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Nal's Auto Repair
Rating Details »
Category: Auto Repair [Edit]
Neighborhoods: Lakeview, North Center1815 W Irving Park Rd
(between Ravenswood Ave & Wolcott Ave)
Chicago, IL 60613
(773) 525-8600
- Nearest Transit:
-
Irving Park (Brown)
- Hours:
Mon-Fri. 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
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40 reviews for Nal's Auto Repair
Oh. Oh my.
I know many things. Anything accessible via Google is my purview. But when my car started making a *thunking* noise under the right from wheel, I was helpless. Everyone has an Achille's Heel and mine is anything remotely mechanical.
So, of course convinced that the thunking would lead to my car blowing up in the next 3.2 seconds, I hopped on Yelp and found Nal's very highly reviewed. Aside from that it was also nearby and easily accessible via public transport. Sold.
I called on a Monday and got an appointment for Thursday morning. When I walked in, I knew they knew what they were doing: located directly underneath the Irving Park brown line stop, the lobby/front desk looked like a set directly out of the tv show "Taxi." The lady at the front desk was efficient but nice and in a matter of minutes I was leaving my "baby" to "get better."
Later that afternoon, I got the call: the mechanic on the other end broke the MAJOR repair necessary very gently. He couldn't have been nicer and offered me several options as to ways I could approach the issue. I took his advice, thinking and praying this work would be done in one week's time. It sounded major. When I asked him about an estimated time line he just said, "I'll probably have it by mid-afternoon tomorrow."
OKAY!
This is my new place for all things car related. They couldn't have been nicer. The estimate and work was fair and done well. And I'm confident I didn't get "sold" on something or the runaround that a big auto mechanic superstore would probably give you.
Way to go Nal's. I hope not to see you for a very long time. But will certainly look forward to our next meeting...
Been going to Nal's for 20+ years. They are the best: supremely skilled and honest. I'm amazed at Al's (the owner's) knowledge. He's also a great guy. They always charge me the lowest possible and many times on diagnostic checks say "You don't need anything replaced." I noticed a couple of reviewers thought that Nal's tried to scam them. They are mistaken. Must have been a misunderstanding. Do take your car to Nal's
Shoot, I just wrote another review that's not funny or cool. Well, I hope it's at least useful. Gimme a break, you 143 people who've viewed my profile.
On the strength of these Yelp reviews, my wife and I started taking our car to Nal's over a year ago. The service is so-so, definitely not great.
These guys never just change your brake pads. It's always "sorry guy, we gotta totally yank out everything and put in all new rotors" or, as happened recently, new drums. Very frustrating. I took the car over a few weeks ago and said the braking was not right. They gave me some nonsense about the transmission fluid being low. A couple of days later, the emergency brake lets go. When I took it back over, they said the drums had to totally be changed out because the emergency-brake cable wrapped up in the drums. (Who's fault was that, guys?) Then, I pick up the car and drive home, only to learn that the drums were not adjusted properly and were rubbing, so the wheels were smoking hot. Once again, I had to return for service. The adjustment was free, but my time wasn't compensated for.
Bottom line: You get what you pay for. They're low-cost, but not especially good.
The place is a bit hard to find under the tracks. I was greeted with a smile and a person actually listening to all I had to say about the noise I was hearing. They called me back the same day. They informed me that issue was minor. When I picked up the car, also greeted with a friendly mechanic, asked me if I had any questions, and took the time to explain what had happened. Very fair pricing. I'm just happy to find a place I can now go to, drop off the car, and ride the train to work, knowing that I won't be ripped off.
Nal's is the best auto repair business I know. Not only have they never let me down in any way in several visits, they've gone above and beyond for me and my Mazda Protégé on three separate occasions. The first time, my check engine light was on and the code was the dreaded random engine misfire, which can be many things. They spent at least a couple hours (and probably more based on when they called and what they told me they checked) and only charged me for one hour. The mechanic also spent a lot of time on the phone with me answering my many questions and was very patient. The second time, my brakes were squealing and grinding and I knew I had to get them worked on immediately. They are pretty much always booked for at least a few days, and when I called they said they were full, but they heard the desperation in my voice and took me in on the spot. I had my car back the same day. The third time, my check engine light was on again, and I had an emissions test coming up. They told me that it was one of my catalytic converters, and that I should take it to a Mazda dealer because all converters have an 8 year warranty and they would have to replace it for free. Plus, they even printed out spec sheets and the part of the federal regs showing warranty details of emissions components. To me this is way above and beyond. Again, I talked to the mechanic about it for a while when I went back to pick my car up. If I had paid full price for a new converter it would've been over $1,000 (a real, legal converter, installed by a real mechanic).
