Central Automotive Inc

Friendly. Honest. Practical. Capable. These guys provided a fair, thorough assessment of the problems my car was having, and they provided several reasonable, wallet-​sensitive options for how to move forward. You can’t ask for more than. The result is the car’s running great and I trust them to handle any and all vehicle-​related issues down the road.

This is seriously the best place I’ve ever brought my car to. Nick is amazing and extremely honest! Super accommodating, fast turnaround, and very very fair prices. I won’t trust anyone else with my car.

Central Automotive is THE PLACE for our car cares. We trust Nick and his crew with our cars, both mine and my parents’. We found Central Automotive based on its great reviews on Unilocal,Google, and Intuit Local.
It has been over 2 years since Nick worked on my parent’s car for the first time. He took the time to test drive it with us, explained in details what exactly needed to be done, and offered us a great price for the work, which was done on the same day, and of high quality: what an unparalleled first-​time experience! Since then, Nick has become our go-​to mechanic; Central Automotive works on everything our cars need including oil changes.
Nick is very upfront about what must be done and what can be put off. He is honest about pricing and open about ways we could save money, so much so that he would suggest you going to another shop if you believe it could get the same high quality work done at a lower price. My parents and I have had a number of works done at Central Automotive; Nick has always managed to offer us good prices for what we need. Nick’s crew is efficient: take your car there in the morning, and you will have it back on the same day before the shop closes.
We call Nick for advice whenever our cars act up. One time when my car broke down in CT, I checked with Nick on the repair plan and quote offered by a local CT shop; he patiently explained to me what should be done and verified that the price was fair. That’s how much Nick cares about his customers.
We are grateful to have Nick’s Central Automotive as the one and only place for everything our cars need.

Was in from out of town (Colorado) A/​c went out. With two kids no fun. Found Central Automotive on Unilocal and took my expedition to him’ based on the Unilocal reviews. I’m Happy I did he got the front and rear a/​c going in a day, replaced both expansion valves awesome! Now my a/​c is blowing cold and ready to drive back to colorado.
Thanks Nick And crew for doing such a great job, and doing it for a fair price!

I received a diagnosis and an estimate from Toyota. I called Central Automotive to see if they could get the job done for me at a better price. The person I spoke with was very honest, and told me that due to the nature of my problem (computer), that I would not save any money with them, and since I had already spent money with Toyota to diagnose the problem, I would be better of sticking with the dealer.
Wow!

Great service, price, professionalism and honesty. I was initially quoted a price from another nearbye business, for axel damage. (I hit a pot hole)… Nick fixed the whole thing by about half price.

Nick and the whole crew are great. I have taken my cars here a few times now when the dealership has tried to rob us. Nick explains everything and charges a very fair price. I even had to drop the vehicle off before they opened without calling first and they solved the problem by the end of the day.

Even before I started bringing my car into be serviced here — I called and talked to Nick about possibly getting an auto start put into my car. He was great to talk to and explained the process to me and why it wouldn’t be all that easy to do based on the type of car I have. Very friendly, informative and helpful.
Since then I have started bringing my car to them every time it needs so much as an oil change. They are near my work, so I can drop it off in the morning and pick it up at the end of the day.
They are always more than fair on the pricing, and even put in parts that I had purchased previously for my brakes, when I thought my husband was going to fix them.
Great advise about the little things I can do to prevent future problems as well. I trust these guys explicitly. With the high cost of auto repair it is nice to know there is a company out there that is not just looking to make buck or get you to come back for more repairs. They actually try to save me money.

I just moved here in August and my car broke down. Since I live in Brookline I originally went to a high-​ranked place on N. Harvard but thought it was unfairly high. So C.A. was the next closest, high-​ranked server center. Nick had me taken care of in one day, and he was much cheaper than the other place. Nick was really helpful, and I didn’t get that vibe one gets when going to an unknown center. I was really, really happy with my service, so I started a Unilocal account for the sole purpose of reviewing this center. I have to take my car in again tomorrow for more service.
Take note: They don’t take reservations, so to speak, but first come first serve. You might call the day before and see what their week looks like. The first time I called ended up waiting a couple days because he said he was back logged. This time I was able to take it in the next day.

