Takoma Auto Clinic in
Takoma Park (MD)

I'm changing my review now that the clinic has changed hands and I've been there with the new ownership. The new owners are not as knowledgeable and are only out for a buck. They told me I needed new brakes when I didn't. They didn't properly reinstall the wheel well cover when they changed a bulb and they also told me I didn't have an oil leak when I did. My new mechanic was blown away by how they treated me. I miss Johnny's service but now that he's gone I won't step foot in here again.

Had a broken parking brake and brought it in for repair. They said they fixed it, but it failed state inspection a second time. Brought it in a second time and after a full day they said they had to order a part - come back next week. Brought it in a third time and after three hours of waiting they said they ordered the wrong part - sorry - leave the car or bring it back tomorrow. The next day they said the part had arrived but couldn’t squeeze me in as promised. Had to bring it in a fourth time to finally get it fixed - or so we’ll see when I get the car inspected a third time. One morning they didn’t have anybody at the front desk to consult with or hand the keys to for over an hour. Also, your keys just sit on an unattended front desk where anyone can walk in and take them. Such a colossal waste of time and your car isn’t secure from theft. When my car was finally ready after my fourth visit, there was nobody in the office and I saw my keys unattended on the front desk. I took them and left - such a lack of security. Highly recommend avoiding this place. Update (Aug. 22) — My car has now failed state inspection a third time due to the parking brake. Four trips to Takoma Auto Clinic and it’s still not fixed. Stay away from this place!

I’m have them working on my car spend $2.000.00 dollars parts and installation never replace bearing , is making noise I’m told to owner , he said is normal, 2 weeks ago I’m loosing my clutch because the bearing, now I’m trying to get contact with owner , leave many voice messages and never answer . My message and my calls, not received any answer , basically loose my money , is a bad service. This shop was good many years ago with original owner. Don’t want to loose you money,don’t recommend. Loose my money.

I visited the shop for the first time today with a non-car issue. I was hesitant to ask for help. But the man I asked was more than willing to help me. He was able to fix something I thought was un -fixable! He saved me so much money. Very very happy with this shop!

I used to come here when Johnny ran it and he was great - he’d shoot it straight, get the work done promptly and actually communicate with you. The new ownership not so much. I dropped my wife’s car off here on 12/3 and it wasn’t until 1/10 they finally fixed it. Perhaps I made the mistake of saying “no rush” when I dropped it off thinking it would take a couple days to a week, not a month plus. I called here and there to check on it and eventually they wouldn’t answer my calls. After weeks and weeks of it being there and them not answering calls I had to physically go down there to see what was going on. It seemed like they were just not prioritizing it or doing anything. Eventually they replaced the fuel pump which kinda fixed it (hence the 2 stars instead of 1) but it still isn’t running right. As a final kicker when we picked it up nobody was anywhere to be found, just waiting and waiting. One of the tires was completely flat from sitting there for so long (it has a slow leak and wasn’t expecting it to sit for a month) and the gas was completely empty, the needle buried in the red, I guess from them letting it sit and run. I know I didn’t drop it off like that. Just complete unawareness and lack of customer service.

