"Doctor" Don's Automotive in
Seattle Hill (WA)

Price gouging. They charged me $250 for an oil change.

Had it checked over, fluids, plugs, check engine light. 750 for an oil change and diagnostic. I provided the filter. At the time, they pulled the spark plugs, told me they needed to be changed, and wanted 250 extra to put in new plugs that I provided. So they just put the old plugs back. I thought about this one for a while, and I guess I am still feeling ripped off. Which is unfortunate.

These guys have helped us with two cars in two separate collisions, 5 star all the way. The front desk person is straight forward and I don't feel ripped off from the prices. They can charge for some convenience, which I'm happy to pay because I don't want to stop at 3-4 different places to get my car ready to drive after a collision. I love having a one stop shop in the neighborhood. I appreciate the convenience, the cost, and the kindness. Thank you!!

I have been bringing my car here for 4 years now, and have had nothing but top tier service. I have never gone to a place that is able to explain what it is that I need and why, in such a comprehensible way, which I am so appreciative for. Aleks and Christian are always very friendly and straight forward. Very smart and knowledgeable team! Thank you guys!!

I have been bringing my vehicles to Dr. Don's for more than a decade, and there's a reason I keep coming back. The staff are friendly and kind, always professional and answer all of my questions. They are also incredibly transparent about pricing and make sure to communicate with me ahead of time any unexpected costs. I have never felt like they were trying to sell me things I didn't need. Two days ago I brought my car in to them for a battery replacement and I paid $200 less than a different nearby shop quoted me. The team here has earned a lifetime customer - the trust and peace of mind are worth every penny.

Purchased a truck had them do maintenance and check everything out they told us that our transmission was fried and that it would cost $12000 to fix it.thay Said they topped off the transmission fluid. Mind you. The truck drove in there. when we left the truck would not drive at that point. it was 11 court shy on transmission fluid.Never told us about the oil leak or anything else that was wrong with the truck from their inspection. We added the eleven quarts and the truck is fine

Hey! So, I am a super anal person, what that means is that I double and triple check everything before I go places. I heard of this place from of one of my friends, and decided to give it a chance. When I got there, they asked me if I wanted a full exam, or a cursory one. I told them that since I was driving my car back to NC that it may be best to have a full inspection ($200ish). After the inspection, they told me exactly what was going on and gave me a quote. When I heard the number, I was curious at first. I wasn't sure if the quote they gave me was fair, so I called my mechanic back in NC to ask if it was fair. They said it was, so I decided to trust that they were good, and paid them for all of the services they said I needed. When I got my car back, it was fine for the first day or two, then I noticed that when I was driving it was making a weird rattling noise. I wasn't sure if it was a new issue, or something happened during the work they did. So, I called the place back and asked for my car to be seen again. I was expecting another $200 bill (or most likely more) for them looking at my car, but they didn't charge me a thing! From what it sounds like, the rattling has to do with my AC, and it's not a major issue. All this to say, they are very fair, and honor previous payments. I have already recommended this place to other travel healthcare workers, and I would highly recommend it if you are looking for a trustworthy mechanic.

Had AAA tow my car here over the weekend and they called first thing Monday morning to let me know they had it. Then Christian and Rick called me several times throughout the day to update me on what was going on with my car and what they recommended. I’ve never dealt with a car’s engine totally dying before, and they helped guide me through calling the dealership and what questions to ask about warranty coverage. They also recommended a towing company (shout out Cooper’s Towing) to have it towed to the dealership. They were extremely communicative, helpful, and transparent throughout this very stressful process. Also, extremely fair pricing for all the diagnostic/engine check work they did. 10/10 recommend these guys!

Fantastic experience. The quote they provided was quick and based on their looking at the actual car rather than looking in some book that tells them what a certain repair should cost. The repair was completed in record time. Seriously, so glad to have a smart and ethical shop to go to if I need repairs in the future.

For such a simple thing of replacing car battery, they charged us $600! $300 dollars of labor costs. Plus a $300 dollar battery which is sold as $107 on Amazon. Unbelievable!! Will never come back again. This is a $500 lesson: Before AAA tows your car to any body shop, make sure they conduct a battery test to save this headache. If the battery is busted, AAA tech can swap you with a new battery with a normal price (more expensive than Amazon but definitely not $300) in 2 minutes.

Ric, Alex, and Christian along with the rest of the team here at Dr Don's have been incredible when servicing and repairing my vehicles. Not only are they extremely friendly and professional they take the time to explain what is going on with the repairs in layman's terms and have gone way above and beyond when diagnosing and fixing mysterious and tricky issues. It's a huge relief to have a trustworthy team, who clearly live and breathe motor vehicles, to rely on when things go sideways with your vehicle and I count recommend these guys highly enough. Thanks Ric and team!

I’ve been taking my beloved diesel VW here for a couple years now and always experience clear communication and relatively quick turnaround once I bring the car in. While I have had to bring the car back after the first repair attempt, they were quick to re-assess and make additional corrections without additional charges. I trust their word and their workmanship which will keep me coming back.

We have gone to doctor don's for over a year now for a wide variety of issues for my 2008 prius. Things I really appreciate about them is that they always give a good price and solid expectations. They have always been thorough and go the extra mile to see if parts are covered and if so would send me to get it fixed at the dealership. They always talk with me with respect. Which as a women gives me a lot of trust in their expertise and faith they will not try to oversell me. Overall I'd always suggest them but with the caveat that they don't always have space or time so you might have to wait a week or more to get your car fixed.

