Dean's Car Care, INC.

Sarah Smith

★★★★★

6 years ago

I will gladly recommend Dean's to anyone. They are honest, friendly, and eager to put people back onto the road safely. I took my car to them with what I thought was just a control arm issue, but turns out I completely bent my entire frame. This being my first major body trouble, Harriet and Hannah were incredibly knowledgable and patient with the whole thing. Instead of turning me away or just throwing a new one on and wishing me luck, they helped me navigate the insurance maze and got a trusted auto body shop involved to be sure my car would be road-worthy after the fact. I will not hesitate to call them in the future.

Todd C

★☆☆☆☆

Edited 4 months ago

This place is the type of nightmare auto repair shop that you hear about. I had new serpentine belts installed. Made it about a mile after picking it up before the battery died, because the alternator was suddenly bad(?). Had it towed back and ended up paying them to install a new alternator. This work was done in the winter. The following summer I realized the air conditioning wasn’t working. It turns out they had completely removed the Air Conditioning clutch and pulley when changing the belts and never put it back on. I called them to tell them about it and they completely denied any wrong doing.

John Thomas Park

★★★★★

5 years ago

I bought a 92 Toyota pickup at the end of last year. Of course it needed work. So after the transmission started to go, I took it to Dean's. They took care of everything, and when I say that, I mean even when the NEW transmission failed within the first week of it being installed. It turned out that the company they worked with to get it rebuilt had put the wrong seal on it. Dean, Harriet and Hannah helped to take of everything and almost daily gave me updates. I just took the truck in for a tune up and oil change, and I can't be happier with the vehicles performance, all thanks to Dean and his crews knowledge and experience. Thank you all very much

Cynthia Killingsworth

★★★★★

6 years ago

After we bought an imported 1986 Mercedes van for a camper conversion, we had a sinking feeling when we tried to find a mechanic in the Portland area and were repeatedly turned away because of the unusual nature of the vehicle. That was until someone recommended Dean's. We had a few small, but quirky issues that needed to be addressed. Dean and his crew were fearless in finding solutions and getting our van back on the road. Thank you!

Zachary Nizam-Aldine

★★★★★

2 years ago

Deans services my 1995 Toyota Previa LE SC RWD, 210k daily driver. I’ve owned the van for 3-4 years and they have serviced it regularly. They also completed an engine out service to replace head gasket at 200k and other misc. stuff, which all went well. The services recommended have been accurate and their techs or owner have spent time researching issues specific to the Previa just to ensure they get to root cause. They have also worked with me to schedule an appointment(s) further out to ensure I can get the vehicle prioritized and back timely, which I appreciate since it’s driven regularly.

Carlisle Daniel

★★★★★

5 years ago

Good group of knowledgable people at Dean's. They listened to the issues with my van (both from me and the van) and were able to diagnose and fix the issues. Not inexpensive and had to wait a couple weeks for my appointment, but quality comes at a price and it was worth it. I'll go back and recommend their services.

T

★☆☆☆☆

Edited 4 years ago

TERRIBLE. TL;DR: Took my working van in for a basic inspection. They took two weeks to complete the work (some of which turned out to be unnecessary), didn't communicate with me for days at a time (kept saying should be done by tomorrow and then wouldn't call me for days), left my car with a roof leak in the rain when they said it would be kept inside, caused a major oil leak, told me to just keep driving with oil everywhere, and then I couldn't get the owner to give me a call. DON’T TAKE YOUR FORD HERE. I waited a month for my appointment with my new van. I was willing to wait because I had heard really good things about the shop. I took it in for a 85pt inspection. It was running fine, but was about to take it on a long trip and wanted to be sure I would be safe as I would be in the deep forest out of service. When I dropped it off they told me they were a little behind and that they wouldn't get to it until the next day. I told them it was fine as long as they kept my van out of the rain, as I knew it had a leak in the roof. I was told this would not be a problem. They did an inspection and found some issues to address. Had my car for a total of 2 weeks. A chunk of that time was spent chasing a non existent issue. In that time I drove by and saw my car in the rain. When I got it back, there were water stains inside on the roof and the LED light I installed inside was water damaged. A few days later I took my trip. I made it about 20 miles before I saw smoke under the hood. Pulled over and opened the hood and it was covered in oil. It was dripping and pooling out the bottom of my car. I called Deans and told them there was a major leak and how much oil was everywhere. The guy said not to worry about it, and that they had noticed a bunch of oil on the engine earlier and it was likely just that oil burning off. He recommended we just keep going and ignore it. I was skeptical due to the amount of oil all over the bottom of my car, so I pulled into a local shop. The smell was terrible from under the hood. They confirmed that there was a major leak somewhere, but they were too busy to do any further investigation or repairs that day. They recommended we not continue with our trip and were shocked a shop would tell us to keep going knowing oil was pooling under the car. We had to come back to town. We brought it back to Deans when we could. I got two different stories. The guy in the office left me a voicemail saying that the tech had put the breather hose on the wrong port causing the system to pressurize and shoot oil everywhere. The technician called me and said it was an issue with my car, but was very vague as to whether he had done something incorrectly or not. He then explained that Ford diagrams are really bad and hard to read, so that’s why this all happened. They fixed (and by fixed it I mean left the hose disconnected as it had been before I brought it to them) and threw in a free radiator cap (a $16.00 value!). I was pretty upset so I asked to speak to Dean. I was hoping to talk things over so I could feel a better about all of this. I was told he was too busy to take call from me which I found pretty disappointing since I had just spent over $1000 at his shop. I told them I would wait to speak to him directly but I never heard from him. The tech and the office manager told me they wanted me to come to “see” what they had done when I picked it up and explain how it went wrong. They said Dean might be there if I got lucky enough to catch him but at that point I was done. I’m not a mechanic, I don’t need to be shown anything. They had already been gaslighting me throughout the whole process, I didn’t feel comfortable having 2 or 3 men telling me that my concerns weren’t valid by throwing a bunch of technical information at me. I don't feel confident with the work that was done so I am taking it to get inspected again somewhere else. Fact is I paid them to make sure my van would be running well for my trip and they did the opposite. UPDATE: Just noticed my towing break system control is missing.

