Gateway Auto Service

Steve at Gateway was awesome! He was very thorough and honest about what needed to be done. They did a great job!
I will definitely be going back!

If you’re looking for a place to take your car for repairs or maintenance that you can trust; this is it. Steve & the crew take care of my whole family’s cars (4). Steve has helped me out with many car emergencies over the years, always friendly, accommodating & fair. He goes that extra mile to make sure everything is done right. I’m so glad to have him in my neighborhood! Thanks Guys!
Shelley R.

You need a reliable auto repair shop in the City? Well, you’ve found it now! Go see Steve… he’s the best! He knows cars and what they need and at a price that’s really reasonable.

All-​around great experience. I trust these guys over bigger shops any day. I brought my car in late, they still made some oil changing magic happen. Great service, good prices, Dunkin donuts down the street with wifi. No contest, going to be giving Gateway plenty of business.

My friend referred me to this mechanic so I brought my car in. The mechanic was very nice, and looked at my car right away and he finished work by the end of the day. A day later, the problem was back, so I brought the car in and paid for him to fix it again. A few days later, problem was back again. I was going out of town, so I thought I’d give him a chance to look at it for a bit longer. He called me to tell me that there was a part he had figured out I needed, so I told him he could order that (about 200 – 300 I think). When I got back from being out of town, he had done a lot of extra work that I had not asked him to do, and was unnecessary. He had also ordered a bunch of other parts which he said would be necessary for the repairs to hold up. I was very confused, and needed my car, so I paid half and said I would bring the car back when the parts arrived. After driving the car around, it seemed fine, and the more I thought about it the less I felt that the repairs he was charging me for were necessary. I was very disappointed that I had sunk many more hundreds of dollars into the car for him to try and fail to fix the problem over and over and then do unnecessary repairs for me. I would definitely not recommend this place, unless you get a written quote for exactly what they are going to do and make sure they don’t charge you over the top like they did to me.

I started going here because I got an Auto Care Special card, and they’re not far from my workplace. I have had really great experience here in the past year. If you’re only going for an oil change, know that they probably won’t top off all your other fluids like they would at a quick oil-​type place, but they also won’t lose your brake fluid cap (like one of those unnamed places did). I’ve found them to be honest and kind. They never try to sell me anything I know I don’t need, and they get the job done when promised. I don’t know if they’re the cheapest out there, but they’ll try hard to find parts for you at the best price possible. There are Divvy bikes nearby so you can totally leave your car for the day and bike to work or wherever you need to go.

These guys are awesome! They have Speedy service, excellent customer service, and are all-​around good guys that are running the place. They helped me out when I had a nail in my tire and when my license plate fell off my car and was very helpful. They also did a fast oil change at a fair price. No job is too small or too big for them. Keep up the good work!

After taking my car to three other auto shops in the area, it seems I have finally found an honest one. I had purchased a Groupon for oil changes a few months back and aside from that great deal, Santos has been a huge help in keeping me informed of my car issues.
Previously, I had been misled on my car’s needs by shops that wanted to take advantage of the fact that I am a female. One even drove my car 70 miles and thought I wouldn’t notice (Grace). Because I don’t know a lot about my car, Santos has taken time on several occasions to explain and show me where problems exist. I appreciate the fact that I have never felt pressure from Gateway to purchase services, I have only been told and shown what work is suggested and why.
Even after my oil change coupons expire, I will continue to go to Gateway because of their outstanding customer service.

I bought a Groupon deal for oil changes. The business made some repair suggestions for me because the deal also included a vehicle inspection. I had some repairs done which were reasonably priced. I also declined some of the suggested repairs and felt no pressure from them to up sell me. I have been back since for additional work and am glad to have found a trustworthy mechanic that does not take advantage of me or pressure me.

Needed some attention to my car and they fixed it pronto. Friendly people.

These guys are a joke! The tech was still high from the night before (I am a former law enforcement officer)! He start with attitude and we ended up in a yelling match. I dare you to visit them and see what this is all about! These reviews that point to being good is a joke!