By the way, the dealer did in fact take care of it.
Everyone at Nal's is nice, helpful, skilled, and entirely honest. They believe in doing things the right way, which includes things that some might not agree with - like replacing break rotors. It won't always be the cheap way in the short term, but I'm OK with that and long term it's probably better anyway. All the work they've done on my car has been done right the first time. As mentioned, they take time to explain things. They don't find extra things to charge you or surprise you with. They don't try to tell you that you need to fix things that you don't need like a dealer (Don't even get me started on some of the dealers around here! Uggh! The stories I could tell...). Overall, highly recommended.
Went here for oil changes and break jobs for both my car and my fiancees based on reviews. I did not think it was that cheap. Then after getting two break jobs on both cars I inquired as they seemed to just want to replace the rotors everytime. I talked to the mechanic and he said it was thier standard practice as rotors get rusty and pitted out. Yeah. BS. You DONT need new rotors everytime you change your breaks. Whatever. But then the worst part was about 1 week after the work I had to change a tire and noticed my rotors were still rusty and NOT replaced, even though I paid for it!
Later Nal's!
So I thought honest mechanics were a thing of the past till I walked into Nal's last night. I was told by mechanics at Midas that my car's transmission was engaging and disengaging and I needed to have my transmission rebuilt or replaced. I was worried sick about having to pay in excess of $1,500 for a new transmission for a 1998 toyota camry. So, I found Nal's online, planning on going in for an estimate. Greg told me to bring my car in for test drive so he could diagnose the problem. When I got there, he checked the transmission fluid and found that I had nada in the car! Something that the Midas mechanics apparently missed during their oil change and misdiagnosed my problem so they could refer me to their transmission specialist! Well, Greg topped up my transmission fluid... for free! Long and short of it is, i think I found my mechanical home! I can't thank yelpers enough for directing me to Nal's. God bless you so much, Greg (at Nal's)!
I signed up for a Yelp account so I could hype Nal's like everyone else... Nal's has been a great find; very trustworthy and incredibly friendly folks. They've been able to fix all of my car problems in less than one business day, super speedy! It's difficult to get an appointment (I've had to book a week or two weeks out); but it's definitely worth the wait.
I had a minor anti-freeze leak over fall... two months later the problem seemed to come back; I took it in and the fixed it while I waited. They explained that it was a "hose shrinkage" weather-related problem (not faulty work in their part) - fixing the problem for free and in under 20 minutes (on on the day before Christmas, I didn't think I'd have a prayer to get the car fixed in time!). I'm certain most other places in the city would have been happy to re-charge me to correct the problem.
Just took the car in today for two minor problems - they called in under 2 hours with the estimate; informing me some problems didn't need a fix right away... the repair guys I talk to on the phone are always professional and happy to explain the details around any problems; I'm a customer for life!
To all the clueless car-owners like me, car trouble can be intimidating...don't get scammed by other auto repair shops, go to Nal's.
I believe they tried to scam me. I took my car in because my rear passenger side tire was losing air. A few hours later when I called (they didn't contact me), they said: 1. That there was no leak. 2. I needed to replace my rear rotors. 3. I needed to replace my suspension. 4. I needed to replace my 2 back tires because they were 5 years old. 5. I might need to replace my alignment. This would have cost at least $1000.
I had my husband take my car to a different place. 1. There was a leak in my tire due to a nail (I had to refill my tire every 2 days), why didn't Nals discover the nail? 2. The other place said that my rotors were fine. 3. My suspension is fine. 4. My tires are otherwise fine. My car is only 4 years old and Nals told me my tires were 5 years old. How are my tires older than my car? 5. Alignment is fine. The other place charged me $20 total for inspection, nail removal, and patching. My car is running smoothly. I will not go back to Nals.
THE ONLY CAR REPAIR PLACE YOU WILL EVER NEED!! Al, I miss you! i have moved to Boston, but my stepson still lives in Chicago, and I referred him there. Now he loves them too. This place is honest, reasonable, friendly, and they do NOT talk down to women...or to anyone else. I learned a lot about cars there. Now, if I have an issue with my car, I call AL first, and he gives me an idea of what the problem might be over the phone. I call him the "car doctor". I had to write because I read a review that said something about this shop scamming someone...NEVER! I took my cars to them for 20 years, and they would never do something like that deliberately. All of their people are certified, and they all rock! So please, do yourself a favor and take your car to Nal's. They will save your car and will save you $$$ too.
