Fresh Pond Mobil

I like Eli. He is hard working immigrant who is always ready. Do not get sucked into every thing he says. Do your research and then go to him.

It’s a mystery to me that anyone still brings their car here for any reason at all. Even stopping for gas will try your patience. I have gotten gas here a total of two times, and had the unfortunate experience of one other visit, for an annual inspection. Both times I stopped for gas, I was set upon by the employees, hassling me to get my oil changed, or to let them give my car a mechanical once-​over. They wouldn’t take no for an answer either time, and were almost confrontational about it. No thanks, guys. You’re bizarre, high-​pressure sales tactics at the gas pump are enough to suggest the kind of «service» you provide.
I went to them for an inspection once, because I assumed they wouldn’t use that as an opportunity to do the same. I was, of course, totally mistaken. It turned out that my recently serviced car was waaayyyy to shoddy to pass an inspection, and that it needed about $ 500 worth of work to make it road-​worthy again. Among other things, this included the necessity of removing a small dent in my quarter panel, because it supposedly effected the angle of my headlight beam. Mind you, the dent in question had been there for two years, was nowhere near large enough to distort the beam, and had never been the subject of scrutiny in previous inspections. In fact, when I asked him to let me judge the headlight angle for myself, against the numbered crosshair, I saw that it was not only within the acceptable parameter, but was EXACTLY WHERE IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE.
I declined their services, and told him I would accept a rejection sticker. I mentioned that the receipt would show the date and time the sticker was issued, and I also told him that I would take it somewhere else, and return within the hour, with a legitimate, passing inspection sticker, and a cop. You’ll never guess what happened next. All of the problems with my car were miraculously gone! I received a passing inspection sticker, without the need for any costly repairs.
Don’t believe me? Stop in and judge for yourself. These guys are the worst.

On Sunday, I had the pleasure of running over a nail-​like object while dropping off a friend in Somerville. Great. After briefly panicking that I would have to call roadside assistance because I wouldn’t be able to find a garage, I stumbled upon Fresh Pond Mobile. Open on Sunday, in and out visit, great service, inexpensive. What more do you need to know? Well there is that little nugget where I kinda felt like they were creeping on me (flirting) a bit and were slightly sexist but whatever, they patched my tire in ten minutes for $ 17 bucks.

Complete Scum Bags. Do not go there for ANYTHING from these d-​bags. My wife went there for her inspection sticker because the station closer to us had a long line. Now we know why there no line here: they suck as people. My 2010 car got rejected according to them because of wipers. wipers? I have been getting my cars inspected for 30 years and never got called on wipers. They basically have us hostage at this point. My wife calls me at the station & tells me they want $ 24-​$ 48 dollars for new WIPERS! I ask to get on the phone, tell them the truth that all the wipers were purchase this year, they tell me there is ‘nothing’ they can do, but then offer to replace only the ‘really bad one’ for $ 12. We got out rather cheap. but they still are horrible people.

I went to this gas station to get an inspection sticker. They then tried to push other work on me — even though I’d just taken my car into the dealership for one of it’s mandated tune ups. I felt like they were pushing work I didn’t need. Go to the shell station down the road instead. They’re nicer.

Not sure if these guys are either dishonest or incompetent, but I urge you to stay away! After I took my car to have it assessed, Elie, the owner, told me he would fix it for $ 850 (my car had a transmission leak). A week later, my friend took a look at my car and realized that the leak was due to a missing bolt that would otherwise seal the hole through which transmission fluid goes out. The mechanics somehow «forgot» to place it back the last time I took my car to them and then they had the nerve to tell me it would cost $ 850 to fix the problem. I took my car to a dealership where the bolt cost $ 4 and, with labor, $ 49 to fix the transmission leak issue.

I like this garage. I’ve used them for over a year now, they are always helpful and explain any problems to me. Prices are fine, they are not a bargain, but I don’t really expect any great bargains when it comes to fixing my car.
The things I appreciate are small — it’s easy to drop the car off and to get work scheduled, when my car has a problem they give me a ride home, they write their quotes down for me when asked, and Eli always shows me the areas fixed and explains what he did. I’ve never felt pushed to do anything overpriced or unnecessary. I had a tree fall on my car in last year’s nightmare of a snowstorm and they quickly sent the tow truck to my house, they worked seamlessly with the insurance company.
It’s not a luxury operation, their waiting area is a single folding chair. But they are nice and do a good job, and that is what is important to me.

