What clients say about Custer St. Auto Repair & Towing in Manitowoc (WI)
Called for a pre purchase inspection. Were completely upfront and honest about their schedule and availability seeing how is was coming from over an hour away. Told me they wouldn't be able to get me in today but spent the time on the phone going over a few key things to look for on the vehicle I was looking at related to the transmission performance. Saved me from purchasing something that could have cost me $1000's down the road. After feeling exactly what was described on the call I passed on the vehicle from a local dealership.
Little pricey but worth it! After being stuck at a gas station, calling a bunch of tow company’s that were no help, Custer street towing was there when I needed them and quick. Jake is the man.
In no way shape or form am I putting down this business, the thing with these guys is it does take a bit sometimes for them to get to your vehicle, but that's because they are good at what they do, my car is like new because of Custer Street towing and auto repair, and they are fair with doing payments if you can't afford it all at once, I highly recommend this company, they are definitely worth it in the long run because, they diagnose anything wrong with your vehicle, thank you Custer Street Auto and towing.
As far as the towing service, they have been great. I was managing a place that installed interlocks and they were great to deal with bringing and taking car for us especially at inopportune times. Recently I was the victim of an owi hit and run situation where my vehicle was totalled and they were very helpful and forthcoming about information and worked with my schedule dealing with my totalled car.
Avoid this place. Owner, Chris, cannot communicate and is very arrogant. Had my car towed there on a Saturday- my only vehicle so I needed to know what was going on with it. No call on Monday; I finally called him again Tuesday afternoon and got a very vague “diagnosis”. By then I had enough and had it towed to another shop. Got my bill from Custer Street and was over $200 for a diagnosis of engine doesn’t have enough compression- I already knew that. Manitowoc Auto repair charged $100 for a very specific diagnosis and explained everything well. Very poorly run business that is way overpriced.
My car was towed here last night after it stopped working, and they were supposed to check it today. Unfortunately, the workers didn’t show up this morning, so they couldn’t take a look at it. However, the staff was very polite and understanding — they treated me kindly and kept good communication. Even though they couldn’t check my car today, I appreciate their honesty and the way they handled the situation.
First ever Google review. Almost didn't want to waste anymore time dealing with this place but I figured I would do the world a service. Clutch line blew on car at work on Wednesday 10/22/25 and was towed by them at 3pm. Figured they wouldn't have the chance to look at it so called them the next morning to see if they have, was told they haven't. Was expecting something that day since but still nothing. After some advice from coworyto steer clear of them I decided to go in the morning on Friday 10/25/25 and was told they were planning to get it looked at later that day. I was already fed up as I had no car for those days already and no communication or urgency to get my car fixed. So I told them to just give me the bill as I was planning to go elsewhere at this point. They then charged me for the tow and for the days that my car was there while they didn't have the time to look or fix it! Do yourself a favor and don't come to this place unless you absolutely have to. For towing, call Zimmer towing. For repairs go to certified auto. Called them that Friday morning about the situation and the car was brought to them around 10am and was done by 1:30 pm.
Locked my keys in my car and had called KeyMe Locksmith and they didn’t arrive after an hour so found Custer and the calll was quick and easy. Within 10-15 minutes they had a driver to me. He took about 20 seconds to open the car door and was gone in 2 minutes. Whole interaction was less than 5 minutes. Payed $105 and would recommend to anyone in need of such services!
Locked my keys in my car on Labor day. Called and they had a guy there in 15 minutes. In under 2 minutes he had my call unlocked. Very nice guy too. Figured with the holiday it would cost be a lot but it was less than I expected. Great price and service.
Chris is fair and upfront in his pricing. I'm quite picky and usually do my own mechanic work, but in those moments where I don't have the time or the right tools, I've been very happy with going out of my way to come here.
I was skeptical at first because I could not get a firm price on doing a wheel alignment. I think Chris was just trying to be sure I knew that if the job was more involved related to further complications like damage and rust, that the price could be higher than the base price 80. I stayed for the service and Chris took the time to show me the results on the computer while on the lift and explained things. There were no complications, so it cost the 80 plus shop fees and tax. It took a whole hour with the 2 test drive. Thanks.
