I cant believe there are nice people in my neighborhood!,My Toyota was making a bad noise when backing up.Two guys came to my home and found out the problem right away! I ran over something and they fixed it in a few minutes @ no charge. I found my new auto place! Thank you for helping an 18 yr kroger employee and retired nurse of 25 years. Im handicapped with spine injuries. They made my day!!!! God Bless. When I come in I will give these two a tip. Im so broke right now!
Thank you for fixing my oil pan stripped threads with a tap and seal! They did it within two hours! Everyone else wanted to charge me $1000 for a new oil pan. This was simple and inexpensive and resolved my issue. Very kind and thoughtful owner and employees. Thank you so much!
Terry, Eric, LT, Kyle and all the Kettering-Oakwood Automotive team are top notch!
Very fair on service pricing and excellent customer care.
I have been taking our vehicles there since we moved back to the Dayton area after being way overcharged by a competitor.
Give them the opportunity to earn your business. They will not disappoint!
Kettering-Oakwood automotive has been highly recommended to me in the past, which is why they were my first thought today. I called this morning with a completely flat tire and asked if I could be seen - no appointment, new customer etc. I thought this was going to be a multi-hour, $300 dollar morning. Instead they immediately determined my tire could be easily patched. $20 and (Im not exaggerating) fewer than 10 minutes later, I was back on the road.
Everyone I dealt with was pleasant and professional. I will absolutely be returning for my needs in the future.
Thank you!
Flat tire no more! I had to call this place on short notice about an hour before they closed, and they were able to plug me into their busy schedule and plug my tire too. Very customer friendly especially if you get to meet Terry. This shop is not only professional at what they do, but also sympathetic to even someone like me that they had just met. They even switched my tire on and off FOR ME at NO CHARGE. 20$ for everything, can't beat that price anywhere. Highly recommend you come here for any automotive service you need
My experience with this company was beyond outstanding! They serviced me and my vehicle with honesty and understanding. It definitely felt like a family owned and operated company. I will be back in the future and I highly recommend this company to anyone who needs help with their vehicle.
The work I had done here wasn’t done properly. They originally time kept my vehicle for 2 week with a coolant issue, when I finally got my car back it was still leaking and I brought it back, they said it was in fact still leaking and they were shocked the mechanic missed it. Then after another week and an additional fee, I received my vehicle back. Unfortunately, it was still leaking coolant. I finally brought it elsewhere where the leak was fixed in about an hr.
I highly suggest you avoid this shop, on top of the inconvenience of my car being out of commission for 3 weeks, the other mechanic said they significantly overcharged me.
Incredibly friendly staff and very quick service. Called in at 9 am about fixing a flat tire, was immediately taken care of at 10 am, and left their shop with my fixed tire by 10:30 am. I will definitely return in the future. Thanks so much for all you do!
I went in today because our car needed the license plate switched out (very simple job) but one of these screws was rusted and stripped. I took it into another automotive shop and they wanted to charge me $80 for a HALF HOUR of work. I knew that was way overpriced based on what I needed done because if I had the right tool, I would have done it myself. I decided to come to this shop and not only were they closing right when I got there but they did this for me for FREE! Incredible service and friendly workers. We will now be taking our cars here for any service. Not all great customer service is lost!!! Thank you to Kettering Oakwood Automotive for helping me out today when they didn’t have to. These guys know what they’re doing not only with cars but with customer service - and that always wins! THANK YOU!!!
They offered to diagnose what's wrong with the truck and how much it would cost to repair it. They told me that the truck is too far gone, isn't worth saving and that they wouldn't even charge me the diagnostic fee. Now the cherry on top for me is that they were very patient with me in getting it towed out of their lot. Eric, LT, I appreciate you. This review is the least I can do.
I came in requesting a coolant flush for my 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I already knew my coolant was low and discolored, and I was getting an engine code (P0117) related to the coolant temperature sensor. My goal was simple: flush the old coolant first, then see if the code resolved before replacing any parts.
While the staff completed the flush as requested—and the price for that was reasonable—I was disappointed by how quickly they pushed unnecessary repairs without giving the flush a chance to work.
Shortly after starting the service, I got a call saying I “needed a thermostat and coolant sensor,” and was quoted nearly $500 for the job. That recommendation came before finishing the flush, clearing the code, or even seeing how the vehicle responded afterward.
It felt like a preset upsell, not a thoughtful diagnosis.
I declined the extra repair and asked them to do what I originally came in for: just the flush. When I picked up the car, the check engine light was still on—but they hadn’t even cleared the code to see if it would return. That’s a basic step any good shop should take, especially after changing the fluid.
If you know what you’re doing and just need a basic service done, you might be okay here. But if you’re looking for thorough diagnostics or a shop that takes a thoughtful step-by-step approach, this wasn’t it in my experience.
UPDATE and REPLY 5/29
Wow. Instead of taking responsibility or even asking if something went wrong, you sent a punctuation-free rant blaming me for… listening to you?
