the car up to the VW dealer. $ 330 later the VW dealer found a broken wire to the throttle position sensor. So Rick’s mechanic was fumbling around, whether on purpose or not, and broke the wire and blamed it on the fuel pump. Happy to have proven that the fuel pump was fine I called Rick back… he chose not to believe my update on the situation despite my offer to show him the car, the fix, and the receipts from the dealer. Rick was no longer interested in discussing anything with me in fact. I considered taking Rick to small claims court, basically on the principal of the matter, but with school and work I couldn’t see myself having much time to devote to that. I found that Rick’s is living up to the bad stereotypes of a shady mechanic/​shop.
The lamest part of this… I used to work as a mechanic and I still got trapped in their game. :(

I recently got back from Alaska and needed new tabs. My Truck has been running rich so naturally it didn’t pass emissions. Figured I would have the shop next door run a diagnostic and pay them $ 50 extra bucks to get my voucher.
Fast forward an hour and 30 minutes later the mechanic is telling me I’m running on 5 out of 6 cylinders. My initial thoughts are questioning but I listen. Maybe that’s the reason for burning extra fuel. I’m quoted $ 1600 to address the issue.
I pay my bill. Get in my truck go through emissions get my voucher and hop on the road. Now I soon start to notice that my idol has shifted from 1,000 rpm to 1,500 as soon as I stop at a light. That’s not right?! I’m about half way home. Pull over check my fluids, vacuum lines, plugs, attempt to adjust my idol lower to no avail. Get on I 5 and my truck is running like complete crud. No power and puttering about. I make it home and call the shop. Explaining the problem to the mechanic who inspected my vehicle.
This guy had the nerve to tell me it was probable one of my spark plug wires as the vehicle had 270,00 miles and the wiring rotted out… I’m a very handy guy and had replaced the previous engine with crate motor with under 50K. With this overhaul I replaced almost everything electrical. Including the spark plug wires… My brand new wires were most definitely not rotted out. Silence took over the conversation as the man I spoke with knew he had been caught in a lie. I hung up and through my hands in the air SOL.
Since then I’ve had a large puddle of oil develop under my truck and it runs like a turd. It’s a 91 trooper that I primarily use to romp around the woods and go snowboard in. Probably only worth 2 grand… Zilch now.
I’ve read the other reviews and they seem positive but the vibe I’m getting is at least one mechanic has some issues with integrity and creating extra work for the shop. Proceed with caution.

Rick’s has fantastic Honda experts who are honest and their services are reasonably priced. I originally came to Rick’s from a very high priced mechanic-​not-​to-​be-​named when they quoted me an outrageous estimate for a bunch of services that I had not brought my 1996 Honda Accord in for. It was due for the timing belt, but suddenly they wanted to put in a new distributor and told me there were a bunch of leaks.
I had to get a second opinion.
Several people directed me to Rick’s. There, they did the timing belt, water pump, and radiator and told me that the distributor was fine and that they couldn’t find any leaks. This saved me a ton of money, both in avoiding unnecessary service and on the services I did get. The car ran like a charm, and when I took it back two years later for an inspection before I sold it, they still couldn’t find anything wrong. In fact, they said they’d get me even more money than what I was asking if my potential buyer flaked out.

My boyfriend took his work truck here and was absolutely pleased with the professionalism, efficiency, and all around service he received! Highly recommended!

This is the kind of place that can restore your faith in humanity. I’m pretty embarrassed about how my personal visit went, but you be the judge.
I drive a hoopty. I’m not too worried about it– I’m not facing a midlife crisis or trying to pick up chicks, so it works for me. I don’t know much about cars besides checking oil, transmission fluid, wiper fluid, and changing a flat. When I failed emissions recently, I wanted to go to the closest place to get the darn thing figured out and be on my merry way.
Unfortunately, as of 11 – 12 PM, Rick’s was booked for they day. Courteous but blunt guy at the desk told me to come back early the next day. They open at 7– plenty of time for 9−5s to drop off their cars and be into work on time.
I didn’t show up until 9 or 10, so I was a little nervous they would already be booked, but helpful mechanic told me they would be able to work me in before close, which is 7 PM. I was delighted. In this emissions/​title transfer snafu, not much went my way so this small victory felt great.
Managed to misplace my failed emissions test slip, so the guy told me to walk next door with my license plate # and they’d reprint for me. Done, did paperwork, dropped off the car. Guys tell me they’ll call me when they get a chance to look at her.
90 bucks for the diagnostic, 60 bucks to fiddle with it till they get a pass OR you can opt to fix whatever it is failing you at XX?? XX dollars. Obviously I was thinking this was going to cost me 150 bucks.
The guys call to double check that they can do what needs to be done and quote me a price. I give the okay and they call me again around 6:30. The following was wrong with my poor little Saturn:
–low rear tire
–disgusting spark plugs
–VERY low on oil
–no coolant
–oil really cruddy/​needed changing
Rick’s clearly states that a standard oil change is 95. They ran my car back through emissions and got my pass slip for me, filled my tire, changed my oil and spark plugs, $ 200. I am really happy.
Best of all, even with how stupid and annoying and simpering that guy at the desk must have thought I was, he didn’t talk down to me or act condescending. Gave me a few tips to help clean out my system that I could grab at an auto parts store.
I’m sure there were a lot of other scary things he could have mentioned to freak me out into spending more money there, but he kept on the problem at hand. I really respect that and will continue to bring my car here for regularly scheduled maintenance. See, I learn from my mistakes. :)

