North Hollywood Auto Repair

10/13/09

You can do better then this place!!

by grdmist at Citysearch

I really wanted this place to be the place for me to service my car but I feel taken advantage of by these guys! Bottom line, you can do better in the neighborhood and they know nothing about Volkswagons, BMW's or German engineering period! Take your car to someone who specializes in these areas if you want service. This guy will call out to other experts to be coached on servicing your car! Save time, energy and resources and go elsewhere regardless of the AAA recommendation.

06/12/09

DO NOT GO HERE

by psanders1983 at Citysearch

Called and talked to someone with a simple question: a price quote on a common part. Guy was condescending and rude. Who knows, maybe they do quality work, but respect is a major factor in my book when doing business.

• Pros: If you like doing business with douchbags this is your place
• Cons: Condescending douchbags

05/24/09

DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME

by ChrisStone at Citysearch

I was given a recommendation by a friend to Karen Valenti’s North Hollywood Discount Mufflers and Brakes mechanic shop. I had taken my car to Karen Valenti twice before and received reasonable service. On my third visit I was astonished by the decline in customer service and client value. I had phoned Karen 1 week in advance to book my car in for an engine light issue that needed attention in order to pass a smog test. I agreed to pay for one of her rental cars while she worked on my car. Four days later I found myself having to make phone calls to her shop in order to find out what was going on. I discovered that my car was still sitting outside in a car park without being looked at. When I confronted her about why it had taken her 4 days to get to my car, she became defensive and snapped that she had told me that they would service my car “when they could get to it.” I told her “as a student in a recession, there is no way that I would agree to pay for a rental car for 4 days while my car sat in a car park.” She angrily retorted that it was my error and then went on to rudely accuse me of having her rental car for more than 4 days. I double checked my information to verify this and discovered that I had actually rented her car for LESS than 4 days. Despite Karen being ‘in the wrong’ regarding all of the above mentioned issues, she still had the audacity to be rude and obnoxious to me as I left her office. All I can say is: take your business to a reputable mechanic who values your business. Sadly, this woman gives female business owners a very bad name.

05/20/09

Most honest & understanding Shop in LA!

by audiowner at Citysearch

My first trip to NH Auto Repair was to recharge my A/C. It was after a really bad experience at another auto shop.

Jack was great to chat with and got on the job right away. He discovered a problem halfway into the job that my previous mechanic failed to fix. They did NOT charge me a penny.

Once i had the old mechanic fix the problem, I took my car back to Jack. During the repair, he found that the system itself was broken and not just the coolant. The total job cost was around $330. Unfortunately, he later found out the compressor was bad too (as I suspected). The repair costs were too great for me to stomach especially after my bad experience at my previous auto shop.

Jack went ABOVE and BEYOND. Not only did he call me the next morning to apologize about not taking the full time to discuss the possible costs associated with the repair, but he also offered to refund the entire bill! I thanked him, but told him it wasn't necessary. However, he refunded my money anyway!

Jack and NH Auto Repair are some of the most down to earth and honest mechanics in LA. I highly recommend them to anyone looking for a quick turn-around and a job well done.

Thanks Jack!!

• Pros: Honest, friendly service
• Cons: Located too far from my apartment

01/22/09

Honest and dependable service

by MrToad at Citysearch

I'm not a big car person, but these guys have always taken the time to explain things thoroughly to me. They have even referred me to places where the repairs would cost less and let me know when a part was under recall and a dealer would replace it at no charge. Everything they have said and done has checked out when I discussed it with friends who are more mechanical than myself. They're also very close to my work and therefore convenient.

• Pros: always on or below estimate
• Cons: parking can sometimes be tough

11/17/08

bad experience

by buckeye28 at Citysearch

wouldn't even give a a quote on a break job when i told him i had been shopping around for the best deal.

09/26/07

Jack and his garage are the BEST!

by taskertrio at Citysearch

We would not take our cars anywhere else. My husband and I have been taking cars to Jack for over 8 years, and have never had a bad experience.

Service has always been courteous and prompt, very good communication about when repairs would be done.

The garage has done repairs for free when the repair involved parts they worked on before. They have advocated for us in getting a tire shop to honor warranty as well as helping to get a warranty insurance program to pay for repairs.

We trust Jack and have taken his advice on older vehicles on what repairs were worth doing and value of the vehicles, when to sell etc. With two newer vehicles we are currently just going for basic oil changes etc., but as our vehicles get older we will continue to trust North Hollywood Auto Repair to keep us on the road.

09/04/07

Dishonest, Arrogant & Expensive

by orbots at Citysearch

I was quoted a price that seemed way too high for a water pump repair on my VW Beetle. I shopped it around and found consistently lower prices (by at least $150) everywhere. When I told JACK, the proprietor, that I had found lower prices elsewhere and invited him to offer a more competitive price, he seemed offended and proceeded to villify all of the other auto shops, saying their workers weren't qualified and that they worked for slave wages. I decided to go with another shop and had my car towed to another garage. After the car was fixed, I noticed that my iPod had been stolen (it was hooked into the stereo.) When I approached Jack about this, he wouldn't conduct a search of his office or his workers' lockers even though the other garage and towing company were happy to let me search the premises. He even tried to convince me that I had lost the iPod before I brought it to his garage. Listen to this guy, Jack, talk. His tendencies toward calumny and hubris are all the markings of snake-oil salesman. Caveat emptor.

• Cons: Attitude, Dishonesty

08/22/07

different opinion

by sagelber at Citysearch

I had a different experience. The service was very good. Kind of pricey, but I trust these guys to take care of my car.

09/16/06

The people were friendly, but the work was like I took my car to auto shop class and paid full price.

by lexde at Citysearch

I brought my automobile in because there was something wrong with my steering. They diagnosed the problem fast, but I didn't receive my car until the next day late in the afternoon. I ended up paying $700 for a steering part (pinion) and an alignment... half of that was labor!

The next morning, my steering was making a horrible grinding sound so I took it back in. I didn't receive my car until the end of the day. They had put the steering part in the WRONG WAY and I had permanent pen marks all over my steering column from the person who did my alignment.

It was completely inconvenient, not that great of a price, and I felt like I wasn't put as priority, even when I had to bring my car back.