AYT Auto Service

Very nice staff and reasonably priced. Recommended.

I’m updating this review because I’m very appreciative of the efforts and follow through that AYT made after some initial problems.
Basically, I had brought my car in for some repairs and then when I picked it up the same indicator light came back on. I tried to bring the car in twice and both times they were understaffed and couldn’t look at the car.
AYT called me every day to try reschedule a visit and was even about to send me a letter of apology. When I brought it in the third time, they immediately looked at the car, addressed the issue (air pockets in the coolant system), checked another weird sound and topped up my washer fluid.
I think they went above and beyond to rectify this problem and I’m glad I still feel valued as a customer.

I moved to DC recently and have yet to find a auto shop that I trust. Doing some searching on Unilocal,I found AYT and it seemed to have a good set of reviews. So I brought my car in for an oil change and 90k maintenance.
The oil change went well, though was pricey for an oil change. The shocker was when they came back to me with a list of maintenance work + repairs at a price of $ 1350 that I needed in addition to the oil change! I was pretty shocked since 6 months prior, I had a full check-​up done to my car before moving to DC and my shop in SF mentioned a couple things to keep an eye on, but nothing close to this list of things that AYT said I needed.
To get a second opinion, I brought the car home to my dad, who’s loves cars and has been working on them for 30 years. Everything on the list that AYT gave me turned out not to be an issue, except for the battery, which Sears confirmed needed replacement. So a trip home to see the parents saved me ~$ 1200! My search for a reputable auto service shop in the DC area continues…
To be fair, maybe AYT takes the approach of replacing parts and swapping fluids at the first sign of wear, which is likely good for your vehicle, but expensive compared to replacing things when they’re close to wearing out.

I’m skeptical of any and all auto repair places, but for the most part, AYT has seemed like its on the up and up.
I’ve, unfortunately for me, had to bring in my car for $ 1000s of dollars of repairs over the past couple of years, and AYT has handled all of them, professionally and courteously. The customer service at AYT has always been prompt, friendly, and polite, and to date, all of the work has held up. They’ve even done one or two little repairs without charging me.
The questionable offenses: I once went in and was quoted a particular price for fixing my window motor, but I decided to not repair it. When I brought it in a month later to fix, they quoted me a price $ 100 higher (until I reminded them of their earlier quote, to which they adjusted it). Also, I asked them to fix my muffler one time, and they charged me for checking it out, but then didn’t actually fix it or give me an estimate (though fixed it once I complained).
So overall: AYT is AOK.

I went here based on the Unilocal reviews and its convenient location to where i live and work. Unfortunately my experience was very poor.
Upon entering, I was very optimistic. The two men at the desk (names withheld) are fairly friendly and welcoming and seemed easy going. No appointment was necessary and they were very flexible with pickup/​dropoff, etc.
My car had known problems to me, and I identified them to begin with, but they still wanted to do the $ 92 diagnostics… fine… afterward, they tell me what I already knew and had shared… and quote me the price… i approve via phone and am told that it will be ready by the end of the day.
As the end of the day approached, i had not heard from them so I call… and they have no idea if the car is ready… turns out its not, but its friday and i need the car for the weekend… as they havent worked on it, they let me take it, but require a $ 200 deposit… sure. whatever. I return Monday at 8am… the day passes… no word from them. I live nearby so I stop by and they say, oh yea, its ready. 10 – 15 mins pass before they acknowledge me beyond that, and i had to ask for a print out bill summary (which itself barely made sense).
I turn the car on and pull out of the garage and instantly notice strange noises and new problems with the ride. But, I needed to be somewhere so I left and came back the next working and told them. They did another diagnostic exam and called me back and told me I needed $ 600+ in repairs. They had run a diagnostics test 2 business days earlier and not found any of these problems, which were now so bad i can’t drive my truck long distances since it sputters and stalls. They claimed this was purely coincidental and that my truck (2002) is simply old and needs a lot of maintenance.
They also put 2 dents in the hood of my truck but of course that went no where.
In the end… I got ripped off for the initial 400 bucks in repairs and was not going to let them screw it up even further.
I’ll be going elsewhere and would recommend the same to you.