Ive been bringing my cars here for about 3 years or so and Ive had nothing but good experiences here. I also bring my fiances car here and her sisters car.
Eli has always been very straight forward with me, telling me what really needs to be done on the car and what can wait, does the job quickly and has always been fair with pricing. He’s both knowledgeable and respectful.
Id recommend seeing Eli and Fresh Pond Mobil for your repairs.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!! If I could give it negative stars I would. I cannot put into words why this operation is so bad, but trust the other reviews on this site, it is bad, very bad. Thankfully, American Express made the situation much much better for me (ie, chargeback), and they now have the operation on alert as well, not that is much comfort to the others here. PS — I had to return to Eli 4x for things that broke as a result of other repairs they made (supposedly) as well as faulty parts which is even more frustrating… I had parts fail twice for the same problem. They just don’t get it. The xtra’s he supposedly threw in weren’t even done… confirmed by another shop. I wish I had read the other reviews on here before I went to these guys. Lesson learned.

My review is based on the one (and maybe only) visit I might make to this establishment, since I have a wonderful mechanic in the area already.
I had my inspections done here– never been to this place before, and my insurance company had listed FPM as one of the approved inspectors.
Inspection went fine — all I needed were two headlights. (my car has two on each side). Eli mentioned I may need a new belt, and showed me the small cracks. but didnt say it was pressing and didnt try to push me to get it done there. I asked for a quote on how much it might be, and he said around $ 70 total, which certainly didnt seem like a rip off. He was very personable/​had a good sense of humor.
I was not ripped off, not treated poorly, and I was in and out in a jiffy. Works for me.

Well i am not surprised by all of the negative feedback. I took my car here two months ago to have an oil change. I waited and the manager came up to me sitting outside and said that my front brake pads were too low and needed to be changed. He also said that the rotor on the driver side needed to be turned. I was skeptical. I said to just change the oil. I took my car to Lexington Toyota and dropped it off for the 60,000 mile service. They did a complete service and i even said that i think the brakes need to be done. They came back and said that neither the pads nor the rotor needed any work. They said it was absurd for anyone to say they needed to be replaced. Beware of their tatics. I won’t even buy gas here anymore.
Chris

Oh Eli. How do you sleep at night? Based on all the other negative reviews I don’t seem to be the only one that’s fallen prey to his scheming ways.
If I could give this place negative stars I would. In fact, I probably should be submitting a complaint to the BBB instead of writing this methinks. However, I wish I had done my research from my fellow Unilocalers before getting work done on my car here.
My oil pan crapped out and I needed it towed immediately on a Saturday afternoon. Triple AAA recommended this place and it was basically the only thing open.
$ 1500 dollars later I leave the garage completely unsure if any of the work (nevermind the unnecessary work) was even completed. I did get a bill though that’s for sure. He upsold me all this crap with his stupid fear tactics (your car will not work unless you let me rip you off is basically what it translated to).
He took advantage of the fact that I’m a young college age girl and unfortunately it worked cuz I had nowhere else to go. I called my own mechanic from home and asked his opinion and he told me that all the extra stuff Mobil tacked on doesn’t make a difference and was not necessary based off the original problem. I called Eli immediately afterwards and told him I didn’t any work done on the car. He said it was «too late». Sure.
Eli is a scam artist and I hope this place gets shut down. AVOID THIS PLACE AT ALL COSTS AND SAVE YOURSELF TIME AND MONEY.

