Hillside Auto Repair

Gas is gas, we fill up and go. Hillside is different all because of Victor. When I’m dreading to drive to work, Victor puts a smile on my face with his fun antics and friendliness. He has no idea that I’m addicted to chocolate and he always comes back with some sweet treats. I know I’m not the only one who gets candy but it really makes my day.
It’s the little things in life and Victor contributes more than he knows.

Beware of Hillside Auto! I took two of my cars there for a number of years, and it’s true that the work will generally be done promptly, and within the timeframe that you expect. Frank takes the time to explain the problem to you, give you a detailed estimate, and generally convince you that what you are getting is quality work. So what’s the problem?
For starters, like many shops, Hillside will add on little charges for things you didn’t ask for. They will replace wipers, filters, and various other parts whether they need it or not. I can even remember a charge for «adjusting the trunk latch,» which was emphatically not what I took the car in for.
Then there is the way Frank talks on the phone, which can occasionally be hard to understand. I once thought he quoted me $ 450 only to find out when I picked up the car that there was an extra thousand in front of it. And of course, Frank’s magic price is $ 800. No repair to your car will be done for less than that, no matter what.
But the biggest problem is this: The repairs do not hold up! Hillside uses substandard parts, poor workmanship, or both. A new clutch that Hillside put in my car has lasted a paltry 40,000 miles, and is now so worn I’m worried about being stranded on the side of the road. Two Sumic tires that Frank charged me $ 90 each for (retail around $ 50) lasted 7,000 miles due to a shoddy alignment. «If they’re worn after 7,000 miles, you’ve got something out of whack,» said the mechanic who’s been servicing the car for years. The last repair I had him do was a couple of drum brakes, and judging by the lack of anti-​corrosion coating on the drums, I’m sure he used poor quality parts there too. Can’t wait for those to fail.
Don’t be fooled by this shop. They take great pains to seem knowledgeable. But you will only end up needing to have their work re-​done again and again.

My car started making an awful noise on the highway very suddenly so I pulled over and got towed to the nearest autoshop (hillside).
They had a full garage, but got to my car quickly. Turns out that I ran over a towel or a blanket at some point and it got wrapped around my drive shaft and caused a little havoc.
They fixed it quickly and were really nice about it. Plus the gas attendant gave me some klondike candies because I looked like I was having a rough day.
Would recommend.

A+.
I’m a girl and know zero about cars; they explained everything before they fix it, give me a parts list, so if I ever go to a different shop, the other shop knows what they did, and they are so quick.
I took my car to a different shop earlier for a check engine light, and they took a week — a week! — and $ 1300 later my engine light was off. Cool, right? No, it was still broken. It turns out the sleazy shop had just shut the engine light off — they didn’t actually fix anything. (GRRRRR).
So now I’m wary, so I went to Hillside. Hillside quoted me $ 1000, and I’d have it back first thing the next morning. One afternoon to fix what the other shop took a week to do and didn’t fix? Yes, please.
Not only that, but before fixing anything, they took me around the car to show me every single thing that was wrong, and since I don’t know much about cars, they explained it again and again until I understood them. Then they showed me how I could check it myself in the future. Then they went through a priority list — «this needs to be fixed; this is really minor and we’ll fix it if you’d like, but it doesn’t really need to be done for another few months or if it starts to bother you.» Awesome.
Then they gave me a detailed list of what they put in and the part numbers, in case I ever take it to a different shop.
And the entire time, these guys were the friendliest people ever.
I saw some reviews saying that once something got «fixed» here, it broke again a while later. I just got my car done two weeks ago, so I’m not sure if that’ll happen, but those reviews were from a couple years ago, so I think it should be okay. No matter what, I’m really impressed by how I was treated and the quickness and cost of what they did.

This review is for a single experience. It may or may not represent business as usual, but I won’t be going back.
Had my AC worked on – a hose and a recharge — for $ 800+. Supposedly dye was added to the system so leaks could be traced. I went back for another recharge after it leaked again. It failed again, and I won’t be going back. They broke some interior trim parts on the dash to remind me of this experience.

I went here with a flat tire that needed to be replaced. After a few minutes of discussing what needs to be done, I was told that the cost of the tire (before any labor costs) would be $ 225!!! The tires on my car retail between $ 60-​$ 80 online at reputable tire sales websites. DO NOT GO HERE, unless you want to be taken advantage of.

honestly, they claim to be your dealer alternative? go to your car dealer for any repairs, because my 3 experience’s with hillside on broadway were terrible! OVERCHARGED??i found out about DOUBLE compared to the dealer, for the same job.(which by the way, had to be re-​done 11 months later).yes i was just another victim for frank and his crew to totally overcharged, and sub-​standard parts. RUN away, get yourself towed away from this greedy scam man as fast as you can. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED!

