Auto Repair Specialists Inc in
Blacksburg (VA)

Had a great experience, we were traveling from out of town and my daughter’s car engine light came on. David was able to diagnose it that day understanding the urgency of our situation and not being familiar with the area. Everyone was extremely kind and knowledgeable, I would highly recommend.

“My experience has been so good I come all the way from Richmond, Va. to get non emergency work done. They are honest, reasonably priced and you can trust they did the work they claimed they did.” ……I wrote that at least 3 years ago. It still applies. I just needed them this week when a problem surfaced. They knew I was traveling, got to my car right away, diagnosed the issue, actually cleaned and repaired an existing part, and returned the car to me by Noon yesterday. I was back home in Richmond last evening. Great guys, especially Brion and David. Their new people are training under two great auto repair business men and roll models.

My go-to garage since 1997. Skilled mechanics who listen and know not everyone is made of money. They've kept my European, Japanese, American, and British cars on the road for 200k miles and more. Brion also sells cars. Check them out.

Idk if hes the owner, but Brian is the most miserable excuse of a service manager or owner. He treats customers like garbage. Yells at them and berates them, also does the same to his technicians. Brought a 2018 Subaru Crosstrek in for a simple misfire in #3 cylinder. Very common carbon tracking for Subarus. After the test drive they came back and told me that I would need a new engine and that the #4 piston has erosion, burned spot on it. It was never throwing a misfire code for cylinder number 4. But evidently after their repair they somehow managed to catastrophically damage the engine. Had to go to the dealership and buy a used Crosstrek just to make it back across the country to the Midwest. I wouldn't recommend the shop to my worst enemy

A busy garage is a good sign, this one is bustling! We've been going there for years and it's always been a positive experience: Jeep Liberty, GMC Sonoma. I highly recommend Auto Repair Specialists.

Very pleased - visiting from out of town and needed help on a Friday afternoon. Brion got me in right away, diagnosed the problem and had my car ready the next day. Price seemed fair and I was grateful for his timely help!

I've been dealing with this shop for closing in on 20 years. They always fix the issue and the price is always reasonable (and upfront). I make sure my wife takes her car here because I have zero concerns about her getting scammed. If you're looking for an honest, reliable and local independent shop, this is the spot.

I was impressed with the service I received from here. I was having issues with my vehicle but I could not pinpoint what the main issue actually was. The day that I drove my Suzuki up there, at first there was no odd sound or feeling to how it drove but after arriving at the shop it then started to become noisy and difficult again. I asked David if I could leave it for them to work on and he was very understanding and said yes that they would do their best to get around to it that day. They were fairly busy with other cars and later that evening David called to inform me that while they did not yet get around to working on it he at least wanted to look at it and diagnos the root of the problem. Turns out I had a bad front axel, my brake pads were not up to date, and my serpentine belt was cracked. David said they would start first thing the next day with working on it for me. When I called the next day, David explained that everything was taken care of except the axel because they needed to order another part since the one they tried did not fit and he let me know that the next day they would be putting it on. I went and picked it up yesterday and I truly appreciate the way that I was kept in the loop and the fact that David let me know that they took my car for a test drive to make sure that it would run safely. I recommend this shop and can vouch that it is a good place.

my VA Tech daughter was involved in a fender bender that busted up the front of her (pretty old) Honda. The team at Auto Repair Specialists "got it" that we wanted to get the car back to be safe to drive (headlights and front bumper we messed up) but didn't want to spend a ton on a care with 160k+ mileage on it. They were great...we had a good discussion before the repair, then they did the job just as agreed, even running to the salvage dump to get some useable parts to keep the price lower. When it was all over, they texted me photos of the work. I'd highly recommend Auto Repair Specialists as they seemed to be an honest and hard working team.