i want to start this review off by saying i have taken my volvo here several times and never had any problems, and would in fact say the customer service was excellent, including one time they changed my oil for free. but that was for my volvo. bringing my chevy truck here was a completely different story. we brought it in because it hadn’t been driven in over a year, and wouldn’t start. it’s a diesel, so my wife and i figured it probably just needed fresh oil, maybe a new battery, and it would be good to go. the folks at takoma auto were communicative at first. they let us know it started up right away, said the idle sounded smooth, no indication of any problems, and should be ready any day. then we didn’t hear from them for awhile. after more than a week with no communication, we called and they said it needed a new radiator, but they were having trouble finding one. it then sat at the shop for over a month. i’m not an expert, and would even give them the benefit of the doubt here; our truck is an ‘88, and it’s somewhat rare, though fairly common replacement parts as far as a chevy goes. they became increasingly difficult to get ahold of, and their explanations for why it took over a month to find a radiator didn’t make a whole lot of sense. in the intervening month, my wife and i moved to detroit, with the stated intention of returning to pick up the truck whenever it was done. this is where the service at takoma auto really descended into something unfortunate. they got in touch with my wife to let her know the truck was ready for pick-up, so i flew out a few days later, and when i got there they told me it wasn’t ready. i had told them i was on an extremely tight schedule with getting back to detroit, and so this situation to me was completely unacceptable. what allegedly happened, they explained, was that one of the autoworkers prematurely relayed to my wife that the truck was ready before it actually was, and then never followed up to let us know that there had been even more setbacks. but there i was, fresh off my flight and back in maryland, ready to pick up a truck that had already been languishing at their shop for 6 weeks, that still inexplicably wasn’t ready. granted, they were patient with my frustrations and offered to refund me the money i had already paid for a part they never ordered, and for labor they had never performed. i then took my truck out of there and drove it home with absolutely no issues, from the radiator or anything else. getting the refund from them, though, was like pulling teeth. it took another month of back and forth. i’m pretty sure they started ignoring my calls and texts and cashapp requests. first they said they would send a check, then when i followed up a week later they said they had never sent it, then they said they would send it through cashapp and then only sent half of it…it took over two weeks just to get the remainder of the refund. something about the way they handled servicing my volvo versus my truck was completely contrasting and i don’t have a great explanation as to why. if it was too much of a specialty project, they should have let me know right away, instead of being cagey, completely losing my trust, and besetting me with a couple months worth of inconveniences. all of this is a long-winded way of saying, if you are coming here for a routine service on your toyota camry, expect great care and a swift turnaround. anything else, i would implore you to find another shop. save yourself the grief.

Jason and his crew are very quick, honest, and knowledgeable. Got a diesel VW that needed a few things done and to get it back on the road and they were able to help me immediately while being communicative and very honest with me about everything.

SHADY BUSINESS PRACTICES! I took my car here to get serviced and they failed to give me an itemized receipt. I’ve tried multiple times calling them and even went in person, but still no receipt. This is in regards to the mechanic called Jason. Every time I called he would say “I forgot and will email receipt later that day”, he never did. Nobody is that busy or forgetful. He’s doing it intentionally for reasons unknown. Don’t go here, save yourself the headache. I’m reporting to the BBB. It’s sad that Jason is actually the manager. Completely unprofessional.

Everyone at Takoma Auto Clinic is top notch. I’ve already recommended them to colleagues. They were clear about what was needed, and their prices were very fair but most of all they did an amazing job. They’ve gained one more fan.

I reached out to Takoma Auto Clinic with an urgent need for my car. I am new to the DC/Maryland area and was desperate to find a new shop to take my car last minute. It would not start two days prior to holiday travels and I was in quite a bind. They were able to take my car in and provided timely and thorough service, even staying late the day before to make sure the repairs would be done in time for me to have my car for my travels. I was provided excellent and detailed information about my repair whenever I called for an update. I feel I was charged fairly for the complex repair needed. The customer service was kind, respectful, and empathetic over the phone. I will definitely be returning for future inspection and repairs!

Jason and Chris were very helpful. Jason got back to me in a timely manner. He Let me know what issues my car had.gave me an estimate, asked if I would like to proceed. Few hours later called me and said it was ready. Great customer service and communication over at Takoma Auto Cilinc. Thank you guys!

The worse I still waiting for them to call me to program the airbags after paying $450 to install some screws since I took off the deployed airbags and overcharged for it

For some reason, my steering wheel locked and I could not turn the car on. I read how to’s on this but the wheel did not budge. I called these guys and someone came in 15 minutes. He had no luck either and went back to get another person. Finally, he was able to unlock it. They did not charge me and refused a tip. I’m very grateful and despite living in DC, will use them for upcoming g car repairs.

Excellent customer service and quality repair experience! After some strange noises from my mom's usually reliable vehicle, they were quick to get us in to diagnose the problem and kept costs very low. Highly recommend them!

