Hillbrook Automotive

Anyone who knows me know that I don’t do cars. When my car stopped in the middle of the road during rush hour (worst nightmare T_​_​_​T), I totally freaked out and burst into tears. I called my dad (who lives in Chicago, so he really couldn’t do much: x) and the hubs (who was at work, but left so that he could come keep me ‘company’ :P (as I was so distressed!)). Both told me to call Mr. Choi, the owner of Hillbrook, who I’ve been going to ever since I’d moved here (I know, I don’t think clearly when I spaz out!). He hooked me up with a friendly ahjuhshee to tow my car, who gave me a ride to the shop. Mr. Choi checked my car meticulously and was able to fix all the issues. He even gave me updates on what was wrong with it, what he planned on doing, and quoted me a very reasonable price. He may take a minimum of a day or up to a few days to fix (depending on the work and/​if any parts needed to be ordered), but you always leave with a fixed-​up car. Right off of Little River Turnpike, the lot of this place is always jam-​packed with other cars that needs some TLC, which just shows you how much his customers trust him! My car, in general, gives me a lot of grief, but with Mr. Choi’s magic hands, it has been surviving! When my dad was in town to visit and I had to get my tires replaced (and, yes, of course we went to Mr. Choi!), my pops thanked him for always taking care of me. It’s rare to find a trusted mechanic, so I feel so fortunate to find him! :D
+ask for Mr. Choi (he’s the owner)!!! :D
+trusted and honest mechanics on site (ask for Mr. Kim as well!)!!!
+highly suggest in dropping your car off for work
+Mr. Choi’s wife also runs the register; she is very sweet (check to see if they have their oh-​so-​cute pup with them that keeps them company)
+extremely competitive gas prices!!!
+competitive prices for auto services (tire changing, synthetic oil changes, etc.)

For the past 9 years, I could not survive without Him. my two old cars have been taken care by Dr. choi. He knows what needs to be fixed urgently although there are other things to be fixed. Of course, old vehicles have lots of small problems but he only touches the most problematic thing that hinders the safety. His wife is an angel as well.

Mr. Choi is a liar and a thief. I cracked my oil pan and took it to this shop by word of mouth from a family friend. I also needed a inspection but had to wait 30 minutes because he was not there and did not allow any other mechanics to do the work. I thought that was a bit confusing. He almost ripped my mother off 900 $ for completely fixing nothing. I questioned Mr. Choi on the price but he started getting an attitude. I asked him for an invoice, which took yelling at him to get it. I thought this was normal procedure for a mechanic to provide an invoice. I did not trust him from the start to being with.
Next this guy would not haggle a bit about the price, he was extremely rude and obnoxious. I was getting angry, and then he said 900 $ or nothing. I was so pissed so I just left. Then I felt bad so I was gonna go back and pay him the price but to my amazement I checked under my car and the oil pan was not changed! It was the same exact oil pan with cracks throughout. All he did was put on something like JB weld, which is a temporary fix for cracks! It’s like a putty mold. I could not believe this! He was about to rip me off 900 $ for something I could have bought for 2.50 from pepboys and done myself in a couple minutes. What a ripoff!!! I feel sorry for all the other immigrant families that go to get work done by him.
Do not trust him, he rips off innocent people that don’t know much about cars. He is a leech. The only people that I saw bringing their cars to him were immigrants who did not speak English. I cannot believe he would rip off his own people, not to mention a first time customer.

Honest Mechanic… no longer an oxymoron. Mr Choi and his staff consistently delivers professional service at affordable prices and transparency in the work they do to your car. I’ve been a patron of theirs for over 5 years, and when any minor problem has come up, they’ve never put me through the paperwork/​fine print run-​around. This is a place where honest people can go to expect honest work done on their cars.

My family and I have been going to Mr Choi for more that 10 years. He has always been honest and very reasonable. I never hesitate when he tells me how to keep my car running and if there is something too complicated or big for him to do… he will tell me right away.
I just took my car to him last night because the check engine light came on and it was nothing. In these difficult times it is good to know someone that will not take advantage of you.

