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Eliot's Complete Auto Repair Shop
Rating Details »
Categories: Auto Repair, Tires [Edit]
Neighborhoods: Lakeview, North Center3658 N Lincoln Ave
(between Patterson Ave & Waveland Ave)
Chicago, IL 60613
(773) 935-2400
Two FREE Windshield Wiper Blades
I wil install two windshield wiper blades with any other repair, oil change, tune up, brake etc. with a copy of this offer.
- Nearest Transit:
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Addison (Brown)
- Hours:
Mon-Fri. 8:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
27 reviews for Eliot's Complete Auto Repair Shop
This business is a Yelp Sponsor
12/2/2008
10/20/2009
10/8/2009
5/19/2009
2/10/2009
7/17/2009
Updated - 6/15/2009
5/16/2009
5/12/2008
3/13/2008
10/5/2006
10/5/2007
7/18/2007
3/20/2008
6/17/2008
8/22/2007
Updated - 4/21/2009
11/30/2008
4/30/2008
8/9/2007
7/18/2007
9/27/2007
5/31/2007
7/1/2008
11/11/2008
5/31/2007
8/11/2007
One of the Business' Favorite Reviews What's This?
I've taken my car to Eliot's for about two years, and I am very happy with his service. He has always accomodated my scheduling requests, and his prices are fair (and much less than at a dealer or some other "local" shops). I am quite surprised to see negative reviews about Eliot's: my multiple experiences with everything from oil changes to emission repairs have all been great. On the single occasion that he couldn't finish my car when he thought he'd be able to, he quickly offered me a free loaner. Additionally, he doesn't "upsell" services. I wish he was open a bit earlier or later (8 to 5:30, M-F only), but I am so happy with his service that I will continue to arrange my schedule. (He'll also work with you if you need to drop off the car early and drop your keys.)
In short, great work, fair prices, and very good customer service. I can't ask for more!
My husband and I have taken our 1999 Audi A6 to Eliot a few times I have been impressed with the service. Getting your car repaired is expensive and stressful but he does his best to keep in touch with us and my husband has done his homework to check Eliot's prices and they are fair.
Audis are expensive to repair and we were considering getting a few necessary repairs done to pass the emissions test and then sell it. We had to replace one of two catalytic converters ($1100) and an air pump ($588). Then, we shopped around for a new car but we just weren't finding any that were an improvement over a fully repaired A6. The check engine light came on again a week or two after the initial repairs and we decided to get the Audi fully repaired and keep it for a while longer. The next repairs were a belt (around $50) and a cracked axle shaft ($1060). If the axle shaft had broken, it would have totaled the car. He actually got the work done two hours under the estimate and so he didn't charge us for those two hours of labor.
The night after the second set of repairs, the car broke down on the side of the highway. The insurance covered the cost of the tow truck (Eliot did offer to reimburse us) and Eliot inspected the car early the next morning. He said that the axle shaft was a faulty part and replaced it free of charge and had our car ready to pick up that night. That is the only problem we have ever had with Eliot's service and it was taken care of immediately and free of charge.
The free loaner car was a life-saver during all of the repairs. It is a bit embarrassing to drive (as one reviewer put it) a pimptastic car and I desperately wanted my shiny Audi back, but a working loaner car is better than no car at all. We did suggest to Eliot that he send those cars through the car wash once in a while.
I am rating four stars because we had to take the car back after the first fix, because of the faulty axle part, and the dirty loaner cars. However, I would recommend Eliot's repair service to anyone.
Do NOT trust this mechanic! I say this despite the fact that I am a fellow Univ. of Michigan alum.
I returned to Eliot's reviews when a friend asked about my experience with them. My service experience mirrors that of many of the other young females who have been duped and told her car needs unnecessary service. Upon my intial visit to Eliot's, I was told my car would need a $450+ repair. It was done quickly, and I recieved a loaner. However, when I got my car back, the same problem I took it in for persisted before I even got home! (I live about 1.5 miles from his shop.)
I took it back, where I was told a new battery would fix the problem, which, for more money, did. But in later talking to my car dealer and a relative who writes for Automobile Magazine, I came to the conclusion that the first $500 I spent there was a complete scam.
I have to agree with those who say any mechanic that has to advertise himself as honest, probably is not. Needless to say he will not be recommended by me!
I used to have a '91 Honda Accord...Eliot worked on the brakes, changed batteries and did his best to diagnose and correct a weird stop-start issue she had...Needed a master relay...ANYWAY...I now have a new car! The headlights burned out and I bought replacement bulbs and went to Eliot's and asked Eliot if he would show me how to replace them myself as I always like to feel somewhat less "at the mercy" if you know what I mean.
