Chris’s Auto Service

I have taken my car to Chris’s Auto Service three times. My first two experiences with Anton at Chris’s Auto Service were excellent and passable, respectively. For this reason, when I was concerned my brakes were failing, I took it there again. Anton quoted me $ 680 to replace all four sets of pads of rotors, but said he’d throw in an oil change free of charge. I told him that, at that price, I needed to decide whether I wanted to go ahead with the work or put that cash toward replacing my ancient car (2001) with a new one. He didn’t seem too happy about that. I assured him I wouldn’t be driving it, if he was concerned that it was a safety hazard.
About a week later, I decided to take my car back to Chris’s Auto Service to have the work done. When I dropped it off in the morning, he said it would be ready by the end of the day or the next day. I had a very busy day at work and missed a call from Anton around 4:00 pm. When I called back around 5:00 pm, he told me the work was done and I needed to come pick up my car. I told him I was not able to leave work at that time and I would have to pick it up and pay for the service the next morning. That seemed to upset him, and, after some vaguely insulting comments about how «most customers» pay for service on the day it’s done, he told me I needed to pay immediately with a credit card over the phone. I understand that parts cost money, so I gave him my card information. He charged me $ 660 and told me he hadn’t been able to do that «free» oil change.
The next morning when I picked it up, he gave me a receipt with «reign check LOF free of charge» written on it. No information about the parts used, price or manufacturer.
I got in my car and drove off. About 30 seconds later, I noticed two sets of black hand prints on my tan upholstery interior, one on the driver’s side door handle and one on the passenger seat. I understand that auto repair is a messy job, but, come on! Between Anton’s bad attitude, the hand prints and not providing information about the parts I was charged for, I wouldn’t recommend Chris’s Auto Service. I’m giving them two stars rather than one because I’m pretty sure they actually did the work they charged me for.

Out of sheer kindness, I will update the review to 3 stars but will never return here for service. Customer service tip: never claim your customers are «smoking something» or «dispickable.» Nor would I attack the customers review as bogus and essentially call them liars; this comes off as petty and extremely unprofessional. Your two responses to my honest review say more about your business and will steer future customers than they will about my «bogus» review. I’d recommend changing how you treat customers.
I have the receipt for the work done and will post as soon as I figure it out. The expenses are as follows: 4 Pirellis’ @ $ 600. 1 synthetic @ $ 90. 2 set rear pads @ 68.90. 2 set rear rotors @ $ 160.
Also, not everything is made in China. The mechanic in Cambridge put on German made rotors which were more than expensive but are high quality. You can notice the difference by just looking at them.

Nobody likes getting a major repair bill, but Anton calls the shots straight. He tells you what your car needs, why it needs to be done, and the associated costs before he starts the work — No surprises! His boys also work quickly — I’ve never had to wait more than 1 or 2 days to get my car back.

This guy is FANTASTIC. He’s always honest with me about the needs of my car, but never pushy about doing work (unless there is a safety risk). His hours are flexible (even staying around a little later so I can pick my car up after work), the service is amazing, and the pricing is really reasonable. He even lets me know when things are ok, but will need service in the future. I couldn’t ask for a better local mechanic.

Brought my daughters car I for an inspection sticker. I informed Anton that the passenger blinker on the mirror was broken and asked if it was a problem. He explained that all lights had to work or h could not pass it. He offered to look at the problem then proceeded to make calls to determine the cost of the part. It was far cheaper than what the dealer quoted. I picked up the part and he fixed the problem. Very pleased with his service.

On Wednsday I hit a pothole northbound on Mcgrath Highway in Somerville. After removing the damaged wheel from the vehicle since I was on Highland Avenue I went to Chris’s Auto service at 371 Highland Avenue. The Mechanic there swapped my front tire onto another rim I provided,. balanced it and I was happily on my way!
After driving all day my car lost it’s power in Arlington that evening. I spoke with another garage and they told me see you Thursday afternoon! I was stranded, then that Somerville Mechanic replaced my Battery which had been shorted-​out by an older malfunctioning Alternator at another garages parking lot!
I was so impressed by how quickly this pro repaired my electrical issiues which another mechanic had only guessed wrongly that it was a Body Control Module from FORD which would have cost me around $ 600. Thank God for Chris’s Auto or I would have been paying for something not needed. reasonable prices and Expert service is what you can expect from Chris’s!

Took my car in for a routine inspection and oil change. I was in and out in 15 minutes. Fast turnaround.