I'm not going to repeat everything that everyone has already said. All the 5-star reviews are accurate, because my experiences have been the same. Lucky to have this place within walking distance.
The only thing I would warn people about is that if you do have a problem with your car, go in as soon as possible to make an appointment, because they're generally booked anywhere in the range of 5 days to a week in advance.
Only taken my car here once. I'd been a regular customer of Ashland Tire and Auto and while I liked it alright, I really had no idea what everyone was gushing about. No one there was extremely nice or helpful, though the prices are definitely fair. But this isn't a review for Ashland Tire now is it?
After taking my car to Car-X (dirty, nasty, mean Car-X on North Western), the guys there tried to scare tactic me into get all new brakes and new axles. The guy told me it would be at least $900 and I HAD to get it done if I wanted to drive my car more than a couple more months. Asshole. Plus, I was there for an oil change (ONLY reason I go there) and they didn't even remember to switch off my oil light. Again, not a review for Car-X either. Geesh!
Back to Nal's. I called and told them that I thought I might need some brake work (the brakes were soft) and I wanted them to check it out. Three days later I dropped the car off (after following the explicit directions mentioned on here. South on Wolcott from Irving, left into the first alley). Turns out my old car did need some work (brakes and calipers, but the cost was about $300 less than what Car-X quoted me. And, they took a lot of time to explain exactly what was wrong and didn't pressure me at all to make any of the repairs they suggested.
I love that. I was able to pick my car up the same day and so far it's running great! I will update with other experiences as I need them.
So after my debacle with Pep Boys on Elston(see that Yelp) I drove my car over to Nal's due to the overwhelming positive reviews on Yelp.
I got there on New Year's Eve hoping they would be able to help me that day. I quickly realized that this place is so popular and so busy, that wasn't going to be possible; but I was okay with that. So - if you want to use their services - realize they are always super busy, so you should expect to wait a few days before your car is fixed.
One of the mechanics stopped me in the waiting room while I was waiting to be helped to ask me what was going on. I told him my sob story about how I thought Pep Boys was going to rip me off and that I wanted their opinion on the issue. He told me unfortunately due to the holidays, the earliest they would be able to look at the car would be Monday, 5 days later. I was totally okay with that, especially after the calm sense he left me with.
The other guys at the shop I talked to both on the phone and in person were also very nice. Not extra macho like most shop guys are. None of them ever talked down to me - as if I didn't know anything like some mechanic types do. The lady at the desk was super sweet too.
I called on Monday afternoon to find out that the only thing that needed to be replaced was the battery cables and that the total was $69.95 vs the $650 Pep Boys wanted to charge me for all the extra ridiculous stuff.
I took the CTA 80 bus over this morning to pick up my ride - nice and ready to go. Thanks Nals! You've got a customer for life! Oh - and thanks other Yelpers for pointing me in Nals direction!
Oh - I guess one other thing I should mention is why I only gave them 4 stars - mostly because the time I had to wait to get my car worked on. It's seems standard at this place since they are so busy, but it is a bit of a drawback when you work in the burbs, live in the city and heavily rely on your car as I do.
I went to Nal's because of the reviews I read on Yelp. It's easy to get to from my house on the bus, which is a plus. My transmission was hesitating.
It took a week to get an appointment and I didn't realize it's not one of those "drop your car off and wait at Starbucks for the diagnostics" kind of places. I was kind of annoyed that I didn't realize that. I didn't hear back until right before close, when I called.
As it turns out, the mechanics couldn't find anything wrong with my car. I was told that the transmission could just be acting up because it's cold out and it's an old car. No charge for the test drives. No made-up problem to at least make a buck off me.
And they were nice about it all. I will definitely go back when the next problem happens.
I see Nal's is no longer a hidden secret (and good for them), but I'll add to the kudos - my family has been going to Nal's for 20+ years, and even though I've moved a bit far away I still make the trip, because they are just that good.
Honest, friendly, patient when explaining repair options, and first-rate work, these folks deserve an extra star for the above and beyond.
So I found Nal's on Yelp so I thought it only appropriate to add my 2 cents.
