Germantown Shell

Had a flat tire. Thought I would have to leave my car to get it plugged. Nope! Had my car back in under 30 minutes. Super grateful!!!

I do Giant gas points and this location is closest to my home.
I’m 100% aware that Giant and Shell experienced difficulties in redeeming points once gas dropped below $ 2.20 per gallon (maximum redemption) however, problem is solved when customers go inside versus entering their number at the pump.
My husband went the week before Christmas and had huge difficulties in filling up; it wouldn’t even turn the pump on. After swiping his card twice as credit and once as debit, even the associate was of no help. He left with no gas and we were left with not one, but TWO $ 85 holds on our bank card ($ 170 total) AND it redeemed our gas points! Right before Christmas, we had to wait about three days to have the money put back into our account, even the bank couldn’t release the hold.
It was a nightmare to resolve this. I had to contact Giant corporate office who than told me I had to speak to Shell corporate. I was transferred and had a painfully long 11 minute phone conversation with a middle eastern man with broken English who ended up telling me there was nothing he could do and I had to contact Shell again. (Keep in mind I was out $ 170 and 4,400 gas points, so it wasn’t a minor issue!) I called Giant back only to be told that a supervisor was only authorized to place that many points back on my card and they were at lunch and I would get a call back within an hour. They stuck to their word, I got a call back and got the points back. It was hoops of fire to jump through but it all worked itself out.

I have been taking all of my family cars to this Shell for over a year now. They are the most reliable and knowledgeable technicians in the area. Hardworking and good work ethic! I strongly recommend to all in community!

Mr. Kim rocks!!! I was on my way to school one day when my car starts to do the scary white smoke and screeching noise thingy. Not knowing much about cars, I went to one place and the mechanic tells me I need to get my timing belt, water pump, and other parts changed because I’m about to lose my engine. Great! Just what I needed and on a student buget too. Well, not having the small fortune of $ 1450.00 with me at the time, I told the mechanic I’d return. I drove around with my smoking and crying car wondering when I would have to bury her, when I stop to get gas at Germantown Shell. There, Mr. Kim noticed my Chitty-​Chitty-​Bang-​Bang. I tell him the problem and he convinced me to let him take a look. He told me my car wasn’t gonna blow up and explained that the timing belt wasn’t the problem because it is NOT supposed to be done at 62,000 miles. Turned out the screeching noises were the brake pads and the smoke was from some fluid from a leaky hose falling on the hot engine. He changed the brake pads and hose and I I never had anymore white smoke or noisy engine thingy’s after. In fact, he’s taken good care of my car ever since without breaking my bank. Not only did I come out ahead with over a $ 1000.00 saved but I also ended up with an honest mechanic. How do I know? It’s now 30,000 miles later, my car hasn’t had any car trouble since he’s taken care of it and he just did my Honda Civic’s timing belt. You rock Mr. Kim!!!

I’ve been around the block with many mechanics over my life, ranging from car dealership middlemen to master mechanics at dedicated independent automotive shops to gasoline station mechanics. And while the majority have been a series of intertwined good, average and some not so good experiences, the posting of this kudos for Mr. John Kim at Germantown Shell Station has been long overdue.
I live in Gaithersburg and have been going to Germantown Shell for around 5 years now and the experiences with this mechanic have been unparalleled in their consistency of great service. After being fed up with the overcharging and middle men of the car dealerships and other auto service stations, I was driven to finally search for a good mechanic. My wife discovered Mr. Kim at his gas station when she overhead him explaining carefully to a customer what their auto problem had been and using photos of the work and the parts that had been necessary to repair the issue. My wife relayed her impressions and we tried this mechanic on for size. We started with simple things, oil changes and scheduled maintenance, discovering Mr. Kim to have a good attitude, appropriate knowledge, and providing proof of work through photo documentation (a first in my experience). All good points, but being from NYC with a buyer beware ethos anyone worth their salt knows verifiable trends are more important than a single impression or a single bad outcome. As car problems arose I continued with Mr. Kim and researched his proposed repair work. His explanations hit the mark and never were there any padded work recommendations. With each oil change, air & cabin filter change, brake pad change, rotor job, head light problem, sensor problem, every check engine light, VSC light, bumper problem, flat tire, timing belt/​water pump/​cam & crank shaft seal/​gaskets servicing or engine valve train job to name some, Mr. Kim took time to explain, update, photo document his steps and return parts exchanged on my vehicles. At each turn he would give me the heads up on a potential problem brewing and whether it could be addressed at a future date. He would allay me of things I thought to be problems that required no intervention. He followed up on problems until they were resolved even if they happened to re-​rear their ugly head. Watching him interact in this way with me and with other customers only further reassured me of the choice I had made in coming to him.
Five years now have passed and to date Mr. Kim has taken good care of my cars from the mundane service checks on through the occasional repair. This mechanic hits home with his genuine friendly disposition, his heavy Korean accent, his good attitude and attentiveness, his work ethic on job after job, and his explanation of problems and repairs through documentation, photos and websites. The warning lights have never fired other than to impress upon his genuine care for the vehicle, his standing as a great mechanic and a solid good guy. I highly recommend Mr. Kim.

Had a MD inspection done here. Pretty quick and rates were comparable with other gas stations.

Come here and you will get rip off, especially if you are not familiar with cars. My car was draining battery after I had changed the alternator. The battery was also new. I had checked the fuses. Doesn’t have the tools to check the relays. Bought to this place since it was closest. The guy said to hook it up to the computer would cost $ 100 plus additional cost for any fixes. He knew that I can see right through his BS and started to explain that it take him 6 hours to diagnose the problem. At that point I was laughing inside. This guy must not be doing anything else that day since he will be standing next to my car for 6 hours. I went to another shop. They charged me $ 25 for the diagnostic, included in the fix for the total of $ 78. It was a relay as I suspected. Took less than an hour to fix. Don’t come here. This place is dishonest.

I’ve been a customer of Germantown Shell for over a year. In that time I’ve been consistently impressed with their work and the time Kim takes to completely explain their work. The prices they charge are significantly less that what I was being charged at dealership garages and I never once had the feeling I was being asked to pay for something I didn’t need. In fact, there were several situations where they deferred doing work that they could easily have justified but wasn’t necessary. Not sure where the one-​star rater is coming from. I strongly recommend Germantown Shell.