These guys are shysters! I HATE when mechanics try to upsell you stuff that you don’t need and these guys did exactly that.
I came here due to all the good reviews and thought I’d begin by getting an oil change, as it’s only a few blocks from where I live. They had a coupon online for $ 17.95, which is always a bad sign since most reputable shop don’t rely on coupons.
I dropped the car off at 9am on Saturday. After 3 hours, I called to find out the status and they said it was ready to pick-​up. Not sure why they didn’t call me earlier, but whatever. When I spoke to the guy, he said I needed several things. This included:
1) Air Filter change
2) Power Steering Flush
3) Brake System Flush
4) Oil Gasket replacement
What is worse is that they tried to get me by fear to begin work on these things immediately, so I wouldn’t do my own research. I quote, he said, «I recommend you don’t take that car on the road with that oil leak»
Dude, if the car leaks oil, at the very worst, I run my engine hot without oil (although that would never happen since I check my oil frequently) and I’ve been driving my car for the past 4 – 5 years knowing that some oil was burning/​leaking. I’ve taken my car to other mechanics and none of them said it was due to a gasket leak, but that it was just an old car and was burning oil. Yes, I know that’s not good and I knew there was something wrong, but the fact that they kept hammering how bad the situation was and stating that I needed the repair immediately left a really bad taste. When I asked how much it would cost, they quoted me around $ 300 (I forget the exact amount), but they said they charge $ 92/​hour for labor.
Anyway, suffice to say, I didn’t get any of the work done and I’m going to my regular mechanic in Arlington to get his opinion. Here’s a plug for Japanese Auto City (my regular mechanic). I’ve never been been upsold there and they’ll usually tell me that all the upselling ideas I get from other mechanics are unnecessary.
As for the Air Filter change, it’s been about 8,000 miles so I know I need that replaced soon, but not now and I can do that myself. Also, I don’t think there is any need for a Power Steering Flush or Brake Flush. Yes, it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea, but these types of services are usually needed if your fluids are contaminated. I’m sure it couldn’t hurt, but I personally don’t think it’ll damage your car if you don’t get them… unless you have contaminated fluids.
In the end, I topped of this bad experience when they tried to charge me $ 35 for the oil change. I told him that I had a coupon, which I presented and gave to them before the work even started, and his reply was, «did you register online?» In other words, I don’t want to give you this discount. Eventually, I told him «yes» and he charged me a total of $ 19.03.

My car was accelerating erratically, so I brought it in to AYT. You don’t have to make an appointment; just show up and they’ll put your car in their queue. I got there when they opened at 7:30 AM and I was out of there within 5 minutes.
The mechanics spent a couple of days test-​driving my car and the lurching problem only occurred once with them (apparently not frequently enough to diagnose a problem). The mechanic also said that the transmission fluid level was fine. How much did I owe? Nothing.
But the BEST part was, when I went to pick up my car, the mechanic (Michael) showed me how to check the transmission fluid myself. He then noticed that my hood wasn’t latching as tightly as he thought it should, so he spent 30 minutes fixing it just because he was worried it would unlatch and fly up into my windshield at high speeds (moderately terrifying, no?). I offered to pay for his labor and HE WOULDN’T LET ME PAY. And… my car behaved normally on the drive home!
Dunno if my transmission is going downhill, but if it does I’ll be rolling my car directly into AYT’s garage. Thanks for the fantastic service!

After clipping my wheel on a curb and blowing a tire, I was stressed about the need to take it to the nearest service center, rather than shopping around for the best price and ratings regardless of location. However, I’m thrilled that a great body shop like AYT was just up the street. They got me in right away, and the work ended up being less than the verbal estimate the first mechanic gave me. My only complaint is that the guy at the front desk was initially a little abrasive, and that they never called to say my car was ready – I had to call to inquire. But the most important thing is that the work was done well and efficiently for an affordable price.

I drove to the great city of Baltimore over the weekend and picked up a nail in my tire. The blessing and curse of having run-​flat tires is that you can still drive with a flat but many places refuse to plug it, especially the dealers.
I called them at 5:10pm, I drove my car in at 5:25pm, and I was out by 5:40pm. 15 bucks is all it cost! I would have paid them double.
I’m also an anal car guy and was afraid that the technician would be careless about it. I usually go to area’s top-​rated mechanics or BMW Sterling (best BMW dealer in the area) only but this place was too close to me to not give a shot.
I actually watched the guy in the garage jack my car up (making sure he knew the correct jack point) and take the wheel off (making sure he doesn’t scratch it) then I walked in because I trusted him by then and also realized that I probably looked like an ass watching his every move.
The guy (s) over the phone, at the front desk, the technician were all courteous and professional and were very good at what they do. My car’s gonna need new tires before this winter and I’m going to ship a set from tirerack for these guys to mount and balance.
As for the person that gave 2* rating: $ 99 each for engine code reading and A/​C performance check is the very standard in this area. I’ve owned ~20 cars in my life and been to ~50 mechanics and that’s the usual protocol.