A lot of people have described Anton as being abrasive or brash; he’s honest and speaks his mind. Something that’s missing from a lot of service places these days.
Auto repair can be intimidating because it can be expensive. I have limited experience with this shop but the three experiences I’ve had were great.
My most recent experience was getting new pads and rotors. It’s a job I’ve done myself but living in the city I have nowhere to work on my car and it was freaking cold that day. I was charged $ 275 which I feel is a fair price. If I paid for parts myself it’d be at least $ 150 and certainly Anton can get it done faster than I can. At a shop you’re paying for time, tools and expertise.
This is a stark contrast to the big box shop I was dealing with earlier that day, that told me they wouldn’t just do the work I asked for and took 40 minutes to inspect my brakes. They quoted me $ 700 which excluded extraneous service and new tires. I know my front tires are a bit worn but they’re not done. I asked them if they could just do the work I asked for and they declined. This is when I remembered the shop on Highland Ave near my house.
I dropped my car off at 1:30 and got it back at 5 for the brake job.
My other experience was when I got an inspection and my wipers were shot. I’ve been meaning to replace the and Anton said he couldn’t pass me without having wipers in good condition. I was skeptical of getting wiper blades at a shop, but he basically charged me standard costs and minimal labor. Got me in and out in around 20 mins.
I live in this neighborhood so it’s great to have a shop I can walk to, but even if you don’t live in the neighborhood this shop is walking distance to the redline so easy to access to the T if you have to leave your car for a bit. Small shops work hard for your money. What else do you want?!

Chris was amazing!
He didn’t charge me when I brought my car in. It was making some funky noises. He then called and really took the time to explain what was wrong with my car and what needed to be fixed right away and what would need to be done in the near future.
I will continue to bring my car to him as long as I’m in the Boston area!

Reliable, excellent, last minute service in a pinch, as always.
It’s been a while since I visited Anton at Chris’s Auto. I’ve had a busy year and opted to get my oil changes and minor repairs on the go, closest to wherever I am at the moment. As it turns out, he was in the shop the day after Thanksgiving and gifted me a huge peace of mind by taking a look at my car and quickly diagnosing the loud clanking noise I was hearing as a loose bracket (presumably from the work I had done at another local shop a few days before — I had it towed to the closest location once my intermediate pipe blew, unsure whether it was drive-​able at the time). Tightened at no cost and my fears of another pricey repair job allayed, I will make the effort to get any future repairs done by Anton at Chris’s from now on!

Anton is an old school straight shooter. He will come across as a little «rough around the edges» initially, but you’ll immediately realize that he knows what he’s talking about, does a damn good job, and doesn’t try to screw you over. I’m a pretty skeptical person, especially when it comes to auto repair because of the number of times I’ve been burned by sketchy mechanics, and I can tell you that Anton was the first person to ever thoroughly explain everything he was doing and why. He won’t sell you what you don’t need and he won’t try to charge
you an arm and a leg for «labor» like most places.
Now, auto repair isn’t cheap by any means, but if you try to complain about prices after Anton explains every detail of the process meticulously, then I can’t help you with his response! He’s a professional and deserves to be treated like one!

This is ever the best center to repair a car by mecanic. He will come to your house take your car to solve the problem you just inform him. He is really reliable and very dutiful to do his duty attentively. It is costly but this service is really prominent. You can get the best service so charge is high not so bad things. Really this is a significant service. So thank to the owner of this service.

What an awesome garage. I went in on a Saturday near close to get new headlights and not only did he do it happily but he offered to do it free. If you go here go with a good attitude and respect and you’ll get it right back. This is easily my go to if I need anything done with my car.

I endured Anton’s (the head mechanic) abrasive attitude the first time I took my car in after I questioned the procedure for what needed to be done after a battery issue. I brushed it off. Months later, I come back to him with an air conditioner issue asking him if I just need to add coolant and whether it was really all that necessary to go through a lengthy procedure that involves removal of parts, etc… He FREAKS OUT at the fact that I even bothered asking the question, as if I’m telling him how to do his job. I was doing nothing of the sort as I’m just your average customer reluctant to dish out $ 120 without the mechanic even looking to see what the problem is.
Bottom line is if you’re looking for friendly customer service where you can actually discuss the issues without being verbally attacked and chased off the property, this is NOT the place for you. Anton’s an asshole. He knows it. And you’ll find out if you decide to take your car here.

Brought my car here for an inspection and had great service. Staff was very courteous and efficient, I’m definitely going to come back for future work!
I’d highly recommend bringing your car here if you want prompt, polite, hassle-​free service.

