Albany Park Auto Clinic

Everyone was courteous and knowledgeable. More importantly, they are honest. Thanks Mike!

I’m thankful that I have found a place that I can trust with my car while knowing that I won’t be ripped off. I always ask if I really need something fixed, and they explain the importance of it and if it is a necessity or more of an option. The hours are great, and they are very accommodating (i.e. when to drop off car, when to pick up car).

So I went back here. It’s been a few years since my last auto problem.
So, my brakes, calipers, and rotors all had to be replaced. I went to another place 2 months before, and they tipped me off to the problem. But the cost was so high I only got part of the job done.
For the second half, I shopped around.
Albany Park had the best price, AND did it only less than 2 hours (the other place was like 3.5 hours for the same job, and same workload :/​) Now, I’ve been going to the other place for years, and I like them, and they do good work, and it’s hard to find a trustworthy mechanic.
But Albany Park is better I think.

He was spot on and fixed my squeaky problem but didn’t go the extra mile to see that I had two torn CV boots which lead me to another shop for a visit where I then had both CV shafts replaced. So funny because he preached to me on how continual maintenance is lacked by owners which needs to be priority but was reluctant to catch the blatant failure which took me all but two seconds to get on my knees and look under the car.
I’d appreciate a shop that took pride in giving you a run down of possible failure to your vehicle so you can know what to expect. So many shops lack in that service center feel but hey I guess I pampered to expect good quality go that extra mile service. They’ll get the job done but don’t expect anything more. Also I was charged $ 22 more than what he quoted me, It wasn’t even taxes, the quote and final bill were way off when all was added up. Inconsistency does not fly well in my book.

I definitely recommend this place. My mother has been coming here for over 20 years and has never been disappointed. Wally is very knowledgeable and sincere. I’ve been here a few times myself and haven’t had a bad experience. I’ve always left here satisfied with the repairs done on my car. Once you come here to get something fixed, you don’t have to worry about coming again or going elsewhere to get the samething fixed. Very honest, reasonable and great customer service. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

if your looking for someone who is honest to work on your car look no further, these guys care more about honesty than the almighty dollar.

So far nothing but praise for Wally and his guys, My folks go there and so do I. Drop off car then get on brown line to work.

This is a repair shop you can trust. My parents had a Kia that had a blower for the heat/​AC stop working and they took it to the Kia dealer twice and when my sister was driving it, the car over heated because the problem moved to radiator fan. She took it to Albany Park Auto Clinic and they found a wire or wires that were bare and grounding out. $ 130 wasn’t bad in my opinion for fixing that.
After that, I had a bearing on the front driver side of my truck go bad while going down the highway at 70mph, I had it towed to their shop and it ended up bending the spline. They fixed it within a couple days and their total for the repair was reasonable.
This is the repair shop I go to and recommend to friends and why I’m writing this review.

Don’t bring your car in for an oil change. they stripped oil pan nut. Although they did replace it. But why did I have to discover it? I recently took it in for an oil change and I occasionally change my own oil. they put the filters on so tight, you can’t remove it by hand like you should. I called to see if they could remove it. Wally tells me he is to busy now! Well I guess I’ll never bring my car back there so he will be a little less busy!

Wally has been our famiily car guy for YEARS. Im not sure how long, but at least 7! My mom trusts him,(and with four of her kids driving, thats alot of car buisness!) and he is a sweet and funny guy. He always tries categorize the problems so they are easy for us to understand, (what should be fixed, when, if something doesnt need any maitenence yet) and have never tried to push us into repairs or unessecary maintenance.

A year ago my husband and I moved to the area and one of the first things we did was find a car guy… and WOW did we luck out finding Wally and Albany Park Auto Clinic!
Neither of us knows a great deal about cars: we feel completely comfortable with Wally and really trust his opinion. We have never felt take advantage of and appreciate his honest opinion, as he has broken things down into categories of «fix now» and «it can wait/​not crucial». He has a great sense of humor and the employees I have interacted with have all been kind and helpful.
Also: he always gets back to you super quickly, the service is very fairly priced and the work is great. Just today I got rid of my old, old car… I’m pretty sure Wally’s the one who kept it going on its last leg!
Very highly recommended!