I always had my Maxima serviced in Pennsylvania when I come back there to visit my parents. This time, it was making too much noise, and I suspected it to be the rear wheel-​bearing. I couldn’t come to PA for the next few weekends, so I decided to look around for a reliable mechanic near Annandale where I live.
After reading many reviews on many mechanics, I decided to settle on Mr. Choi, despite a two-​star review by Joon L. It was only one bad experience among many good experiences right? WRONG …
I stopped by on a Tuesday to have my car looked at. The shop was so busy, that I waited half an hour to even talk to the guy. I told him what I thought was wrong with the car, he gave me a questioning look and asked how would I know if there was something wrong with the rear wheel-​bearing, like I had no idea what I was talking about. I guess he gave me the benefit of the doubt and went ahead and quote me about $ 350ish for the job. I asked if he would be able to do it by the end of the day. He said no, and told me to bring it back Thursday.
I brought the car back first thing Thursday when he opened and left it there. He called around 1 p.m. and told me that he would need to replace one right front wheel-​bearing and one right rear wheel-​bearing. I didn’t tell him that I just had both of my front wheel-​bearing replaced … I trusted the guy so I gave my permission to do both. The job costed me $ 530.
Came back at the end of the day to pick up my car. Everything was good until I had to brake at a red light. It appeared like the brake didn’t take and there was a winding sound whenever I tried to get the car to decelerate to 0 mph.
The next day I drove the car to my workplace which is in MD. Hopped onto I-​495 then I-​270 … And discovered that whenever I went above 45 mph, the brake and the ABS lights would come on.
Took the car back to him. Told him the problems and that these problems didn’t appear before I took the car to him. He said he’d look at it.
Came by at the end of the day. He said he took out the wheel-​bearings again and put back everything again by HIMSELF (made me wonder did he have some inexperienced guy doing this stuff before?!) and he couldn’t figure out the problem. Asked me to leave the car with him so he could look into it. I couldn’t leave the car with him since I needed to go to work the next day. So we settled on the car coming on a Friday when I can work from home.
Dropped off the car Friday’s morning. Came to pick it up at the end of the day and guess what, the same story … that he took everything out and put everything back in and he couldn’t figure out what the problem was.
So basically I paid $ 530 for a small problem … received a bigger problem in return, AND had to come back to his place twice and the problem still wasn’t fixed. The thing was what made me even more angry was I don’t think he even looked at it the last time around (Friday). If he couldn’t do it, just tell me so that I wouldn’t have to waste my time bringing the car to him as well as ask for permission to work from home!
Come to him if you have something simple that needed to be done like an oil change or inspection. Don’t come if you have something complicated …

A colleage at work recommends Mr. Choi highly — great work and very honest. In August, I needed to have the door handles to my Toyota Camry replaced — he took care of it and it did’nt cost as much as I thought it would.
JP

Finally I’ve found a mechanic I can trust. Friends recommened that I go to Mr Choi and they were right. He didn’t pressure me into repairs like the saleman at Wiygul on S. Pickett tried to do.

I hate to give a bad review to Mr. Choi as he is a nice guy. His price is reasonable and he is willing to correct the problems but I had more than a few occasions I had to take my cars back to him because it was not done right the first time. For example, after installing a new tire, on the way back home, all the air leaked so I had to stop and put a donut and went back to him. After fixing AC hose, I had to go back to him several times because of the weird noise. Later, I found out he put too much freon. Recently, car started to make a noise when starting in the morning. I detected worn Belt. He replaced the belt but the noise did not go away. We went back to him a several times but still made the noise. He replaced alternator because he said it is locking up but not sure if that was the actual case. In addition, he replaced the battery and we found out it was not the right size battery. As I said his price is reasonable and most of the times, he does not make you repair unnecessary items but his workmanship (or his mechanics’) are questionable at this point.

I went to get my state inspection done. Mr Choi did my inspection in about 15 minutes and didn’t pressure me to get anything fixed. He did let me know I should get a tire rotation whenever I get a chance, but didn’t pressure me to get anything done that day. He seemed pretty legit and I’ll be going back if I need anything fixed.

I like to take my car for repairs at this Pure Gas Station because Mr. Choi is as honest as it gets when it comes to trusting a mechanic. I’ve been going to this place for the past few years and I like it. One time, my 97 Lincoln continental had to be towed because it wouldn’t start all of the sudden. He had it for few days and fixed it for a low $ 120 for parts and labor. He’s an honest man and does good work. I also noticed that his lot became much cleaner recently. The place got really cleaned up and looking much better.
I do recommend this place for any common mechanical problems. Simple fixes are done fast. However, I recommend staying in touch with him from now and than for any job that’s more complicated since the overwhelming volume of cars can be troublesome when it comes to getting your priority repairs.