Hi Everyone,
I hate to do this, in fact this is the first business that I have rated under 4 stars, but I can’t help it. I have given these guys multiple opportunities to redeem themselves.
The owner, Eli, is VERY nice person, I truly believe this. Eli does none of the work himself although he does look at it.
I have to say, I have had a couple decent experiences here.
Unfortunately, I have had too many more poor experiences.
Specifically, 2 repairs over the past year were «done» although I had to bring the car back to actually be fixed again for these same problems. The only reason I brought it back was because I hoped it was a warrenty issue the first time and the second time it happened I hoped they would redeem themselves.
Not a chance… I don’t know about you but this has NEVER happened to me anywhere else. I only began going here out of convenience and let me tell you it is NOT convenient to have to bring your car back 3 – 4 times to have the same problem fixed. It felt as though they were just randomly picking something to repair that had to do with the system that was being problematic until they finally reached the actual problem.
This was not just once, it was twice… two different situations and two different automobile systems, same car, toyota, in the span of a year or so.
It bums me out to have to poorly review them but people need to know.
I am going back to Benny’s foreign motor despite it being a hassle because I have moved. He is awesome.
TR

FRAUD ALERT!
I had my car repaired at this location because it needed towed and the tow truck driver said it’d be a good place. Yeah right! It was dropped off and they took a look at the car the next day. I needed a water pump replaced because it finally went out. They tried pressuring me into an additional $ 1000 – 1500 dollars in repairs beyond the $ 500 – 600 they were already needing to do. I told them to just fix the pump and timing belt and I’d be all set.
Several months down the road my water pump goes out again. Hmmm, that’s funny seeing how it was just replaced. I find myself stranded in the middle of nowhere. I get the car towed and talk to the garage the next day. Guess what… the water pump had never been replaced. In fact, the gasket that would’ve been replaced if they disassembled the part actually crumbled from its age. The garage said that the gasket would never have crumbled if it were even remotely new.
Now I’m trying to get the invoice from the garage because I don’t have access to my records at the moment. The garage miraculously can’t find any record of the repair. They are required by Massachusetts General Law (M.G.L. Chapter 100a — 9) to maintain records of every car repair in their facility for a minimum of 18 months, so where are the records?
I’ve tried being nice and they don’t want to be cooperative. I guess it’s time to get the state involved. I don’t recommend going to this garage. I don’t recommend driving past this garage. Stay away, far, far away.

I wish I’d seen the other posts on here before I went. (The funny thing is they have all of the 5 star posts up on the wall when you walk in…) I went in for an oil change– I came out with 6 hours of wasted time waiting and a $ 500 bill. I start the car after all of this and the ABS light goes on. They broke something but I don’t have anymore time to sit around and I tell them I will be back. I come back a couple days later– I wait ANOTHER 6 hours, for them to fix their mistake and then I have to pay another $ 230 for the parts THEY broke. Incredible.

My wife and I have been going to Fresh Pond Mobil on and off for ten years with different cars. I never felt 100% sure about them but they were ok. What made me nervous was that every time I went in the found at least $ 300 more in repairs and the always scared me with the problem. «If you don’t fix this right away you will have big problems.»
For the past 6 years or so I’ve owned a used Saab and now a used VW. In each case I take my car to Allston where there are specialists for each vehicle (Woodings for VW and Mecca Motors for SAAB, recommend both highly).
This week’s experience convinced me that Fresh Pond is NOT TO BE TRUSTED. They will do whatever they can to take your money. What happened was I went in for a vehicle inspection b/​c my mechanic does not do inspections and while in I had them do an oil change. I expected them to say there were other repairs and sure enough they said I need to have my right axle replaced immediately or I risked having the wheel fall off! That’s right, the wheel will fall off they said. I was skeptical. I called Woodings and asked them because in Oct. 2009 I had them replace the very right axle that they said was a problem. I brought my car to Woodings and dropped it off for repair. Less than one hour later they called to say there was absolutely nothing wrong with the right axle that all there was some grime and debris on it that they cleaned off. This confirmed for me what I suspected and what I’ve heard about Fresh Pond Mobil. DO NOT TRUST THEM AND DO NOT HAVE REPAIRS DONE AT FRESH POND MOBILE UNLESS YOU ENJOY BEING RIPPED OFF!

