Honest Auto Service

Finally getting around to writing a review. Other times I have been here I really liked it, last time not so much. Basically had an engine issue on a chevy truck — took it to a mechanic I know that said they thought it was mechanical but probably not worth it for them to spend a lot of time on (not their specialty) it so should go somewhere else.
Took it here — basically my experience was — can’t tell from initial diagnostic, lets throw some parts at it, that’s not it, think it might be this but can’t tell as I don’t know the engine type very well, etc. I can keep looking but I am not as familiar with this engine. Left spending several hundred dollars without knowing more about the problem. It could have been due to the mechanic being somewhat new, but I was under the impression that most of the people that work here have been here for a long time. Anyway this could have been an isolated incident but I would recommend, based on my experience, that if you have a significant engine issue you go to somewhere that specializes in engines (or even I hate to say chevy dealer) and utilize honest for more everyday auto issues.

Howard was very kind and professional, and the oil change took very little time. Great service.

I called my insurance agent to recommend a good place to take my car for repair. He gave me the number for Honest Auto. Sure glad I called them! I brought my car in early for my appointment and they called me that afternoon diagnosing the problem. My pick up time was less than 24 hours and they were very complete, explaining everything they did prior to paying my bill.

These guys are fast, nice on the phone, and as far as I can tell are actually Honest. We take our cars here every time and will continue to do so!

I started going to Honest Auto Service based on the reviews on Unilocal.After my last experience, I will not return. Until recently I drove a 2003 vehicle that was approaching 195,000 miles. My problem started when the engine overheated on the freeway on my drive home. I took it in to have it checked out at Honest Auto. They charged $ 70 to do a pressure test of the system to check for water leaks. They determined that the water pump was leaking and the radiator was leaking. The bid I received was for (including tax) $ 1,950 to replace the water heater, replace the timing belt (which they said should be replaced as a precaution while doing the water heater) and replace the radiator. I was surprised to hear that the radiator needed replacing because a new radiator had been installed about 2 years previously. They also told me that there was a possibility that I might have a blown head gasket or a cracked block, but could not really determine that definitively until the water pump/​radiator repair was made. I did not ever ask how much the other repair would have been if it was necessary.
I did not have 2 grand to spend on repairs with the chance that there would be even more expensive repairs to follow. The Blue Book on the car was only $ 2,500. So I had the vehicle towed home. When the tow truck driver arrived he asked, «What’s the problem?» I told him I had a bad water pump, a leaking radiator and possibly a blown head gasket and/​or cracked block. He asked if I would mind if he took a look under the hood because he was also a mechanic. He checked the oil and saw there was no water in the oil and «guaranteed» that the engine did NOT have a cracked block or blown head gasket. He said if he were making the repairs he would only charge $ 500 to replace the water pump. He asked what my plans were for the vehicle and I told him I was donating it to a family member.
My family member recently had the vehicle repaired at Chrome Dome Auto Repair in Ocean Park, WA. It did in fact need a new water pump, they did replace the timing belt and the radiator needed a leak repaired. It did NOT have a cracked block or blown head gasket and it is running like a charm.
Total price with tax for the repair at Chrome Dome: $ 1070.00
Total price with tax for same repair at «Honest» Auto: $ 1925.00 + $ 70 for pressure test = $ 1995.00.
I have no doubt that Honest Auto would have successfully repaired the car. My issue is with the fact that they charge nearly twice as much for the same work done elsewhere.
While it’s not realistic that I drive to Ocean Park for auto repairs I certainly will not be going to Honest Auto Service in the future. I’ll be looking for another mechanic.

Our company vehicle was in a «little» fender bender; we were at fault, but in the process the other car slammed into the front left wheel literally making a pretzel out of the bar which connects the steering wheel to the front tires. Luckily we discovered Honest Auto Repair through two conversations with our normal service providers: They were just half a mile north of the parking lot where our truck was parked for the evening. A quick tow got us to the «oasis» of Honest Auto Repair. Their facility is large enough to accommodate about eight to 10 vehicles at a time. It’s so clean, too, and well-​lit. The employees are uniformed with name badges which increased the anticipation of a positive result from this visit. Within three hours the problem was diagnosed and an estimate provided. We felt that the price was fair for the service to be provided. We were on the road the next day. All in all a great result from an unfortunate situation. Honest Auto Repair is highly recommended for service to your vehicle.

