Ballard Automotive Repair

I am as knowledgeable about cars as your average house cat is about Shakespearean sonnets. And my low car IQ shows. When my driver’s side door became as unhinged as its driver, and the road noise became as prominent inside as it was out — the door didn’t close properly — yours truly got herself a length of rope and tied the door from the handle to the base of the steering wheel, so that any entering and exiting the driver door became a 5-​minute endeavor. (Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough rope to finish the job and tie around my neck)…till a well-​meaning friend politely pointed out that the screws on the car door, like the screws in the car’s owner head, just needed a bit of tightening and solved the problem in 10 seconds with a DeWalt.
Fast forward to present day and minus 10 IQ points later, when my car died for the third time in a year due to my leaving its lights on. The annoying LIGHTS ON and KEY IN CAR alarm had quit over 3 years ago, and — despite the numerous post-​it notes I’ve left on the dash in Jesus’ amazing technicolor dreamcoat of colors reminding me of this fact — I could not make out my wretched handwriting and always kept the lights on during the day. That’s when the same friend suggested that, as an alternative to intensive electro-​shock therapy I should bring the car into Ballard Auto.
I made the appointment almost a week in advance and to my (unsarcastic) amazement, my appointment was in the books the day before when I called to confirm and the day of. Not «lost» in the sea of «other stuff» that sometimes occur with other repair places.
Although I appeared desperate and idiotic — even without the plastic cone around my head — the man who took my car was patient and didn’t try to upsell me any service. Besides the alarm, I wanted Ballard Auto to check my timing belt (I was at 75,000 miles) and «other stuff», as it’s been more than 5 years since I’d brought the car in for anything other than an oil change. Usually, the word «other stuff» would be enough for any mechanic to jump in with a plethora of unnecessary services, but this mechanic even expressed doubt that a timing belt change was necessary, though he would check it out for me.
By early afternoon, I received a call saying that the timing belt wasn’t necessary, there wasn’t anything else wrong with the car and that it would cost less than $ 100.00 to install a sensor on the car. This sensor was the thing that caused the car to give off the light/​key alarms.
The total bill came to $ 80.26, and I was able to pick up my car the next morning. The mechanics at Ballard are very efficient and easy going, and even before the transaction was completed, my car was driven up and waiting for me. Wow.
My only complaint would be the shop’s location, which is on busy Leary way and without a lot of on-​site or street parking, especially when the place gets busy. There’s also no «office» as far as I could tell — I just walked into the garage and the guys checked me in and out each time. However, Ballard Auto has far exceeded my expectations in automotive repair shops, and even if I have to ram past every passive-​aggressive Ballard/​Seattle driver to get to the place, I will. Because I’m pretty sure the guys here can fix my car back up again when I get there.

I have been taking our cars here for years. They are not only honest, the work is top notch and they are cost conscious. And did I say honest? Yes! I trust Beacon Automotive completely and Dave always explains things in ways I understand. He is also super funny, Click and Clack style. Love this place!

I have owned my car since high school. This is the first car my parents bought me and I haven’t upgraded in 10 years. I have replaced almost everything on this car at some point.
I didn’t have much time and went in for a simple oil change, oil filter, air filter. They called me and said I didn’t have any of my brake lights working because of a brake light censor that went bad and a hose was clamping down a little (radiator hose) and should be replaced. He told me $ 170 for everything. I said ok. When I got there he told me 380.00!
First they wanted to charge me for 5 qts of oil, my car can take a maximum of 4 and on a normal basis I will do 3. If they put 5 it will be terrible for my engine. (also the dipstick did not read over).
They wanted to charge me $ 60 IN LABOR to replace the radiator hose! The radiator hose! $ 170.00 to replace in the switch (labor) We ended up settling around 250.00.
According to auto MD average cost for a shop to do the brake light censor is $ 75.00.
Don’t ever bring your vehicle here. I feel so ripped off.

ran a business in ballard for 44 years could not find a honest repair shop in the north end. les schwab is great for tires ect. but don’t do engine work. met tom thru my business. he has done excellent work on all my trucks .a honest business all the way. neal Fremont appliance

I have been to these guys a lot throughout the years and my family goes here as well. Would never trust anyone else to work on my car. They have always been straightforward, honest and they have never tried to sell me things I don’t need.
The employees I have encountered here are always top-​notch professionals who know their stuff. They are always willing to help you out when your car does something it’s not supposed to.

Been using these guys for about 15 years. Do great work and will look to save you money. Stopped by this morning to ask about a burnt out tail light. Tom, the main mechanic, checked it out, replaced two bulbs and wouldn’t take any money for it. Not even a tip. I highly recommend this shop especially if you’ve been ripped off by others.

After bad experiences at two other garages, my tow truck driver recommended that I bring my car to Ballard Automotive. LIke any good car doctor, they listened to the car’s symptoms and prescribed a remedy! (I work in medicine, I can’t help the bad medical references). Throughout the process they had excellent communication and realistic timelines. The price they quoted me was the price that I paid. In summary, I will gladly take my Audi here so that it can live another day! It’s going on 135K miles so it might need a few more years of life support, but at least I can afford it at this garage.

Had a great experience here. I had a problem with my turn signals and couldn’t figure it out. All of the mechanics in the area wee booked but they were able to get me in. Initially this concerned me a bit because «why are they open when everyone else is booked?» It all turned out great. They got the work done in a reasonable amount of time and at much less cost than I expected. They were always very nice and professional. Will go back next time my cars need something.

