Greg’s Japanese Auto

I brought in my car a while back and always meant to come o here and write a review. I have a 2003 Subaru Outback and my gauge was telling me that my car was overheating. My family has used Gregs Japanese Auto for years so I took it to them. They told me that I had a blown head gasket, an oil leak, and a coolant leak. They also said it was going to cost me 2000 dollars to fix. I of course was skeptical because I had a mechanic friend check all these things out when I bought the car a month prior and they were fine. I decided to have my friend take a second look (he is not just a friend who likes cars. He ices licensed mechanic) and he told me I had NO blown head gasket, NO il leak, and NO coolant leak. basically the people at Gregs Japanese Auto lied to me which made me furious. I will never take my car back to them.

I love Greg’s as a company and I’ve had nothing but a positive experiences with the other locations. But the customer service at this location could use some work (especially Ken’s). I tried making an appointment of number of times and Ken was anything but helpful.
Still love Greg’s, I’ll just go to the Covington or Tukwila location next time.

Took car in for coolant leak on rear side of engine. They said likely water pump but I was skeptical due to origin of coolant (rear side of engine). 1hr and 45 min. later they call saying car is ready for pick-​up. Arrive 15 min before close and pay. Drive vehicle home 1.5 blocks and leave it idling while I get flashlight. Lay down on mat and look underneath only to find it’s still leaking from the same origin and at the same steady rate. WTF! $ 417.XX for nothing. They also:
1. Failed to make any call prior to working on vehicle.
2. Never made any mention of the leak that wasn’t repaired. (Same leak I noted just prior to dropping vehicle off).
They’ve lost several customers as a result.

Awesome service. Took my car here for an overheating problem. The guy at the desk, Ken, was very knowledgeable and very courteous. He explained in detail what they would do to try and find the problem. Once they knew what was wrong he explained what was wrong, how to fix it, and gave me a lesson in mechanics and fluids, which I found very interesting.
When the car was ready he again explained everything they did. Signed me up for awesome rewards, and even gave me a little gift!
Overall I had a very pleasant experience here. And! My car is working fine again.
Love the shuttle service also

Still going and my cars even when a bit older are kept in shape. No worries at Southcenter!!!

This place is a joke!
Don’t take your car here unless you want to fix it again a year later, when you find out they didn’t do their job correctly. I went in to have the front CV axles replaced and might as well do the original clutch (with 177K on it) at the same time. All seemed fine until a year and a half later when the rear main seal was leaking. This was paid for and apparently done (but actually not). An OEM part was supplied and should last another 177K and with only 12k since, the leaking oil was causing the clutch to slip, effectively destroyed the clutch and it was time to spend another $ 1,500 to have all done again.
Complete rip-​off artists and kept triing to sell me some BS fuel injection cleaner. And of course «they cheaper by the case» and «we will sell them to you».
Go anywhere else, please !!!
Hope this helps.

They are not the least expensive shop, by any means… but good work is rarely cheap.
Greg’s in Renton was a well managed, clean and efficient shop w/​expert technicians and a courteous staff.
I never mind paying a little more for QUALITY workmanship, and they back it up w/​a 15 month, 15K mile warranty.

I am extremely upset and unhappy about my experience with Greg’s Japanese Auto. I have previously taken my car here for oil changes and other diagnostics and have been satisfied (but not over-​the-​top thrilled) with my experiences. However, after today, I am never bringing my car there again, and I will not be recommending Greg’s to anyone.
My car started experiencing an extremely bad problem yesterday evening. All of the auto shops were closed by that point, but I thought, I’ll contact Greg’s first thing in the morning to see if they can fit me in. Since I am not able to call while I’m at work, I utilized their «CHAT» function for the first time.
I spoke with an employee named «Rob Roy» over chat, explaining my situation. I let them know that I could not make it there until 3:45pm at the earliest, because I work in Seattle (Ballard — I live in Renton) and do not get off work until 3pm. He assured me that they could fit me in and said to bring my car in and that it wouldn’t be a problem. He said, «Ask for me when you get there.»
I should have known at this point that it was too good to be true, but I trusted him. Why would I have any reason to doubt him if he said it wouldn’t be a problem to fit me in?
I brought my car in right at 4pm because my car stalled on the freeway on the way home. When I arrived, I immediately spoke to «Rob Roy», who told me, «We can’t fit you in because it’s too late. My guys are already working on other cars.»
WHY in God’s name would you instruct me to bring my car in, when I reiterated that I could not make it any earlier than 3:45pm, only to tell me when I get there, that you do not have time to diagnose it? I drove EXTRA today and spent extra GAS because I was assured that my car would get looked at. If the cut-​off was that close, it should have been mentioned during the chat. If there was a possibility that I would have to leave the car overnight, THAT should have been mentioned during the chat. A customer should NEVER be treated this way.
«Rob» did little to apologize other than to say «Sorry, you can leave it overnight if you want.»
This is extremely poor customer service and was a complete and utter waste of my time. Don’t «make an appointment» because you don’t know if they’ll even look at your car when you get there.
No need to even say whether I’ll be padding the pockets of Greg’s Japanese Auto ever again.

Subtracting a star!
I DO NOT APPRECIATE the robo-​calls asking for feedback on my recent experience.
Giving my number to a third-​party so that their obnoxious computers can repeatedly call my cell phone is RUDE. It’s also an invasion of my privacy and a breach of my trust.
You need to ASK customers if it’s ok to do this and give them an option to opt out.
I hope you heed the feedback.

