Tate's Salvage & Service JunkYard in Oak Ridge (TN)

I searched the internet for a Frame for my 1996 F150. I called many of the places that had what I wanted. From my first phone call to Tates I felt they were truly willing to help me find what I needed. The price was in the middle of all my quotes, but again it was the phone interaction that made my decision. I borrowed and trailer, an me and my wife went on a road trip. When we arrived the frame was ready and was loaded by their staff. If I need anything else for my project I will be calling them first. One more thing the community where they are located in is really nice and somewhat historic.

Tates is more polished and professional than ever now that the owner's son, Curtis, has taken over the shop. They always take your budget into account and start off with the best price, very honest car guys here! Great experience and you can tell they are proud of their work.

Do not use this company. Everybody that works there are amateurs. They charge you for service that was done but they use old parts from other cars and charge you for new parts. Tate’s owner told me that my car was finish. I went to pick it up drove off the lot 2 blocks down from the shop the car stopped I had to have it towed back to the company 6 months later the car is finish I paid over $1,000 when I picked it up the first time. I was refunded back $100 store credit back it took them 6 months to get the car completely fixed. Now I’m selling the car, because it still isn’t fixed right. Stay far away from this company. They ha they have torn up 3 cars now in my family. We all now have 3 new cars. Thanks Tate for all the trouble y’all have costed us.

Today they went above and beyond to help my daughter and I. I have been bringing my vehicles here for seven years and they have always done us right. Thanks guys!

Five star towing experience! Called for help and had someone on the way in less than 5 minutes and to us in 15 minutes (we were in Oak Ridge)! Really appreciate how timely and effective they were! I had called around to a few places and Tate’s was the cheapest I found!

Absolute con artists. They will lie, cheat, do anything they can to swindle you. I am 47 years old. I have dealt with many shops. This one in particular for years. The positive reviews you read are due to the old man. The founder and original owner died a little while back and when the son took over the business is not the same. AVOID at all costs.

This place is awesome!!! I came in to get my hood replaced and they estimated it to be $500 plus a new hood I went to another place and they were gonna charge me $3000 for it. Before I went back into tates all of my spark plugs went out so they replaced my hood, new hold hook, and new sparks plugs all for $740.77. Super awesome place did the job in a day would go back again!!!!

My son wrecked his car. Tate's showed up to tow his car off - I'm guessing they have a contract with the City of Oak Ridge for such accidents. I get it. A wreck happens, and it has to get cleaned up. When we visited Tate's the next day to remove items from the car, one particular fellow at the desk was weirdly combative about the situation. I told him I would pay the towing fees, and that my son just needed to get his belongings. He eventually agreed, and sent an extremely helpful coworker to help my son. When I returned to settle the bill, he punched some numbers into a calculator and it was over $600 for towing, cleanup, etc from the wreck. Cleanup and towing took maybe an hour? At most an hour and a half? $600?! The car was "totaled" but still had (has) a good engine and transmission (only 120,000 miles on a Toyota), as well as other needed parts. Desk guy offered me $300 for the car, and cautioned it would be $40 a day to hold it on his lot. SO - I could either bow to this offer and eat the $300 difference, or have it towed off the lot at additional towing expense for a better quote. Tate's had me over a barrel and he knew it. Yeah, I signed the car over to them. That's on me. If I hadn't, I would have incurred additional storage fees, towing fees, etc, etc, etc. Again, over a barrel. I recognize all businesses need to make a profit to exist, but this was wrong. Shame on you, Tate's, and shame on the City of Oak Ridge for using a predatory towing service. *The only reason I give two stars, instead on one, is because of the awesome guy who guided my son to the car to get his belongings. **Edit 11/3/23: I have seen Tate's response, and I also now have a copy of the police report. The crash occurred at 5:11 and was cleared at 5:42. Tate's was on scene for cleanup for most of that, but clearly less than my estimate. Under a half hour. So, what is the contracted cleanup rate between Oak Ridge City and Tate's? $600 seemed steep originally and even more so now. SMH. Tate's never once stated they were just going by contracted rates. I never asked Tate's to do anything for free, and insurance had zero to do with it, lol! Maybe I just ask for honest and up-front interactions. Is that so difficult? Not just Tate's, but the City of Oak Ridge as well.