They checked my car in without an appointment then proceeded to take my phone number while I ran to the gym and in no time, I received a call from them telling me my car was ready. I just needed an annoying light checked on my dash and they located the problem (without charging a diagnostic fee), ran across the street to get the parts they needed (how convenient), replaced the wiring and the part that was an issue, reset the light and left me to go on with my day. All within the span of an hour and costing under $ 100.
Sadly my car was totalled just a few days later so all of it was moot but at least I know where to go now if I have an issue with my new ride!

I needed to get a coolant hose replaced and while it looked like a deceptively easy fix, all of the other shops in Ballard I spoke with told me it was going to be a 4+ hour job. But at Ballard Automotive, they did the job in less than half that time, which saved me tons on labor! Their techs are great and seem to know what they’re doing. Would recommend.

I live on Capitol Hill. I haul my cookies all the way out to Ballard to get my car fixed. Why? I trust the guys at Ballard Auto to do it right the first time, their prices are reasonable, and I usually get in and out on the same day.
What more could you possibly want in an auto mechanic?

Let me start by saying I have very little trust in most repair garages. I have been taken advantage of by a couple of shops in the past, just like most of us have. I pretty much put mechanics in the same category as politicians, real estate agents, and chiropractors. People I inherently don’t trust.
This shop is trustworthy. The first time I brought a car that had failed emissions. When I picked it up he told me that there was nothing wrong and that I should avoid the testing place on Aurora ave because their equipment was poor. He charged me half price of an hour rate and I went on to pass emissions.
Since then I have brought every car in need to his shop, and I have never been let down or disappointed. I am a guy who still changes his own oil and does his own brakes to save a few bucks but when the repair is too much for my abilities I always bring it to Ballard Automotive.
There have been numerous times when this shop could have «created work» on my vehicles. They never went that direction. Tom, thank you for your honesty and your great work. I’m so glad I found you guys!

I came across Ballard Automotive after my car failed its emissions test and I needed to find a repair shop that was emissions certified. I honestly chose it because my car is aging and I wanted a repair shop close to my house just in case I start having problems.
I am always apprehensive about car repair shops because I know absolutely NOTHING about cars… so I need to have confidence that I’m not going to be fooled into paying for a bunch of repairs that are not needed. The people at Ballard Automotive explained everything that they found wrong with my car in terms that I understood, and I did not feel mis-​lead at all with the fixes that were needed. My car feels as good as new and I will definitely return to this repair shop in the future. I could not be more appreciative for the honest customer service I received!

I went to this cute little hole-​in-​the-​wall automotive place three times. The first 2 times were great — I just needed a few regular maintenance things done on my car. The third time I was about ready to drive from Seattle back home to Omaha, Nebraska after my first year of college. So I figured my car should go in for an oil change before the long trip. About a half an hour after I drop my car off for the oil change, I got a call from the mechanic. He said my car needed a little «TLC» and then started listing off all of these car parts that needed to be completely replaced or repaired. I was shocked! My car had been driving fine for the past 4 months, a little bouncy yes because I have been needing new struts but not so bad that I would be expecting to pay for such pricey repairs. When he finished, he added it all up to about $ 2,600. That was insane. My car is not even worth that much, and how in the world could all these problems be occurring within a few months of my last oil change when I don’t drive aggressively? I was in despair because I did not have that much (hello, college student here!!) and I needed to get home (1,600 miles away) in a week. My father consulted me to just get the oil change and drive my car home; if it would break down on the way, then he would just drive to where ever I was to get me and my stuff. Well, I got the oil change and here’s the kicker: the oil change includes a fill up on all fluids, right? I even had a charge on my receipt for «Fluids». Because my car started to overheat on my drive back to my dorm, I checked my antifreeze level and guess what — it was completely empty. Just to double check, I found that even the oil level was below the «full» measurement on my oil dipper. Um, I just got an OIL CHANGE which pretty much ensures my oil level be filled completely. Well, I blew it off, oh well, I was more worried about making it home with all the «problems» that my car was reportedly having. Luckily I did make it home to Nebraska just fine with absolutely no problems, even though the mechanics at Ballard Automotive made it sound like my car was going to fall apart any minute if I didn’t fork over enough dough to get it fixed. I even took it to my regular mechanic here in Omaha who quoted about $ 600 for all the work on my car, and he actually listed problems with my car that I knew I needed to fix prior to the fiasco with Ballard Auto. I am very disappointed and feel that I was nearly cheated thousands of dollars on my third visit to this mechanic and will not ever take my car back. This experience proved to me that you can’t trust everyone, no matter how trustworthy they seem at first.

I have the worst luck with cars.
I had a crappy 1995 dodge intrepid that over heated ALL the time. I took it to a garage on 15^th about 5 times (they were cheep and came highly recommended from family) and had 5 different things done before they told me they didn’t know what was wrong. I took it here and on the first visit told me that it needed a new computer and some ohter junk, $ 3000. That car wasn’t even worth it, so I had it junked and got a 2000 VW Passat. I bought the car like a total girl and didn’t have it checked out. I took it here and spent about $ 1600 in repairs to an oil leak and new timing belt and some other stuff. About a month later I needed some hoses replaced and they fixed those too! I made the mistake of taking my car to a VW expert who charged me $ 1700 to fix my suspension, but it didn’t fix the problem I had asked them to fix (and made me take my car home over the weekend because they couldn’t store it). Ballard Auto does all the work on my BF’s work fleet and they have had no problems with anything they have ever done. They also fixed a car that a friend had taken to a couple mechanics and couldn’t figure out the problem, but Ballard Auto found the problem and fixed it! These guys really know what there doing. I don’t think I could ever go anywhere else.