A little over a month my Prius engine light came on during my commute from Richmond to Blacksburg, VA. I first took it to Advanced Auto for them to plug their little machine into my car to see what the issue was. This was free BUT their machine was not advanced enough to know what why the engine light had come on, so they recommended I take my car up the right to Auto Repair Specialists. For a more advanced reading, it was $50. Although the car shop was booked with many other cars already, they helped me anyways. And in a very timely manner - thank goodness, because I needed to be back on the road that evening. The machine told Brion, the owner that helped me, that my fuel sensor needed to be replaced. This was a few hundred dollars and was a reasonable price considering the cost of the parts itself (and with fitting me in that day). Brion was extremely helpful and friendly in fixing my car and doing his best to get it done in time for me to leave with it. A month later and my engine light has not come on again. Thank you so much for helping me and doing it so quickly! My car is running great and I highly recommend this car shop.

I saw a few reviews saying that service was unfriendly, but this isn't my experience. While we didn't choose to repair my truck's transmission, the problem was quickly and accurately diagnosed. Brion was accommodating, friendly, and understanding of the fact that for the average person it can be difficult to understand mechanical issues. He even made sure that I had a ride home afterwards.

We got a nail in a tire while we were visiting Blacksburg VA. We had an issue as all of the auto repair stores were closed. We just happened to find Brion, the owner working even though they were closed. He helped us out and patched the tire. He did us a big favor since we should not have been able to take care of that until the next week. He was kind and did not charge us a lot. If I lived in this area I would make Auto Repair Specialist my permanent auto shop. I would recommend it to everyone.

Had a cooling system problem with a very old car. The owner at auto repair specialists was very informative and patient in working with us to decide what to do. He made sure that we understood what was to be done and how much it would be. I would recommend them to a friend.

I took my car to Auto Repair Specialists for state inspection last year. They informed me necessary repairs to pass inspection would be roughly $2,000. While it seemed a bit high, I went ahead and got the work done. Having completed the repairs at their shop a year ago, I returned to Auto Repair Specialists this year to again get my state inspection. Despite not driving the car much throughout the year, to my surprise I was informed there would be another $1,500 of repairs required to pass inspection, some of which were the EXACT SAME repairs they claim to have completed the year prior. Either they didn't actually complete the work they said, or they did a poor job at best. Either way, I didn't fall into the same trap twice and went elsewhere -- fewer repairs were required and it was significantly cheaper. Bottom line, do not go to Auto Repair Specialists unless you're looking to get ripped off.

Best place to get work done and inspections. They are very honest. My car failed inspection and I replaced all the parts they failed it for and the parts definitely needed replaced. They also passed my car with 270k miles on it when it didn't have any issues.

I was here for the weekend and needed to get my car checked and fixed ASAP. When I arrived in Blacksburg, my car was overheating (engine was smoking when I parked) and coolant was leaking like crazy. Took my car to these guys and told me they needed to replace my water pump and thermostat. Car drove fine for 6 hours back home until my engine started overheating like crazy again and once I parked, I found out the coolant was also leaking once again. So they did not fix the problem. I took my car into my normal mechanic after and found out these guys misdiagnosed my car. Turns out, there was a leak coming from the coolant reservoir which could've been fixed/replaced very easily and cost way less than what the guys at Auto Repair Specialists charged me. I recommend finding another mechanic if you're in the Blacksburg area.

I'm shocked by the recent bad reviews. I've been taking my cars here for years and I do admit that many years ago their customer service was questionable, but that just isn't the case now. Just this morning, despite having a huge number of inspections and repairs, they took the time to test drive my car on the highway to help diagnose it and got back to me in only a couple of hours. I went in telling them that my friend said that a certain thing was wrong with it but they diagnosed it and told me what is really wrong with it and asked if I wanted it fixed before they work on it. The last time I brought my car in they fixed it up and even fixed an unrelated problem I hadn't asked them to fix at no extra charge! That is just how these guys roll! They do great, honest work for a resonable price. That is hard to find in the auto repair industry these days!

Long story short, Brian the owner required me to fix unnecessary things. On top of that, each list to be fixed was way overpriced. Brian asked $1690 total while I could fix everything for $450 at M&M tires. I got my car inspected here recently and told me to fix 6 things including headlamp and wheels. It took me two days to just get quotes(Brian told me he would call me but didn’t so ended up visiting the shop again and waited for an hour. Other stations usually give quotes right away after inspection.) The quotes were $1690 to fix everything. So I went to other bodyshop to get the quote to fix same things. When I handed the inspection paper with quotes, they were so surprised with each charge Brian asked. They said they could do it for $895. So then I decided to have another car inspection at M&M tire and they told me it was just the cap for headlamp fell out and no problems with wheels. The total estimates were $450 total. Got it fixed. Saved more than 1,000dollars. Please go to other stations if you don’t want to get ripped off. If you are seeing this post Brian, I want to hear what you got to say.