I went to this place based purely on previous Unilocal reviews, and boy, I’m glad I did. Why?
Well, first, the personal service is awesome! Nick was incredibly kind, efficient, and organized. He always called me back when he said he would, or he checked on or ordered parts when he said he would. He will get things done, but is also laidback, and didn’t make me feel pressured. We had to order a special part, and it required him to do a considerable amount of work, and multiple orderings, and he did it! He was genuine, as welll — told me when I really needed to get an extra part and when I didn’t.
Second, the affordability is amazing. I had a part that needed to be replaced, and the Honda dealership quoted me at $ 400. Nick utilized an after-​market parts place, and the whole process cost me $ 250.
Third, they were just as fast as the dealership. Took it in the morning, and it was done by 5.
Fourth, this place is conveniently located near a bus stop that runs right to Forest Hills. So, if you need to leave your car and travel, it’s not a big deal. Easy!
If I ever need car repair work, I’m going back, for sure.

I have a 2006 Civic and I needed the 65 000 Mile tune up. Honda called me to let me know that I needed the work done. I asked them what the price would be (just for comparison) and they gave me a price that sounded ridiculously expensive.
I shopped around for a couple of weeks, and I got various prices from several mechanics. I came upon a group of friends that highly recommended Central Automotive for their work and professionalism.
Everyone I talked to had only the best recommendations for Central, so I decided to visit them and get a price. I was amazed to find out that not only they were highly recommended, they were the cheapest as well. I did all of the work recommended by Honda, and additionally I had some work done with the brakes, and a couple of new tires.
All of the work, with the new tires, balance, and brakes, came to LESS what the dealer wanted to charge me for the original work alone.
The car was done on time, and the crew was extremely professional.
I am joining the team of Central Automotive enthusiasts, and I am highly recommending them to anyone who needs work done on their vehicle.
Chris.

After my car broke down last year (98 Honda Civic HX), I came to Unilocal to look for a good mechanic in my area (Hyde Park). I read a review of Central Automotive by Adam C. that impressed me, so I decided to bring my car there to have it checked out.
Nick (the owner) is an up front and honest individual. He wasn’t condescending (some mechanics are). He did a fantastic job on my car and was finished in remarkable time.
The following summer, my car was stolen. After the police found it, it had some problems, which Central took care of quickly, handling all of the insurance bullshit that usually comes along with a stolen car (towing, etc.)
I would HIGHLY recommend this business to anyone that is in the area. They are honest, quick, and no-​nonsense. They even try to save you money when they can (which is a huge help for me being a student).

The owner and guys at Central Automotive on Central Ave are absolutely great! I have had them do work on my car and friends’ cars. ALWAYS honest and straightforward and NEVER anything overcharged. Even to the point of hunting on my behalf for alternative lower cost auto parts that are not totally chinese made lowest quality c**p. They researched and found decent brand parts that were of acceptable qualtiy to both them and me. I am very veryt satisfied with Central Automotive.

First off, they didn’t fuck me over. And they could have if they’d been typical auto-​repair a-​holes. So, 3 stars off the bat for that.
See, I brought in my old ’91 F-​150 truck. The exhaust had a huge leak (it had rusted out) behind the catalytic converter. So, I bought a catalytic converter from Advance Auto Parts and brought it in to have them put it on (another star for actually doing shit like that and not having the typical Meineke or Monro type of policy of «We have to order the parts ourselves and double the price for you so we can do this»).
Anyway, the dude called me shortly after I dropped it off and said «Hey that ‘universal’ catalytic converter you brought in is too short and is the wrong diameter». So, he explained that he could fix the leaks (turned out to be more than one) and not need to put on a new catalytic converter after all (so I was able to return the thing saving me $ 85) So, he did this shit and I had the truck back roughly 2 hours after I dropped it off (5^th star for expediency). Oh, and the price was reasonable for the work they did, too.
So, to sum up, honesty, strait-​forwardness, and efficiency earns this place 5 stars from me, and if I need to go to an auto-​shop in the future, I’ll definitely return here.
One other bonus is that this place is close to the 50 and 32 bus, so you can leave and go about your day while you wait. There’s also a bunch of restaurants and shops on River St. that look like they’d be interesting to check out too.
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Updated Review: 01−03−08
Turns out I had two tiny pin-​hole leaks in my exhaust and the inspection dude wouldn’t do the tail-​pipe test, so I took it back here and they fixed it all up no-​charge in about an hour. They run their business correctly.