David Johnston

★★☆☆☆

4 years ago

TLDR: They recommended unnecessary, expensive work. I took my Toyota Hiace to Dean's as a first-time customer due to rough idle at start. They correctly diagnosed and replaced the glow plugs at a reasonable cost. While they had it, I asked them to look into a clunking noise in the front suspension. They reached out via text and let me know that they checked it out and everything was nice and tight. The next day when I picked up the van, they told me their "best tech" had it up on the lift and had determined there was play in the upper/lower ball joints, and that they wouldn't recommend that I drive it long distances. I went ahead and ordered parts, some from Japan, and while waiting for them to arrive I heard of another shop much closer to me that works on these vans, and they quoted me a similar price to replace the ball joints, so I booked with them instead. When I dropped off the van at the other shop, I reiterated the story about the clunking sound. The tech, who worked for Toyota in the 90s, took it for a test drive and then put it on the lift for a shakedown test of the suspension. He found no play in the ball joints. I picked up the van, paying only for diagnosis, when he could have easily lied and taken me for $600+ in labor. His take on the clunk was lower control arm bushings and didn't think a repair was warranted at this time. I'm very disappointed with Dean's for recommending unnecessary work and will not be returning or recommending them.

Aja Nordgren

★★★★★

4 years ago

Dean's is our new go-to for service and general questions about our diesel van. Eric at the desk is incredibly helpful and friendly every time we stop in, call, or text. Already recommended Dean's to multiple friends. They do great work at reasonable prices. Two thumbs way up!

Ben de Moura

★☆☆☆☆

2 years ago

I’ve taken 3 family cars to dean’s car care over the last five years, I’ve probably taken my own car to them about a half dozen times. Over the past few years there have been a few honest mistakes they’ve made that cost me a bit but I was understanding. The last two times that I’ve taken my car in they’ve both made mistakes and lied to me. Most recently they told me the quality and level of fluid in a sealed gear box. There’s no dipstick you could use to determine that. They put the wrong size oil filter on my car once. The friend who recommended dean’s to me in the first place told me they’ve overfilled his oil before, to the point where a light came on. I really feel embarrassed for having continued to trust this business after getting a bad feeling about them on different occasions. I really hope this review helps prevent others making the same mistake.

Megan Deardorff

★★★★★

3 years ago

I brought my friend's car in to receive a diagnosis if it was worth getting it running and repaired. My friend was having trouble finding a shop that would even LOOK at her 1996 Saturn Coupe. But Dean's Car Care did, and were able to get her (the car) street worthy again for a very reasonable price. They communicate well and can work within a budget if you have one. I'll take my car there in the future.

Alana R

★★★★★

a year ago

I’ve always received great service on my cars from Dean’s. Staff is friendly and reliable and prices are fair. Thank you!

joe saunders

★★★★★

a year ago

Dean replaced the head gasket,air conditioner and multiple hoses on my truck. Everything works flawless. Not a single leak. He called twice to check on how it was doing. I'm very impressed with his work.

Oleg Osin

★★★★★

a year ago

These guys are amazing. Saved me about $2000.. I came to them for a 2nd opinion on a clicking noise I was hearing. I was told I had to replace my front differentials by the 1st shop I saw. Team at DCC found the issue and fixed it in 1 day, spoiler - it wasn't my differentials. Anyways, thanks guys.

Jake S

★★★☆☆

a year ago

A potential buyer for my car ordered a pre-purchase inspection here. The person at the counter was very informative for me as well, even though I wasn’t paying them. So that was nice. The problem is my car has smelled horrible ever since they looked at it. Like somebody smoked an entire pack of cigarettes with the windows closed. They told me the filters were filthy, but my car never smelled like this prior. I changed the filters weeks ago and deep cleaned my car, and the smell still lingers. I have a hard time believing they would actually smoke in my car, but that’s sure what it smells like

Stacey K

★★★★★

3 years ago

20 years in Portland and now I only trust Dean's. When other shops try to rack up the bill with unnecessary expensive repairs, Dean's will ask you your budget and try to work with you. Their website is adorable and funny, so is the guy who works the front desk (just don't park in front of the garage doors). I will no longer buy a car that Dean cannot fix. They are affordable, reasonable and quick.

Peter Nevins

★★★★★

2 months ago

They diagnosed and fixed a very tricky issue for me. For a year I had been researching the trouble with my 1992 Toyota Camry 6cyl. All my stubborn advice to them turned out to be wrong and they found and fixed the problem on their own. Would recommend. Cool folks.