Eliot supervised me as I changed my own bulbs, didn't charge me for his time or the lesson, and even though its a small thing, now I can do this myself and save $35 each time.
Nice people, good service and when you need to leave your car for repairs you can have a loaner car at no charge.
Comment from Eliot S. of
Eliot's Complete Auto Repair Shop
9/22/2009
Glad to help. Also, I now have 4 loaner cars.
More »
I don't even know what to say here. I called for an estimate and got nothing short of the worst customer experience of my life. I never got my estimate and was pushed repeatedly to bring it by because apparently, "I'm stupid and he can't tell me anything over the phone." I hardly even got a word out describing the problem with my transmission before I was being blasted with attitude.
Not happy with you Eliot's. Not happy at all.
Comment from Eliot S. of
Eliot's Complete Auto Repair Shop
4/24/2009
This customer called and asked for a price to repair his…
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For a local, independent mechanic, this shop is great. He's honest, nice, and a real person--rather than someone just being syrupy sweet to keep snarky customers happy--and the work put out by the shop is top notch.
My family and I have been bringing our car here for a couple of years, and each time we've been very happy.
He's also conveniently located right by the Addison Brown Line stop. So it's easy to get to and fro without having to call a cab or have someone schlep me back and forth.
I highly recommend Eliot's. And as for those one star ratings, sh*t happens sometimes. No small, independent business owner is perfect. But Eliot, overall, rocks.
Comment from Eliot S. of
Eliot's Complete Auto Repair Shop
9/22/2009
Thank you for your kind words.
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So props need to go to Yelp and Eliot's. I originally brought my car to Eliots after reading the reviews on yelp. As the story goes below, I was not thinking much of his service. Well, since then Eliot must have seen my review cause he kept calling me to bring my car back in to make up the repairs. I finally found the time last month to bring my car back and I can now say the "check engine" light is off and I have a new catalytic converter...free of charge. So Elliot, I have to bump you back up for your customer service.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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12/18/2008
I wanted to like Eliot's Auto Repair so bad because its so close to the el and very convenient for… Read more »
Attention Ladies: I would NOT recommend Eliot's for anyone, much less young women like myself. I think every woman's worst nightmare is being taken advantage of by a mechanic who knows she clearly has no knowledge of car repairs which is exactly what happened. I was definitely taken for a fool and I would NEVER trust this shop with my car again. My story is one that every woman hopes will never happen to her although looking at the majority of the 1-star reviews it obviously has happened to several of us at this shop.
I bought a used car right before making the long move to Arizona and I was drawn to Eliot's by the promise of the shop's signature free inspection for new customers. After having this inspection done, I gave Eliot the OK to replace a couple of things they had found like a tail light, belts, etc., nothing serious or urgent. Shortly after getting my car back I drove home and back only to find that my car had mysteriously started to overheat when it never had before. I probably should've realized something was awry but I panicked and I didn't connect the dots. I called Eliot's and brought my car in to have them investigate the cause.
The diagnosis: a blown head gasket ($1000) and possible engine head repair ($1300). I do believe I started crying on the spot. I told Eliot I'd think about it and let him know if I wanted him to do the repair. Well thank goodness I slept on it and didn't have him start the repair because my curiosity and common sense kicked in and I started asking my friends who know about cars and doing my own research online about head gasket and cracked head repairs. Turns out there are several telltale signs for each, NONE of which my car was exhibiting. I started getting suspicious and I called another shop (See my review of Thom's Four Wheel Drive) for a second opinion. Over the course of a 5 minute phone conversation this shop more or less ruled a gasket repair out but said they would need me to bring the car in. To make a long story short, I picked up the car from Eliot's and took it to Thom's where it was soon found that the repair I needed was a $3 radiator fuse. Yeah.
The shadiest part of this whole encounter is that my radiator fuse wasn't just damaged, it was missing altogether. When I asked Thom if the fuses are easily dislodged he told me that they fit so tight one would have to physically remove one for it to come off. Now without throwing a lot of wild accusations out there, I'm just saying it all seems a bit too coincidental that the fuse went missing right after having my car in Eliot's shop. Compounded by the fact that his shop apparently did not notice it was missing after inspecting my vehicle just seems fishy to me. It was only further proven that he was attempting to scam me when he called and left me a strange voicemail about his testing equipment possibly being faulty and won't I bring my car back for further evaluation only after he found out I had picked up my car and taken it to Tom's. In addition, Thom was able to tell me that while a head gasket was a repair that would've been easy to diagnose as unlikely, a cracked head repair could've been completely ruled out since I would not have even been able to drive my car into the shop. This is a fact any mechanic would've known and seeing as how Eliot has had his own shop for a number of years, he obviously would've known.