I really lucked out. I followed the driving directions in previous posts and got my car right in the garage. Turns out Nal's is a pretty popular place and you need to have an appointment to get checked out...normally. ;)
My issue was pretty small so they let me sneak in for a diagnostic and got me out of there very quickly. For those of you with real issues, better call ahead!
All in all, it was a great experience.
Part of me doesn't want to give Nals' 5 stars because of the huge amount of money I spent there but that wasn't their fault so I did.
The checking in experience was flawless, very nice lady on the phone and in person. The place is a bitch to find I circled the block about 4 times then ended up calling them. They really are directly under the brown line as another reviewer said but there is NO SIGN you can see from any street. So you really need to know its like just 100 metres down the road off Irving Park way, just park up and go find em.
I knew my tires were crap, I bought the car from a friend who has left the country for a really good deal. She was a crap driver so all her tire sides were worn down as she was a bad parker. I thought these might end up exploding or cracking over winter plus as we just got the car and are driving to canada for Christmas I thought I better get the whole thing checked. $1250 later ouch I feel confident the car is in tip top condition for another 2 years until we leave the U.S.
The had a good look at everything told me how worn my brake bads were only 1/2 so some good wear in them yet, fixed my squaling fan belt, replaced a dodgy battery which I was aware of. I kind of knew it was probably gunna cost me $1,000 before I went in so I don't feel ripped off at all.
Nice mechanics and friendly to deal with. The smells were very evocative of my youth when my mum worked in her brothers car repair shop as a secretary. Car stayed over night no problems and work was done very quickly which was great.
an honest, inexpensive mechanic????!?!!?
i am in shock, but i am happy.
I used to go to Nal's years ago, because my (now) ex-husband's ex-roommate was someone's relative there, I forget who. When I got divorced, I stopped going to Nal's. Not a good idea; I've since gotten over avoiding a place just because it was my ex-husband's choice. Clearly, he knew something, about cars at least.
Nal's came to my rescue when my famous bad kar karma came into play once again. The only ignition key I owned for my 7 year old car had broken, having shattered on the ground. (Long story about why I only had one ignition key, which I will spare you.) Initially my body shop guy said he could fix it, but with all the computer chip reprogramming necessary, etc., it was clear that he couldn't do it; would I mind if he sent it to Nal's, he asked? No problem, man, let's just get it done!
At first I was afraid that it would take a while to get a new ignition cylinder installed and the housing replaced. From the time my car landed at Nal's doorstep to it being done was less than 48 hours. Awesome! They were motivated to get the thing out of the way, I'm sure (no way to start the car = thing in their way), but I appreciate it all the same.
Oh, by the way, Al and the guys: did you find the black brassiere in the glove compartment? My underwire broke and it hurt like hell to wear a bra with an underwire stabbing my ribs (not that you'd know that). So I took it off and stowed it in the glove compartment, and never took it out. Honestly, it wasn't the result of a fun evening, but hey, you can think whatever you want to imagine ;-)
Go to Nal's for a mechanic on the north side that you can rely on not to BS you. And if you need a map to find the place, let me know, I'll draw one and post it on Yelp!
I took my '95 Mazda Protege to Nal's for years. I was never disappointed, never felt cheated, never had to go back in for follow up repairs.
There is nothing more I could ask for in a mechanic.
Every mechanic I went to prior to Nal's told me something different and tried telling me I had to change a handful things in my car or else it might not continue to work--this after I just had maintenance done on my car. After all of these terrible experiences, I turned to yelp for some direction and thank god I found Nal's.
Al fro Nal's was so nice on the phone and instantly gained my trust by being so honest by explaining to me what might be wrong with my car. He did not treat me like a clueless girl that can be easily scammed like all the other mechanics I went to. He even let me take my car in the very next morning to take a look at it and when I dropped it off he gave me a ride to the Metra.
He also provided me an update with my car and found out the cause of the rattling noise--a hanger that was stuck on my door. Scary! All the other mechanics couldn't even figure this out. I was also a little late when I picked up my car and a friendly mechanic was there waiting for me. Sorry guys for being late and thank you very much!
My experience was so great that I had to yelp about it. I am not a yelper so this is huge. With that said, I highly recommend Nal's to anyone. I've already told all my friends and family about it. Nal's is super honest, won't scam you because you're a girl and will find the root of that rattling noise in your car that no one else can.