Wally’s shop is a perfect combination of outstanding & knowledgeable work, fair prices (I think the prices are low but Wally is happy, & so am I, so…), and these guys are absolutely trustworthy. This is a good place to take your vehicle; and good people will fix the problem & keep you rolling

I’ve been going to this place for years. Never had any problems.

They did an awesome job with my flat tire. Lot of customers came in for an oil change and minor fix during that day. Great place for a professional auto repair.

This guy is rude and gave me 2 different prices on the radiator estimate. I really wanted to believe he was a good guy since he came recommended by a friend but he seems to disrespect his customers and is chronically agitated and rude. I wanted to get all new tires and a tune up but couldn’t handle his off putting personality anymore so I went to Pep Boys on Elston where people there are at least professional and their prices are consistent. I gave him 2 stars bc he did fill up my tank with coolant for free and did a good job fixing the radiator after all. But since he’s such a jerk, how can I trust him to do a good job in the future? Go elsewhere!

Ohh, this hurts to revise downward my review for Wally, but he really messed up.
They changed my timing belt, but they got the timing belt off by a tooth and the tension was wrong. It drove and sounded very funny. I took my car back 2 more times after the initial change, but Wally said he couldn’t find anything wrong with it.
Finally I took it out to the old mechanic friend of mind. He was able to put the timing belt on the correct tooth, but opening it all up to get the tension right would have been too expensive. I moved out of the neighborhood, but nevertheless I don’t think I would bring my car back here after that.

I trusted Unilocal to point me in the direction of a trustworthy mechanic in my current hood and I was not lead astray with the honest, down to earth team at albany auto clinic, As other reviewers have noted, it’s not the kind of place where you’ll pass a few hours time reading US weekly and drinking coffee in a lounge while you wait. It’s a bare bones, drop it and go type place. But who cares about that anyway, I just want them to figure out what the hell is wrong with my car, and fix it without trying to convince me I need a brake job and new tires and all new custom upholstery too. Which is exactly what they did. It can be intimidating starting a new relationship with a mechanic, especially if your knowledge of cars is, like mine, limited to changing the oil and putting air in the tires. If you want someplace to take your car where you’ll get an honest answer about the bottom line, I couldn’t recommend this place more.

Not sure what all the happy fuss is about this place. Due to all the excellent reviews, I decided to get an oil change here and inquire why my brakes were squeaking and making a rattling noise when I came to stop signs and lights.
When I walked up to the counter, I was as polite as can be and asked if they can take a look at my brakes. The owner at the counter took forever to acknowledge my presence and look up at me. When he did, he said that they were closing really soon. Ummm, ok, all I asked was to have the car looked at to see what the deal was.
Hours later, I get a call informing me my car was «ready», when I didn’t even get a call confirming I wanted any repairs done in the first place, but whatever.
So I have to pay $ 25 or so for the oil change, fine, but another $ 90 to tell me «we tightened some loose parts on your brakes»? I don’t think so. A feakin’ expensive labor charge to basically not fix anything, and after I didn’t consent to the charge in the first place. Guess I’ll be looking yet again for another virtuous car repair shop.

Wally is the best mechanic out there! Also very honest — how rare is that today?
When I use to live in Albany Park, he was always my first choice. You get a great value with his service. And did I mentioned that he is honest?

This garage is the best I’ve found in Chicago and I’ve been to a number of places. Being the daughter of a former mechanic I know a thing or two about cars. I’ve had mechanics try to scam me and I’ve had mechanics do work on my car that was not authorized. I always tried new garages because nobody ever impressed me until Albany Auto.
A couple years back a garage told me my engine was not worth saving in my ’89 Ford Probe. I was attached to my car for no real logical reason (plus I couldn’t afford a new one). My dad rescued my car that time and it was back on the road. The next time something needed repairs I found Wally’s from a friend’s recommendation.
I then kept coming back because Wally was honest and truthful about a lot of issues in my car. He explained things to me and reminded me of the kind of mechanic my dad would trust. The last time I took it to Wally he couldn’t find a part for my car and he said if I could find the part he would do the service.
My dad found a part on eBay and we had it shipped. I’ve since retired this car but I strongly recommend this garage for all your auto needs. My dad had talked to Wally a couple times about things in my car and even he says they seem reputable and I should stick with them. I couldn’t agree more.