Son had exhaust go kablooey during my visit. This was tough because being new to Seattle area, no idea where to start, but knowing not to trust chain muffler places. Local friend recommended dHonest Auto, and they were great. After examining car for free, they sent son up to Dan Fast’s Muffler where they felt the work could be done for a lower price. This turned out to be the case. Very impressed by this.

I have been coming here for years. Howard is always helpful and informative, and Chris has worked on my truck several times. They do quality work every time. The only exception was the time I brought in after-​market tail lights to have them installed, and there were some complications with the polarization of the LED’s. After talking with the manufacturer, it was a simple fix, but Honest Auto were not comfortable proceeding, assuming it was a bad unit that would blow another fuse (which I later installed in 5 minutes).
The tail light thing was years ago and not a big deal. I continue to patronize this place because overall, they are the best auto shop I have ever dealt with on a consistent basis. They aren’t your cheap backyard mechanic prices by any means, but they do it right the first time, which ultimately costs less in the long run.
Pros: Close to home, quality work, honest service, usually get me in the same or next day, friendly staff, and they know my rig.
Cons: Except for the one LED tail light scenario, none.
Recommend: Absolutely. It’s the only place I would take an American car. And if they aren’t the best match for your needs, they’ll refer you out.

Was literally *just* here for a clunking noise in the front end of my car. Another repair shop charged me a bunch but the noise still remains. I came here to settle it once and for all.
All the people were extremely nice, explained things well, and were HONEST! I went out with technician, Jay, for a ride so he could hear the noise. This noise is hard to make happen as it is inconsistent – but we heard it and back to the shop with us.
They looked at the car, said everything was safe and they had a few ideas about where the noise was coming from but they would just be guesses and that they didn’t want me to waste money on guesses. They said I’d be safe driving it and if/​when it gets worse, to come back and they should be able to pinpoint it at that time.
They didn’t charge me anything for this. I appreciate their honesty – I didn’t care about the noise existing, I was more worried that it was unsafe. I will be back!

I think of all the money I wasted previously at other auto shops and dealerships, probably could have owned a luxury sports car by now.
The best part about Honest Auto Service in Shoreline is Howard! The rest of the staff are obviously highly skilled and competent, but Howard calmed me down when I’ve had previous AAA related crises with my former Mazda sedan, Jeep SUV, and GMC truck.
Even with routine maintenance, he takes the time to explain the situation and gives you options. Granted they currently only service my husband’s Ford Focus, and I’ve had some guilt having my Toyota at another North Seattle dealership with someone with Howard-​like qualities. Excellent customer service and helped us maintain and get the most out of our vehicles for nearly twelve years now. Highly recommended!

friendly, courteous, knowledgable people.
overpriced, unnecessary work.

Honest Auto was not very honest with me when I brought my car in to be serviced. I wanted a transmission service done with a filter replacement, but they were close to closing. They ended up charging me for the full service, over $ 100, and just replaced the oil.
They did do a good job on flushing the brake lines though.
I didn’t grumble, but I just decided to find another mechanic. The people here are friendly though.

What a great auto shop. The business is run and owned by Howard who has always been a stand up guy. The mechanics have always done a great job too. They clearly communicate anything that needs to be done and why. No pressure technics used. You make the decision if you want the work done. They will not tell you you need something done when you don’t.
I have been going there for about 10+ years now and I have never once had a problem. I originally found Honest Auto because a different shop told me I needed to get some work done that didn’t sound right. I checked AAA and found Honest Auto in Shoreline under their approved mechanic shops. Honest Auto told me I didn’t need to get the work done and my 1994 Chevy S-​10 is still running great thanks to their help.

I went to Honest Auto Service for my Hyundai Accent. It was having some serious trouble, engine light flashing, car wouldn’t start after putting gas, low idle… I chose Honest Auto because of their great Unilocal reviews and my parents had used them in the past. I spoke to Howard to see when I would be able to get in, thinking it would be sometime next week, but he promptly said he could get me in the next day. I explained the problems to him, but he said it didn’t sound like any normal problem he’s come across… this is starting to sound expensive…
I brought my car in the following afternoon to get a diagnostic test done, $ 110, it was more than I wanted to pay and was hoping they might cut me a deal, but I listened to one of the revIewers here and figured I need to shell out a little more money for quality work. I was checked in as soon as I walked in to their little office/​waiting area. There was another customer there trying to find a ride home after she dropped her car off. I took a seat and read the book I brought. After about 50 minutes the shop worker came in, I forgot his name, Jason maybe? He said, «The good news is that it’s an easy fix, the bad news is it’s an expensive fix.» oh great… he proceeded to tell me in car lingo I’m not entirely familiar with, what the problem was. Basically when it came down to it, all I paid for was the parts and the diagnostic test. They could have easily nickel and dimed me for additional labor time apart from the diagnostic time, but they chose to take the higher ground. Yes, the parts were quite expensive, but they took care of me the best they could. I was in and out within an hour for a problem that was unrecognizable at first, mare you serious??? I expected at least an hour for the diagnostic and then the actual fix would be who knows longer and how many days after! They did an amazing, efficient job. The only thing I would mention as a negative is they didn’t ask if I wanted the repair done, they just went ahead and did it. I would have assumed that I would need to sign off to approve any repairs. Not a big deal though, just something to mention. I highly recommend going to Honest Auto Service. They may be a little more expensive compared to some other places in the area, but you are truly getting what you pay for here. And hey, getting it done right and quickly the first time will probably save me money in the long run.