The guys here really helped us out.. ordered a very rare sized tire and got us on the road quickly. Super friendly, and prices can't be beat.

Lost center cap to rims while they were working on it for 7 days. They insisted I never had one because of the way the screw looked. Insisted it broke off or was stolen on Thursday night or Friday morning when I got it back, as it was noticed immediately by my boyfriend that Friday night (the next day). I was just happy to have my truck back after a week of being without it. We picked it up on Thursday. Unfortunately, they were argumentative and full of attitude, which was honestly surprising. Insinuated we were accusing them of stealing them. I made it clear I was not, simply noting it WAS there when dropped off. Paid $925 for minor repairs. And they wouldn’t even pull up the camera to verify it was there, in the center of the rim, where it always has been. I probably wouldn’t have written this review if they had been more respectful in the way they talked to my aunt and I. But they were condescending and arrogant. However, the 2 work boys who are probably paid the least there were Mature, reasonable, and gave us a way to order it online for $65. I am very disappointed. My aunt has gone there for over 20 years and they didn’t even recognize her as a repeat customer. She has always taken her cars there. Even when they didn’t get it right the first time she has been understanding and has always given them her business. This is my first and last experience with them. I wish them the best. Just wish they would have done more investigating than arguing.

I've been going to Tates about 5 years, used to have good service and cared about the customer but now it's more about the money. The prices are over-the-top, they don't try to work with you, and if you have an issue with the repair they will not try to rectify the issue. The last few repairs I had were not done properly and when I called about it there was an excuse as to why they choose not to even partially refunded me. It's fine because if they choose to lose a loyal customer over a few dollars it's fine at least I realize now as opposed to throwing away more money in the long run what type of business they are now. Definitely have gone downhill from where they used to be.

I'm a customer with Tate's for life. They have serviced my previous vehicles for the usual upkeep and improvement maintenance. Recently I had to purchase a transmission and i am thankful to say I bought it here. They are honest people that show good business practices and fit the market with their products and services quite well. They did not ask me to post this review.

Brought in my 06 tribute it had bad coils and ecu. They fixed me up at a fair price and great customer service. I even sent my dad over for an oil change on his Q56 while he was in town. It was in and out quickly as promised. They were fair and honest, I would take a vehicle to them again without question.

I've been here more than once, it's always my go-to place in Oak Ridge due to the kind nature of the employees. I'm very thankful they were able to work with me on a tire for my car considering I have children I transport daily and also drive to Knoxville multiple times per week. My tire was awful and could have blown at any time. It's the little things that make a business good like actually caring for the customers. I will be back and thank you all again!

The best auto shop you will find! Have used them for years, they always do great work at reasonable prices, and have always been very honest. I have a very old car that they keep running like a dream and have never tried to do anything unnecessary to it (and are a fraction of the cost of the dealership!!). I trust Dave to always do right by me and my Pathfinder!

Horrible service and won't refund anything they sell you. Brought back an a/c compressor that locked up on my car breaking my belt, and they just told me it was good. The best they'd do is in store credit. Umm no. Thanks to your "good part" I'm out gas money for the week. If I could give 0 *'s I would.

Went in for a new sliding door window at a great price. And instantly felt the need to trust. So I fixed up the AC - Condenser. Since been back for a leaky radiator ... Prices here are really good. Labor in my opinion is low cost and the quality overall is great 👍🏻 Jeremy is extremely helpful, is kindly mannered and straight to the point. If he doesn’t know, he doesn’t just tell you idk, he’ll actually take the time to call the dealership and research the internet trying to find out how to get it fixed. I will recommend this business to anyone -n- everyone. ❣️ Pretty much everyone is helpful. Even when I needed a ride home - service got one of the employees to take me home. Thank you all for what you do and what you’ve been able to do for me 💕

I came in 10 minutes before they closed – and they still fixed my car. They stayed 30 minutes late to get it done. They fixed it right – and even diagnosed a problem that my other mechanic hadn't figured out in two years. Good, fair pricing. About 10% less than most others.