In my humble opinion, this shop is dirty all over. I'm lucky I had enough foresight to do my own research or I would've been out $2300 for unnecessary repairs. I just can't believe Eliot would do this to anyone, much less a poor grad student who he knew needed this car to drive cross-country. I'll say it one more time: learn from my mistake and DON'T go to Eliot's.
Comment from Eliot S. of
Eliot's Complete Auto Repair Shop
6/2/2009
After reading Lisa's review I wouldn't send my daughter to…
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Yeah... Don't bring your car here. Eliot's motto is something to the effect of "Finally, an honest mechanic." I found out the hard way that if a mechanic has to say he's honest, he's probably not.
To make a long story as short as possible, I took my car in for one problem, it conveniently came out with another. It was a very noticeable problem that wasn't a problem before the initial repair. So I'm pretty sure Eliot's damaged the malfunctioning part during the initial repair and didn't take responsibility for it. They also didn't have any problems quoting me another $500 for the additional repairs.
With all the choices of repair shops in Chicago, take your car to a shop where the mechanic doesn't need to convince you that he's honest.
Comment from Eliot S. of
Eliot's Complete Auto Repair Shop
6/4/2009
I told Nick there is a 5% chance that once the water pump is…
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Eliot is genuinely nice and honest. When my window got smashed out he couldn't squeeze me in but refereed me to a glass guy that was awesome and cheap.
I have never heard of any place giving a complementary loaner car to use while your is getting fixed, even if your just in for an oil change!
I have no idea how much auto repair costs, so I know that whatever it is whatever they say it is. I can tell that Eliot is a guy with integrity and I'm doubtful that he would rip anyone off because he would be crushed if anyone said that they had a bad experience.
Once you go Eliot will remember your name and always greet you with a warm smile and friendly convo, why go anywhere else?!
You can really trust Eliot to get the job done, for the least amount of money and time without shorting you service or quality. My car was presenting with a diagnostic error that no other auto shop could correctly fix. Eliot's ran diagnostics once, fixed a small part for less than $100 and I haven't had any problems. I've been a loyal customer ever since!
Besides the great staff, Eliot's also provides free loaner cars while they work on yours so it's very convenient and you never have to worry about being without a car.
I have been going to Eliot's for eleven years, but I believe way back then it was called Techincal Tune Up. But Eliot's been there the whole time. My first visit there was for a brake job on my 89 Acura Integra. Unfortunately, the rotors had never been replaced and couldn't be turned again. It happens, it's sad and very costly, especially for an Acura. I actually cried when he called to tell me the total. My next visit was much better. I took it in because in the morning it would sometimes not start, especially when it was dewy outside. It turned out to be the distributor cap and he also found one bad spark plug wire, cheap fix for a really annoying problem.
On my last car, a Mazda Protege, Eliot had just flushed the oil (thanks to three years without an oil change), gave it a tune up and replaced the EGR valve because the engine light keep going on. Then it got hit by a UPS truck a month later. After he had just told my hubbie that if we did his recommended repairs (totaling about $300) for basic maintenance we'd been putting off, it might make it a few more years. This was a car already at 150k and had been getting by with minimal care. And it really did need those repairs, there was actually not one item on the list that I didn't totally agree with.
My latest visit to Eliot was when my latest car, a 98 Suburu Outback, started to not want to start regularly. Some days it would, others it wouldn't. I called AAA once and they came out and charged the battery and tried to sell me a new one. But that didn't seem to be the issue. The next time it happened I got fed up, called Eliot and told him what was up. He recommended that I not let them charge the battery and just have it towed in, so it would be in the exact state that had been vexing me for so many months. I told him no tow was necessary, I'd call AAA and get my free towing. He said fine, just give the tow driver the keys and address and not to worry. I heard from him a few hours later. It was the starter and was replaced for an excellent price and picked up later that day.
All in all exactly as his motto states: an honest mechanic
Customer service at it's finest.
Eliot himself is always there with a smile and helpful advice. I took my Honda in for some maintenance and he got the job done quickly, efficiently, and with a free oil change to boot.
Yesterday, I received a coupon for a discounted oil change as well.
