Dulles Shell

Went by for an inspection this morning and I was next to go after the one they were working on was finished. Everything was fine except for wiper blades which they didn’t have in stock due to my manufacturer’s special sizes but they ordered them and the arrived, were put on, and I was out the door in about 30 minutes. Hal and his guys are great. I’ll return there again for service and inspection.

Hal and the staff at Dulles Shell go out of their way to make sure I get the best customer service and car care available. It’s nice to have a place that you can drop your car off, get a ride to work, and have it back to you before you go home. I trust all my auto care to them.

Rip off, I went for emission and safety check today and showed my mobile about the coupon. The register girl agreed but at end of the inspection requested hard copy of it inorder to apply the credit. Nothing mentioned in their website about the hardcopy to apply credit.

Just got back from getting a state inspection for my car. These guys are the real deal.
I had no idea how things worked so I went in and the guy at the door kindly asked «what can we get you today?» I asked if it was possable to get an inspection and he kindly said sure and to pull my car up to the curb (the line starts on the street) and the guy would let me know when to come in.
I’m not used to this (I’m not from VA) so i asked «Can I wait in my car?». The man was was kind and smiled then said «You sure can».
When it was my turn (there was 1 car in front of me and none behind me, so no long wait) the worker waved me forward. I expected a stern «Get out of my way and wait» kind of attitude other places give but even the worker was happy and kind.
My car was finished in 15 – 20 min and the cost was only $ 16.
I would def. recommend this place to anyone looking for an inspection. :)

I’ll keep it short. Made an appt., when I came in on day of the Bay was ready and I didn’t have to wait for them to take my car in. I cant stand waiting around, especially when you have an appt. Clean facility and good customer service. I had a groupon for an oil change and tire rotation and had no issues using it. I’ve been here in te past, the best part is that its never really that busy. Since its tucked away I come here for state inspections and what not and never really have to wait long to get it done.

This place has only great reviews, and this is what brought me here in the first place. We decided to do a regular service on our 10 years old Subaru Forrester. A few days after the service the car stopped in the middle of the road and after our first positive experience in Dullas Shell we brought it back to fix the problem. This was a beginning of a two weeks saga.
— The engine needs valves replacement, the parts will be in the shop the same day, you can peak up it in the evening. –OK. The same day evening: — sorry, we have already tuned the car everything is perfect, but one minor thing remains, you can peak up the car in the morning. –OK. Next morning: — Oops. There is a problem, the engine needs gasket replacement and some machine shop work. — Hold on a second, you have not seen it yesterday, –No, we just discovered it. — But you said the car was tuned. No answer. –Ok, how long will it take? −2−3 days. –Do you know why this happen? –Oh, it is very rare problem with Subaru with 130K miles, it is usually happens after 300K, but every time it happens it is better to do it on both side, to keep the same level of compression. — You said it is very rare case. — Oh, no it is a common problem with Subaru…
To make a long story short, the car spent 2 weeks in a garage (one day was a snow day). We were fed by promises that the car will be ready soon, and always it was somebody else fault. A shop where the parts were sent for mechanical work was a good excuse. It just had too many jobs. And it happened that the manager who was dealing with us was not the same who accepted the car and make the first diagnosis. This was very convenient, so the second manager may not know what the first promised. Our request to talk to the garage owner has never been acknowledged.
We paid $ 4.2K for the whole work. We thought this is high enough price, so an owner could have called us once and apologized for a mess, unfulfilled promises and miscommunications between managers. I am putting 2 stars, not 1, because I still have no evidence that the work was not done properly. I waited a few months before placing the review. So far so good, the car is running.
If you come to this place for a small service, enjoy the smiles and politeness, but think twice coming here for something serious. You may get work done, but you will never be confident that you get straightforward information and professional attitude.

«I wonder where I can get work done and make sure I’m not getting ripped-​off?» I’ve thought that, and this is the place. It’s an old-​school service mentality and business ethos that is missing from many places. If you need work done, definitely go with these guys.

I had my brakes replaced here. I was quoted a crazy amount by the dealer, a slightly less crazy but still unreasonable amount by an independent shop, and then what I considered a reasonable price here. I’m not even joking when I say it was half what the dealer wanted. They don’t ever seem that busy like some shops, and were able to get me in an out in about half a day. If you know exactly what you need done for your car, Dulles Shell should be on your list.

I just moved to the area and had no idea where to take my car when it broke down. By chance, I ended up here, and I feel so lucky that I did.
As a small, quiet woman who knows little about cars, I would be an easy target to be taken advantage of, and I definitely have been in the past. Not the case here.
I had my car towed in the middle of the night. I got a call at 9am the next day with a quote for what was wrong. We decided together that the car wasn’t worth fixing. Hal explained that there would still be a $ 50 diagnostic fee, which was perfectly reasonable. I told him that I had to get a copy of the title from the state of Maine before I could do anything, and said I would be by later to have the car towed somewhere else. He told me not to worry about it; they could keep the car there until I got the title.
Well, it took nearly two months to get the title. They called me once during that time to make sure I still planned to get the car. When I finally showed up to take care of it, they were unbelievably friendly, given that I had taken up their valuable lot space for so long. They helped me get the plates off and wished me luck. That’s when I reminded Hal that I still owed him for at least the diagnostic fee, and at least a little for storing it for me for so long. He told me not to worry about it.
That’s right. They diagnosed my car, were honest about it not being worth fixing (instead of getting thousands out of me), stored my car for 2 months, and then waved the diagnostic fee. They didn’t charge me a dime.
They just earned a customer for life. And I can’t recommend them enough.

