A-Z Auto Center

I took my son-in-law’s car there for an inspection. I got there right before they closed and they took me right in and did the job quickly. They even put on his front license plate for him. Great customer service!

Went in with a radiator leak; which got fixed in a timely manner under the price they quoted. For this they did a great job.
Was concerned over the $ 30 per gallon for 2 gallons of antifreeze for a car that dry take 7.8 quarts (1 gallon antifreeze & 1 gallon water). Perhaps they are using a very expensive product?
They also quoted replacing the air filters, replacing the water pump, and replacing the timing belt? Believe they were using the car in as an opportunity to check things for us.
We called to ask about the water pump they stated that «it was leaking and with a new radiator and cap the leak will get worse». Miles later the pump still isn’t leaking. So not sure of the disconnect on this.
Overall they did what we asked in the time and under the quoted cost. Just wish the water pump discussion was clearer.

I am a long time customer of A-​Z Auto Center and can say they are just a great group of guys. They are always friendly, honest and eager to help. I recently was there to repair my BMW and they saved me a lot of money compared to the BMW dealer down the street, they beat the dealer estimates by almost half. What really makes A-​Z special is that they really do care about there customers and it’s not all about the money.
I would recommended A-​Z if you want a alternative to expensive dealers but still want high quality and honest work.
P. S. they offer email and text message reminders so that you know when your car is due for service.

Great food for both take out or to dine in. Service is always good and the quality of the food is excellent.

I needed my passenger side mirror fixed on a Saturday and I called and they told me to come it they could fix it today. When I arrived there was a short wait and then the first person said I needed a new housing because it was broken. Having replaced on before I know how expensive that is so I asked of there was a temporary repair that would allow me to drive safely by having a mirror that works. Jean said he could screw it on and it should hold a few months. He did that in 10 minutes and when I asked what the charge was he said I’m all set. This was the most positive experience I have ever had at a garage. I’ll certainly take all my work there since they are trustworthy and don’t gouge people. While I waited I overheard other customers say similar nice things about how their work was handled.

Called on a Friday night to see if they could get me in the next day for a break job on my car. They got me in first thing the next day, evaluated my car, and got it back to me before COB that day. No surprises and super convenient. Couldn’t ask for much more!

They did the job quickly and checked everything for me.

A-​Z Auto Center provides GREAT customer service. They really do go above and beyond for their customers. Their staff is incredible starting from the store attendent, to the office, and up to their awesome mechanics! These people are truly the BEST!!! :)

I came in because I wanted a plug in my flat. They couldn’t plug it but sold me 2 tires they had that were much better than the ones I had. The guy told me I may as well get both because the other one was «just as bad.» I agreed, 5 days later I have a flat in the one that was fine to begin with. So I went back thinking they’d fix it free of charge because they basically told me I should buy it. Nope, charged me $ 15 for a valve stem.
I’m not disputing that it needed to be fixed but c’mon. I had to call out of work and deal with the hassle of pumping up the damn tire to bring it back. They should have given me a discount or maybe not sold me a crappy-​valve-​stemmed tire to begin with.

I’ve had two oil changes with A-​Z on my 2004 Odyssey and one repair job on a remote starter. The remote starter issue they dealt with well enough, if a little bit haphazardly. I give that experience a 4.
Oil changes have been generally efficient — give those a 4 too. Also, billy seems to be a really nice guy. Unfortunately, I had a very poor experience as below:
It relates to my last visit to AZ. I had taken the car in for an oil change and asked them to also look at the left front tie rod as it had been flagged as an issue when I first purchased the car 5 months ago (by a well-​respected old-​school mechanic in waltham). When I picked up the car I was told that they found no problem with the tie-​rod but that the sway bar needed to be replaced. I was also informed (have a written quote in hand) that my brake pads needed replacing with «less than 2mm» remaining on one, and less than «5mm» on another. The quote went on to say that continuing to drive the car without replacing the pads could result in «caliper damage». The quote for the entire job including the sway bar repair and replacement of a set of rotors was around $ 900+ (AAA discounted rate).
As I was unsure about all this and the huge cost, so thought I better get a few more opinions. I took the car to Franklin’s Brake and Muffler Watertown as they quoted far lower for the rotors and brake pads over the phone (as did Carzone Cambridge). Upon inspection, they said the pads were fine and would not recommend changing them yet. Confused, I asked them to show me why they thought pads were ok, as the car was still jacked up and the wheels hadn’t been put on. They measured the rear pads in front of me as 8−9mm for one and 10mm+ on the other. The front pads had even more. They did highlight that the left tie rod was in dire need of attention.
When I finally had the car serviced the following week with Murph at Carzone Cambridge, he said exactly the same thing regarding the pads and tie rod. I have since driven 2500 miles and the brake pads are still holding up (oil change after tie rod repair was 500 miles ago).
Not exactly pleased that I would have forked out $ 900 for a non-​issue (brake pads), a non-​urgent issue (rusted rotors) and a minor issue (sway bar) while missing the major issue (left tie rod). Now, this could be a mistake or poor skills on the part of the tech, but either way I think its a huge red flag. I would not recommend getting any work done without a second quote.
I would rate A-​Z a ‘1’ for this particular issue.

