Curry’s Auto Service

I brought my van here because of an annoying squeak. I was told that it was my serpentine belt and they replaced it. It was good for a few weeks, and then the squeak was back. I brought my van back. This time I was told that it was my belt tensioner and they replaced it for $ 300. That was good for a few weeks, and then it was squeaking AGAIN. This time Paul, the sales manager, told me that it was my alternator a $ 600 repair. I asked him if they had just guessed on the other diagnoses… his reply was «no, your van is 10 years old». Mind you my van only has 45k. Anyhow, I took it to another repair shop and they replaced a LUBERCATED serpentine belt and now it’s quite. There was nothing wrong with my alternator. Oh, also forgot that Paul sad my rack and pinion was leaking a $ 1000 repair… there wasn’t a leak… I wish I read these reviews before ever spending my time and $$$ here.

Simple oil changes takes about 3 or so hours, usually more, and that’s with an appointment. I asked how long it would take because I had somewhere to be, they said 45 minutes but took about 3 hours to do an oil change, check over the vehicle and change a headlight. The woman at the front desk is incredibly rude and unhelpful, she knows next to nothing about cars so you have to wait until a mechanic comes out to get any updates on the car. I will say it’s the only place I haven’t been ripped off at, but I can’t stand the wait for something so simple and easy to do.

Took our truck to be inspected. Not only did they inspect it, they tried intimidation tactics by telling us it needed all the fluids changed and then made us sign a paper saying that we refused their suggestions. This has happened the last two times we have been there. Last time they said we needed new brakes. They use to be great, but we won’t be going back.

Curry’s just lost us as customers. I would have given them 5 stars a few years ago, especially when Damon was the manager at this location. I had noticed the lack of customer service for the past couple of years. Who has hours to get just an oil change? I can go to the Nissan dealership and be in and out in 30 minutes. Anyway, they told us we needed new tires & shocks for the tune of $ 2000+ and a $ 200 alignment for my husband’s Mini Cooper. I told him he is being taken by Curry’s. They see dollar signs and that he should get a second opinion. Sure enough, I was right. We took the car over to Gainesville Garage and they said the car needed nothing. That’s right… zero, nada, zilch. Also, Curry’s alignments are overpriced by about double. Shame on you Curry’s! Or should I call you Mr. Tire?

I started using Curry’s in Gainesville about 6 years ago. I was impressed by their overall attention to detail. I have two cars and one that I am responsible for the maintenance on for the owner.
I WAS very satisfied, but noticed a decline over the past 2 – 3 years. I was recently informed that Curry’s was bought out by Mr. Tire. The technicians, service writers, managers all changed.
Every time I took my or truck in, it need hundreds, if not thousands of dollars of work. The one that comes to mind it the struts on my car, twice they have told me they are leaking and need replaced. I took my car to the dealer garage and they informed me that there was NO problem with my struts. They asked me how it rode and handled, I said fine and was told not to worry. There are several other instances which have forced me to change my auto service garage.
I’m sorry to say, I will not be using Curry’s any longer.

Thought I would try Currys again because the inspection line was light I was told over the phone. Went in shortly after calling. Let them know I would be nearby eating and to call when ready. 1 hour later I returned, car parked in same location. Went in hoped by chance they were finished. NOPE! Had not even brought the vehicle in. The inspector was out to lunch… Would have been nice to know so I could have gone elsewhere. Finally inspection was completed. No apologies for the delay. Then left my «beater-​94 Corolla» for one tire and to diagnose a noise that I believed was the wheel bearing. Got a call from Currys later asking to talk about my vehicle. They recommended a new windshield (cracked out of line of sight), a transmission fluid flush, 2 motor mounts, valve cover gasket, front and rear struts, valve trans flush, a battery, and the wheel bearing. Over 3000 $ in repairs for a $ 700 car. Save it Currys. Tire prices are fair, communication/​customer service is poor, and labor and parts are pretty high. The young lady at the front desk was nice but she kept saying tire thread as opposed to tread –please learn the basic jargon before you are selling tires. The tire I went with was 64.99 on the computer when I was deciding what to purchase. Final invoice was 80.00 for tire until corrected. Gave them a second chance but do not think I can ever justify going back. Piedmont and VA tire and auto are much better alternatives in the area.

As a new resident of Virginia, I found the people at Curry’s to be curt and eager to take me for a ride. The estimate I was given by them after they failed my car inspection was outrageous. I was able to get the work done elsewhere for $ 200 less with additional work included in that lesser price. Curry’s is definitely a place where the consumer needs to beware!