****update****
After working with them they full repaired broken part will a new shifter. Work was done appropriately and properly
My car broke down and I had it towed to Dulles shell. Needed a new starter. The guys were professional and helpful. They called me about an hour after I dropped it off quoted me a fair price on parts and labor.
After I picked my car up the next day I noticed there was damage to the interior. The cover for my transmission shifter was broken. I brought the issue up with Robert who denied causing the damage and claimed it was the tow truck driver. After emails to the owner and speaking with Hal the service manager. They finally agreed to replace the broken part. Bringing it in this weekend.
This would be a higher review if the repair guy was upfront about the damage he did which obviously was an accident. Instead of trying to hide it. Update to come

The first time I came to Dulles Shell, I called the night before for a simple oil change. I had asked ahead of time how long it would take as I was on a time constraint and couldn’t be late. I was told 20 minutes to a half hour. When I came in the next day I asked the same question. I was once again told 20 minutes to a half hour.
An hour into the oil change I peered into the shop to find the guy working on my car snacking on a bag of chips doing nothing. Obviously angry, I was told that they had run out of oil filters for my type of carand they had to run and get one for me. I called the night before, I wasn’t a surprise visit and I drive a car with a common oil filter.
After another 10 minutes, with the oil filter in, I saw the attendant start rotating my tires. They hadn’t even done that while waiting for the filter! I told them to take my car down as I needed to go immediately. I was given a free oil change for the inconvenience. After getting back into the car, I saw they hadn’t even turned off the maintenance light for the car.
Today I called for a state inspection and after being transferred 3 times in a one room shop I was told that no appointments were needed for state inspection. After a whole 5 minute drive, the line for inspection is down the street, apparently. Thanks for the constant lies, guys. I will not be returning here, not even for the free oil change.

Got my inspection here done and the experience was a good one. The inspection took about 15 mins with a 10 min wait and everyone was real friendly. Would definitely go here again.

My car broke down with no clutch right near their shop. I was able to get it parked in their lot with difficulty as I had no clutch. Called the shop later to schedule repairs for my car but got an attitude how I am not allowed to touch my car or work on it in their lot??? I had no intentions of working on my car in their lot, and once I explained that I wanted them to fix the car the attitude changed and was nice as could be. Certainly made me change my mind of having this shop touch my car. I have gotten all my inspections done here with no issues.

I’ve come here to get my annual inspection done since I moved to Northern VA in 2006 since they were close to my old office. I now make it a point to return there whenever my inspection is due.
I’ve never had them try to squeeze some money out of me for «bad windshield wipers» or a «dim bulb» like I’ve heard from other shops. If they were closer to my house or office, I would consider them for maintenance or other repairs. Finding a decent shop in this area seems to be a challenge, but these guys would appear to be one them.

Just had my oil changed here, great people, great service. Definitely coming back.

Car inspection was quick and convenient. Didn’t have an appointment, but they worked with me anyway.

Friendly and quick service. It took them 25 minutes to do an oil change on my car while I was waiting for $ 19.95 (after printing a $ 10 off coupon from their website). The only thing I did not like was the woman behind the cash register who was too busy playing with her phone and adjusting her earplug to hear my questions. Will definitely go back though, everyone else was awesome.

Great oil change specials for women and outstanding customer service every time! It’s a bit out of the way, but very much worth it.

If you are one to appreciate respectful honest service, then I would definitely recommend this place to you. I went here today to get both a state and emissions inspection and was absolutely blown away at how respectful all the workers were here from the service man who did my inspection to the manager to the cash register kid.
There was a huge line for VA inspections here which I can only blame myself going so late in the month but I will admit I got a bit frustrated and impatient with the wait… until it was finally my turn and my mood quickly changed as I was well taken care of. The service guy was very informative and didn’t treat me like a «dumb girl» like most car service places I’ve been. Handing him my keys and walking into the waiting area, I was happily surprised as they were showing Animal Planet on the tv. Yay!
The place wasn’t the cleanest… but hey, this is a gas station not a dealership. I’m a huge germaphobe but I didn’t feel uncomfortable… maybe the puppies on the tv were good at diverting my attention? :)
I had a $ 3 coupon that was per visit use (available through their website), but even without me having to ask they took $ 3 off the state inspection and then $ 3 off the emissions. Yeah, it’s not like winning the lottery but every penny counts! It was nice to see that they treated all their customers with a smile and I noticed their own interactions with their coworkers was respectful. Props to a good locally owned who give you honest and good service! :)

This is the place to go to when you have another repair shop telling you that you need beucoup repairs for big bucks. They will give you honest answers and fair estimates. Very straightforward. Quality of work over 5 – 6 years that I’ve been going there has always been excellent.