Thong Auto Service

does lousy work, fixes one thing and brakes another, will never go back again. Took my car there a few times to have my heater fixed, charged me for a new pump and thermostat and 2 months later had to have it replaced by another mechanic who did a great job.

My brakes were making noise, he showed me what the problem was, but also was honest that it wasn’t a safety issue, just the kind of metal used on the brakes. Told me it wasn’t worth fixing if i was ok with the little noise. I appreciated the honesty.

I am extremely wary of auto mechanics in general since so many of them will rip you off. Well, I have taken my car to Thong Auto half a dozen times over the last few years, and it’s always been a good experience. The service has consistently been competent, fast, and inexpensive. Thong never tries to up-​sell you and always gives it to you straight. I really appreciate it.
One time, the final price was actually substantially lower than the original quote. I had brought the car in because the pipe between the muffler and catalytic converter had rusted through and was dragging on the ground (shameful, I know). Initially, I was told I’d need to have everything past the cat replaced, but Thong actually just replaced one pipe and told me he was able to weld it in there without needing a new muffler.
That’s the kind of mechanic you want: someone who you feel like is on your side and who will be resourceful to save you some money. Replacing that part and some other things like gaskets — plus doing an oil change — only cost me a total of $ 50 in labor, which equates to 40 minutes at $ 85/​hr. Did he really pull all of that off that fast? I don’t know, but I was very happy because I knew he could have replaced way more parts and/​or charged me a lot more for labor in a heartbeat.
Thong also recognizes my car and me even though I only come in once or twice a year. I think he thinks I’m ridiculous for keeping my 1989 Accord. He’s probably right. Anyway, I definitely recommend this place!

I love Thong! I was buying a rebuilt used car over about 2 years ago and brought it into him to check out before I made the purchase. He was super friendly and did a thorough inspection after which he gave me the big thumbs up. The car is now mine and running great. I’ve brought it to him ever since for oil changes. I recently had someone knock the mirror off of my car. I brought it into him to replace. His prices are extremely reasonable and I know I can trust him. I would recommend him to anyone.

Plain and simple, this guy and his ex-​military employee are sweet talking rip offs. Report this place to the Better Business Bureo so they can be shut down. SCAMMERS!!! They have a hard time or/​and purposely misdiaghnose the problem to have you come back day after day until your bill is in the thousands. Thong himself used to be a good place when he worked alone, but ever since he hired that loud mouth thief of a mechanic, I think his name is Nick? he started ripping people off.

Thank you to everyone for recommending this place! He gave me a 400 even quote for my car to change something that someone else told me would cost 600. He did it in 2 hours and had my car back in the same day which was amazing! He also said he would fix my dent for 200 that someone told me would be 500. I will use him for now on! Mechanics are so hard to trust because they want to scam you, but he did a full check of my car and never told me I needed 1500 worth of work like other places.

Mr. Thong Dinh is an amazing guy. The rear suspension link on my 2001 Ford Taurus broke while driving over a pothole in the city. He replaced it within an hour for $ 100.
Good and fast service. Would definitely recommend him.

Awesome work. Had my 99 Honda CRV rear door repaired within an hour. Had issues with the rear door lock not locking. Didn’t have to pay the dealer repair prices. Small shop/​waiting area with great honest quality work. I just found my new mechanic.

Is there an option for zero stars?
I’m new to Chicago and needed my timing belt and water pump replaced so researched the reviews on Unilocal.Thong’s auto service had some of the best reviews and the cheapest quotes so I headed over there. When I arrived I talked to Dinh and he seemed like an honest man and stood by his online reviews.
I dropped the car off and he told me to come back in 2 hours… I dropped it off at 1 and didnt get a phone call until 7pm!!! He told me he needed more time to finish it and to pick it up on monday. I told him I needed a car for Sunday and to go into work Monday so he told me to give him 30 more minutes. I walked back to the shop and found him yelling at one of his workers for replacing the belt incorrectly. The worker shrugged it off and tried to finish up so he could leave asap. Dinh was also in a hurry and told us he was late to a wedding at a restaurant. After paying him I headed back home and I immediately noticed something was wrong. The rpm meter would fluctuate constantly, the tire was not placed on properly and when I tried to accelerate with the gas pedal, it had a 20 second response time! As we reached the highway, the car DIED! My car has never died nor had any of these problems. I decided to find Dinh and on the way back the car died 6 more times. When I found him at the restaurant he completely ignored me. I confronted him and told him this was my only car, I just moved here, I live 30 minutes away, and had to go work at 5 am the next morning. He told me to take a taxi home and wouldn’t pay for the taxi fare, but told me to call his friend who has a towing company. I ended up getting the car home after restarting it a couple of times on the road (fortunately it was late and there weren’t too many cars on the road). The car was towed to the shop on Monday and when I called him he said there was nothing wrong and that the reason it died was because the car had no gas. ARE YOU KIDDING? my gas light wasn’t even on, and if I had no gas how was I able to restart the car and continue driving? At first he told me there was absolutely nothing wrong but I told him to drive it and he finally admitted that the tire was replaced incorrectly and one of the other mechanics admitted that the belt was replaced incorrectly. As I was about to leave, Dinh told me I had to pay 10 dollars for gas. I was already late for work and didn’t want to waste time disputing 10 dollars but after he swiped my card the credit slip was for 80 dollars! He decided to tack on the 70 dollars for the towing fee (which his friend probably did for free) and didn’t think I would notice the extra 70 dollars.
This whole ordeal has just been a great headache and now I have to deal with the credit card company to have my charges disputed. I advise my fellow Unilocalers to avoid this man at all costs!!!