I’ve been to Curry’s twice. The first time was for new tires and an alignment. The second time was for an alignment (I’d just replaced my tie rods) and diagnose a SERV TPMS light. The first time even though I’d given clearly written instructions on how to mount the tires they still mounted all four of them backwards and had to redo them. The second time, not only were they unable to diagnose my SERV TPMS issue, they made the issue worse by messing with my battery and tripping the BCM, causing my power windows and door locks to stop working. Fortunately I have over 20 years of car working on experience and knew how to fix this issue immediately, so I was able to train your mechanics a bit. The only reason I come to Curry’s is to have service done that requires tools I don’t have at home (tire mounting equipment and alignments, for example), but I’m still disappointed. Your staff is very friendly and helpful, I can’t fault them that, just seem inexperienced. I’d recommend a better training program for them, maybe some mentoring or something?

Don’t risk your cars future by going here. Took 11 hours to do an oil change and the forgot to put all the oil back in the car. The next day I had to be towed back. This is not the old Curry’s.

I’m in somewhat a quandary here when it comes to judging this place. It came across to me as your typical auto repair center… which in the normal world means it would rate a «1,» but since it’s normal for it’s type, it could get a «4.» Great facility, clean, well staffed, helpful and friendly staff. Brought my car in to fix a steering fluid leak. That cost me about $ 350. Then they also did several other checks (at $ 50 per check), and told me there was over $ 2000 worth of extra repairs that needed to be made. I said no thanks. And that was two years ago, and nothing they said just had to be fixed has broken. Typical upsell. Why do garages always do this? Are there no honest repair shops? I have no confidence that I will not be ripped off at any of them.
I went with a generous 3. But only because it is «typical» for its type.

Have been taking our cars to Currys since they opened in Gainesville, and appreciated their honest, friendly service. Just came back from our latest visit, and something was missing. New faces — not as friendly — and not sure quite as honest either. Come to find out the entire chain has been sold to Monro –a tire and brake chain. Will be taking my cars to a locally owned place from now on…

If I could give zero stars, I would. I stopped by here to get a flat tire fixed. Well, by the time they got done formulating a story, they quoted me almost $ 1000, claiming that the flat can’t be fixed because it’s «safey risk», and I needed new pair of tires.
I went down the street to an Exxon service station and got it fixed for $ 25. I asked the mechanic at Exxon if the patch was unsafe and he looked at me like I was on drugs and indicated that as long as the puncture is where the treads are, it’s safe to patch, and whoever told me that it was not safe was shoveling something smelly my way.
Also, the bald headed nazi looking guy who was helping was not helpful at all, but rather intimidating, indifferent, and unfriendly. It took him 30 minutes just to give my car back to me when I told him I’m not interested in spending $ 1000.
I read other reviews about this place online and it seems like this is common practice for these clowns. So, if you have money to burn or use as toilet paper, I highly recommend this place. Otherwise, if you want a honest service, go some place else.

I wanted to provide an update to my earlier review. For a while I was satisfied with the response we received from Curry’s. They refunded our money and gave us a gift certificate for future work. I was actually impressed that they were concerned with customer satisfaction. I was even considering giving them a second chance — that is until I saw the NASTY response they sent through my BBB complaint.
In the letter Mr. Bob Curry basically blames us for not knowing that it was a brake issue and that it had taken 6 weeks between the time that we got the brakes done until we brought it back to them. This is a total inaccurate statement. I got the brakes worked on July 28^th and came back to them with the issue on August 11^th. Less than 2 weeks.
We originally thought that perhaps I had run over something in the road and knocked a clip on the exhaust loose. Curry’s should be HAPPY that our first thought wasn’t that they had improperly installed our brakes. They are saying that our delay in bringing back the car is «unacceptable».
Finally, in Mr. Bob Curry’s letter he once again reiterates that we should have told them that there was a noise in the brake so that they would have been able to identify the problem sooner. I AM NOT A MECHANIC!!! We told them there was a noise that we couldn’t identify that we thought started soon after the brake service, but that we thought it was the exhaust clip.
I am appalled by their BBB response and will continue to spread the word that people should not bring their car to that facility.
Furthermore, Matt Curry sent me an email with this quote
«Unfortunately, what most people don’t understand when they make online attacks is how it effects the employees of the company, their wives and families. It doesn’t just hurt the business and business owners (personally) but the entire company especially when one problem doesn’t represent the company as a whole»
I don’t see my Unilocal review as an attack. I am stating the facts as they happened. This situation was a life safety issue. I could have been killed by the faulty brake job they performed. Though he apologizes several times, I am still angry about my families lives being put in danger because of several of their employees inadequate job performance.

I stopped back in the following Saturday around 11am, and was told they could not get to my emissions yet again. I was told they only have one emissions inspector. I really wanted to give them my business, but I can only come in on a Saturday to get it done. I called Piedmont Tire and Auto, and was seen immediately.