Mr. Choi, the owner of Hillbrook Automotive is an extremely trust worthy person and an outstanding mechanic. I have taken my cars to him for many years now. He did a great job at a reasonable price on every problem I took to him. The greatest thing about him is he doesn’t charge you anything if he determines there is no problem.

After reading the other reviews here, I went to Hillbrook because my car was running hot. They were really busy, and when they finally saw my car, they diagnosed the problem quickly. Mr. Choi told me he could get the part the next day (a Saturday), and he could have it ready the same day. He also quoted a price. I said okay and left the car. The next day, I called to check in around 2, and Mr. Choi said he forgot to pick up the part! He was really, really apologetic and put me on hold and called the part people. Then, he said it would still be ready that day. Three hours later, he called to say it was ready.
I would and have recommended him to everybody. He’s a class act and a professional who makes good on his word.

My honda civic ’91 needed maintenance work. Its timing belt needed to be changed and front wheel bearing was pretty worn out. I called about 7 places, all of which I found on Unilocal in the Northern Virginia area. Hillbrook was the only shop that offered low price along with dealer parts. I went through a long process and learned a lot, so please read on.
The places I got quote from include Zaf Auto, AA Auto, Curry’s Auto, Joyce Motor… The quotes they gave me were pretty much all near $ 700 – 800 (parts + labor) for changing out the timing belt and $ 300 – 400 for changing out the front wheel bearing. Being a responsible consumer, of course I did some research online and found that the stupid front wheel bearing only costs $ 70, while the timing belt kit was maybe $ 200. So I was pretty pissed by the overprice. Oh yes, they always claimed the same thing… It’s the labor! Don’t blame them, possible they pay mechanics more than Hillbrook does. It’s all relative. But if YOU want low price, then you have the choice of choosing…
So in the end, I spoke with Choi from Hillbrook Automotive Inc to get a quote. He gave me a quote of $ 500 for timing belt and $ 150 for front wheel bearing. All dealer parts. That’s almost $ 500 of savings compared to the previous quotes! Of course I couldn’t resist, so I went to Hillbrook for the work. (side note, Auto Stop gave me a quote of $ 500 for timing belt replacement using after-​market parts, and $ 289 for front wheel bearing)
At Hillbrook, I stood next to the mechanics and watched the whole process. I’m an engineer myself, they didn’t mind my curiosity and showed me how the stuff worked. Keep in mind, they are koreans, so not the best english speakers in the world. And the shop doesn’t look super fancy, it’s a gas station, inspection, and auto repair back-​to-​back. I don’t speak Korean, but we communicated just fine. Choi’s english is pretty good actually. Anyway, I wasn’t paying someone to speak english nor for a fancy auto shop. Those guys were real friendly and the job got done in a few hours (those jobs are by nature time-​consuming). Total of $ 650 for timing belt AND wheel bearing, WOW that’s what I would have paid only to do the timing belt at the other places.

This Korean owned automotive repair shop is more easily recognized as PURE Gas Station, along Little River Tnpk. Came here through a word-​of-​mouth recommendation of a friend who said this guy is known for his honesty.
My 1999 Honda is showing signs of age, and when I took it to Honda — Tysons Corner, they gave me a laundry list of stuff I «should» get done to my car. One such item on the list was that I needed my engine mounts replaced since one was like 70% cracked. Of course it was an expensive repair. I took it to Curry Auto for a quick quote (not a diagnostic) but wasn’t happy with the quote there either. Then I took it to Hillbrook, and asked how much it would cost to replace the engine mounts. He popped open the hood and took a quick look but didn’t see anything initially… then raised my car up on the lift to take a look at the other mounts and found a small crack in one of them but said it wasn’t that big of a deal.
Undetered, I asked him if I can show him the tell-​tale sounds that made me concerned. We rev’ed up the engine and stuff, but nothing, then we both took the car out on the road, but he couldn’t produce the sound. We even swapped positions thinking I could replicate the sound… but couldn’t.
He could have done exactly what the dealers typically do by fluffing up the repair quote… but he didn’t. I truly appreciate his honesty and integrity.
It appears that most of his business is through automotive repair instead of selling gas, because his lot looked more like a used car dealer… there were tons of cars there… probably a good indication that he runs a good operation.
I’m definitely a fan and defintely going back if I have other problems.