Although it was a little hard to find the place due to the L construction, this place is truly a hidden gem that you should check out for all your car problems. I know I will always go to Nal's from now on!
I came here after a closed fiasco at another place closer to my house and boy am I glad that happened to allow me to have to come here instead. I love Nal's Auto Repair. These guys rock. They're honest, they're friendly and you can talk to them without feeling intimidated.
I made an appointment for them to fix my dropped exhaust, which I thought only had a bolt missing, causing it to drop. Of course, me being a novice, I wasn't sure if it was something more serious than just a simple missing bolt or what but that's what it looked like. So I brought it in, dropped it off and within an hour the wonderful woman called me back saying it was all fixed and ready for pick up. It was just a missing bolt. No added damage, no trying to up sell me extra goods, nothing of that sort.
I went back after work to pick up the car and he hands me the paperwork, saying "no charge." I give him a blank shocking stare back asking if I really heard him right. He said "yeah, it was no big deal; we just a replaced a bolt; nothing serious, don't worry about it!"
Thank you Nal's for being an honest repair shop who aren't trying to nickel and dime folks. I came here as a completely new customer to them, without any connections, and they told me "no charge." I love these guys and will definitely be back when my car has something more serious wrong with it... but I'm hoping that doesn't happen because that would suck. But I'd rather them deal with the sucking situation because I know I can 100% trust them.
These people are great, honest and fairly priced. What more can you ask for?
They are skilled at all the normal service, etc, but I really appreciate their patience with "weird" car issues, too. For example, I started hearing this creaking in the back of my car when I stopped or turned, and sometimes it would be really faint and some days it'd be REALLY loud. It was driving me nuts. I took it to Nal's and of course when I drove the car around with the mechanic in the passenger seat, I couldn't get the noise to happen! They said to just call when it was actually happening and bring it back in. Well, I brought it back 3 times and each time the noise wouldn't happen while I was with them!! (BTW, they never charged me for their time while I was driving them around the city, whipping around corners, trying to get this creak to happen). Finally, the noise starts happening loudly each time I get in the car. I left the car with them and the mechanic (I think his name is Greg), spent time driving around with another guy in the hatchback until they figured out what was going on and fixed it at minimal cost. Most other places would have been like, "stop wasting our time, lady" on about the 3rd trip around the block.
I have been taking my car here for years and I will continue to rely on Nal's to service my car.
Dog bless Nal's! Nal himself is a doll! Ok, that sounds really girly, but he's actually a really sweet guy who treated me like a PERSON and more importantly like a customer (not a female in a car shop) whose money is important and needs to spent wisely. He and one of his techs both drove my car when I brought it to them this morning, spent a good 30 minutes (free), explaining my options and I can't really say how very impressed I am with him. I'll update when I get my car repaired, but he's gonna be my first choice for sure! I don't think he'll let me down.
Women- this is a car shop guy who will actually treat you as he would a man. No Good Old Boys Club sensed here whatsoever. It's really not that hard to find (take Ravenswood south, turn right in the alley and right under the tracks is lovely little Nal's)
7/6/07- 3 weeks after Al (that's his name, I got confused) made a cheaper fix, my transmission is running great! Plus, I took a friend there this morning, who also has a Honda. Al spent 45 minutes with us, and even told my friend how to fix the problem we brought the car in for! Awesome!
As a girl who never had problems with a car and isn't originally from the Chicagoland area I was totally lost when my old Malibu started having problems. Unfortunately the only friends I had with cars took them to the suburbs to get worked on, which wasn't an option for me.
I tried out Car-Max because something about the familiarity of a chain seemed comforting. STUPID ME! After paying tons of money the car wasn't fixed and I had to find some place else.
After checking out reviews online, I found Nal's, which had rave reviews. The location was a bit confusing (they failed to tell me they were behind a business on Irving Park), which stressed me a bit because my car was literally about to die as a drove around looking for it.
They were super nice and completely honest. Nal fixed the hose leaking transmission fluid and told me that my muffler had a hole in it, but could wait to be fixed. He even recommended I go to a regular muffler shop because it would be cheaper than if he did it! HELLO! How awesome is that??
I have since sold that car, but when I buy another one I will bring it back to Nal's if I have any problems.
I've been to Nal's multiple times (including having major work done once), and I've been really happy with everything.