This guy knows what he is doing - a mechanical engineering degree from UofM and a knack for customer service.
Visit this place for any car needs - tell him Stephanie sent you and we'll both receive discounts :)
EDIT:
Shortly after my original review was posted (see below), Eliot contacted me through Yelp. He looked up my paperwork, and he realized that my bad experience happened when he was out of town. He genuinely apologized and offered my a free oil change. They were great with my car this time around, and Eliot called me to check in and report on my car after it was looked over.
I know that doesn't completely erase the bad experience I had last fall, but I was really impressed that Eliot went out of his way to contact me after my review (which wasn't even all that bad). You don't see customer service like that much - if at all - these days. I am officially a fan, and I will happily take my car here again.
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My first experience - after reading all the great Yelp reviews - was a total bummer. When I dropped off my car, I was told it would be a $20 bolt replacement. Several hours later I got a call to come pick up my car and was stuck with a bill of over $250. Maybe I needed those repairs - I don't know because I am not a mechanic. But I would expect a call saying that the cost was going to be ten times what we discussed, and I was never afforded that courtesy.
My second experience - yes I believe in second chances - was much better. That time I dealt with Eliot himself, and he was able to quickly solve my problem and didn't charge me a dime.
So I say try them, but be careful, try to talk to Eliot himself if you can, and be clear that you want them to keep you in the loop about what they do with your car.
Eliot was able to squeeze my car in for an oil change within an hour. He offered me a loaner car; however I did not need one on this particular day. He was very friendly, and did not try to sell any additional services (this almost always happens to me, maybe I need to change my hair color). How could you pass up a ten dollar oil change, esp when the money goes to charity? I will definitely be a returning customer.
Fair and honest. Eliot took the time to explain the situation with my car (brake lines needed replacement), suggested a few other items with the car that needed to be fixed but weren't critical (I declined the extra work), and Eliot charged a fair and honest rate (I called around for other quotes).
Do business with Eliot's Complete Auto Repair Shop with confidence.
Eliot has since contacted me disputing what I say in my review and offering to refund the $180 plus he charged me for incorrectly diagnosing the problem (he even offered to throw in an oil change). Of course I refused. This is about feeling that someone is attempting to take advantage of me, it is not about the money. Eliot also called and bothered the other mechanic (not hard to figure out if you look at my reviews). It's obviously my word against Eliot's. Take your car to his shop at your own risk. Much like Katherine A., I find it strange that so many of his 5-star reviews are from yelpers with only one review to their name (and written in a strangely similar manner with similar poor grammar). If Eliot spent less time loading his reviews and attempting to rebut every negative review and more time fixing cars correctly, maybe he could come about positive reviews in the "honest" fashion.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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4/10/2009
I should have written about this ages ago, but here goes.
I took Ethel (my 1995 Contour) to Eliot… Read more »
Comment from Eliot S. of
Eliot's Complete Auto Repair Shop
6/11/2009
I don't want to go back and forth, but this is my business…
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I had a thoroughly good experience at Eliot's. He was friendly, kept me informed regarding the problem with my car as well as the expected completion time and came in at a completely reasonable price. I highly recommend Eliot's.
DO NOT GO TO THIS SHOP! THEY ARE WILL ONLY CAUSE MORE PROBLEMS AND NOT CLAIM RESPONSIBILITY! The thing that upsets me most about this shop is that they hand out a key chain that says "Finally an Honest Mechanic," but "honest mechanics" don't do business this way! I have to preface my most recent experience by saying that I this is the second time that I have taken my car there. The first time should have been a warning because they did not fix the problem then, either.
My car was leaking antifreeze. They told me that the problem was the water pump. They replaced that and the thermostat for $800. I got the car back and drove it 4 blocks before it was overheating AGAIN! Expect this time the vents were blowing out an antifreeze smell and steam started coming out of them. THIS HAD NOT HAPPENED BEFORE! Clearly, they did not test drive it AT ALL because this is not a problem that comes and goes. I took it back and they said that there was now a leak in the heater core that would be another $500 to fix. The leak WAS NOT there before. In addition, the fan was not coming on. When I asked them about why there was a leak now and not before, after much pressing, they said that "something happened" and they "do not make the parts." When I asked about the fan, the guy said that he had to fix the leak and have antifreeze in the system before he could test the fan. WHICH IS JUST NOT TRUE! The fan should come on when the engine starts heating up regardless of the antifreeze level. So, the situation is that I could pay them ANOTHER $500 to fix the leak and then have to pay more to fix the fan that was working when I dropped the car off. I WILL NEVER, NEVER TAKE MY CAR HERE AGAIN.
