About Business
Residents of Cedar Falls, IA, Waterloo have long trusted Mad Hatter Auto Service for their expert Car Repair needs. Whether you need assistance with Auto repair shop, Brake shop, Muffler shop or general Car Repair support, they are well-equipped to help. They are well-regarded for their quality of work, maintaining a 4.0/5 rating with 138 reviews. Throughout Waterloo, and particularly in Cedar Falls, IA, Mad Hatter Auto Service is recognized for upholding the highest standards of the Car Repair industry. Don't hesitate to contact Mad Hatter Auto Service for any Car Repair inquiries or to schedule a visit to their Cedar Falls, IA facility.
Google Reviews
Rose B
★
☆☆☆☆
Edited 5 years ago
EDIT TO INITIAL REVIEW: Do not trust anything these guys tell you! They told me more about my car in response to my review than they did while my car was in their shop! Unlike what they claim, I did not receive an estimate before they charged me, nor did I say I “didn’t have time for a diagnostic”, nor did they tell me that they would not be starting to work my car when I dropped it off for my appointment. Had I known they would “start on it in a day or two” I would’ve taken it somewhere else. Do NOT go here!! They will charge you without approval & take forever with your car just so they can charge you for “their time”. They’d rather lie to save face than perform good service. Dropped my car off in the AM for a diagnostic (which I made an appointment for). After a day & a half I decided to call to see what was taking so long (since in my experience diagnostics are always done within a day) & they said they had no information for me. They called me 10 minutes before they closed that night & said “hopefully” they’d know more Monday. Communication was poor & something felt off so I rushed to pick up my car before the weekend. They printed out the code scan results & said there “might be” something wrong with my transmission but gave me no other information. I was charged $150 for an unfinished diagnostic & zero concrete information. Took my car to Tuffys on Main st & they had the problem figured out & gave me an estimate in 1 hour then had it fixed by the end of the day. Also, they didn’t charge me for diagnosing it. Would highly recommend Tuffys on Main St!
Dan
★★★★★
8 years ago
I have always received great service at a fair price. I bought my last 3 sets of new tires here and won't shop anywhere else. I highly recommend Mad Hatter to take care of anyone's automotive needs!
Karen Johnson
★★★★★
7 years ago
We have a specialty car that most businesses will not service, so when John said they could handle our request for work we were very happy. His price and quick work was very appreciated. He did the work we requested within a couple of days. We will continue to use this shop for our work.
Bridgitte
★★★★★
7 months ago
Had an exhaust issue. Was fixed quick and for a good price. Will recommend!!
Jacob Kurt
★★★★★
4 years ago
I went to visit Mad Hatter as I searched for a new car. Although I did not purchase a car while I was there I was very impressed with the service I received. John was very knowledgeable and was not pushy at all. He had my best interest in mind. Will definitely be keeping an eye on Mad Hatter’s lot as I continue my car search!
N Tell
★★★★★
4 years ago
Bought a car from here and could not be happier. The easy going approach was refreshing and much appreciated. The car is exactly what was advertised and coupled with the staff knowing what they were talking about and able to fix is great. I would recommend Mad Hatter and have to as many people as I can. Great place and staff. Thank you.
Briar Stover
★★★★★
Edited a year ago
One of if not the most amazing shops in town, this is my third time visiting and every time I have never been disappointed by the shear quality and effectiveness of their work. They are always straight to the point and honest which is something you can rarely find nowadays.
Shelly DeVries
★★★★★
7 years ago
Fast friendly service and great to work with. We had an urgent Family matter and had to leave town quickly however our Auto needed repairs before we were able to safely travel. They got our vehicle in right away, fixed the brakes and exhaust and we were on our way safe and sound. Reasonable price and extremely considerate of our situation. Thank youMad Hatter and staff. We will definitely be bringing our vehicles back for any future repairs.
Monica Dhumne
★★★★★
a year ago
Bought a prius from him less than a year ago and a few unexpected repairs came up shortly after. Everything that's needed to be replaced, him and his team have taken care of and offered great pricing and taken care of other issues we weren't even aware of in the process. Great business owner. Get all your repairs on your prius here!
Heather Al- hammadi
★★★★★
2 years ago
I got a Prius for my daughter’s first car and it has been amazing for her. No trouble and has run fabulously. Definitely recommend Mad Hatter. The owner John is pleasant to work with as well!!
Kim Brown
★
☆☆☆☆
a year ago
One time I was stopped in there to get my car looked at quick- it was closest to where I was @ that time. I went in to see if they could assist me. They told me "You can wait if you like, we'll see what we can do." Well - the person in the waiting area was a younger gal (in her 20's at most & by herself too) .... the technician came in after working on her car, he told her "Your headlight is out, do you want us to replace it?" She said "No, I only came in for an oil change." Well the mechanic looked at the guy at the register & said to his co-worker "I already replaced the headlight." The guy at counter said "Well, then you will have to take that one out & put the old one back in." I THOUGHT "GEE, YOU REPLACED THAT HEADLIGHT WITH A BRAND NEW ONE FIRST - with OUT EVEN TALKING TO THE that YOUNG 20 yrs old single gal OWNERI :-( YEAH - I left VERY shortly after & NEVER had them look at my car that day & NEVER WILL ANY DAY NO MATTER HOW BAD I need serviced! I seen in person by chance: one person with a Prius car, bit older, in good condition. I asked 'WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR PRIUS car from?" He said "Matt Hatter Muffler in Cedar Falls." He said "They have a lot of Prius that they sell, that the owner makes more money from selling those many cars in the parking of that business then he does as a Muffler shop!" How can someone just 'have a huge amount of USED most Prius Hybrids in his parking lot, yet be a MUFFLER SHOP! I was TOLD that HE GOT Toyota to LET HIM BE a SERVICER to the TOYOTA Hybrid batteries to replace them. SO the owner at Mad Hatter is the only CERTIFIED place to replace Prius batteries except a dealership!" SO HE MAKES $ more money bc he has GOT TOYOTA bought out - that either HE REPLACES those Prius Hybrid batteries & YET SELLS a WHOLE BUNCH OF THEM TOO! MAYBE he is GETTING a MAJOR DISCOUNT DIRECTLY thru Toyota too for those MANY Prius cars/ replacement Hybrid batteries too! MAYBE that HE IS BUYING & SELLING TOO his parking lot has MORE CARS for SALE than people to get their cars serviced! I had a very reputable & TRUST WORTHY one too, that pretty much ANY ONE can BE A CAR DEALER, that doesn't mean they SHOULD DO that TO MAKE MORE $ as a BUSINESS that SELLS HyBrid cars than as Mad Hatter Mufflers. WHEN you hear from other WELL KNOW trustworthy people, that Matt Hatters got Toyota to give me permission / he paid them to give them that 'recognition' yet that owner is NOT any more of a car dealer than my next door neighor is! I will NEVER SHOP there EVER! I have family who / have owned BOTH Hybrids & ALL Electric cars! One day I WILL, hopefully, I will NEVER consider Matt Hatter Mufflers to buy a Hybrid / electric car in ANY WAY!!