Just a shorty — had to call them up because the awesome guys at D&D Brakes weren’t familiar with my van’s belts and such… which isn’t a surprise, they do brakes, not serpentine belts!
So we called up Troy, and he was amazing and helped us over the phone with some really pointed questions and candor and dropped some knowledge allowing us to tension my belt correctly without us ever coming in or even paying a cent. This is a mechanic I can trust.
Thanks Troy!!!

I really want to like these guys… I starting coming here because they seem to be one of the only places in Seattle that carries Amsoil. I brought a car in for suspension work and they couldn’t figure out how it worked and recomended I go back to stock. I ended up fixing the problem in my driveway with some help from the net. The final straw was a botched oil change. After a change my car was leaking oil so I had a different shop put the car on a lift. The drain plug practically fell out. If it had have come out while driving he motor would have been toast… Other experiances have been great and the people are nice. Sadly I don’t think I can trust the work.

I’ve been going to Rick’s Tire and Service for over 20 years. As a car enthusiast who has owned dozens of personal cars and a former car dealer, I can say with certainty that Troy is the best diagnostic technician I have ever worked with. I had a Chevy S10 that two other shops failed to diagnose correctly, costing me me hundreds of dollars in wasted time and materials. It took a few days, but Troy figured it out correctly and got the truck back on the road for less than than either of the previous two shops who failed to correct the problem. Beyond that, Rick’s tire diagnosed and repaired a short in the wiring harness of a Jeep Grand Cherokee that was hard to find as well as an intermittent ignition problem in my 77 Trans Am.
There have been many other repairs they have made for me and I have always been treated well. As a dealer, I had cars in repair shops on an almost daily basis. Fixing cars is expensive and time consuming, and I feel the bill at Rick’s has always been fair. If anything, it has usually been slightly less than what I would have expected.
I live in Kirkland, so getting a vehicle to Seattle isn’t the most convenient, but it’s worth the extra time and effort to have the peace of mind Mark and Troy bring tot he table. I can’t give them a high enough recommendation.

Most of these one star reviews are about the courtesy of Rick’s rather than their skill or price point. While I agree that a business should be courteous, one also has to realize that auto fanatics are a different breed; they care about the cars. They aren’t natural born sales people. If you want that, go to a dealer and pay 50% more.
Here is my experience. I’m getting ready to sell my car. I blew out a tire (they were all worn pretty well) and needed new tires in order to sell my car. Bit difficult to sell a car without a full set of tires. I called in to request a quote. Were they overly bubbly and courteous? No. But they gave me the straight facts: how much it would cost and that they could get it done either that day or the next. They were the cheapest by far. Les Schwab was $ 100 more.
I dropped my car off after hours using the key drop and received a call the next morning to confirm the quote. The guy I talked to (mark) informed me that the reason my tires wore so fast was that my rear control arms were shot and my front control arms weren’t in great shape either. He gave me a quote for both the rear control arms only as well as replacing all four. He explained that failure to replace the rear control arms would result in my new tires wearing quickly as well.
The best part was, when I explained I was going to sell the car soon, he didn’t push the further repairs even once. I hate that about car shops; they always push the up-​sale. When I came to pick up the car with my new tires (good condition, obviously new, good tread, etc.), they politely included the quotes for the control arms and thanked me for the business. No, the car wasn’t vacuumed with the wheels shined, but I don’t pay a repair shop to clean my car.
Bottom line: I got new tires and great auto work for the best price. I don’t need to pay $ 100 extra for smiles and a car wash.

My husband and I have been bringing our vehicles here for years. It started with a bad emissions test over a decade ago, and being right beside the testing station, it was simply a matter of convenience, but over the years, Mark, Troy and the rest of the staff have earned our trust. Yesterday, I needed a new headlight and got instant service. Mark went out of his way as it was not an easy install on my VW bug, parts had to be dismantled and removed to access the light casing.
I highly recommend this repair shop. They always explain the problem without being condescending to me as a female who knows little about vehicle mechanics.

Hand a car crisis driving down Aurora Ave, pulled in, they dropped what they were doing and fixed my car and didn’t charge me an arm and a leg. Excellent Service!!!

I went in b/​c my car was not turning on. We do not know much about cars so we went in to ask. We asked how much it would be for us to diagnose it. He was very rude about the whole matter and repeated about 5 or 6 times that it would depend on if it was an electrical problem or an engine problem. WE DONT KNOW! That is the point! His tone started rude and went to intolerable and he was staring me down. Finally, he just picked up his phone, sat down and started talking to someone and completely ignored us. Please do not go here, it is about principle. People should treat others with common courtesy, it is essential.