Let’s get a few things straight:
Yes—I requested a coolant flush, and that’s exactly what I wanted done first because the coolant was visibly dirty and low, and I had a P0117 ECT sensor code. You pushed a $492 thermostat and sensor replacement before even completing the flush or clearing the code. That’s not diagnostics—that’s an upsell.
You told me, “The light will come back on.” Well guess what? The car won’t even start now. After leaving your shop, it cranked but never turned over—and I got a “Check Oil” warning despite a recent oil change and full oil level. That’s not normal, and it sure didn’t happen before your team worked on the vehicle.
Your coolant flush? Looks like you barely did it. The fluid is murky, the reservoir walls are still coated in gunk, and the level dropped to near MIN within hours. Either you didn’t bleed the system properly or you left air pockets behind, which can confuse sensors and prevent starting. If I had done this flush myself in my driveway, I’d have done a better job—and I’m not even charging $60 for it.
Also, I never said this was “a friend’s car.” That’s something you made up to dodge responsibility. What I said was I wanted a proper step-by-step approach—flush first, then reevaluate. That’s what any qualified shop would do. But instead of troubleshooting, you went straight to replacement quotes and are now lashing out because I didn’t blindly approve it.
So now I have:
• A Jeep that doesn’t run
• A check engine light still on
• And a receipt for a half-baked flush job I now have to redo
You didn’t fix the problem, and you made it worse.
What was I expecting? Basic professionalism.
What did I get? A defensive wall of blame from a shop that did the bare minimum and now wants to argue with the customer instead of helping.
I’ve taken my cats to Oakwood Auto for several repairs now and I’m satisfied with all of my experiences. They are knowledgeable and honest. They give me options and let me know what to look out for. I appreciate that they tell me when something is going on but is urgent. They don’t pressure me to get it fixed now. Thanks!
Great Place! Needed a quick, same day tire patch, and they were definitely super fast and thorough. Terry was very friendly and welcoming. This place is a great neighborhood business.
I recently was in need of a good mechanic to inspect a vehicle I was about to purchase, and one of my coworkers suggested KOA. Honestly was expecting mediocre work and mediocre customer service, just like most of the other shops I've been to in the Dayton Area. Most of the shops tend to just tell you what's wrong with it, but Terry took me back and showed me what needed to be fixed and although I forgot to ask while I was there, he gave me an excellent quote for the repairs when I called them back a few hours later. Honestly, thank you Terry, I will absolutely be bringing my vehicles here from now on.
Very kind and honest people here. I brought my car in because I thought something was wrong with my serpentine belt and my turn signal switch was acting up. They couldn't find anything wrong with the belt and gave me a quote to replace the switch. I declined having the switch replaced because it's more or less just an inconvenience. So no work was performed on my car. I was shocked when Terry told me there was no charge. Most shops would charge at least $65 just for looking at my car. Thank you again Terry!!
I ran over a bolt and got a flat tire. They fixed it right away and even pumped up all the tires (including the donut!). Very professional, would recommend!
Also took a van in which needed a sensor replaced. They went above and beyond to get the new part quickly for us and get us the van back. Exceptional service!
Cannot reccomend oakwood automotive enough! I know terry personally from my own job and when I mentioned to him one day while he was in that my car was making a weird he didn't even hesitate to ask me if he could test drive it and see if he could offer any advice on what he thought was wrong. Being a young girl who's clueless about cars I obviously let him. He drove it around the block and confirmed that it was worn down breaks and offered for me to bring it into the shop to fix it. He fit me in on my only day off and got it out in an even timlier manor and even gave me a discounted rate because I do his dogs nails at my job. Overall extremely happy with the service and will absolutely be back if anything else goes wrong with my car!
I was having overheating problems, so I decided to drive my car up there to get the problem fixed because the shop was right around the corner and that's the only place my car would make it without overheating too bad. They end up telling me I had a blown head gasket and that the car is basically junk. But something was telling me to take it somewhere else before I junk it. Turns out I only needed a new thermostat & a new upper radiator hose! Ended up paying under 300 for the labor and parts put on. The other shop I took it to spotted the problem soon as they opened the hood!!! I don't know if the mechanics here just didn't wanna fix it or they didn't have time but to make up a problem like car problems aren't already stressful enough I'm just able I was able to take it elsewhere who take more time into there work, my car runs perfect now.
I took my car in for my brakes. We ran into a little hiccup and Terry made everything right! He was very professional and sincere. The front desk team was very nice and polite ~ hard to find these days. I would highly recommend Kettering Oakwood Automotive. They want you to be satisfied and happy with their repair work. THANK YOU TERRY ~ you're the best!!