Do NOT go there, people. I bought a groupon voucher for oil changes. This voucher also had the prints that you get 10% off on any repair service. I got a quote from them and wanted to have my bake repair. They told me it was a mistake that the voucher printed 10% off. Groupon printed it and they did not agree with the discount… After a few argument back and forth, the guys named Santo finally agree to give me the discount, but he was rude and looking upset. Acting like it was my fault that the voucher had «wrong» print. When I paid for the car, I noticed the 10% off discount was $ 3 short. I brought that up to him. It was not I minded much about the $ 3 different (my bill was about $ 1000). I just wanted to let him know he miscalculated the amount. He got really upset and yelled «you know it is late. I need to go home! Why are you arguing for 3 dollars…»
It was a terrible experience. They were so unprofessional and rude. Not mentioned the place was dirty and unorganized.

$ 30 and 7 hours to put a patch on the tire… hmmm…really? Apparently they ship the tire somewhere to patch it, they can put a plug right there, but not a patch. That’s idiotic, is it an auto service or a dry cleaning station???

I am really happy with the service at Gateway Auto. They were reasonable in price, got the job done and everything was explained to me so that I knew what type of work I was getting done and why. I called around a few other places to see if the price was fair and it was better than a lot of the other local mechanics. Since then my 13 year old Buick drives like new. Which is great news for me, but bad news for my daughter who wants me to buy a new car.

So I am useless when it comes to cars and unfortunately in the past two weeks I have had one flat tire (thank you Chicago potholes) and a very large dent to the side of the car (some mean person.)
Anyway after driving on the highway today I felt like the car was pulling and maybe I am just paranoid about another flat tire. I couldn’t help it I had to get it somewhere. This place is literally across the street so I decided to give it a try (plus the good reviews on here.)
They were SO nice. I explained my situation to the best of my ability and Santos explained what he thought so I could understand:) Anyway I think I got it and even better he told me he’s going to check prices vs somewhere else. It doesn’t get much better than that.
I love honesty.

I’m so relieved to have found an auto shop I trust. I’ve been here twice and have left with my car running nicely and me totally satisfied. Unlike other repairshops where I’ve left feeling like they ripped me a new one. Both times Gateway knew I didn’t have a lot of money to spend, so they took me through a list of things that needed to be done and things that could wait. As in «do this now, but this other thing can probably wait until next season.» A couple years ago they gave my ’99 Altima a once-​over before driving down to NC, and the car ran perfectly the whole way down and back. I also notice lots of women coming in and out of here, which tells me they’ve probably also come to trust the place.

Gateway Auto Service is great. One of those places you can take your vehicle and rest assured that they wont screw you over. I found about about Gateway on NPR’s CarTalk website and after reading positive reviews, took my VW there and it’s been the first stop ever since.
Jim is super nice and a great guy to have look at your car. I really appreciate the fact that during my last oil change, he noticed one of the bets was starting to show signs of wear but insisted it can wait until the next oil change. Sure enough it lasted and I am grateful he didnt try to take advantage of the situation and do it too soon.

Please, do not go here. It was the other positive reviews that drove me to this shop and had a horrible experience. I had asked for a cost upfront of any and all charges for work done on my car. They charged me a $ 90 fee that I did not approve. They asked for that fee still after I had initially agreed to have the work done. They would not give me my car back, turned from nice guy to jerk. One of the guys at the front even had the name «Shady» on his shirt. The cops were called and after a big headache they told me i need to pay in cash cause their credit card machine ‘just broke.” Even after arguing with them the whole time they would not accept the $ 87 cash (all the cash i had) on me. They made me fish through my car for the $ 3 difference, paid in change. Just keep this in mind… everything is great until the second you MAY have an issue and they will hold your car hostage.

I’ve only been here once, but I had two problems that could have been diagnosed expensively (air pressure from heat and brake indicator light on). They cleaned out the fan, refilled by brake fluid and I was done.
I probably would have paid $ 500 if they had told me something was wrong with my brakes – but they didn’t.

The two services for which I’ve had the hardest time finding recommendations in Chicago are dentistry and auto repair. Last year, having both several cavities and a transmission problem and in the absence of any other criteria for choosing, I decided to go with the closest providers to my house in both cases. West Town Dental Group did not end up being a good choice (if anybody knows a good dentist…), but Gateway Auto Service have been nothing but wonderful to me.
I’ve gone to them now with a dead battery, a bad transmission, a noisy engine, a failing starter, and general aging car problems. They’ve either done the work for much less than I was quoted at the dealer or have referred me (in the case of the transmission) to a good specialist who also did the work at a decent price.