Randy’s Automotive

Randy’s Automotive has been our go-​to repair guy for years after a very positive review and repeated recommendations for friends. After somebody botched the window repair on my last car, Randy was able to make things right at an extremely fair price. We trust him with everything from oil changes, to tire changes, to more complicated, one-​time repairs. He’s fast, efficient, and explains clearly what he needs to do and what he’s done so you can trust he’s thorough and treating your vehicle right. A few caveats: His schedule fills up fast, so be sure to call as soon as your problem starts to get in to see him. And, import vehicles like Volvos, Minis, and VWs might take longer since the shop doesn’t see them as often and it’s more difficult and time-​consuming to get parts. He also doesn’t do body work, but the shop he recommends for those repairs is also second-​to-​none. We trust Randy with our family’s cars without hesitation, and recommend him to everyone we know because of his good service and fair prices.

These guys are awesome! I have received the best service and honest quality work from them. Have dropped off cars at the last minute, and they were very accommodating.

I get it — I’m leery of mechanics. I’ve just always felt like I was getting band aids on my work here and not thorough repairs. I had the head gaskets replaced (and all affiliated belt work, etc., to the tune of $ 2k) done on my Subaru here in June 2014, and here we are a year later and they have blown again. Awesome.
A repair like that should last another 100,000 miles. In fact, Randy said it would. But here I am, less than 10,000 miles later, and I’m out $ 2,000.
You might get bandaid repairs fixed here, and that was okay for a while — but I wouldn’t trust them with another big repair.

This is my hometown mechanic. I have had a handful of problems with my truck that were fixed here. I’ve always had a positive experience from the lobby to the mechanics. Randy does a thorough job on everything. Seems he is always busy, so if you don’t have an appointment, you might wait a while. That’s fine with me though. I’d rather have a good job done in a week and a half than have a half assed job done in a day. One of the best shops in the area!

My first experience at Randy’s was great, but after that, I’ve been terribly disappointed.
Check engine light was flashing, so I took it in to get checked out. Codes were indicating a fuel injector misfire. They kept my car at Randy’s for several days before they even looked at it, said that codes on Volvos were different so it was hard to diagnose, but they did not even bother looking at the engine. Randy told me all it needed was some fuel injector cleaner, so he had put that in my gas tank and that was $ 40 plus labor. Sure enough, a day later, my check engine light was on again. Took my car to my mechanic at home, and the problem was more serious and I had them fix it for me.
Had my sunroof smashed in by a vandal, and took it to Randy’s to get fixed after calling to make sure that it was something he could do. Dropped my car off and left it with him while he searched for the part. I had to call the shop every few days to find out what the status was, because they never updated me without prodding. Finally, after a WEEK of holding onto my car, they tell me they can’t get a hold of the part, and that even if they did, they can’t find someone to do the work. Wait… what??? Can’t FIND someone to do the work? Yeah, apparently it’s not something Randy was capable of doing and he was going to send it out to be fixed somewhere else from the beginning! I do not appreciate being misled. I had to take it to the dealer, where they fixed it and did a beautiful job and I’ve got a warranty now. (Outrageous price, but whatever. At least they DID the work.)
My FINAL time taking my car to Randy’s was for an oil change. It was just over $ 40 for the oil change (I provided my own filter), but then as they’re swiping my card I see this random $ 3 charge for «fluids» — what the heck? «Oh, that’s standard, you were low on wiper fluid, so we top off your fluids and then just charge you for that. We always do that with oil changes.» Sorry, you can’t just charge me for something I don’t ask for. I’m certainly not paying 3 extra bucks for some wiper fluid, when I can refill my own at home with my gallon jug that only cost me $ 2.75. Ridiculous! She just kind of shrugged her shoulders at me when I told her I had wiper fluid at home and didn’t need them to «top off» my reservoir. I had to ask her for my $ 3 back and finally she credited that back to me.
No more Randy’s for me. I’m not sure what it is about this place. Perhaps it’s because I am young? They assumed I was a student at the College, and probably assumed that my parents pay for everything, which isn’t the case. Regardless, I appreciate honest people who will do a thorough job diagnosing and solving my problems without charging me for unnecessary things (the overpriced fuel injector cleaner and wiper fluid). Never again.