It’s not easy to find an honest and reputable mechanic that doesn’t try to nickel and dime you for everything. I brought my 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee in for a diagnostic and they found over $10k worth of fixes that were needed. While they could have easily made that money off of me by convincing me to move forward with the repairs, they were honest by letting me know that my specific model had reached mileage where issues would continue to pop up. They let me know it was in my best interest to just trade the vehicle in. Very grateful for my experience at Dr. Don’s. I’ll definitely use them in the future and recommend them to friends and family due to the honesty and great customer service that was provided by the team.

Expertly serviced my Delica van and now it runs great! Thank you Rick!

The staff helped me when I got stuck working on a DIY project on my Jeep wrangler to remove an old bolt for fitting seat jackers. The mechanic helped me on the spot and it was done within 5 seconds of me requesting!!! Great experience overall ✌️

These guys are great! It was a random towing experience that led us to them. Even though we were not existing customers, they were understanding and kind about leaving our car so suddenly. They're very effective communicators, do good work, and even went so far as to apply a AAA discount that I had forgotten to tell them about initially retroactively against my next job with them. I highly recommend "Doctor" Don's!

It's hard to find a decent diesel mechanic! Rick knows his craft well and really cares about helping you get to the root cause of your problem. After he fixed several issues, we talked extensively about modding my Land Cruiser and he pointed me to welders/other shops that were reputable. I'm super loyal, won't go elsewhere

Terrible experience. Just terrible. Went in with a camshaft sensor code that persisted after I installed a new sensor. I told them this but the guy who wrote the order didn't note it. So what did they do? Diagnose a new camshaft sensor that wasn't the problem. Then they didn't call me because the second guy couldn't read the first guy's handwriting. They wasted my time and shamelessly charged me $175 for fixing nothing without even an apology. So I installed a new alternator myself for $140 and fixed the problem.

Seemed to do good work. Most of what I got done was fluid flushes so wouldn't notice much change in vehicle. Only reason wasn't a 5 star is that some of the work/parts replaced they didn't call ahead of time to let me know they were needed or that they were replacing. I had to call to get an update on my vehicle otherwise wasn't sure they'd haven't let me know it was ready or that they were still keeping it. I'm not against going back for other services but I, personally, may check out other places. They have a lot of good reviews and were friendly. Check them out for yourself.

I RARELY write reviews, but I felt compelled to write about the amazing service I received at Dr. Don's. My car has been having an issue for several months, and I had previously brought it to a transmission specialist. That place ran a diagnostic said they couldn't find an issue. Thinking I had ruled out a transmission issue, I brought it into Dr. Don's, who had appointments available within the week. After bringing it in, they called back and described the exact issue and that it had to do with my transmission. (Unbelievable that the first shop couldn't figure it out, but that's a separate story.) Because the fix required a transmission specialist, they recommended some places to take my car and said they weren't going to charge me a thing for their time! I will 100% be bringing my car back to Dr. Don's for service in the future, I very much appreciate their honesty and care for customers.

I'm not one to leave reviews, when I do they're usually bad but this place is absolutely top notch! I called several shops and dealerships and found that they were either bothered by my need for service or couldn't get to it for at least a week or 2. I finally called, what will always be my first call in the future, and was told they would try their best to get to my vehicle tomorrow. Considering it was afternoon I found it reasonable to have my truck towed to Doctor Don's. They did try to get to it the next day, they succeeded and successful in what I asked them to do. Unfortunately more work was needed than what was asked. I do 99.9% of my own maintenance and they understood this. Being that it was Friday now and they don't work weekends they let me finish the work in their lot myself over the weekend. I can't think of any other business that would be so generous and allow that to happen when they could have said no, forced me to let them do the work or pay to tow my truck elsewhere. They saved me several hundred dollars this way. Let me pay it forward and say to anyone reading this please trust this shop to do your work as they are fantastic. Thanks guys!

I brought them a problem car, and any garage would have been right to turn me away -- many did. But the crew at Don's did their best with it, and got a collector's car back on the road, fixed the *clunk*, pointed out what problems are coming down the pike, and made me VERY happy. I paid them quite a bit. I don't feel I ever really got an estimate, but they gave me plenty of opportunities to bail out, and we knew it was going to be laborious. I would have liked a little more interaction with them versus the pay-no-attention-to-the-mechanic-behind-the-curtain act, but that could be explained by COVID protocols. All in all, they've certainly earned my repeat visit... assuming of course they ever want to see me or my car again. 😁

Love their late night drop off. I’ve been taking my car here for years and it’s always been a super smooth process. With my work hours I’ve never met with anyone in the shop in person but have had good experiences over the phone. Up front about pricing and honest when some services aren’t really needed yet or at all.

Took my 2009 dodge challenger and they did an amazing job. Great employees and they took good care of my car after many bad experiences with dealership mechanics. They will be my to go guys for life.

I had the pleasure of taking my 2014 Volt to Doctor Don’s and experience first hand what a class act Ric and his crew are. They took exceptional care of my car when it was in the shop. I really feel that I received excellent value for what I paid and the work which was performed. Doctor Don’s has been serving the Ballard for years and community if fortunate to have this successful, family owned business in their back yard. Doctor Don’s techs can do it all; old & new, foreign & domestic, gas & hybrid! Don’t hesitate to take your auto to Doctor Don’s for your next routine maintenance or emergency.

Dr. Don's puts me at ease when I need repairs done on my car. My experience with them has always been positive. They're very kind and most importantly, honest as far as price quoting and prioritizing what needs to be done ASAP versus what can wait for a few months. Highly recommend...