I took my just purchased used car here to be inspected right when I bought it.
The rip off:
Eli and team told me I needed to fix the ABS to pass inspection along with several other small things that would make my old car run better. The previous owner had put a sticker over the ABS warning light b/​c it had been broken for years and they told me it wasn’t necessary to pass MA inspection. When I questioned Eli about this he said it was necessary. Being the naïve new car owner that I was I believed Eli and let him «fix» the ABS. When I went to pick the car up another woman was complaining that her bill was twice what he said it would be, so I was suspicious about mine.
I checked the MA RMV website to see if I needed ABS to pass inspection. This is one of their frequently asked questions and you do NOT need ABS.
(I didn’t know this at the time, but the ABS was not actually fixed. I took my car to Hondaa King some time later and he pointed out that the sensor was just disconnected)
The run around:
I called Eli to get this straightened out. He said the computer was down. I went to the gas station; he wasn’t there and didn’t call me back. I went again and he said the guy who did the work was on vacation so he couldn’t ask him about it. I went again, this time with an RMV complaint report form to get Eli’s station number. Eli wrote me a check for the ABS that afternoon.
I’m bummed that this place was a rip off b/​c it’s the closest gas station to my apartment.
Besides the ABS Eli’s team did over $ 200 of other work on the car, when all I went in for was the required inspection. They knew I was a new car owner and didn’t realize that an inspection should be only $ 29 pass/​fail and go.

I’ve had Eli and co work on my car now for almost four years — they’re fast, very reasonably priced (the same tires at Sear’s priced out at $ 150 each, Eli gets them for $ 80) and Eli always asks me how things are going. I do my own oil, filter and brake changes (thanks Rich!), but I go to FPM for the hard stuff– things that you really need a lift for, or specialized gear…
FPM also seems to have mechanics working 7 days — which is extremely helpful when you have to be at work M-​F. There are many times when I’ve dropped a car off, only to pick it up later that same day, or maybe the next morning — convenient.
I really don’t get the negative reviews here — many people who don’t understand cars feel ripped off by ANY mechanic. The fact is, the place is convenient, they do fast work, and yes they are price-​competitive.

I don’t know if I have to warn ppl against these guys b/​c of all the negative reviews already and crappy service.
Here’s my story about these guys: My distributor blew and after calling about 5 or 6 places, Fresh Pond was the only ones who were open and willing to come out and give me a tow to my mechanic. My insurance assured be about the $ 50 cap on the tow, which at 11pm, I was coo with.
After an hour of waiting around, I get a call directly from the tow company and said that I was ‘out of range’ and that my mechanic was too far and I’d be charged $ 35 bucks more. I laughed b/​c it was a matter btw 5 miles and, maybe 5.5. He then said that if I got it tow to their shop, he’d waive the 35 fee, but that I would need to get it repaired there (that was a huge red flag). I told him I’d discuss it with the tow guy when he got to my car. Even tho, there was no way I was gonna go there.
I got tow to my mechanic and despite the tow being within the 5 mile radius, Fresh Pond insisted I pay b/​c the ‘5 mile radius’ started from their shop. Freakin’ cons. At any rate, I essentially told him no and that he should take it up with my insurance since they were the ones who referred his swindling ass. I eventually gave the guy 10 bucks only b/​c the tow driver rec’d a restaurant in Cambridge to me.
In the end, the tow driver told me that the guy on the phone was always trying to get a few bucks out of customers. I can’t imagine if I had my non-​starting car in his garage. Good luck finding a good shop. Monro on Comm Ave is descent and you can print coupons off their site.
Other than that please let me know if you find one that’s good for HONDAs.

Ok, this place is badder than Michel Jackson. and he’s bad.
About five years ago I was in Belmont and my altinator went. Got a local tow truck to come and they were either from or took it to Fresh Pond Mobile. I told them to fix it. I figured that its a altinator, its a pretty easy part to replace and its not like I could drive it to my regular mechanic.
The bill was wicked high. Like $ 500. Oh well. But then a few days later when I stepped on it on the higway, it skipped. On farther inspection, I finaly opened the hood. There were originaly 3 bolts holding the altinator in place. They only put in one and it wasnt in there solid. The engine skipping came from the fact that (and I dont know why) one of the spark plug wires was electrical taped onto the spark plug. And I was always getting an engine light. My mechabnic found that they had broke the censor right off but i didn’t mind paying for fixing that. So this place is terrible. Dont go there