Calvin K Sung’s

I called Calvin Sungs because my apartment is near his shop. My Check Engine Light was on. He said it would be $ 80 just to plug my car into the computer and check the codes for the Check Engine light– before even doing any work on it or giving me an estimate. Wait… $ 80 just to plug it into a computer? A computer that can diagnose my problem in 30 seconds? And you haven’t even done any work yet? I ain’t payin you $ 80 just to plug it in and have a computer spit out a code and tell you how to fix it… and then you’re going to give me an estimate ON TOP OF THAT for work to be done? I don’t think so.
He told me his computer was old and so since he couldn’t guarantee it would give him the right codes and therefore couldn’t guarantee he could fix it– he had to charge something. Um… no thanks. I ain’t paying you $ 80 for you to turn around and tell me YOU CAN’T FIX IT.
I called a few other places and finally found Euro Motorcars on 6^th St. They told me they would plug it into the computer and check the codes, for FREE– and he would give me an estimate before doing any work. THIS IS HOW ALL MECHANICS/​SERVICE SHOULD WORK. Estimates should be free, man!
Needless to say I took my business elsewhere– to Euro Motorcars.
Bummer, too, because I wanted to support the small businesses in my neighborhood, such as this one. Oh well… this one doesn’t deserve my support if they’re gonna charge me $ 80 just to LOOK at my car… Sad, too– if myself and others don’t support them, it’s possible they might go out of business… On the other hand, if they go out of business, maybe we can have another place that sells $ 4 coffees and $ 4 toast. Yippee?!

Personalized service, high integrity, good value.
I took my 2005 Subaru Outback (66,000) miles over to Mr. Calvin Sung this morning. I needed several service items: a front headlight was out and needed to be replaced, my front license plate had been knocked off and needed to be bolted back on, and I needed a smog test. It was also time for a general 7,500 mile service for my car, so I brought an itemized list of checkup items I wanted done as well.
Upon arrival, Calvin spent a solid 15 minutes with me understanding what I needed done and writing up a description of work. He doesn’t do smog tests, so I would need to go elsewhere for that. He had the bulb I needed in the shop, so he believed he would be able to do everything today.
I left, and two hours later, I got a call that my car was ready. I came back, and he had replaced the light bulb, solidly bolted my license plate back on, and diligently gone through my checklist. Everything was fine, he said, except my driver’s side «boot». I had no idea what this was, so he opened up my hood and showed me the work gasket over my axle (as compared to the passenger side boot). He told me that if I wanted to replace that, he could do it for about $ 250 some other time (this would all-​in parts and labor to replace the full axle).
While the hood was open, I saw some rubber tubing over the engine that was worn away, exposing some wires. He agreed this was an issue, and spent 10 min taping everything up carefully with electrical tape. No extra charge.
The all-​in bill for the headlight replacement (annoying on a Subaru, need to take apart the whole headlight assembly) and the service was $ 190 — $ 75 for general service, $ 45 for headlight labor, $ 27 for part, and $ 38 for tire rotation. Much cheaper than if I had taken it to a Subaru dealer.
Calvin Sung himself was an extremely friendly guy, and clearly knew what he was talking about. I never felt rushed, never felt like he was gouging me, and would happily go back to him again for future service. He’s been in his location on Divis for 30 years, and I think that is a testament to the service he provides and the customer care he delivers.
4 stars for the lack of smog testing and less-​than-​cutting-​edge technology and systems (everything was handwritten), but if you are looking for solid, personal, local service on your vehicle at a fair price, Calvin Sung is your man.

I’ve been going to Calvin for my oil changes for the past year after moving into the neighborhood. He always gets it done quickly with no appointment and at a really reasonable rate. I recently went after my Accord started protesting with a check engine alert. WIthin fifteen minutes he pointed out what it could be and let me know what I shouldn’t worry about. He was honest when he could have charged me a lot more. To top it off, he jogged alongside my car as I was pulling out just to see my expression when I noticed the performance boost he promised I would experience after he did some cleaning on my transmission.
Admittedly, the place isn’t much to look at, but like the experiences of most of the other reviewers here, I find Calvin to be a really friendly guy who’s easy to get along with and an honest mechanic. He’ll continue to be my go to guy in the North of Panhandle area.