I brought my Maserati to them a year ago for safety inspection and tires, heard them revving my car in the back. I’m not driving a honda civic, that engine costs 30k dollars.
Very disappointed by this amateur behavior, because otherwise despite the high 120/​hr labor costs this shop comes across as a high end place and that’s more important than cost when regarding cars such as this.

Another great experience with Curry’s in Gainesville. Doug (manager) was extremely helpful and even fixed my driver’s window (wasn’t going up properly) at no charge! I dropped my Camry off the evening before, had a call (from Scott) by 9:30AM, and they had my car done (several services) by that evening.
I used the $ 50 off $ 300 coupon from the Bull Run Observer with no problems. They were reasonably priced even without that extra discount. Since I didn’t stay while my car was serviced, I didn’t use the waiting room area — but it looked nice with several amenities. Also didn’t use the free shuttle, but likely will do so in the future since I live and work nearby.
I’ve already recommended Curry’s to a coworker looking to have some work done. I’ll continue to come here versus Piedmont Tire and Auto which had irritated me on more than one occasion over the years.

Stopped in to have my Honda Odyssey looked at after the check-​engine light came on. They cleared the code and told me that I would need a new transmission if it happened again. After doing a bit of digging I found out that ’03 Odysseys are prone to transmission failure, so they bought me enough time to get rid of it. Their price quote on the new transmission was in-​line with the 2 other shops I called for estimates.
About the only complaint was that I couldn’t get a ride home as the shuttle driver was on vacation. They are also far away from any place to eat while waiting. However they have a great waiting room with free drinks/​snacks.

Curry’s seemed to be a great shop when they first opened. Had heard good things about them from coworkers, and had been there a few times before a disastrous episode there earlier this year. The new shop manager does not seem to be the least bit qualified to work in an auto shop. I had the feeling there were no real mechanics or car enthusiasts at this shop. Perhaps the rapid expansion in the last couple of years has left Curry’s without qualified personnel at this shop.
Curry’s could not properly diagnose a failed transmission in an Acura with known transmission problems. They just kept reading codes (I could get that info for free at Auto Zone!) even after being told of the known problems.
Wasted lots of time and money on a rental vehicle before having my car towed to the dealer for a proper diagnosis and repair (and a free loaner).
Will never take another car to Curry’s.

A combination of one of my work colleagues being a fan of the Curry’s in Chantilly, and Iain’s Unilocal review led me to try out the Curry’s in Gainesville. I used to take my Honda Accord to a small shop in the City of Fairfax that did excellent work and did not try and gouge you. My understanding is that ownership of that place changed hands and when it did — the quality went downhill. So I needed a new place to take my vehicle — preferably someplace closer than Fairfax!
My 1999 Honda Accord has 87k miles on it and needed some maintenance. Inspect the hoses, belts and wires, Oil change/​oil filter, new battery, AC system test and refrigerant recharge, brake flush, clutch master fluid flush, drain and refill the transmission fluid, replace air filter and PVC valve, and VA State safety inspection — parts and labor: $ 897 and change.
Service was prompt, Damon is friendly, waiting area is nice and clean — clean restroom, a fridge with cold beverages, free Wifi for those that need it, coffee, shuttle service if you need a ride home.
I have some other things that need to be done soon — so I will be coming back here again!

We had been taking our car to Curry’s location in Chantilly for a year or two prior to moving to Gainesville. We’ve always been real happy with their service so we were excited that they have opened a Gainesville location. The staff has always been real friendly, very helpful and most importantly, honest. If you have a few things that the car needs they will tell you what are the most important and what can wait until next service or later down the road. When I take my car there I don’t feel like I’m getting ripped off like you do when you go to the dealer.
We stopped by this past Saturday to check the new location out and have the service history for our car pulled from the Chantilly shop. Damon came out to take a look at the car when he saw that we had an oil leak on a previous work order. When he crawled under the car he saw a few more so he offered to check our oil level. It was a tad low so he then offered to take it in the back and top if off to hold us until we brought the car back in later this week. He was back in 5 minutes with the car.
While we were there the president/​owner, Matt Curry, introduced himself to us. He was a super friendly and approachable guy. Another customer was picking his car up and Matt took the time to explain the work they did to the customer and how it will effect the way his car drives. It’s really nice to see an owner take such a vested interest in the day-​to-​day operations of his business and make himself available to his customers like that.
One thing that my wife really loves about Curry’s is that the service managers and techs don’t treat her «like a girl». They take their time to explain what they are doing and do so with a very professional and courteous attitude. That’s not something you see all too often in this industry and it’s real refreshing.
I just can’t say enough about this company and the folks that work for them.