I went in to have them look at the AC and check engine light. They said $ 99 to check ac and $ 99 to check engine. So that’s $ 200 to just check and see what’s wrong (yes, I confirmed with them any actual work done would cost more). I don’t know what others are talking about when they say reasonable prices, I thought that was kind of outrageous so I didn’t have them do anything. They seem nice enough though:)

Terrible store, terrible service. My estimated car work was supposed to be done in 1 week but ended up taking 3 weeks!!! When I got my car, I was told everything works perfect! I got in the car and tried to drive away and a loud crunching noise hit me like a ton of bricks! They said it was tested and everything was perfect, after 3 weeks how in the world did anyone miss that loud noise!!! (Lie number one). Next I opened my hood and it came crashing back down. The hood normally stayed open on it’s own, they tried to give me the BS excuse that the hood threading wore out! I have had the car for many months and its a 2000 car so how come the hood threading chose to wear out right when the touched the car? (Lie number 2). I had to leave my car there overnight again after waiting 3 weeks and getting the run around story about part not on time, wrong part etc. So I called the next day and was told the car was ready. I went to get it and still the same problems, nothing was fixed!!! I had to leave the car yet another day!!! They finally corrected whatever noise was coming from the car and replaced the threading on the hood. I would never bring my car back to these people again! Very unprofessional, crappy job and lame excuses.
DO NOT TAKE YOUR CAR HERE!!! SAVE YOURSELF THE HEADACHE!!!

Just wanted a basic oil change. Stopped at a gas station in Georgetown and was told it would be $ 45. Checked out other options on my phone via Unilocal and found a deal at AYT. If you go & check in on Unilocal,you can get an oil change for $ 24.99. Save $ 20? I’m sold.
Brought my car in at 1pm and it was done by 3:30pm. In the meantime, I walked along 14^th St. looking at different furniture stores and enjoyed the sun.
These guys were fast & affordable.

I have taken my car into AYT a few times and always been treated well.
A few times I got punctured tires (from the wonderful DC streets) and they patched them up cheap.
Recently, I had a run-​in with a conversion van. The front fender was a pretty smashed up and it was making it hard to open my door.
I brought the car in and they called me with an estimate that was WAY out of my price range. I told the guy that I was not worried about cosmetics, only integrity. He told me that I was fine all the way around. Rust would be a problem, but everything else was just sore on the eyes, not on the car.
The only problem that was more immediate was the strain on the door. He said that I needed to fix that or could actually fall off.
I asked how much it would be and he was a bit vague and said to just come on in, in an hour. I was a little worried that I was going to have to get into a fight that they charged me for something that I had not authorized.
Long story short, they fixed that problem completely and when I asked what I owed (prepared to pay something, just not hundreds of dollars) he said it was no problem!!! He told me to kick the guy who worked on it a bit and that was that.
Also, the last time I was in there, there were two kittens living in the waiting area. They were pretty dirty, but SOOO cute.

Rusty, Jaime and the crew at AYT are all very kind, honest and fair.
I recommend them to all of my friends and have continued using them exclusively for years for oil changes and any work that needs to be done on my car.

A few years ago, someone at my University hit the side view mirror of my car and did not leave «a note.» I ended up having my local mechanic superglue my mirror (a notch up on the classy meter from duct tape). A few weeks ago, the superglue stopped working, and I drove into AYT to get it fixed. The guys at the front desk were super helpful, although they would not superglue the mirror again, since they said that it wouldn’t be a permanent solution.
They ordered a new part in, and called me to let me know that I could bring my car back in for the replacement. Unfortunately, I got a call that same day that the part was… the wrong one. This was due to an error on the dealer’s side rather than AYT’s, but the guys at the desk told me the new part would be rushed in and that I wouldn’t be charged extra for that part, even though the correct mirror was about $ 150 more than the original quoted price. My car was fixed the next day.
In sum: Nice guys, efficient service, and you don’t feel like you’re getting ripped off.