My first review was taken down because I didn’t provide enough description… fair enough.
My experience was terrible.
My car had a dead battery. I live one block away. I walked over (1 minute max) and asked for a jump. The head mechanic sent over one of his employees to jump me with a small jumper box (which was nice of him). The whole process took at most 5 minutes.
I asked for a new battery to get me going and before I know it, he walks out of the office and has someone take my battery out and start replacing it. He comes back in, I ask for a price, and he say’s something to the affect of «this is going to be about $ 220+». When I showed a bit of apprehension as to the cost he immediately got defensive and told me that he could have his guy take it out and send me on my way (his tone and demeanor were terrible).
So, I explain that I didn’t expect that the price would be so high. He then defensively walks off and tells his employee to throw a cheaper battery in. He comes back and tells me it’s going to be $ 180 for parts and labor. I pay him and mid transaction he tells me that he didn’t charge me $ 20 something for the jump. Wow… thanks.
TL/​DR: I realize that car parts are expensive but have some tact when you tell a customer the cost. You lack any business sense when you make the customer feel as though they did something wrong when talking to you about cost of a repair.
There’s no excuse for the way I was treated and I won’t be coming back. I highly recommend Alewife Automotive. Ask for George.
Thanks for the jump.
Per another Unilocaler…“Just keep scrolling down and read the owner’s replies to the Unilocal reviews. Sounds more like a hurt child than a business owner.”

If you want to spend $ 500 dollars on getting a starter replaced, look here. Pretty much ripped me off here because I know I definitely gave off an uninformed vibe on the phone, which I guess wasn’t the best thing on my part. But at least I can warn others of their snakery.
I drove an Infiniti G20 and I originally estimated to be $ 300 – 400 with parts and labor.
$ 500 bucks for a starter and labor is pretty steep but I knew they were really trying to take advantage of me when they tried to tell me my battery was giving out, they were literally unable to move it around in their lot and it would be $ 75 for a replacement. Yeah, that’s funny, it’s not like I would totally check to see if my battery was dead before bringing it into the shop to get my starter replaced?
Avoid at all costs, especially if you don’t know much about cars.
Also, I’ve been to a lot of shops and sure, mechanics can be brash and rough around the edges (part of their charm, right?) but being screamed at for requesting information about their services (pricing about their starter and labor) is too much.
You want an example? Just keep scrolling down and read the owner’s replies to the Unilocal reviews. Sounds more like a hurt child than a business owner.

I have been using Chris’s Auto Service for about 3 years now and I first dealt with Chris before he sold the garage (?) and now I deal with Anton.
I am very happy with the service and repairs done by Anton and his team. Although slightly expensive… hey it’s a Subaru and they are not cheap to run and its done a LOT of miles and it only goes to the shop once a year so I cant complain that much :)…he always does a great job, and turns the car repairs around very quickly after calling first to discuss the costs and repairs. which is great!
I would recommend him to anyone, as the work his team does is VERY good.
Thanks guys!

Stopped in hoping to get an inspection and an oil change but was met with a harsh and abrasive attitude so I immediately decided to take my business elsewhere.
Also — $ 10 to change license plates? It involves 4 screws total and maybe 2 minutes of actual work. Come on nowww

Rarely am I so enraged that I feel the need to log onto Unilocal as soon as such poor service has been enacted on me to writing a scathing review.
This is most certainly one of those times.
I was a bit hesitant to come to this auto shop, given the recent mixed reviews, but the location was convenient and another body shop who didn’t offer the service I needed recommended them. Let the mayhem begin.
I called first to and they said I could drop it off now. When I arrived, there was no one in the office area, although I heard people working in the shop. After about 5 minutes, the guy who seems to be running the show walks in (I’ll call him Chris although I didn’t get his actual name) and asks what I need. I explain, and he says no problem, explains what he thinks I need (in addition to some other simple work, there was a leaky tire — he suggested it was the weather, and offered a solution). I tell him I have to run the additional costs by my boss, the car’s owner, but that it will probably be fine, and he can get started on the oil change, etc.
Meanwhile, another customer comes in and asks about getting a headlight replaced. After given a price, he asks if getting both of them replaced will be double the cost, to which Chris respond nastily that it depends on the time and what has to be moved around. When the customer walks out to get his key, Chris starts badmouthing him to me about how he’s probably a lawyer who thinks he’s entitled to get free work on his car. Umm, I’m pretty sure this guy was just confirming the cost of service, don’t know where this freak out came from.
After I make contact with my boss and get more info, about a whole minute later, I inform him that the tire has been leaking since June so my boss doesn’t think it’s because of the cold weather, and could it be something else? At this question, he flips out. He starts freaking out about how I shouldn’t be texting my boss and to have him call Chris directly, and if I don’t want to spend the money on the car, then I can take it someplace else, and he yells at his guys to get the car off the lift and peels it out of the garage for me to take away.
What. The. Fudgecake. Dude, all I did was ask a question.
In short, this new manager, as I glean he is from previous reviews, is a bit of a maniac and frankly a bully. I strongly advise seeking your car service needs elsewhere.