This place is will never go to again first time got a oil change and tire Rotation charged me 150 dollars then the next time same thing made a appointment for 8 am arrived 6 min late then the guy tells me you qere supposed to be here at 8 I daud I know I had a emergency and that's why I am late then he said dit will be a few to get me in then he left the actual worker was there didn't even acknowledge me or check me in then this other guy came in and he checked him in tool his car in lmao bad business but this place over overcharged me i left when that guy checked some other guy in before me and I was waiting fo 10 minutes but it's ok found a way cheaper place who actually cared and only changed me 74 total for a tire Rotation didn't need a air filter because the last time I was at that place they didn't even reset anything so it seemed like a needed a air filter because they didn't reset it they showed me the air filter and said I didn't need one just let me say this if yiu are a person of color don not go to this place just warning anyone of color my name is Christopher doakes all. Lack blazer 2021 been there couple of weeks ago and like I said will never come back didn't feel welcomed nothing you can do for me
I had a flat tire and stopped by without an appointment. They took care of it right away, and I was back on the road in no time! The service was fast and professional. The staff was friendly and made the whole process smooth and stress-free. Highly recommend them for any tire or auto repair needs!
We have received excellent service every time we have used their services. They have always been straight forward and respectable. They have fixed mistakes that others had left us with and have put our minds at ease, knowing that the fixes were completed well. It is really great to have a local independent shop so close by.
A rare gem! This shop is truly one of the best in the area. Consistently kind employees, fair prices, and excellent service. I used to live around the corner when I first became a customer, now I drive 30 minutes with zero complaints because you just cant find service like this everywhere.
These guys just saved my day! I came out from my office to find a completely flat tire. I called the shop and Kyle came out to pump up my tire so we could get it to the shop to repair. No dice. It wouldn't hold air. So, he took my wheel back to the shop and came back with a new tire a bit later. I paid over the phone and they emailed my receipt. It was so easy! Thank you!
On October 8, 2024, I took my car to Kettering Oakwood Automotive because the check engine light was illuminated, and I heard a high-pitched squeal from the engine. They replaced the purge valve, valve cover, and gasket. I left the shop feeling satisfied and drove home, less than a mile from the shop, without any apparent issues. However, smoke began pouring through the vents later that evening, and I discovered oil stains where I had parked.
On November 13, I called Eric to report these ongoing issues. He requested that I bring my car back in. After I brought my car in, he informed me that the oil cooler assembly required replacement at a staggering cost of $2,176. I voiced my concerns regarding the timing of such an expensive repair so soon after my last visit. Eric acknowledged that the timing was indeed unusual and mentioned that Terry would follow up with me.
When Terry called, he was defensive and insisted they wouldn’t fix my car for free, which was not something I expected. He eventually offered to cover half the cost, which I appreciated but didn’t entirely alleviate my concerns. I dropped off my car on November 14, only to have Terry say, "So you are the person accusing us of damaging their car?" I chose not to engage in an argument; I just wanted my car fixed.
On November 15, I picked up my car, paid half the repair costs, and drove home (again, less than a mile from the shop). The car sat in my driveway until November 18, when smoke poured out from under the hood during a drive. I promptly called Kettering Oakwood Automotive, and Eric arranged for a tow at no cost to me.
On November 19, Terry called to inform me that the water outlet housing and a radiator hose needed replacement. He insisted these issues were completely unrelated to their previous work and claimed they would fix my car at no cost; however, he banned me from returning for future repairs. Terry accused me of yelling at his employees, which was completely untrue.
When I picked up my car, Terry attempted to show me the faulty part. I had no interest in prolonging the confrontation. Terry very sarcastically said, "Have a great day!" To which I replied, "You too!"
Now, I find myself unable to return to Kettering Oakwood Automotive, and honestly, after this series of experiences, I wouldn’t want to. It’s unfortunate because they are conveniently located and have received good reviews. I’m sharing my story in hopes that others will have a better experience than I did.
My response to Terry:
Terry, that is 100% false. Once you honored the half-off repair on the oil cooler assembly, we shook hands, and I told you I would give you a good review on Google. After my car sat there all weekend, it broke down again. After each repair, a new issue would occur. I must be the most unlucky customer ever.
I recently had an issue with the ABS module on my car, so I visited this repair shop. My car would randomly brake and stall in the middle of the road, with both the parking brake light and ABS warning light turning on. They initially fixed it, but the issue persisted. When I went back, they only secured the module with a zip tie and claimed they had put in a lot of effort, which I didn’t mind.
However, what I cannot accept is that to prevent me from returning to address the ABS issue again, they disabled the ABS warning light and parking brake indicator on my dashboard. This kind of “solution” left me extremely disappointed. Disabling warning lights doesn’t solve the problem and may even compromise driving safety.
To be fair, the shop does offer loaner cars for first-time customers, which I appreciated and found surprising. But despite this, the deceptive approach is untrustworthy. I hope this review helps others make a more cautious choice when selecting a repair shop.
Both times I have visited this shop for car issues, the repairs have been done within a few hours or less. It is very affordable, Terry and his staff are all friendly, we have never been left needing something they couldn’t help with. My husband and I would highly recommend this business as they are very trustworthy!
We had a fantastic experience with Kettering Oakwood Auto. I called yesterday and was seen in less than 24 hours. They were thorough in their inspection of my vehicle. They gave us great information on what the issues were, what required immediate attention, and laid out their pricing super clearly! Not to mention every worker I spoke with was kind and beyond helpful! Will absolutely be utilizing their services again.
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