This place is incredible. I needed body work done on my front bumper and back doors. They quoted me what I thought was an excellent price. I also explicitly stated I needed the work done within one week so that I could return the car to the dealership. Here’s what they did:
(1) Jeremy (hope I got the name right) made sure my car was done on time.
(2) The car looked fantastic and was done a day early.
(3) Here’s the most incredible part. They were able to salvage my bumper, and, as a result, knocked $ 500 off the already low estimate.
That is incredible.
Also, a few months ago, AYT helped me fill a tire with air at no cost.
Use AYT. Its an incredible place.

After having a horrid experience at another bodyshop here in DC, I was a little skeptical that there was a decent repair shop in this city. I turned to Unilocal after my car got hit yet again (seriously does anyone know how to drive in this city?) and this place got great reviews and its within walking distance-​score! They were nothing but courteous and quick. They even noticed that the window motor in the door they were repairing was overheating and going to short out very soon, and they fixed it for free.
I have since returned for minor fixes and will be taking it here for an oil change –they quoted me $ 45! that’s pretty much the same as jiffy lube and I know they won’t screw it up (serious– never go to jiffy lube people)!
Yes, their services might be a little more pricey, but a quality service station is impossible to find in this city, so paying a little more for services to improve/​fix the 4 ton metal cage carrying you around town is worth it.

I feel about AYT the way I feel about City Paws– the vet down the block. Yes, it seems expensive, but it’s right around the corner, they do a decent job, and their hours are pretty good (open on Saturdays!).
And I do live in a big city, so things are going to be somewhat expensive. They’re friendly, too

I would go back — in fact my engine light just came on so I probably will unless it decides to magically correct itself, which it’s done before.
My car started making growling noises, like there was a grumbling creature lying beneath my car. Took it in for them to look at. They let me drop it off, and then called a few hours later with the diagnosis. Need new brake pads and couple new rotors. (Estimate is free). I called around different repair shops to get a sense of their pricing and found it was on the high end of the spectrum.
I called to negotiate and they dropped the price down $ 90 bucks (well I had a 10% off coupon from their website which you can find under «coupons», which brought it down $ 60, so they dropped it another $ 20 over the phone after I called to negotiate for a total of $ 80 off, but when I came to pay in person, it somehow came down a total of $ 90, so all the better for me!).
Their service was great and they were very helpful. They are certified (though I know nothing about auto repair certifications) so that makes them feel like a legit shop.

Wow and thanks-​be for honest mechanics who do good work and yell at me in Asian accents. I needed to have my car fixed in the DC area after a problem stemming from my roadtrip from Austin, TX (
). AYT Advantage came recommended from a couple of people and I will confidently vouch for them.
I brought my car in to have the fuel pump reinstalled after a poor installation (see above link). The Asian guy who recorded my info understood what I was talking about and got me in/​out quickly, which helped me get to work on time. After lunch I listened to a voicemail of said Asian guy yelling in to my phone that the car was done («Car is done! *click*»), and after only 5 hours!
When I came back after work I had to wait in a short line (moved quickly) as other patrons were given the ‘yell-​job’. When I was next in line he told some lady about how her car did not need an alignment and it was just that she was driving on angled roads; AYT did not charge her for their time (could have charged her $ 75 to give her this information). I ended up getting a reasonable price for my repair.
I brought my car in again for a rattling sound and what I thought was a leak. Again I was called in the afternoon and given an update (this time by a native English speaker) about my car’s status. I elected not to have the AC replaced (rattling sound) and apparently there was no leak. When I showed up I was surprised not to owe AYT anything.
Sometimes the Asian guy switches languages right in front of you, which can be a little off-​putting (think of the Seinfeld episode where Elaine is mocked at the nail salon), but he needs to speak with the (I think) Asian lead mechanic (Mike, I think his shirt said, who drives your car up when you pick it up). I wouldn’t be too concerned about the language flip. Mike doesn’t seem to have as a good a handle of English as boss Asian guy.
AYT Advantage is affiliated with AYT Institute, which is a technical school. It’s on the west side of the street, next to an empty lot, and the drive-​way is kind of tunnel-​like.