We were in town for the Studebaker show. Our truck wouldn't start. They did an outstanding job diagnosing and replacing the starter on our trick. They did it the same day. We are grateful for their prompt and speedy service.
The diagnosis was expensive. $150 with zero parts and labor to look at an issue we already diagnosed was outrageous. I have taken my vehicles here multiple times and each time have felt gouged. I brought my grand caravan for repairs and besides the high price a greasy handprint was left on my sun visor.
I visit the Manitowoc area for work quite often. This was my first time I've had any vehicle issues and ended up broken down about 10 miles south of Manitowoc. I gave these guys a call and they were out to pick both the vehicle and I up in under 20 minutes.
The driver was very friendly and pleasant. They got the vehicle in and diagnosed within a few hours. There was a lot of big repairs that needed immediate attention. Despite the amount of work and not having all the parts on hand, they managed to have my vehicle fixed and ready to go by noon the next day.
T.L.D.R.;
Great, fast, friendly, and fair prices for good work.
I highly recommend Custer St. Auto & Tow to anyone with mechanical needs in the Manitowoc area, and will be giving them my business in the future.
They are unhelpful and just want to pass the buck. I bought a car from a guy his buddy had the key for it and didn't want to give it up said he was using it still so I called and asked for a tow truck and this shop told me no call the cops go to court get more paperwork that states I own it can have it a whole bunch of B.S. I will never call this shop for anything again
Chris is great! We had brought my car in for repairs to a different shop but then my fiancés car went out at Hobby Lobby while we were waiting for mine to be done and Chris came and tried to jump it & charged us and then towed it for us FREE OF CHARGE to whatever shop we wanted in town, as he said he was very busy with other cars the next few weeks. He was very nice and helpful and genuine and got our car where we needed it. 10/10 recommend. He got to us within 15 minutes of calling as well.
Chris and his crew are professional and get the job done right. Being it he is the AAA Contact of this area he sees me enough... Great people to work with
Fantastic service!! Called them today around 10:12 am because car would not start. Chris was here shortly after to get it going. He suggested I stop by the garage to have the battery tested. Turned out that my alternator was bad and my battery needed replacing. By 2:00 this afternoon (same day), he had my car ready to go! I was taken home while he worked on my car and picked up again when the car was done (thank you, Barb). :-) A very satisfied customer.
They were willing to put in parts I supplied and got me in sooner than others could. Very pleased with the quality of the work and service I recieved both times I have been there.
Myself and co-worker were on our way to work and we travel about 40 miles when we merged onto the Interstate after hitting a rock and then eventually lost tire pressure. After several calls from AAA we were told that Custard Street from Manitowoc was coming (original tower said that couldn't come now--really) and it would be an hour to an hour and 15 min. more...while waiting patiently and watching the cars that are going 75 to 80 mph right pass me in the rain...I see the lights of the wrecker in roughly 40 minutes from time of call.....(yeah), young man got out and knew exactly what he was doing and much to my surprise he was done in about 10 min. boom boom boom and away I went while he protected me while merging on the interstate. Thanks Custard Street and kudos to the young man that helped me. GREAT SERVICE
Locked my keys in my vehicle at a local store. They arrived fast and got the door open in no time. The driver was friendly and have me some tips on what to look for if I have a blown head gasket. The price was affordable for my mistake. Thanks a lot sir. Not sure the drives name but he responded today at about 10:55AM 4/12/18 just wanted to let the company know because of this experience I wouldn't hesitate to call you again.
Take several hundred dollars out of your wallet. Look at your hard hard-earned money carefully and think about the necessities your family needs, the vacation you might want to take, or how many hours at your job it took to earn the money you’re holding. Then take that money and rip it up. Go ahead, just tear it up and throw it to the wind. Watch it drift away, never to be seen again and nothing to show for it. Now you’re prepared for Custer Street Auto.
