Ericson Automotive in
Cedar Falls (IA)

Told me my car had problems that it did not have. They cleary had no idea how to work on my vehicle. I had to have it towed to another shop to have the work done and it was half the price of their quote.

We had a challenging electrical repair and Chuck was great at finding and fixing the problem at a very fair cost. I would highly recommend this business for your car repairs.

I had called to ask about the price to install a tire that I had. They told me 20$ to install it over the phone. I drop off the car and foolishly I did not ask for an overall cost assuming the 20$ told over the phone was correct. What they failed to mention was out of nowhere fees that brought the price to 75$. Walmart does the exact same installation for 30$ (and wont scam you.)

I am a college student and my car broke down and I was able to get it towed to Ericson. Chuck was awesome and was able to fix the issue which was a bad connection with the battery and the solenoid. Most places probably would have just replaced the starter but he was able to fix the connections so it wouldn’t be a problem anymore. He was also very nice and was asking me about school and my major I will go back if I need another repair.

Was having troubles with my car right as I left for college..took it to this place because he said he could get me in quick, and was close to my apartment. Was overpriced, paid almost 300 for a battery that didn’t even fix the issue, also paid other large amounts for things he thought were the issue. $1,000 dollars later, issue is still not fixed. Decided to take it somewhere back home who knew what they were doing. He was not good at communicating, said he would call me back and never did, I was always the one reaching out when days would go by with no communication. Made a comment about a subwoofer possibly drawing from my battery, saying I did not need it “because I was white.” Did not put anything back inside my car, left the manual, screws, papers, everything scattered about the front and back seats, as well as made me back my car out of HIS garage, which was hard to do considering there were parts, cars, and tools everywhere and I was trying not to hit anything. Overall not a good experience.

Brought my car in for a leak and engine overheating. He had my car on 3 different time frames for multiple days each time. Said he did all this stuff to it, charged me each time, and the problem still wasn't fixed. I had to take it someplace else and found out it was the water pump which he had old me was fine. Definitely don't use Ericson. They have no idea what they're doing. Will fix something that doesn't need it just so he can charge you and say they fixed something, even if it's not the problem.

Stay away. Had to get my Jeep Picked up because it wasn't starting. He came and towed the vehicle fine on Friday, called me that afternoon saying he'll give me an update on Monday. Sounds good. Monday comes, gives me a call and tells me my vehicle isn't worth the price to fix it. I'm not upset by this, I understand that it's a cheap vehicle, I actually really appreciate his honesty instead of having me chase problems that would cause me to shell out a lot of money with the possibility of not solving the problem. I come in to pay $350 for the tow there and back and two hours of work. He drops it off and I check it today and I come to a mess. Never put ANYTHING back. Wires disconnected everywhere, Air intake hose disconnected just threw everything in the passenger floor. What's possibly the worst offender is that my radiator fluid hose was disconnected and fluid was ALL over. If he wasn't going to take the time to put it back together I wished he would've told me so as I don't know a lot about cars, reason for bringing it in the first place. At least then I could've asked and paid for another hour or two for work. Stay away. Owner obviously does not care.

Chuck was very friendly and straightforward about what it would take to fix my car. After hearing what he had to do to it the price was actually very reasonable. I'd definitely come back if I ever have any other car issues

I have had my Son's auto repaired twice in the past few weeks at Ericson's Auto. I find Mr. Ericson more than knowledgeable. He & his crew know what they are doing! This past visit he could have gone with a parts cost of $400+, yet figured out another repair route -- resulting in a total parts cost of $40. They look out for the customer! --- MICHAEL B.

The heat in my car broke on the COLDEST day of the month & Chuck took it in right away and had it fixed in less than 24 hours! I took it to another shop prior, who quoted me 6 times the price (and a 5 day wait time) than what I ended up paying at Ericson. This meant a lot, as I felt I was not being taken advantage of. He was very informative and showed me the parts that had been replaced and explained the damage. I will not be taking my vehicle anywhere else! I can’t even believe the poor reviews on this page, my experience here was quick, affordable, and very pleasant! Thank you so much, Chuck!

Thank you Ericson Automotive! My daughter that goes to UNI had car trouble and you helped her out by towing her car and fixing it. It makes me happy to know that good people are still out there. Thanks again!

I have a daughter at college, needed a person to trust to help her out with a bad battery. Chuck was amazing, got it fixed and when I got my bill it was less than I expected. I trusted him and he came through!!! VERY HAPPY, plus, I don't have to drive 200 miles to figure it out. THANK YOU

I had an issue with my Chevy Cruze a few months back and found Ericson Automotive to be a 10/10 experience. Chuck was very informative and prompt in dealing with my sensor issue. The price was more than fair and I highly recommend his business to anybody in the Cedar Falls area.

Chuck was super negotiable and showed me what was wrong with my car since I don’t know much about cars. He had my car done in the same day fairly quick and even gave me back my old parts. Super nice guy too!

Chuck took great care of me. I was in town from Dallas and needed immediate service. Was in and out in an hour and confident my drive back to Dallas would be a safe one. Thank you, Chuck!

Chuck who owns the shop is a great man with very good values and beliefs. My car would not start and me being a local college student who lived hours away was a challenge. Chuck fixed my car and got it to run within a day and even went out of his way to pick me up from campus when he didn't have to. Great mechanic, highly recommend going to Chuck for your auto needs!

Chuck went far out of his way to replace an alternator for us on a weekend when our car broke down on the highway near Cedar Falls. Friendly, easy to work with, had the repair done when he had promised. Thanks again!

