Engine Depot

I found this place via Unilocal after I test drove a used SUV. I decided to give this place a try and it was a complete shot in the dark as I had just moved from out of state. They completed the pre-​buy inspection and I used them again for the tune-​up and few repairs required. I was very pleased with the work and they are very fair in terms of pricing. They won’t rip you off or up sell you (like I’ve experienced elsewhere). If you want extra servicing for your vehicle, be prepared to insist or do it elsewhere (he runs a busy shop). Be prepared to pay via debit or cash.

I don’t write a lot of reviews, only for extremely good or bad places. This one is long due for Engine Depot.
I’ve been here many times since I moved to Chicago. I always have a wonderful & smooth experience with them.
My first time here was for brake change, then I always come back for oil change. As I drive a lot everyday (60 – 100 miles no kidding), JC always does additional checks for my car & explain to me clearly. He is very friendly, knows exactly what to do & treats my car like his own. The price is very reasonable compare to what I quoted elsewhere, definitely the best place to fix your car! ;)

Terrible place, I went here with my fiancée to get her heat fixed. They told us that it would be close to $ 500 to have the resistor fixed and the blower. We told him that we would come back knowing that we wouldn’t and he still charged us $ 70 just to look at it. I went to a local alley auto mechanic and when he took everything apart, he said that something was just loose and he didn’t even charge me anything to put it back together. Heat still works great. These people tried to rip us off and I believe they knew what was wrong. We will never go back here again.

It’s hard to find honest mechanic who will work only on the problem, and Mr. Kim is one of those mechanic who will go over the problem and try to make you understand the actual problem. I can usually do simple maintenance in my garage too but when I start taking my car out for autoX and track days, there’s only so much I can do. I can confidently consult Mr. Kim for any issues I run into to root out the problem. Very knowledgeable mechanic I can trust. I highly recommend this place.

Absolutely amazing work. These guys did a great job in a very small amount of time for my oil change with a reasonable price. After they were done they even gave me pieces of advice for my car maintenance, etc. I will be coming back!

People are super nice here, you can tell they are very honest and reliable.
Great job and customer service.

This review is long overdue! I’ve been coming here off and on for the past year or so with various issues relating to my Jeep. These guys are the most trustworthy honest mechanics you can go to! If work has been needed they are fast and thorough. If you are inside your cars warranty or can get the work covered at a dealership they’ll tell you. They are so nice and courteous, I’ll never go anywhere else! I’ve sent my dad here for maintenance as well and would recommend engine depot to anyone!

…tbc

Finding a trustable mechanic is like finding a needle in a haystack and it looks like I found that needle. I got my oil changed here last week… I have a 2009 Nissan 370z and I like to get my own oil and filter, so I know what is going into my car. After hearing about horrific stories of how some oil change places just don’t change the oil or filter, it’s nice to find a shop that has windows and a lift so you can actually see what they are doing.
Because they had done such a nice job with my oil change, I asked about the squeaking of my brakes (I had the pads replaced about 4 months ago but they were squeaking outrageously) and Mr. Kim there said that they could order the parts and have everything ready the following week. He even got Nissan to re-​issue new brake pads with a receipt that I had. He had everything ready so quickly and the job itself was affordable and done well. Now, I can drive without worrying about how loud my brakes are.
I would recommend this place to all of you out there that are looking for an affordable but more importantly a trustable mechanic. Just don’t go on the same day as me because I still want to be able to get in and out of there when I get an oil change. Crazy busy there but I can see why. Thanks for being one of the good ones, Engine Depot!

This place was THE BEST. David is so friendly and tells you exactly what is going on with your car. He did a battery change for me in less than 5 minutes! It’s a little intimidating going in there at first but it’s totally worth it and he really listens to you without selling you things you need done to it.

I sent a friend here and she emailed me the other day to thank me again for recommending Engine Depot. She said it’s the first time she doesn’t get a knot in her stomach when she has to take her car in to be serviced. I know exactly what she means!
On her first visit, they found a nail in her tire and instead of recommending a new tire, they just patched it for her at a nominal charge and said it would be like new. She knew she was having an issue when she took her car in for an oil change, but didn’t know what it was until they showed her the nail.
I can’t say enough good things about these honest guys!

I was having issues with my brakes, also needed the pan dropped on my truck, and have the transmission fluid changed. David informed me that my brakes were not ready to be changed, they were just really hot and that’s why I was hearing the squealing. He also said that I should go to the transmission shop 2 doors down from him cause it would be cheaper to change trans fluid. Thanks for the advice, David was great. I will return when brakes need to be done.

