Essex Automotive Services

John Engell Jr.

★☆☆☆☆

6 years ago

They scammed me out of a tire. I got a defective one that went flat within a month and no leaks found and they said “I should have called sooner.” Would offer any kind of actual service. They wanted me to buy another one from them, when I bought their top notch ones and their trade off was “free mounting.” When we asked how that was right, to buy a defective one and not have it replaced they made excuses and said it was our fault. My wife also made a review about this and they deleted it immediately even though it was not in any way “bashing” or critical, but all the facts were laid out. They don’t want people seeing the truth I guess.

Erika D

★☆☆☆☆

a year ago

Straight up fraud! Stay away. Long story short, they said they changed the spark plugs on my vehicle, but there is no way they changed all six. There were two cylinders where it was clear the bolts to get to spark plugs were never removed. Pictures so you can see for yourself. Scam

Tom K.

★★☆☆☆

6 years ago

First time I dropped in for an oil change they got me right in and charged a fair price. I was delighted. Every time I've tried to repeat this experience since March, I've been put off due to "end of month" inspections and tire changeover volume....it's mid-June...common really? And they won't even schedule an appointment...have to walk in at 6:59am, wait in line and hope I don't have to wait all day. Was considering other work too but, I guess there's still room for the competition...I can't be bothered with their customer service model and they couldn't care less b/c business is good...I hate that take it or leave it attitude. Count my blessings I guess, based on other "rip off" reviews..

Karre Greene

★★★★★

5 years ago

My family and I have been customers for over 20 years. I am very happy with their service. Their mechanics do a thorough explanation of any problems they see and will show you if you like. Timely professional service from certified mechanics and a great shuttle service. I feel confident, safe and secure with the maintenance they provide. They are my vehicle's family of doctors.

MJ

★★★★★

3 years ago

I've been getting all the repairs and nearly all maintenance service done here for my 2010 Toyota for the last few years. The mechanics are kind, honest, and do all the work needed to keep my car running smoothly without going overboard. Their rates are similar to others in the area. I like the convenience of not needing to make an appointment!

Taylor Dobbs

★★★★★

Edited a year ago

I’ve been brining my vehicles here for more than 10 years - brake jobs, oil changes, tire swaps, inspections, “what’s that rattling sound?” Etc. - and they’ve always been fast, professional, and to-the-point. My car is always set for the next long trip after a visit here. No upselling, no invoice padding; simply good work for a fair price.

Ben Moser

★☆☆☆☆

3 years ago

My girlfriend took her car in for an inspection and oil change. She was notified that her rear brake pads and rotors did not pass inspection. They quoted her at over $700. We quickly realized they were trying to overcharge her and said we would get the work done elsewhere as multiple other garages quoted much less. She was then told that they could compete the work for $480 instead and that they are very short staffed and that was the reason the original quote was so high. After bringing it to another local garage it passed the state inspection with no issues as well as documenting that the rear brakes have approximately 75% life left in them. I was not expecting this so I brought this in and asked if we could be refunded for the inspection that she clearly was wrongly charged. When asking for the manager the gentleman that came up actually identified himself as the owner. After looking into the shop that was clearly a lie and he said there’s nothing he could do and insinuated my girlfriend made up the whole story. All while another technician was standing behind him antagonizing the situation. Overall extremely dishonest and unprofessional.

mark kelley

★★★★★

4 years ago

I had a slow leak in a tire and a small window of time to get it repaired. I was given an estimate of about 20 minutes to get it looked at. The car was looked at within 10 minutes and the tire patched within 20 minutes. Just exceptional customer service. Fast,efficient,friendly and very fairly priced. It was my first time using them but would definitely come back and will highly recommend them.