Alayna Lowe
★★★★★
2 years ago
I’ve brought my Prius to these guys twice and had a stellar experience both times. They are an amazing local business with a depth of knowledge. They were able to handle issues like major wire damage to something as quick and simple as rusted bolts on a license plate I couldn’t get off on my own. I would fully recommend Mad Hatter to anyone.
Darius Ford
★★★★★
2 years ago
Been working with John for years now. He is always super helpful and honest! My family has bought 6 Prius from him and he always takes good care of us. It’s nice to have a place that provides the community with affordable and reliable cars. I recommend Mad Hatter to all my friends. You should absolutely check it out!
Mark Jackson (Mark Jackson)
★★★★★
a year ago
Second purchase from John and we are pleased once again! Great little prius for my daughter, quick process and great service. I highly recommend them for all your needs of vehicles or service!
Husse Hadzalic
★
☆☆☆☆
9 months ago
I buy Prius 2008 have for close two month and just stop in driving, i call Mad Hatter were i buy car and they tell me hibrid battery is dead and will cost me $1200. I found by my self is not battery ther is gas injectors cost me $40 and spark plugs $20, car start and i drive showing down stream oxigen sensor , when i i located place there is not sensor in all and hole is closed were have to be sensor. I have really bed experiance there.
Grace Corson
★★★★★
a year ago
Robbie and Vince were incredible during our visit. Our car broke down in Omaha while moving from Denver to Chicago right before Christmas. Every shop around wasn’t able to see us until after the new year, but they ran a diagnostic & repaired our vehicle in 4 hours. Vince took the time to go over our diagnostic report and really explain everything (my partner and I aren’t car people) & they even kept our ball python in their office while they worked on our car so we could wait at the local mall. Thanks to them we made it home for the holidays! Their customer service is top notch & I can’t express how glad I am that we went. Their waiting/reception area is also decorated better than any auto shop Ive ever seen!
Tyler Brinker
★
☆☆☆☆
9 months ago
I was referred to this shop as the local Prius experts. General signs seemed to point to head gasket or something worse. After five business days with my car, the mechanics here agreed and quoted me a total engine replacement. When I asked about the odds that there might be something smaller that they would find In the process of replacing, I was told, more or less, “we know what we’re talking about.“ They also offered to buy the car from me for very little, which struck me as predatory. Due to the high cost of replacement, we opted to get a second opinion. Turns out that there’s a heat exchanger in the exhaust system that fails pretty commonly in this model of Prius, and presents almost all the same signs as a head gasket failure. We found a solution for that specific part and immediately all problems disappeared and I stopped losing coolant. All signs point to replacing the exhaust system for about 1/5 the price. Now I don’t mind when people don’t know what they don’t know, because how can they? The reason for the poor review, however, is the call I made after. I called to let them know what we found so that they could take care of the next person, but was told “yeah, it stopped leaking because of the stop leak/sealer that we put in.” However, the leak continued after we brought it home, and there was no evidence of any of that stop leak when we drained the coolant. Overall I left the entire interaction feeling lied to, and with the sense that I narrowly avoided being taken advantage of, or at the very least avoided sinking a lot of money into finding out that the engine was not the problem. I tried to share what I had learned for the good of their shop and their future clients and was dismissed and ignored. They seem to have a good reputation, and I sincerely hope my situation was a fluke and a misunderstanding, but based on my experience I would not feel comfortable recommending them to anybody.
Michelle Holt
★
☆☆☆☆
7 months ago
I had a very negative experience here with a man who barked at me several times, lied to me about what was wrong with our Prius, and over charged us. I would not recommend this place to anyone. Felt swindled bc he looked right at me and told me it was the hybrid battery! After he told us the fix would be $3000 we chose to get it towed to Tandem; they fixed a fuse for $111.00 and the car works again. Thank you Tandem!
Kim M
★★★★★
2 years ago
Love taking my Prius here for maintenance!! John and his team did a great job fixing my suspension, capacitor, and horn!! They even took it upon themselves to clean out my air filter for me!! Was not costly at all and was surprised me with a thank you card and a real Mad Hatter!!
Benjamin Wilson
★★★★★
2 months ago
Talked to a nice gentleman John on the phone about possibly buying a car from me and he was very friendly and easy to deal with. I had previously left a bad rating for these guys because of what a few people had told me but they seem nice and for leaving a bad review without directly dealing with them, I'm sorry. I hope to experience good business dealings with them moving forward.