My impression of the chain establishments is that may be quick but they're usually looking for extra stuff to charge you for. Nal's is certainly much more straightforward and does a great job of explaining anything your car needs. This is the most trustworthy mechanic I've ever had, it's also good to have your money going to a local business instead of off to corporate headquarters somewhere.
If I could give Nal's 6 stars I would. Their good service and location are a big plus (right under the Brown Line at Irving & Ravenswood). Ever go to a place and it just feels like they are being straight with you? Nal's feels like that.
Ever go to a place and it feels like they are ripping you off, selling you work you don't need or talking down to you? I've been to that place (I'm looking at you PEP BOYS on Elston) and I've NEVER felt that way at Nal's.
Here's how my exerience has been at Nal's:
**Appointment required, and then they are almost always a week in advance, so you are better off not to wait if you hear something going funny with your car.
**They usually take a while to look at your car to see what's wrong (I usually bring the car in at 8, and get a call around 4:30). Once they do look at it, the work & diagnosis is quick and dead on accurate. I've never had to take a car back there because any problem they fixed came back.
**Since I always drive older, Japanese cars, they always give me several repair options where appropriate (safely ignore it for now/nothing to worry about; a small temporary fix; a fix that will last 15K miles or so, or a complete top line overhaul).
**The receptionist was friendly and helpful and not in any way pushy or rude. She even gave me a little advice on what to do to keep my AC from getting a moldy smell I complained about.
**After my car was fixed last time, I had a question about work a Honda dealer recommended for a slipping transmission and a mechanic came over and talked to me for about 10 minutes about what I could do about it, what they could do if I wanted, and what expensive work at the dealer I could avoid.
I always drive older cars (usually at least 8 years old with 100K miles on them). I've driven Hondas, Corolla's, a Chevy Nova (Toyota inside, Chevy Outside). Each car has been in Nal's for the things that old cars usually need (brake work; belts; exhaust; oil leaks; power window problems; etc.), and I've always been very satisfied.
Went to Nal's after reading reco's on Yelp. Nal's is great. The same pleasant woman still answers the phone and schedules appointments (usually need at least 3-4 days advance notice).
Service was quick and not extremely expensive. I have an '03 civic coupe that needed a headlight and internal dash light fixed up. If the bastards at Honda would put headlight bulbs in a place that didn't take the "jaws of life" and an act of congress to change, I'd do it myself but Honda is good at compacting shit for a reason.
They fixed both and had my car ready to go 2 HOURS after I brought it in. Granted, these were only minor fixes, but they didn't wait around and they didn't charge an exorbitant amount for labor. ($85 total for parts and labor)
I'll be recommending this place to any friends with car troubles here in the city.
I've been here several times and have had nothing but great experiences.
The actual act of having to take your car in for repairs is always stressful but nal's has alway been a positive experience. They are extremely knowledgeable and totally upfront with you about the situation. They've serviced two cars that I've had and have been the most affordable up front shop I've been to.
I recommend Nal's to everyone I know and will continue to service my car here regardless of where I am in the city.
Nal's is awesome! Be sure to make an appt because like everyone else has said, they are usually booked at least 5 days out.
They are honest, fair and really great to deal with. The only issue I had was that the part they ordered came in and it was the wrong part, so I had to wait another day before getting my car back. Aside from that, it was a good experience and I would definitely go back.
Allow me to start off by saying that I have been to Nal's once...but you can rest assured that I will be back with any problems, even oil changes!
Coming from Ohio recently, I was worried about the talk of big city mechanics ripping people off. So, I scoured Yelp to find a place when my husband's car started acting up. Thank goodness I found Nal's - I was going to journey (with fingers crossed that the car wouldn't die) out to Schaumburg the next day!
Also, to be noted, I am the daughter of a mechanic, so I am VERY aware of the quality of service and expertise of a shop. Nal's passed my test!
Some important things to note:
I read from other reviewers that it takes up to a week to schedule an appointment - it wasn't quite a week for me (called on a Wednesday, scheduled an appt. for the following Monday).
The business location is a bit difficult to find ( Off of Irving Park Road, go south on Wolcott and east at the first alley), but after reading another post, I found it without difficulty.
My car was there for a few days, but they took a lot of time researching the problem (the car was running rough, but decided to run perfectly for them - ended up being a moisture problem with an ignition coil - something we'd had problems with before). Al was very knowledgeable and brought up several possible problems, asked many questions, and in the end fixed the problem.