I had $3,000 worth of repairs done here on my SUV that had 90,000 miles on it when I first brought it in. After a water pump, all the wiring, pulleys, and a variety of other things being “fixed” and billed to me, my car still runs the same way it did when I brought it into Custer Street, except worse. Every time they did something to the car we would leave and head back home to Chicago (my in-laws live in Manitowoc, so we decided to bring my car to a local shop where we could meet the people doing the work face-to-face. We thought this would help us establish a good, trusting relationship with the shop. We were wrong!) and find the problem still there or a brand new problem closely related to the recently-completed work.
During the most recent “fix” my water pump and timing belt were replaced to the tune of more than $1,200. I didn’t bat an eye, I just paid the bill. We got the car home and the next day it began to overheat. There was no water in the radiator or the reservoir. Shouldn’t someone have checked this? Additionally we now have a major leak from the same area because I suddenly had a bad O-ring after the water pump was replaced. The owner says this isn’t part of the water pump so he won’t warranty the work. I understand the O-ring isn’t part of the water pump. However, I took this to two different Chicago mechanics to figure out what the heck is wrong at this point with the car after $3,000 and both mechanics asked why the O-ring wasn’t replaced at the time the water pump was replaced. They both independently explained this was a notorious problem for both Mitsubishi and Chrysler vehicles with the components my car contained. They said anyone who had replaced my hard-to-reach water pump should have immediately replaced all the seals and O-rings because it’s so darn difficult to access those if they would go bad again. “Common knowledge,” the older mechanic I got a third opinion from called it.
In another “fix” my battery was replaced and the wiring and spark plugs were done for a noise we were experiencing occasionally as we went up inclines. The owner said he did not know exactly what this was but he’d guess that the best thing to try would be doing the all the wiring and spark plugs. To the tune of $1,000+ we completed this recommendation. The car died the next day in Chicago traffic. Called the shop and they said the battery they installed was faulty. Drove all the way back to Manitowoc for a refund and had to take the battery back (and I had to pay to keep the battery when AAA came to install a new one, so there’s another $18 I spent due to this shop’s work). The noise persists to this day. Car runs the same.
Lastly, I also had a noise coming from my transmission occasionally. Custer Street said I’d need to take it to a transmission shop to likely have it rebuilt. It turns out the transfer case was out of oil, which also wasn’t checked when my oil was last changed at Custer Street. When the car was up on a lift my Chicago mechanic called me over and said there had been a leak there for quite some time and he was surprised no one had replaced the oil. It was low by 1.5 quarts. The noise no longer happens now that the oil has been refilled – a $60 fix.
We hoped to resolve this with the owner but after visiting in person and two calls we've realized customer service is not on Custer Street Auto's agenda. If you do bring it to Custer Street, do yourself a favor and have the work inspected after you’re done. Don’t risk getting injured or stranded on the road just to save a few bucks like we did.
Car broke down 2 hours away from Milwaukee. Called for a tow the next morning (a Sunday) and they towed it right to the shop. Only took a day or 2 after parts were ordered to repair. Made everything as convenient as possible!
I was extremely disappointed in them, took my truck (diesel) in to have fixed and checked over they fixed it alright...the truck broke down shortly after on the way home from work and I sat there most of the evening at an off ramp. My daughter and grandson were waiting for me and I couldn't get there to pick them up, had to call the ex who was not happy at all seeing as it was cold out..they (supposedly) fixed it again and again it broke down but this time at home at least. I had put my trust in them and they let me down a few times. I ended up with a bill from them because of all the automotive problems and ended up signing the title over to them( it was an old truck but that did not make me happy!) This was a ways back and I still won't ever go to them with any business...you don't treat people like that..if there is something ongoing for heavens sake tell them about it!! I'll take Spencer's any day of the week over them!!
I am so thankful for Custer St auto repair and towing! I was traveling through the area and my car broke down as you can imaging u was seeing dollar signs. I was anticipating having to get a room and miss work while my car was being serviced. I called Custer street auto repair And towing up they were quick to pick me and my car up and tow it to there shop where they fixed my car and had me back in the road in a couple of hours. I am so very impressed by this company and how wonderful they treated me in such a stressful situation. Everyone in the shoo was super friendly. thank you so much!!
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