This place is a high quality place and they charge a bit more, but you get what you pay for. Other places have forgotten to put the oil cap on my car’s engine and messed up things pretty bad. Those cheap guys are in fact cheap. This place is perfect for me and my wife’s VW Golf as well. We hit some ice chunks up at Snoqualamie Pass and made some holes in things in the under carriage and Honest Auto got it all fixed up and the new metal plates installed quick. The VW dealership in the U District does not fix her VW as well and they charge more so we will continue to take our cars to Honest Auto. Oops almost forgot about my geo metro belt screech that they fixed for free a few years back. And they taught me how to fix the screech myself should it ever return again. (^:=

I’ve been taking my cars here for 12 years now, my ’94 Taurus has 218,000 miles on it and these guys have kept it running beautifully. Any time something goes wrong I feel confident bringing it to them and trust that they will tell me what really needs fixing, and what I might want to be saving up to fix soon, with no pressure to fix non-​urgent issues when I can’t afford to do that. They are always patient and polite and willing to give very thorough explanations of the parts and pieces and how it all works, I like having my curiosity satisfied and not being simply told don’t worry we’ll take care of it. Cost estimates are always straight forward, and any time something changes they call me, I’ve never been surprised by the final bill, except once or twice when they overestimated and it was less than expected!

March 2012
Honest Auto Service is a real gem in Shoreline. You can trust them to do you right. They did a great job on my car and let me know what they found for watching. The cost and time in shop was efficient. They are AAA approved and treat you and your car with respect. Take your ride here for any problem and you will be back. Thanks Honest. — R.T.

This is by far the best place in the Seattle area you could go for car repair and maintenance work. The place overall is well kept and decorated proudly of mechanics being ASE certified with credentials from other institutions that only prove true when you get your car serviced there.
Howard who both is owner and service writer is fairly reasonable and by far more customer service oriented than most places around the Sound. Bruce Johnson is usually the mechanic that gets assigned to my 2002 Mazda Protege5 (Jason has done the brakes on this car) and is ridiculously thorough on inspections. I appreciate that. Overall, I like the fact I don’t get jerked around on the «this should/​might/​probably will work» comments and actually shown the «points of interest,» issues outstanding or recommendations that should be considered to address.
Also, being a veteran of the waiting area on several visits and observing the customer traffic, I do notice that Honest will recommend people go elsewhere if they need the following:
1. Mufflers
2. Transmission service (there’s a shop next door)
3. Auto body work
4. Audio system installation.
5. Windshield replacement
6. Your alarm system after all these years now goes off at random and you want it completely removed.
7. Volvo repairs. They’ll replace your timing belt, your brakes, all those maintenance items BUT weird electrical/​cpu issues, they’ll recommend you go see a Volvo specialist (it is called Honest).
So far Iv’e gone in for:
1. Several full synthentic oil changes.
2. Four wheel brake replacement.
3. Radiator upper and lower hose replacement.
4. Installation of power steering brackets.
5. Weird serpentine belt noise.
6. Rear brake caliper replacement.
7. Intermittent brake light issue
8. Stablilizer link replacement
Highlights
1. I get treated like a regular customer (I bring in at least one of my cars once a month).
2. I was having my brake light come on in my car, they couldn’t find an issue and refilled the brake fluid reservoir and didn’t charge me for the ½ hr of time. If this was a dealership, how much do you want to bet I would have at least paid $ 90 for nothing?
3. When a shop says they road test the car, it’s nice that this place actually does unlike others…
4. If I’ve read the wall decorated with certificates correctly, all the mechanics/​technicians are at least ASE certified in a few specialties (e.g. electric, etc.) and one guy is Hyundai car certified too.
5. I’ve watched how these staff treat customers that literally just walk in and it doesn’t ever once feel they just mouth off a bunch of jargon hoping you’ll nod a yes to everything or make you feel you’re inconveniencing them.
6. Sometimes it’s really difficult for the staff to understand what you’re talking about when it comes to a car problem, so they willingly do sit shotgun with you on a drive to capture and diagnose the problem.
Is there really a 1 year/12,000 mile warranty that comes with the work Honest does on your car?
Yes, I had a rear brake caliper on my Mazda replaced and the new replacement started leaking at one of the hose connections after a month’s use. I noticed a brake problem because my brake light would turn on every few weeks. Honest checked it out, realized that it was the newly installed brake caliper and I did not pay a dime for anything. Very hassle free, driver-​blame free (unlike a car dealership) and got top priority service (in my opinion).
Wish list:
1. Shuttle service/​Loaner car
2. Open weekends.
3. Lazy boy recliner (I wait. Wishing for the one power nap while I do though…)
Waiting area:
Has Wi-​Fi that works well enough for me to watch Hulu Plus/​Netflix on my Amazon Kindle!
Overall, I’ll be a long time client of Honest Auto Repair. As this shop claims, «If you’re not looking for Honest Auto Repair, what are you looking for?» Clever.