The best part, it was superbly priced! In fact, I think we paid more for the procedure to be done (on a different coil) back in Ohio!
In the end, I will definitely return to Nal's for several reasons:
-Knowledgeable
-Takes time to research and fix the problem (doesn't rush to conclusions)
-Great Price
-Friendly
-And, one of the most important reasons - they treated me very well...most mechanics take women for idiots - not Nal's!
Wonderful!
All the great hype about Nal's is true. These guys are honest, trustworthy and reasonable.
Nal's is by far the best. I have been gooing there for years, and two times they diagnosed a problem the was under recall. These guys have pride in their work and doing the right thing for their customers.
Okay, it doesn't get five stars because I have only had a couple of experiences here...I took my car in here a while ago to get the alignment checked because I thought I was hearing a crunching noise when I was making hard turns. After looking at it all day, they found nothing wrong with it, charged me $20 for looking into it, informed me that I needed an oil change (but didn't demand that I do it right that second), and sent me on my way.
Let me emphasize...They told me there was nothing wrong! What mechanic does that these days? They are like I am at H& M...If I am in there long enough I can find SOMETHING! I appreciated that they didn't find some obscure thing that needed work in order to milk me of money and time for their benefit.
My friend also went here the other day to get a second opinion on a tire situations (for more info see the Pep Boys review of their shotty work). They found that there was a leak and charged her for the work. Pep boys told her that she needed tires replaced and was going to charge her over $200. Nal's also knew that replacing one tire on a car with All-Wheel Drive meant replacing them all because having tire treads off means bad news in the future for the AWD (Pep boys didn't know that).
Other people have recommended this place before. So, I tend to recommend it to others until I hear some other kind of reaction.
It is a little hard to get to though because it is underneath the train tracks. When going west on Irving Park, you have to pass the train tracks, take a left, and then a left in the first alley to get around to the entrance.
They are the only good car repair shop in this city. It is worth trying to find. All times I've been there they've been actually friendly and it costs half what other people quote me. And the guy that owned the place once gave me a car lesson to teach me something about brakes. Apparently it didn't work, though, because I went in there today after having rotted the brakes out again. But it was a totally different car this time, and a real old car too. I walked in, and I said, "I'm here for the crappy truck," and they said, "Oh, the Dodge Dakota?" And that made me laugh, so I like them.
Nal's is a great shop. They are very friendly, they really take the time to explain things to you and they don't make unnecessary repairs. As a woman, it can be stressful to take your car to a mechanic. Some of the mechanics I used to go to spoke to me differently than their male customers. I guess they assumed that I didn't know enough about cars to comprehend what they were saying. Not at Nal's. I've brought 2 different cars to them and I always felt that they were upfront and honest with me and never once treated me differently than I've seen them treat any other customer..
I had no idea how to choose a mechanic in Chicago. A coworker recommended Nal's. I took my car in for a tune up and they did a great job. My bill ended up pretty high in my opinion, but they called me and explained everything that needed to be done as well as the cost. They even called to let me know they were running behind schedule. I didn't get any sense that they were trying to rip me off or that they were talking down to me. The people in the office were also great.
The ONLY reason I don't use them anymore is because I bought a new car. The past several autos I had I always brought here, and they were always upfront, courteous, and went out of their way to ensure I was happy and understood why things were being done. Looking for a reliable mechanic who won't BS you? Look no further.
I found this place on Yelp and WOW what a great find! Very nice people and honest. I brought my car in because the brakes are squeeking. Well they told me that I actually did NOT need brakes and that the brakes were fine. So, where they could have charged me $300, they only charged me to look at the problem and then rotate my tires. I am amazed because they really could have ripped me off and they didn't. My car still squeeks when I stop, but it does stop! I will definitely go back when my car needs another tune up or repair.
I've been here twice with my 2002 Honda Civic, and both experiences have been very favorable. Lynn, a member of the front staff/ receptionist is very friendly. The mechanics I have spoken with are always very understanding and try to explain everything, even without me asking for any sort of explanation. Better yet, the pricing! The Honda dealer (Carr's on Western Ave) was going to charge me $660 for replacement of front struts, but Nal's price was $480. Also the dealer told me at my 90k mile maintenance check that my controlarm bushings were broken (another $380) but when I got a 2nd opinion at Nal's, the mechanic couldn't find anything wrong. Got the struts fixed the same day and got my car back just fine. Couldn't be happier, and not going back to the dealer again.