Mr Ericson is a wonderful mechanic!! Quickly responded when son and I broke down! Kept me up to date on repairs and cost! Even stayed late for me so I could pick up my truck! Saved all the parts off my truck to show me what was wrong! Super wonderful! Mr Ericson will forever be my mechanic from now on!! Thank you Mr Ericson! And Go Army!

It was so nice to be able to find someone to help us on a Sunday and makes house calls. He’’s very personable and was able to fix our vehicle no problem for a fair cost. We will continue doing business with Ericson Automotive.

I called for a intake gasket to get repaired. I asked for an estimate, and the guy refused to give it to me. I would stay away from this business. They’re one of those shady mechanics who tries to get more money out of you. Like half the auto servicing places around the area. Seriously it’s 2019 and everything is accessible in terms of pricing and where to buy parts. If you can’t give an estimate; something shady is going on.

I highly would NOT recommend this place! I wasted so much time and money. At one point my car battery was removed without my permission and replaced with an older battery, not sure if that older battery that was placed (unconnected and all) even worked. All in all I had a super bad experience at this place and would never recommend it to anyone. Also when I wrote my first review expressing my awful experience, Chuck ( the owner) called me asking me to take it down, otherwise he would sue for "slander." I talked to my own attorney and turns out he can't do that if it's based off what I went through and just telling the truth! Anyways, I hope this was helpful and don't be afraid to speak your truth in any situations!

*Avoid this place at all costs* One of my tires blew out on University Avenue the other day. I called two local towing companies, but due to the extreme cold weather that hit the Cedar Valley, the companies were completely booked and could not service me. Exasperated and with no other options, I called Ericsson Automotive in hopes that I would get the help I needed. I asked the man that answered the phone, presumably the owner, if he did vehicle tows; he said he did them “every day”. So I explained to him my situation: that I was not even a BLOCK AWAY, (I could see Ericson Automotive from my disabled vehicle), that the cops were behind me rerouting the busy road so as not to cause an accident, and asked if he could tow me 8 miles up the road to Discount Tire. He told me, and I quote, “I’m... not interested at all.” Taken aback, I proceeded to ask “Okay, well what can I do to get you interested?” but received no response. I checked my phone to be sure I was still on the call, but found that the man had hung up on me without even waiting for me to respond! Completely un-professional behavior, and why would you ever want to take your vehicle to a business that won’t help a local out in a dire situation, when the vehicle is less than 45 seconds away from the building? DO NOT solicit this business, call ANYONE else first.

Chuck will take advantage of you anyway he can. He is difficult to communicate with and refuses to return phone calls. He adds charges to your final bill without prior communication. He may or may not actually perform the work he says he does. There was no evidence that he did any diagnostics. The only clue that he did any work was that the vehicle was moved from one spot to another. His receipt is not itemized and his prices are not posted. Even if you are stranded, I would call ANYONE else to help you.

We were in a bind with my daughters car and had it towed here. Definitely won't go back. He made it very clear that he did not like her Hyundai. In fact when I called him first thing he said "oh you mean the piece of $4&# Korean car. Mmmm. Don't go here.

We just got home to Pennsylvania from Cedar Falls, Iowa. This would not have been possible if it were not for Chuck. Our van engine check light came on over the Fourth of July weekend, while visiting our daughter in Iowa. Businesses were closed. We called Ericson Automotive at 8 am on July 5th and Chuck gave us an appointment at 10:30 am. He diagnosed our van with 2 bad ignition coils and one improperly installed injector. We were impressed that Chuck had the parts at his shop and fixed our van in about an hour and a half. This was a nice surprise. Most of the time, we have to drop off a vehicle and then they diagnose the problem, order parts, wait for the parts to arrive and finally fix it. It takes the whole day. But, Chuck had everything there and didn't waste any time getting us back on the road. We drove the 768 miles home yesterday with a smooth running engine. No problems at all. Chuck is a very accomplished, qualified, skilled mechanic who takes great pride in his work. Fantastic service and great price too! We were very happy to wait in his waiting room and especially thankful he was willing to help us!

Just had my daughters 2007 Honda Fit serviced due to unexpected engine issue. Do to this facility being close to UNI and the ability of my daughter to drop it off between classes I called and spoke to Chuck. He told me he would be able to look at the car in at 9am. I was impressed that he called and told me he would be finish with the repair by 12pm. He diagnosed and discovered a bad spark plug coil needed to be replaced and he also replaced all 4 spark plugs due to the high-mileage on the car and their condition. With my past experience with dealerships and other shops the rates for this service and time spent on the repair was less than I expected! With auto repairs and parts you need to expect to pay for repairs when they happen. Chuck is a skilled mechanic with many years' experience and went above in beyond in servicing my daughters vehicle!!! I will definitely use him in the future if any other issues come up.

AVOID at all costs! He is a complete scam! We needed a tow, he said he would be there in 1 hour and 3 hours later he finally showed up but never called to inform us that he would be late. When he got there didnt apologize, wouldn't lower the rate for the tow and argued when we expressed that we were very upset with his poor customer service. He also assured us our car would be done the next day which is why we had him tow us since he assured us he had the part to fix our car and get us back on the road as soon as possible. Our car was not fixed for two days, we picked our car up and headed straight to a FORD dealership to get his work inspected. They advised us to avoid his garage for all services, everyone they talked to has had horrible experiences. Avoid this place!!