BEST customer service I've ever experienced at a mechanic shop! Friendly and honest. Christian worked on our car and went above and beyond, even driving my car to where I work. Highly recommend! 👍🏻

Update: Amending my review due to management’s fast response to help after the sales person forgot to leave my keys, resulting in several trips. I respect a business that cares about their customers. Just make sure you ask for price details ahead of time and be clear in communication with the person on the phone. Management and the mechanics do care so that goes a long way.

Small, local and family owned. Quality work, fair prices and honest dealings. Johnny has been keeping my cars alive for years. You'll never go wrong choosing Takoma Auto Clinic.

I think mechanics and doctors should be looked at in the same way... someone you can trust and knowledgeable. Johnny at Takoma Auto Clinic is one of the most authentic people I've ever met and he knows automobiles.

Johnny was so helpful, responsive, efficient, and incredibly reasonable with pricing. I needed to get new tires and a new brake pad in the dead of winter with icy roads so that I could drive safely. I dropped off my car at 9:30am on a Monday and had it back by 1pm, and the cost was at least a thousand dollars below what I had expected. I love this place!

Great customer service amd fair pricing. Friendly family owned business which can be have it's drawbacks because they don't always have enough staff but they will let you know and also will try to help if you have an emergency.

I brought my vehicle to Takoma Auto Clinic after an accident, and reported several problems to them. They looked at it the next day as promised, and called and told me what needed to be repaired, and quoted me a price. I asked them to investigate the front end suspension, brakes, and steering, to make sure the front end collision did not cause other problems that weren't immediately apparent. They said they would call me back and let me know. This occurred at 10:40AM. I did not hear from them again until 5:04PM that day. At this point the owner told me he was putting my keys in my car, and that I could come pick it up at any time. I was very confused, and eventually dragged out an explanation from him, that he claims to have called my cell phone, spoken to me, told me that the steering etc were all fine, and that I told him I did not want to spend the money on the repairs. None of this occurred. I tried to explain that he must have dialed the wrong number, but he got agitated and said that he no longer was interested in repairing my vehicle. I asked if he could hold the keys until the following day so I could come speak to him, and show him the record on my phone showing that the mysterious phone call never took place, but this shop is closed on Saturdays so that is not an option. I was not able to experience the work ethic or repair skills first hand, but strictly from the way this situation was handled, I can not recommend against this shop strongly enough.

Honestly, a girl couldn’t ask for more when it comes to finding her first reliable mechanic. Johnny is sincere, honest, and professional. I’ve always felt extremely taken care of since I brought my car in for a major fix last May. Since then, I’ve brought it in for minor things 3 times, and Johnny always takes time out of his busy schedule to talk to me about the issues and fixes them without charging me a dime. I will not ever go to another mechanic even if I move from the area. Thank you so much!

Johnny & his team are fantastic. Honest, reliable, and very skilled. Been brining our cars here for years and can't say enough good things about this shop. It's a tiny little place but I never have to wait long for repairs or routine maintenance. I highly recommend.

Best repair shop in the area. Very professional and courteous staff. My husband always speaks highly of the team especially the owner Johnny. Highly recommend!

I am more than happy to write a review about Takoma Park Auto Clinic. They are the most dependable, reliable and honest people in town. While in graduate school, Johnny helped me in every way possible so I could make the costs of repairs affordable. Johnny and his team are wonderful and they truly care about their clients! I mean it...don't go anywhere else!

They have twice stopped the work they were doing to help me out with punctured tires. I was in an absolute bind both times, as we all know it's only a matter of time before you are stranded. The work is minimal and unappealing for shops just trying to make money, and I was turned down by 6 places before I found them! Now I wouldn't go anywhere else, they are amazing and really know the meaning of customer service.

Would definitely recommend! The other day my blinker started malfunctioning. I explained my issue, the guy quickly tinkered with a few things, and it was back to normal. When I went to ask how much it would be, he refused to let me pay anything for his services. Thank you again!