Jonathan Harris

★★★★★

2 years ago

I have been using Essex Automotive Services for over 30 years. The service they provide is top notch. They truly care about providing excellent service and repairs at a very honest price. They tell you the truth about what needs to be done for your vehicle and give you an accurate estimate for the work to be done, no hidden charges. I HIGHLY recommend this business for all of your automotive service. Jon Harris

Sarah Ehrlich

★★★★★

a year ago

I dropped off a vehicle with a flat tire after close. They have a dropbox and I left my key and description of the issue. The next day they had it fixed by noon and gave me a call. Less than 24 hours and less than $30 to repair a flat seems very reasonable!

Lori Kerrs

★★★★★

9 months ago

I was vacationing from New York when my car broke down late Saturday and got stuck at the hotel until Monday. I wound up needing a water pump and it was hard to find either someone who would do the work or even tried to help me for days. I stumbled on Essex Automotive as a recommendation from another repair shop and they were wonderful. I wash able to get home Monday night. Thank you everyone here for being so wonderful... you're a great repair shop!

Jason Trahan

★★★★★

a year ago

Great service. Came to get my tires switched over and have someone check out a busted hinge on my back hatch. The mechanic came out to tell me my options with the hinge problem, and was able to order the part then and there for a replacement. I was back within the same week to get it installed. Good as new. Prices were average and wait time wasn't anything special, but the work is quality, people are nice, and I really appreciate that they don't take appointments, and operate on a first-come, first-serve basis. Makes spontaneous fixes a breeze.

Devin

★☆☆☆☆

a year ago

I have been putting off writing this review for a few months, because typically I don't like badmouthing people, but this place absolutely deserves every inch of what I'm about to say. I brought my car in because it was running and idling rough, and I thought it might just need a new sparkplug due to a cylinder misfiring. What they ended up telling me was that they bore scoped the cylinder, and it had scoring inside of it, which I was told meant that the entire engine needed to be replaced. Naturally this blew me away, and I stood there for about 15 to 20 minutes discussing my options with the guy who gave me this news. He told me they'd do it for about $7,000. I paid about $10,000 for my car (a used Corolla), so I was not about to spend that much to keep it alive. The next part of this story came when I visited the Toyota dealership in Burlington, where I got a second opinion on what was wrong with the car. They did a spark test and found out it was a bad coil, which is a very cheap fix. I got it done for under $300, which for a dealership is still reasonable, especially compared to the aforementioned $7,000 for a new engine. But that's not all about my visit to Essex Automotive- I asked them to replace the spark plugs anyway, change the oil, and replace a belt that has been squealing on and off - they charged me over $500 for this. So not only was I completely lied to about what was wrong with my car, they also robbed me of $500 while they were at it. I was devastated with the news that my engine needed to be replaced, and had to deal with the car running quite badly for a couple weeks before I went and got the second opinion. Thank goodness I did, because it was entirely possible that I could have ended up a victim of this place's dishonest business. I don't know if the other reviewers here were treated differently than I was, or if they got a different mechanic than I did, but please, if you bothered to read this entire review, do not give these thieving liars your business. Take your car anywhere else. If they did it to me they've done it to others and will do it again. Thanks for reading and good luck with whatever work your car needs. -Devin

Kyle Nichols

★☆☆☆☆

8 months ago

This place told me I needed a $7,000 transmission. I felt it to be a little funky had the car sent to the local new car dealer to find out it was a torq converter repair was less then $1,000. The new car dealer told me the codes were obvious and easy to diagnose. Turns out this local shop was trying to rip off a young kid. I would not recommend this business to anyone after this experience.

Jesse Roy

★★★★★

10 months ago

I've lived in the area for most of my life and have used a number of different shops, and Essex Automotive is easily the best. They are transparent, communicate throughout the service, friendly, and the work has always been good. If they were to make a mistake, I'd trust them to own and fix it. Highly recommend.

Philip Young

★★★★★

4 months ago

My daughter stopped in with a check tire light on, they had her topped off and on her way in minutes. Thanks for your help, we appreciate it.

Tan Wilson

★★★★★

a year ago

Did my car inspection here and the manager is very friendly and after checking, give me some advise on the area I need to look out. Came back for my oil change, later came back to check on my car gasket and finally get it resolved. The mechanic looks a retiree but he really do a great job!