Comment from Eliot S. of
Eliot's Complete Auto Repair Shop
4/24/2009
Her boyfriend Nick droped the car off because it was leaking…
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What a jerk. The worst mechanic I have ever dealt with in my life. This jerk is so arrogant and thinks women don't know anything about cars. Well let me tell you, I will never ever in my life recommend this mechanic to anyone. You couldn't offer free service for him to look at my car.
I took my car in because I was having trouble starting it in the mornings on some days. I called Eliot up because of his reviews on Yelp. I told him I checked my battery and it was fine. He responds, well its obviously not fine because your car is not starting. He was then going to charge me over $100 to change the battery, when I did it myself for $60. Then my car was still giving me problems, so I knew it couldn't be the battery that was causing issues. Long story short, I gave my car to his shop to look at it, and he couldn't find anything wrong with it, I doubt he even tried diagnosing it, and said I would need a $410 tune-up. Um I don't think so. I told him I had a feeling it was the distributor cap because Honda's are known to have bad ones and He responds "I've been doing this for 20 years, and I've never seen a distributor cap or anything like that cause a car not to start." He treated me like I was stupid and charged me $60 for nothing. My friend later looked at my car, and found the spark plugs were the issue and I changed them for about $15....what a tool. If he was a good mechanic, he would have seen the spark plugs were worn to its bone and were causing the issue. Never go to Eliot for anything!
Oh yeah, and since I used a loaner car, the policy is to fill up the tank before returning it. So I filled up near my work because gas is much cheaper. So upon returning the car, he argued with me saying I had to fill up locally, even though the tank was full. So i go 3 blocks to a gas station, wasted my time to fill up $1.50 worth of gas in the car. UGH he makes me so mad I wanna punch his stupid bald head.
Booooo. I did not have a good experience at Eliot's. I went in with my coolant light flashing on my dashboard. When I asked him how much the estimate was, he said he'd call. A few hours later, he did and said it would be $240 for everything. Wow. All I needed was a coolant temperature gauge. Thinking the part was really expensive, I allowed him to go ahead and fix it. When I went to pick up my car, Eliot told me they found another problem--this time, the coolant level gauge had to be replaced, which would cost around another hundred dollars. I told him I didn't have time to wait, so I just paid started to leave. But as I was pulling out of the garage, I noticed that same flashing coolant light was still blinking on my dash! What?! So I asked him why I just paid a quarter of a grand. He was pretty condescending and tried to convince me that the part he fixed was different and didn't connect to the car's computer? Huh? I was in a hurry, so I left, assuming I could trust this answer. Later that day, I looked at my reciept to see how much this part actually cost... $30!!!!! He charged me $94 just to LOOK at my car! And then another $100 for labor, adding up to the $240 with tax. I was livid. How can someone charge a hundred bucks for plugging in a diagnostic machine and finding the problem where anywhere else they would do it for free?! I called Eliot and told him I'd be coming in to discuss this issue.
Before I went in, I made a trip to my old favorite auto shop, the Midas on Fullerton in Logan Square. I asked them to check up on what he did and what still needed to be fixed. They said he was right about the second part--the coolant level gauge did need to be replaced. However, he had made a huge mistake... He replaced the wrong part! The coolant temperature gauge, the part he charged me $240 to replace, was not the problem part! They knew this because 1) the temp gauge did not connect to the blinking lights, which noted the problem in the first place and 2) because if it did need to be replaced, I would have had trouble with my car overheating, which I never have had issues with.
So as I was leaving and wondering why my light was still blinking, Eliot told me that the temperature gauge (the part he replaced) doesn't link to the flashing light. However, he said it still needed fixing. He was wrong. Instead of admitting that he had mistakenly replaced a perfectly fine part, he just pretended like he had done nothing wrong and then told me I should get the other part replaced for an additional cost!!
So, when I had a day off from work, I went back to him, demanding a refund. At first, he offered to give me the part I actually needed for free, but I refused. He ended up giving me my money back, which is the ONLY reason I'm giving this 2 stars instead of one. And, by the way, Midas will be fixing the part that really needs to be fixed for a measly $80 and without any $94 diagnostic fee. Also, Midas said that they would have replaced the same part that Eliot replaced (the one that actually didn't need replacing at all) for $75. That's right. $75 instead of $240.