This place is a hidden gem. Honest, quality work, very reasonable prices. Wish I could give more than five stars!
I’ve been around cars a long time. I used to do all my own work. Back in the day. But then I got old and cars got impossibly complicated and extremely difficult to work on. And I just got old and lazy.
It came to pass that I desperately needed a tune-​up. The thing wouldn’t start when it rained. I bought the Mitsu used six years earlier and had absolutely no idea how long it had been since it was tuned. It just clocked over 100k. This particular car is also a tune-​up nightmare since half the engine has to come apart to get at the back spark plugs. I checked the reviews and found Engine Depot tucked away in a small strip mall. Blink and you’ll miss it. They’re only a few blocks away from where I live, so that was a BIG plus.
Since I am not the trusting type, especially where cars are concerned, I went to visit them in person first to get a quote and size them up. David, the manager, was very friendly, knowledgeable, informative and accommodating. We discussed parts and they are unusual in that they, unlike most other mechanics, are not bothered if you bring your own parts. David says: «If you’re happy, I’m happy.» But I went with their recommendations. They know their business and what they’re talking about. I got the sense these were people I could trust, small business guys who depend on their reputation. I left without making an appointment to «think it over» but called the next day, made an appointment and dropped the car off a day later.
At pick-​up time, David explained very carefully what was done, why and any issues found. He charged exactly what they said for what was a nasty job on my particular car FAR less (like more than half less) than others wanted. I checked around. Also, their price and work for a «tune-​up» does include essential maintenance items like spark plugs, plug wires, distributor cap and rotor (where present), fuel filter, air filter, etc. If you are unsure what’s included, just ask.
As for some of the other review comments here:
1. Yes, they’re Korean but language is NO problem. Two guys plus helper (s). There’s a bit of an accent, but David easily understood me and I easily understood him, including all the technical stuff. Mr. Kim («J.C.») is a little less fluent, but still ok.
2. To the person kvetching about $ 300 for a tune-​up: Honey, this ain’t the 60’s. You have to take half of a complex engine assembly apart to get at all the spark plugs. It is extremely time consuming to work on them. At least correctly. $ 300 is the MINIMUM of what tune-​ups are going for these days and is actually very reasonable, depending on the car, work done and parts required. Also, be advised that for a «tune-​up,» the price they quote includes a LOT more than just replacing spark plugs. Ask for the details.

I didn’t actually have any service done on this visit but wanted to review their excellent customer service. I thought I needed a new muffler and brakes so brought it here to be checked out. Their customer service was fantastic and they advised that I don’t need a new muffler right away or any other urgent services. I will definitely return for any other repairs or services when needed

I took my husband’s car here for new brakes fully knowing they were in bad condition and fully expecting all rotors to have to be changed. They were quite honest and told me they replaced the rear ones and the front were still ok. They could have taken my money and ran. I took my other car there for brakes and the same thing. They were very honest even showed me the parts taken off my car and why they were bad. I don’t trust many car places and I think being female and trying to get car work done is especially frustrating but I can depend on these people to give me straight up truth and recommend then to everyone.

04/​14/​2014.
Okay so I just went here over the weekend for my oil change. I had a recall on my car from Lexus about 2 months ago. When I went to lexus, they said I needed a new battery and all my brakes and rotors replaced. My battery was still OEM and 6 years old so I wanted to get a new one before I got stuck in this cold winter.
I went over to Engine Depot and asked if I needed new brakes and rotors. Dave (asst manager) I believe said my back brakes and rotors are good for another 20,000 miles! (almost 2 years), he said my front brake PADS are a bit low and if I want I should do them next oil change.
Only mechanic shop I know that tells you NOT to get work done, rather than ripping you off lol.
Best mechanic shop ever.

I had my car checked out first by another well-​known shop in AH, but sadly they overcharged, and I needed a second opinion.
I called around, and I found Engine Depot was the most reasonable and knowledgable. My car was ready within a few hours! Great work!

I normally do most of my own auto work, but when my tinkering is no longer working out these guys save my butt. Had the tire rods and seals protecting the spark plugs replaced, and they fix both issues the same day and charged me five hundred for the repair. Very reasonable for something that would have taken me an entire day to deal with.
I need to get both my drive, and serpentine belts replaced next month, good old ninety five thousand miles. I’ll very likely be bringing it back to them to get things completely shored up… been doing too much personal triage just to keep it rolling. Just glad i found a place to trust.

Alright Unilocal — you got me again.
I needed a mechanic ASAP, and the only way I wanted to find one was through Unilocal.I’m totally being for-​serious. And after scouring reviews and BBB reports, this place was my go-​to.
When I called, they were able to see me that day (which I love), and while they do speak with an accent (as other posters have noted) it really is not hard to understand them.
David is so super nice that when he gave me the bill, I didn’t doubt him at all. He seems like such a nice guy that it’s hard to see him scamming anyone.
I have an ’06 Mazda3 and there was a hole in a pipe (that apparently inevitably occurs since Ford and Mazda share parts now) so transmission fluid was spraying everywhere except where it needed to be (you know, INTO my car). David saw it right away, JC showed us (which I appreciate), and they had the part and the car up and running within a day.
They don’t offer loaners though (because it’s such a small place) and their walls/​floors/​furniture/​coffee table need a good scrub down, but if you need a mechanic that’s reliable and knows their stuff, this is the place to be.
Highly recommend.

I was VERY hesitant coming here prior to having problems with my car. I thought no place could possibly have this many 4 star and 5 star reviews, but after coming here, I definitely was in for a surprise.
Engine Depot is a car repair center that also does oil changes. They are owned by Koreans and are surrounded by similar type shops that do glass repair and a Merlins. While their staff levels are fairly low, they are very responsive when calling in. They don’t speak the best English but they are able to communicate with you on what may be wrong with your car.
My radiator was dying and needed to be replaced within a week so I called in on a Monday. I pointed them to some red stuff coming out of the radiator and indeed, it had to be replaced. By Tuesday late morning, they were replacing and finished the whole thing within about 2 hours. They were way below what the dealership quoted me to replace it and I got an OEM part for it.
Price-​wise, they seem to be a lot lower than dealerships (which isn’t hard to beat) but my perception is that they are one of those few rare gems that you find where they are low priced and provide above average service without trying to nickle and dime you.
In addition, they checked other parts of my car to make sure everything was running well. They are very friendly when they talk to you and much like all the other reviews say, JC is a knowledgable mechanic that just has a passion for cars and helping others out. They get my 5 stars and I would definitely come back here if I had any car problems in the future.