–HONEST
–COMPETENT
–GOOD WITH FEMALE CUSTOMERS & STUDENTS
First off, I never say, ahem, Woohoo!, as Unilocal insists on doing for 4-​star reviews. But I do smile inwardly when I think of my experiences with A-​Z. I’m an old codger of 59 now, but in my salad days I was an amateur car builder. That makes me a difficult customer. I ask for replaced parts to be returned so I can sniff them and ask if the absolutely correct grease is being used. And, of course, I gas on and on about my experiences. In short, though I’m not the customer from hell, a mechanic would often want to reach for a handy spanner and whack me on the soft spot.
I like my car. It is the perfect car. It has rolled (Volvo=“I roll”) over 160,000 miles in nine years. It’s not an exotic, but as a fancy-​shmancy European hardtop convertible, parts and repairs can be pricy. Occasional specialist repairs are required. I have an excellent dealer-​trained mechanic for suchlike (see Rave Imports). For every other car problem, I use A-​Z.
I am reviewing A-​Z as a mechanical repair facility. In my opinion, their honesty is beyond question. They use a flat-​rate book model and quality parts. The business employs a large, stable staff of mechanics. As a body, this group does a good job. This means that they competently diagnose the relevant problems and render a competently performed, guaranteed repair.
The foregoing can be said of many shops. What makes A-​Z EXCEPTIONAL is the service desk. It allows me to treat the repair facility as a black box, with the service writers as the human interface with the technicians. I have dealt mostly with a stout fellow called Billy. (I think he’s the general manager.) He understands and obviously cares about his customers. Patient, politic, courteous and clear. In his efforts to accomodate, he’s flexible as a Chinese acrobat. I noticed that with younger and female customers, he doesn’t condescend or obfuscate. Altogether a saint walking among us. And, though sorely tempted, he hasn’t smitten me upon the mazzard with a wrench.
You need specifics? Recently, I brought in the car, having diagnosed it myself as needing two new front wheel bearings. The technician found only a single bearing requiring replacement. Not only did that save me a bearing job, but Billy allowed me to use a high-​quality part that I already had in hand in the repair. During the job, the mechanic noticed a subtle but very real defect in the half-​axle. Billy demonstrated it and I authorized the repair. Since they were doing the hub anyway, and the two jobs were related, the labor charge was reduced. Altogether a good deal. Notice that there was no insisting that «these parts have to be replaced in pairs». No warnings that a minor flaw had to be fixed right away because it was «a critical safety issue». Not every visit goes like this, but jobs are clearly explained and competently executed and I’ve been treated fairly and with honesty. Bonus: When I drove out of the shop this time, I found that a mysterious and long-​standing noise problem had been cured by the half-​shaft replacement. As Archimedes shouted, standing in his overflowed bathtub, «EUREKA!», which of course is Greek for «I’m naked!».

The Good: As others have said, even the negative reviews, everyone here is really friendly. They also send confirmation text messages for the appointment time, if you have one, which is nice.
The Bad: I recently had a tie-​rod replaced on my car, and after this is done you have to get the front-​end realigned. My dad’s been a mechanic/​auto-​body worker for 40+ years, but I didn’t want to drive 2 hours back home just for an alignment. A few weeks ago I called A-​Z and made an appointment for 4PM later that week, and confirmed via text message. I left work early to go, and when I arrived the guy at the front-​desk said there was no appointment listed. He got his manager, who was also friendly, and he told me that the guy that does the alignments left, and he had just found out. It’s not that big of a shop. but I digress. He said the guy had to get to a wake, so I understood. Still I was confused, was it that there was no appointment, or was it that the guy that did them left…
A few weeks later I have some time, and make an appointment for 11AM. The guy says it’ll take about an hour, maybe a little more. I confirm that it’ll be done by around noon, telling him that since I don’t live near a bus line I can’t get back home from there, and I need the car the rest of the day. He says it’ll be ready, so I told him I’d just wait in the office while they did it. I go in the day of the appointment… and the guy says that it’ll be done around 2. I ask him what he means, the appointment is for 11, an alignment doesn’t take that long, and I had specifically asked what time it would be done at and was told a bit after 12. I get a bunch of excuses; I ask if they have anyone that can drop me off by my house, and they say yes, but there’s no guarantee they’ll be able to come get me after. So basically I would have been marooned there for 3+ hours. Great. They tried saying it only takes an hour once they start, which I get… but what was the point of the appointment, and why was I told it’d be done shortly after noon. Two wasted trips. Won’t be going back.