I had oil change, cylinder seal replaced and tune up on my car. Within 11 days of repairs there was no oil in the car. Check engine light came on and luckily I was in my driveway. The owner Brian was not willing to help me out and was very defensive when I was asking questions and basically hung up on me. Very disappointed lack of willingness to help me out with my situation. I don't believe in coincidence and I wasn't asking for anything to be done for free. I only needed some assistance with what to do. I will be taking it to another garage on Monday. Very rude and angry man because he said he had his 7 yr old with him and he wasn't even supposed to be working. I don't know why I needed to know that. Other than he was comparing his situation to mine? Worse customer service ever. However, Ronnie whom I talked to first was very kind but said I'd have to talk to Brian. And, I waited 3 hours to talk to him. Update took to another garage and fuel injector hose was not put on tight enough. Couldn't find anything that would cause that much oil to draining out, so the only conclusion was the oil was not filled up. Would talk to Brian if i thought it would do any good. And, I'm sure owning a business is stressful however, customer service goes a long way and standing by your work!

Before bringing my car here, I was a dealer dummy. Thought they were always looking out for my car by charging the highest prices. Auto Repair Specialists is old school, fast, and cheap. Happy to continue my business here and NEVER back to the dealership.

Bought a set of 4 tires from this place that lasted 6 months. Took the truck back to ask why the tires wore out so fast and the rude little child of a manager immediately began to accuse me of not requesting alignment. To be clear, they never suggested or offered alignment, and later admitted they didn’t even have the equipment necessary to align my truck. Maybe I should have bought the tires from this garage, and then gone to another shop to see if everything was OK, but one would assume things like alignment would be mentioned if it could ruin a new set of tires. Also, if they didn’t have the equipment to set up my truck correctly, they should have mentioned it. If you do business with this place, don’t expect them to look out for your interest past the checkbook. This is the kind of place that makes people distrustful of automotive repair.

I've been going to this place for many years, mostly with diesel pickup trucks for general maintenance and repairs, and also with other vehicles. I wouldn't keep going back if I didn't like the quality of work and the people. I've recommended this garage to others as well with the same satisfied results. Perfect? No. Adaquate and reasonable? Yes. Jerry Polverino Bent Mountain

I have taken all my cars to this shop for at least 10 years. I work nearby and started going there out of convenience. They are "good ole boys" and have always treated me well. From simple things like inspections to clutch/transmission repair on my old Blazer, these guys have always been fair. The only time I found a better deal was on my old Outback. It had a pretty bad exhaust leak and they suggested replacing the whole system which would be expensive anywhere. I took it to a muffler shop and just had the leaking pipe replaced for around $100. But other than that one time, I have zero complaints and I don't even consider the exhaust work as a complaint.

These guys have always given me the best car service I've ever received. When another car shop tried to tell me I had an exhaust leak - I took it to them and they showed me exactly why I DIDN'T have an exhaust leak. Honest and good service.

Not sure why the neg comments. I went here 3 times plus my fiance has gone many times and my father. We all had great experience. They were reasonable, didnt have issues later and were nice. They offer to drop you off if you need to leave your car with them. They charged $80 to install brakes pads, which was $50 cheaper than other places.

Most expensive oil change I've ever heard of! Referred by a friend, trusted them to change the oil, rotate the tires and do a trip inspection. Thought they would give me a fair price, nope. They charged me $87 and didn't even check the engine code, or report anything a general inspection would have found. Wanted $50 more just to plug it in and read the code! It's free at O'Reilly! Be careful with these guys, don't sign or agree to anything without prices written down.

If you could put 0 stars, then that's all they would get. The manager or owner had a lot of attitude and had no sense of customer service. I would not step foot near the place again. Worst experience I've had with any car shop and I've been to plenty. I am now taking my car to M&M on prices fork road, the manager seemed extremely nice and knowledgeable and was willing to listen to my concerns.