Every time I need to get some major work done on my car, I usually bring it in to Greg’s auto. It’s nearby and they have a shuttle to and from your place if needed, which is really great since I wouldn’t have a ride any other way. Rob, the store manager, is always friendly and takes the time to explain exactly what is wrong with my car and goes through the options with me since car repair does not come cheap. I have never felt like they were trying to sell me work that I did not need.
I do wish that they were open on Saturdays so that I wouldn’t have to take a day off work to bring my car in.

Greg’s was the one I chose to take my ’99 Lexus for all the necessary work/​maintenance because previously before we moved away for several years, we used to take our old car there and never had any issues or complaints. Now that we live here again, I brought my Lexus in after calling the dealer to find out how (gasp!) costly it was to have regular maintenance done. As a matter of fact, the dealer wanted to replace my computer at the tune of hundreds when I showed them it was not working properly… well, at Greg’s Martin said, hang on… be right back. He came out with a little sensor and laid down on the ground (summer months. LOL) and reached up under my bumper and took off the old nonworking sensor and plugged in the new one. I stood there with my mouth open. He got in with me and *ta da*! It was fixed. $ 35 for the part, no labor. Pooh on you, Lexus dealer! They have changed lightbulbs for no labor, and I wish I could remember everything they’ve done for no labor charge over the last two years on this car.
They have thus far done all my oil changes, front brakes, and the last one was the 180K maintenance. They ALWAYS give you more than you expect, and this time I spent a lot of money getting that 180K maintenance done — probably around the ballpark of the dealer price (maybe. I dunno) BUT! They gave me a discount through their program, plus they gave me a rental car while they had it in the shop overnight. They drive you wherever you need to go if it is inconvenient for you to have your car there for a few hours. They may have a limit, but I don’t know what it is. They call you when they say they’re going to. They have you come into the garage and speak to the technician. It feels very personal.
Rob and Martin are probably the best I’ve ever dealt with in the car repair business. They explain everything thoroughly and give you choices and options. I didn’t follow up on Martin’s recommendation of having a seal replaced several months ago found during my oil change and it came back to bite me last week. Now I feel confident that if they tell me I need something done, they aren’t kidding. I can think of a few other businesses that could learn a thing or two about customer service from these guys.
Lastly… they greet me by name when I walk in the door and they couldn’t be more accommodating or polite. The waiting area and restroom is spotless and the garage is, too.

What all dad’s worry about when their daughter’s car breaks down. They’re either stranded or held hostage by the auto repair service. I called the Service Manager, Martin, to find out what the damage was going to be and he explained everything in detail. I appreciated his remarkable customer service.
We took care of all the necessary stuff and they also made a list of things that should be looked at later, but were not urgent. I was impressed, we got her 1990 Toyota Celica back on the road by day’s end and the cost was exactly what was quoted that morning. Thanks for taking good care of us.

I have a 95 accord and it’s a piece of crap but it’s getting me from a to b. The front is all crunched in but it still drives. One of my headlights went out and my boyfriend and I had trouble changing it so we went over there thinking we’d have to leave the car there and have them take the front off. We already had a light bulb so we went in and said what was going on and the manager came out right there and then and fixed it for us. We got the wrong light bulb so we had to buy on there for $ 15 and that’s all he charged us for. I was very grateful I’ll definitely be back they were super nice.

The folks here are intriguingly honest, helpful, and kind.
I needed two lights replaced; headlight and a license plate light and the shop manager was able to do the work himself from the parking lot — saving me the labor costs.
The repair was quick, painless, and inexpensive — if only ALL auto repair was like this!

great service, very friendly, explained all the charges, no B.S. didn’t try to sell me repairs I knew I didn’t need. will be going back for all my service on my older toyota.

My Toyota 4Runner broke down on 405 on a Thursday evening with a failed water pump. Gregg’s recommended a tow truck and the price was tacked onto the repair bill instead of having to try and pay out of pocket at that moment. Dropped the car off via the nightslot. By Tuesday my car was finished and repairs were exactly as estimated. They sent a car to come and pick me up so I wouldn’t have to try and figure out how to get to the shop.
They were extremely nice and kept in touch with me throughout the entire process. As a woman, I’ve gotten used to mechanics talking to me as if I were a child which is extremely frustrating. These guys never talked down to me. That alone is worth a lot in my book. I also never felt like they were trying to sell me work I didn’t need. They stuck to what I originally told them the problem was. They pointed out an issue that could become a problem in the future without attempting to bully and up-​sell me on it.
I’ll be taking my car here for future service and recommend to my boyfriend for his Toyota pickup as well.

I have been taking my cars to them for years (15 years). They have served my Toyota’s, Honda’s and Subaru’s. Over the years they built a level of trust based on competence and honesty. Unfortunately the last couple of experiences have driven me away from them and I will no longer use or recommend them.
They misdiagnosed by wife’s Honda vans poor engines performance (they misread the codes) and performed a complete ‘tune up’ that did not cure the problem. I took it to the Honda dealer that read the codes correctly and they replaced the EGR value. That immediately fixed the problem. After I called them to explained what happened they didn’t offer an apology let along some sort of rebate for unnecessary work performed.
Then my son took his Camry in for a brake job where they replaced the pads and rotors with non-​OEM parts that were better. A little over a year later both rotors are so scored they are not serviceable and he has to have the work redone, this time at the dealer for $ 500 with OEM parts.
I guess fool me twice is shame on me.
They lost a 15 year customer.

The place is called «Japanese Auto» yet they don’t work on Mitsubishi Monteros. When a co-​worker brought his rig to them they unsympathetically turned him away with a lame excuse that they’d had problems with that maker. Why not call the establishment «Everything but Mitsubishis»?
They didn’t even have a recommendation for where he could take the car.