Im going to start by saying that i had heard plenty or negative about this place but when they gave me the lowesr estimate on some work i needed done i decided to decide for myself and im glad i did. They have since done some additional work for me. Plus i got tires there too for a steal really. It is what it is- salvage and mechanic shop and it looks the part. Its not dirty though and there is a seating area for you to wait with clean restrooms. I was surprisingly impressed by that. The people that work there are so nice too. They explained things to me and answered any questions thoroughly and patiently. They also update the status while working on it. They even helped me figure the best path financially for some work i needed and i liked that they were willing to help me save money and not just take it. Ive not had any issue with work done there, my tires are doing great and now if im needing something done i call them first. Give them a try like i did and see what you think

I've used these guys a few times, the work has always been right. Presently they swapped out an engine on my caddy, it took 3 days. Mr. Tate explained every thing they were doing and even took me back in the shop to explain a couple of things I didn't understand. Being a female, this type of action with honesty and knowledgeable service made for an excellent experience!

We were in need of an honest and reliable mechanic after the Gasaway’s repair shop oEnergy retired and closed. We decided on Tate’s because my father used them before he died. They repaired the ac switch and the blower motor on my husband’s Infiniti. They also fixed a rattling in the exhaust cover. The service was outstanding and the turnaround time we unbelievably short. They have a new customer for all of our repair needs. Thanks! We appreciate the great service!

Should have called and told us what repairs would cost before making said repair. $320 was a little high for what they did but they did get it done. Not impressed. The car runs fine though. I would suggest Sexton Auto Repair in Oak Ridge! That doesn't mean they're not good.

Worst autoshop in Oak Ridge. I’ve always had more trouble after getting work done here than has been worth it and end up going somewhere else and paying more to get issues they caused resolved

This place obviously dosen't want any business. I called about some tires and the guy on the phone said he would check and see if they had them and call me back. No call back. I called again the next day and asked again about the tires, and again, he said he would go look and call me right back. I'm still waiting.......it has been over a week now. I also had a friend tell me they did her the same way. So, I have come to the conclusion that they just don't like business. Hopefully they have enough regular customers that they actually do business with, that will keep their business afloat. They definitely won't be getting any recommendations from me, that's for sure.

Reading some of these reviews makes me think about half of Tate's customers must go into Waffle House expecting it to be Ruth's Chris. It's a salvage yard. . .they sell used parts. It will be dirty. The parts will not be new. They'll probably work, and if not, the guys at Tate's will make it right. I buy a lot of parts, used and new, and my experiences there have been better than at most other salvage yards. Parts are as represented and fit properly. Prices are reasonable and service is good. If you want something that needs to be pulled, call ahead. If you ask them to pull something, show up and pay for it. If you show up and pay for something and you have a problem with it, be human, tell them first, not the internet.

So bad that it's a nightmare. Tips everyone off. Got me for $1472. Problem not fixed and in a few.days, radiator that was not repaired, broke and clogged up hoses and block cracked. Junked Honda Accord because it would take another $1500 to really fix it. Had to buy another car. My attorney said I had a case but by the time I paid his fees, court costs, I would probably re over $500. He gives oil changes of his customers recommend him. Beware. Biggest crook in town and doesn't care.

Definitely not a fan. Went in to ask about a replacement door handle. The guy at the counter was short, rude, and refused to look up information about a part. Whatever, if you're too lazy to do your job, collect disability like everyone else in Oak Ridge. Will enthusiastically recommend friends and family go elsewhere. edit: you weren't even willing to look for the part, my friend. good luck with your business. i think we both know why you didn't want to do it.