Let me just say one more thing---I decided to go to Eliot's because of the great reviews on Yelp. Now, I could be wrong about this, but the following is my suspicion... Please note that 3 of the five-star reviews are by Yelpers without a profile and without having reviewed ANY other place. It seems to me like someone (coughEliotcough) could have quickly created fake names and written stellar reviews to boost this place's ratings. Something smells fishy to me.
I felt cheated and taken advantage of in several ways. I was thoroughly disappointed with my experience here.
The one positive thing is that he did give me the refund he guarantees. However, I would say don't risk it by going here, because even if he does a stellar job on fixing your car (that is, if he fixes the right problem), nothing is worth the $94 diagnostic fee that gets tagged on to the bill.
If there is a car issue I haven't had, it really doesn't exist. I have been to many carxs and all that. Once you go to Elliot's Auto you never go back--
The shop is a medium sized garage just north of the busy Lincoln/Addison intersection. The landmark is a huge yellow "Elliot's Auto" sign you can see blocks away. Elliot S. is the owner who happens to be a Long Island native. He is always there at the business which is a huge plus. You can discuss all work before it is started and get a fair price.
Elliot's gets an added sixth star if there is one because of a recent experience that had happened. I had gone to his shop for a dead starter, for which his business completed the work. About a month or three (who the hell knows because I do not save receipts or warranty info!) my starter died and so my car no longer moved. I was upset because I had just spent a lot of coin, and was now having my car towed back a second time for the same issue. I was afraid I would be stuck with a tow bill and the fee for a new starter. I dropped of the keys very sad and hoped for the best. The next morning I received a call from the owner saying that my car would be ready later on that afternoon. He also mentioned that there would be no charge for the new starter, nor the tow bill because it was a factory defective starter and not my fault. He could have easily made me pay again or in part but was honest and knew that treating me right meant that he had a customer for life. This is reason alone to stay with Elliot's.
Great customer service! Eliot, the owner-operator, is very personable and available. He offers a loaner car for free while your car is being serviced. Diagnostics can get on the pricey side depending on how long it takes them to figure out the problem.
They send me a coupon for a free oil change.
In the famous words of Molly Shannon, "I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it!" I was referred to Elliot by my girlfriend, and took a chance but did some research beforehand. When I saw that you could get an oil change, and 57 point inspection for making a $10 donation to the Children's Hospital, I was hooked. Make sure you print out the page from his website. The loaner car was pimptastic and a major convenience for those of us that have to work during normal business hours. I felt like I wasn't being had or pushed to do any more work than was necessary at that point. When the time comes to get his recommended brake and radiator flush, I will definitely be going back. LIke a cheesy commercial, "THANKS ELLIOT!"
I have been taking my car to Eliot for almost 10 years. He has been nothing but honest in all that time.
A couple of examples: 1) I had a persistent rattling that ended up being just a loose panel under the car. They fixed it at no charge- he said since it only took 10 minutes he couldn't justify charging me. I can't imaging anyone else NOT charging me anything! 2) I had a belt replaced and it was fine for a day then started a high pitched sound. Called Eliot and he replaced it at no charge. About a day or two later it started again. He fixed it again, this time explaining that he ordered a different brand of belt, and it was fixed for good. While of course no one wants to bring their car back twice, he only charged for the initial replacement and I believe that it was the belt- not the work that caused the problem.
I just read the previous reviews and while I can only go by my own experiences I have had fairly extensive dealings with this business and I would be SHOCKED if anyone here caused damage in order to get more business (as one review alleges).
While they are conveniently located near the train I need my car for work and I don't know of any other shop that offers free loaners. My last repair with him was last week and when I picked up my car it had been washed. All around a good experience!
Eliot has redeemed my faith in mechanics! I went to Eliot's after getting a suspiciously high estimate at another auto repair shop. He fixed the breaks on my car in one afternoon and at a reasonable price. The free loaner car was great. Best of all, I never got that dreaded call after I dropped my car off, telling me my car needed additional repairs. I will definitely go back.
I've seen some of the negative reviews here, but i like to judge for myself. And for me, Eliot was terrrific. My car was not drivable, having started to smoke from under the hood and into the cabin. I called Eliot' based on the reviews here and liked the fact he had a tow company he worked with. I got towed within an hour, Jorge the driver took my keys, and i did not have to go into the shop until it was complete. I have a Jetta, which is expensive to fix and the parts are a pain. He fixed everythnig for me wthin 4 days and i was up and running perfectly. Through those 4 days, i got a call from Eliot every single day with an update. Eliot was very easy to work with and i have to say the proce turned out better than i expected for a new water pump, timing belt, and other various parts.