I continue to use A-​Z exclusively for all my auto needs despite having moved to the South Shore a year ago. I had heard of this happening from other patrons. It always impressed me and now I understand why so many keep returning despite the distance. Over time, the service here continues to impress. Recently, I began to hear a strange noise in the back end of my car that only happened from time to time. As always seems to be the case with my car, I knew the noise would be hard to duplicate on purpose and therefore difficult to repair. Thankfully, the guys have grown to trust me and on the third ride out found the culprit of the noise. Jean fixed my car and I swear it runs better now than when it was running before the noise! To friends, I’ve accused him of infusing the oil with pillows!!! Lol. Thanks and a big shout out to Billy and Fred out front and all the great guys behind the scenes at A-​Z!

You can’t beat the prices. Although I moved an hour away I always come here for the major work. I have an old truck going on 11 years and maintenance is the key to keeping it running.
After this rough winter I noticed a month ago that my truck was squeaking real bad. I took it to the dealer since they live close by. The dealer only does my oil changes and recently a brake job. The prices on the brake job was okay was about $ 80 more than I expected but it save me an hour drive to A-​Z auto. Unfortunately with most dealers any major work the prices are sky high.
In regards to the squeaking the dealer stated I need a to replace ball joint of some sort. Cost would be $ 950. This was the same dealer who quoted me $ 1,500 to replace my oil pan a year back. So of course I went to A-​Z auto. They told me the dealer was wrong about what needed to be fixed. It only cost me about $ 300 with discounts that they gave me. That fixed the squeaking. These guys are the best.
Wish they had a shop in the North Shore!
In regards to that Oil pan A-​z replaced it last year for about $ 800.
I always trust these guys and they had no problems with letting me bring my puppy to shop as I am socializing him.

I love A-​Z!!! The most honest and knowledgeable auto service facility in the Allston/​Brighton area I know of. I wouldn’t go anywhere else for automotive repair needs.

Someone swiped the corner of my car and badly scratched the corner. Fortunately I had his contact information and he offered to pay, so I went here since it was the closest repair shop. The office was very professional, and they took a proper amount of time to diagnose the solution and give me a reasonable and exact quote. The only reason it’s not five stars is because the process took longer than expected — four days instead of two. However, I did not express any urgency and I know that I was in a queue, so maybe I was low priority, but the time wasn’t terrible and didn’t conflict with my needs.
These guys are great!

On my initial visit, I felt unsatisfied with the overall experience. I posted my complaints on Unilocal,and received a call from Billy, the manager, a few days later. He was apologetic, cordial, and respectful. He listened to what I had to say and we reached a new agreement that I very happy with.
I appreciated Billy’s forthright approach to the situation and it’s clear that he cares about his relationship with his customers. Credit where due – he did a great job making things right. I feel good about returning here.

Now I can’t say I’ve used their shop for repairs, but I did get some gas here and chat with one of the employees for a bit. Seemed like a nice place (was a good price at the time) and had good service.
Now that I’ve seen their car maintenance/​repair reviews I think I’ll bring my car here first if I ever need anything done. I’ve rarely seen a car repair shop of any kind with nearly a 5 start rating — Id say that warrants a try!

A few weeks after posting my earlier review of the bad experience I had with A-​Z in the Spring of 2014, the owner Billy reached out to me personally here on Unilocal.He apologized for the poor service and asked that I give him and his team a shot again.
Not only did they do right by me with regards to the coolant job — by finishing the work for next to nothing (I just paid for parts), but he gave me a very generous discount on top of other work that needed to be done. The communication this time around was spot on – I got updates every day, thorough explanations of what came up in the diagnostic report, and they really worked with me to keep it within my budget while still doing what work needed to be done on the car. Not only that, when I picked it up (just a couple days after dropping off!) the vehicle was cleaned inside and out and looked great.
Honestly it is like night and day — I currently have my vehicle being serviced again and have had the same great experience. Great communication, great customer interaction, thorough and detailed explanations… these guys really turned it around. It is great because not only did these guys go above and beyond to do right by me after last Spring, but now I have a local mechanic who really knows his stuff, I can trust, and is affordable as well as honest.
I would recommend A-​Z to anybody living in the area… really great team.

I’ve been here twice for car inspections. The place is very tight to get into, but the service is great. It’s easy to tell that management has put significant emphasis on customer service. The staff are friendly, knowledgeable and easy to understand. Many garages that you walk in have employees that have no idea how to interact with customers and have little ability to build any trust.
I have friends that have also had good luck with A-​Z and would recommend to anyone for at least car inspections or minor repair (I have not used them for any major repair work to my car).