Hooray! There’s a clunking noise coming from the front of my car… Awesome :(
I took it to a local auto repair show, they inspected it and told me the sway bar needed to be replaced. They replaced it, I paid the $ 200, and drove off happy (I thought). My car was in their possession for 6 hours.
Just a couple of days later the same noise returned. I went back to the shop and — after having the car for another 6 hours they told me that the inner tie rods and heat shields were now the source of the clunking. They wanted $ 670 to replace the rods and shields (in addition to the $ 200 I had already paid for the sway bar). I was extremely upset, to say the least.
I drove down the street to Honest Auto Service as asked them simply for an estimate of how much they would charge to replace just the rods, believing that was the cause. Bruce gladly gave me the quote but also told me that if the rods were the problem, I should only hear noises when turning. I told Bruce, as I had explained to the mechanic at the other shop multiple times, there were no problems or sounds when I turned — just while driving, especially on uneven ground.
Another mechanic there, Chris, offered to drive around in the car with me so I could point out the exact noise I was hearing. In hindsight it seems like common sense. That should be the first step in solving a problem like this, but it was definitely something the first shop did NOT offer to do. Once we returned they put my car up in the air and found the REAL problem almost immediately.
((HERE’S THE SHOCKING PART!!)) There was absolutely NOTHING wrong with my rods! And — although they were a bit damaged — the shields were not the source of the clunking either. While installing the new sway bar the other shop had stripped a piece of it so it wasn’t being held in place properly. THAT is what was clunking around as I drove! I almost spent $ 670 for no reason.
Bruce even pulled the damaged sway bar out of my car, sat down and showed me what the issue was. Sure, I will never be a car expert, but I was really impressed that he took his time to sit down and show me. I like learning.
Chris finished working on my car, popping his head into the office occasionally to update me on his progress, and they sent me on merry way. Bruce and Chris managed to find and fix my clunking problem in just about an hour — pretty impressive compared to the 12 hours split between two days at the other shop with no resolution to my issue.
I’ve never been so appreciative of someones service — car shop, restaurant, grocery store — anywhere. They fixed my problem (fast!), explained everything in detail to me, and genuinely made me feel like they wanted to see me leave their shop happy. Bruce and Chris definitely just earned themselves a repeat customer.
Think the words «honest» and «mechanic» are contradictory? Think again :)

After taking my Toyota 4Runner in elsewhere and being turned away because they were too busy, I found myself at Honest Auto. They told me they weren’t sure they could get to my car today, but would do their best. I don’t know if they are just that good, or my stressing about not having a ride home persuaded them, or what, but they actually had my car diagnosed within 2 hours. Yay!
They were very friendly (I dealt mostly with Jason), and prompt about calling me. He initially quoted me $ 625 when he called with the diagnosis, but when he called to tell me my car was ready to pick up, he apologized for the mathematical error and dropped it down almost $ 100. That included hose and coil replacement, spark plug replacement, and an oil change.
In all, I found them to be honest (of course), polite, inexpensive, professional, prompt, and courteous. I will definitely take my car back again if she has any problems in the future.