Have had my 20 year old car serviced here for years. Highly recommend.

Been going to Hillside since I’ve had my license and a reason to care for my vehicles. Jack and Frank take excellent care of everything, and are always happy to explain things to me in a manner I can actually understand. I love that I can drop my car off in the morning for an oil change and inspection, and they’ll always be waiting for me when I get out of work at the end of the day to pick it up. They’ll call me mid-​day to let me know how things are going or if something odd pops up, which is rare. I can say that I absolutely trust Hillside with my car and even now that I’ve moved out of the Somerville/​Medford area I go OUT OF MY WAY to see them. They also send you reminders for routine maintenance which is really helpful because I would never know if I needed these things otherwise.
…and I’ll absolutely agree that the Candy Man is the highlight to my visit. Always a smile and a handful of sugary delights to greet me as I pass through. Love this place!

Went here twice– first was a little tire swap– which they found little things they charged me more for.
2^nd time– not only going 50 $ over my spark plug quote– they decided to do a few other things to charge me another $ 50 with out asking first… oh «we added some coolant…» another $ 3
another local place doing scummy business– places like this want to make me pay a few buck more an hour to get it done right elsewhere.

This gas station and two-​car repair garage off Broadway holds a secret. His name is The Candy Man.
Like all Somerville fuel pumps, an attendant must fill your tank. Vic approached the ol’ Jeep with a giant smile and when I opened the door, he danced like he was dodging a missile. I laughed.
Disappeared to do his thing, and returned with what I assumed was my slip for payment. Nay nay, good sir. Instead, Vic outstretched his arms and gave me two handfuls of Fun Size Snickers, M&Ms and Reese’s cups. I laughed again, this time bewildered.
Turns out, Vic’s been handing out candy to his customers for a few decades now. Customers so loyal, mind you, that they’ve written in to companies like M&M/Mars, told them the story of this animated character at a Ball Square mechanic shop, and the multinational candy empires been sending him product ever since.
And if you’ve got the time, he’ll tell you some stories about growing up in the foothills of Virginia, trying to run tractors on shine and selling two kinds of apple cider roadside.
Gas is gas, and it’s expensive. Never have I thought I’d look forward to a top off but with old school customer service like Vic’s, I’m like a kid on Halloween.

I have had two experiences with Hillside Auto. Both times the staff was knowledgeable and helpful. The Office is clean and well maintained and the prices were reasonable. The repairs were completed quickly and professionally in both cases. They even went out of their way to get one of the vehicles inspected at a location down the street.

Yesterday morning I dropped my newer Cadillac Deville off to be serviced because the «Check Engine» light had activated. They advised me that I have 2 vehicle ahead of me and then they would take a look at it. They also advised me off the initial fee of $ 90 just to hook it up to the computer which is a average.
A short time later I received a call advising they had hooked it up to the computer and there was an indication of 6 «codes”(Malfunctions). Before just fixing them all and running up the bill to thousands they said they would test each code to see if possibly one code was snowballing and causing the others to go into alarm.
About an hour later they notified me that the cause of the check engine light was due to a short in one of the wires. This meant that that the other 5 were «False Codes.» From here they advised exactly how much time it would take to find which wire (s) were shorted and the total job was about $ 350 dollars of which only $ 7 for parts.
Overall this place is/​can be expensive but these people know there stuff and I would highly recommend them. From the outside it looks like any other gas station but when you see the front desk area and there book keeping you will be impressed.

Called them at 8:30 am with a list of three things that needed checking/​repair. Dropped off at 9:30 am. They called me a few times during the day to give me updates on what was happening and where I was on the cost. By 3:00pm my repairs were done and I was able to pick up, no prob! Quick, fast, efficient and friendly!

I just brought my Carolla in there this evening (5pm on a Friday before a 3-​day weekend) because I was desperate to get my headlights fixed. Needed 2 new headlight bulbs– they did it right away and had me back on the road in less than 15 minutes.
Charged me $ 25 for labor, instead of the usual $ 35. Not bad pay for 15 minutes of work but since they were able to help me right away, I am not grumpy.