I’ve been telling myself all year that I would get online and rave about this shop; but my experience this week finally got me moving.
I have a thirteen year old car and Thong likes to tease about how old it is. But with the service he gives, I’ll never need to buy another! (oh god oh god, knock on wood…)
I’ve taken my car to his shop for everything from ball bearings to alternators to axles. Not only are his prices 60% of those offered elsewhere, the quality is great and the service is fast. The best part, however, is that he is completely trustworthy. Single ladies in the city look no further, this is a mechanic that won’t exploit you or assume naivety.
Thong makes a point to show you what the problem is. He never acts on repairing anything without asking you first. If the problem can be fixed without a major repair, he will do it, and often at no charge (a squealing belt was tightened for $ 0, when he could have told me it needed to be replaced and charged me $ 150). If there’s a problem that he sees that does not seem crucial, he will tell you not to waste your money on it.
Best of all is his warranty policy. On the receipts, the warranty is printed as «3 month». However, Thong tells you when he makes his repairs that the warranty is good for a year. He recently lived up to his word when I took my car in for a new alternator. Thong had replaced mine in February. He looked at my receipt, told me, «come back in two hours», and went right to work replacing it. When I came back, my car was running great, and he had even refilled break fluid for me.
Thong is worth the trip if you don’t live in the area. I just moved to Logan Square from Ravenswood and I still take my car to him. Honestly, I wish that I didn’t have as many experiences taking my car in to his shop as I do. But every experience I’ve had is a great one. I hope he somehow makes a great living being as fair as he is on prices and service… but not enough to ever retire ;)

Thong rocks! I will never even consider another mechanic. He’s honest, reasonable, looks to save you money and very timely.

I won’t take my car anywhere but to Thong. When I moved into the neighborhood, I looked on Unilocal trying to find ah honest mechanic in the area. Based on other reviews I ended up at Thong’s. He’s honest and understands that you’re on a tight budget. Can’t ask for more than that!

Thong is great. He’s quick (usually) and very tenacious when trying to find problems with your ride. I had a problem with my Honda Element that two Honda dealers couldn’t figure out, but Thong found the issue and fixed it on the cheap. He’s also the person than inspected the Element two years ago before I bought it. He spent about 45 minutes inspecting it completely, even taking off all the wheels to check the brakes, shock and all the components underneath. Thong is ASE certified as well, which is great for insurance repairs.
I took off a star for presentation of his garage (if you go in there, it looks like a slightly dirty, cluttered mess compared to other garages) and for the sketchy looking waiting room with two old chairs. Not a place to hangout really so if you take your car there, plan to take the CTA home or get a ride. These things might turn off some people, causing them to lose confidence in his awesome skills. Not a problem for me since Thong’s prices are so good, I don’t feel like I’m spending extra $$ on my repair to pay for a fancy waiting area.
And finally, I had a work friend go to her VW dealer to get several items fixed and they quoted her about $ 2000. Thong fixed the same items for about $ 1200. She’s very happy too.

I’ll never need another mechanic.
I just wanted to say a BIG THANK YOU to Tom M for recommending Thong’s Auto Service!
I took my car in to have the timing belt changed and the oil changed, and the total cost? $ 375
Dealership quoted me $ 1600
Other Car repair places quoted me between $ 800-​$ 1000
This guy was so honest, and so professional, and SO thorough, that I will never EVER take my car anywhere else.
Timing Belt $ 350
Oil Change $ 25
Finding a mechanic that I can trust… priceless…