Quickest, most reasonable oil change I’ve ever gotten. Calvin even topped off my other fluids and made sure all my tired were filled with air, even the spare (under my truck bed.) He also told me that the last place that changed my oil had put the wrong filter in (Shame on you, B&W Service Center.)

Mr Sung is really nice and has been very friendly and kind to my husband, myself and our kids for many years. He always says Hi and waves to us and the kids when we’re walking by. He’s done great work on our car, is reliable and honest and often does little things with no charge. He’s saved us a lot of money by repairing tires that don’t need replacement. He’s a great guy and I’d call him a friend, as well as a great mechanic.

What are these reviews about Calvin being a creep? He was so friendly! I dropped off the car, grabbed some lunch at Oasis and 15 minutes later when I came back he was done with my oil change. No appointment, 30 bucks and I was out the door and he even gave me advice on my next errand of the day to save some money. Will definitely be back!

I’ve taken our car to Calvin for oil changes, brake replacement, tire rotation, and general «check ups» over the last 4 years and always been satisfied. I’ve never felt swindled or pressured into obtaining services or products; he’s always been accessible when I’ve needed follow up; and overall he’s been a very courteous, honest, mechanic. I feel like he goes out of his way to explain what he could do, what he recommends, what the car really must have in order to function well, and what are the «extras» that are options if we want them. Not every mechanic we’ve met has been like this, so we’re definitely fans and will keep going back.

When it comes to cars, I don’t even know why I own ‘em. I mean, I obviously know *why* I own them, but you’d never know I respected my automobiles the way I’ve treated them, historically.
If you were to scan the time-​line of my car ownership, you’d probably see similar patterns. Right off the bat, I’m fired up, keeping my car clean inside and out, making minor improvements, doing regular check-​ups, etc… However, something happens to my mind about 2 years in, when I get totally bored with my ride, and I begin neglecting it. Car washes become few and far between, trips to the mechanic all but come to a complete halt, and minor dents and scratches receive a passive glacé at most. With that being said, when I realized that it’d been 7,000 miles since my last oil change, even I, in my careless state, realized the detrimental side effects of my actions.
I live right down the street from Sung’s Automotive, so it was a no-​brainer to take my VW Jetta (yeah, ladies… a Jetta!) into his shop for a quick oil change.
I suppose it was what you’d expect from any oil change. You drop off your car, come back about 1 hour later, and it’s done. My bill was $ 52, which I thought was pretty high… but being a German automobile, it made sense. And because of my lack of responsibility, I was in no position to haggle.
Calvin himself was a pretty nice guy, and I’ll probably return in another 7,000 miles from now. That is, if my car doesn’t keel over before that time.

I’ve been there 2x (once in Oct 2008 and again this month) for oil changes with no appointment — just drove up.
Calvin’s always been nice to me, I’ve never felt ogled (and believe me, I get quite unhappy when I suspect anything like that is going on), and he’s always gotten the oil change done in 20 min or less.
Not quite sure what’s going on to account for the difference in my experience vs. other folks’ here, but based on my experiences, I’d recommend this place for an oil change. No line, decent price, and he topped off my fluids and refilled my tire air without me even asking.

Calvin is a great, funny, kind neighborhoody man. I accidentally left a bag of groceries in his shop after my oil change one time and he called me to bring them to my house. He recently fixed what I was told would be a starter problem, and saved me about $ 150-​$ 200 by figuring out that all i needed was a simple new clamp on my battery. I don’t think he’s a pervert.

When my s.o. killed my Saturn, i took it here in an attempt to revive it. The man who I assume is Mr. Sung looked at it, told me the bad news in as much detail as i needed, and didn’t charge me. There wasn’t much too be done and the car is gone now, but this is just the kind of honesty i need from a repair place.
I don’t know anything about the owner’s alleged lechery. He seems pretty nice to all the people in the neighborhood as far as I’ve seen. Maybe I’ll keep a closer eye on it…

Moderately priced oil changes.
Conveniently located.
Perverted owner. If you want to get ogled, made to feel really uncomfortable, or even want the knowledge that he may be watching you sunbathe… then I would suggest coming here.
We don’t call him Creepy Calvin for nothin.