Joyce Motors

Really fast service and convenient location in Clarendon. Got state inspections done and didn’t even need to call ahead or make an appointment. Just walked in – I was in and out of there in probably 15 minutes. Also, the state inspections only cost $ 16, which I think is very reasonable.

The good: they fit me in the same-​day for an emissions and state test. I paid for this service.
The bad: They said my car failed the emissions test. They then quoted me $ 500 to replace one front O2 sensor, which seems absolutely pie in the sky. Then when I refused this service, I went and picked up my car, no problem. Then they called me and left a message that I owe an additional $ 100+, a charge that at no point was I informed about.

Very nice people… I give them 4 stars for service. But almost $ 25 to take a nail out of the tire, plug it and check the air in the tires? Way too expensive. I know the rents are high in the area… but I would’ve preferred to have paid $ 10 and tip the service guy who was kind enough to fix my tire. Where I live, it’s a courtesy, or a few bucks.

This will be short. I just wanted to write that I had a great experience here (and how often does one say that they had a great experience at a garage?). I had my safety/​emissions inspection done and (independent of the inspection) they fixed my gas tank door and a rear wheel bearing that was making noise. Quick, really nice, honest, and reasonably priced.

I just get my oil changed here, but they’re always friendly and get the job done. They aren’t super quick about it, but that’s not a big deal, since they’re very good about actually calling when they’re done. My one issue is my car’s exterior was filthy when I got it back the last time. Nothing that couldn’t get cleaned up, but still, kind of annoying

I really don’t have much to say other than this is a great garage. I’ve come here to get my car’s safety/​emissions inspection, as well as my tires reinflated (free of charge!). The service is pretty honest and I’ve never felt like I’ve been nickled and dimed here. Best of all, I’ve found the service to be pretty fast as well. Part of me hates leaving a good review since it may mean a longer wait the next time I come back, but this place definitely deserves a 5 star review in my book.

Fast, friendly service. I took my car in for a safety inspection and waited for about 15 mins (one customer ahead of me). The actual inspection itself only took about 15 mins as well. I thought it was very well priced at just $ 16 (this is posted on the wall, very transparent). FYI their posted inspection hours end at 5 pm.
The mechanic found that both my license plate lights were out and told me he’d go ahead and replace them. I had to ask how much it would cost (he did not volunteer the price himself), and he told me it would be about $ 18 per bulb for parts + labor. The final bill had no surprises — exactly what he quoted me. This may be a bit pricier than usual (I’ve no idea), but I feel like what I paid is worth it. Convenient service right in my neighborhood, and having them fix any issues saves me the hassle of figuring out what I need, finding parts at a store, and figuring out how to replace it myself. Super efficient.
Overall I would recommend and would return again for my auto needs.

Needed a FAST battery replacement. Called this morning and Susan, aka Wonder Woman, ordered the battery and told me to come in between 2 and 3 even though they were fully loaded today. Arrived at about 2:45 and was pulling out about 20 minutes later. I have never seen anything go so smoothly. This is my new go to place!

It took 17 years, but my car finally showed it’s first sign of aging which resulted in an emergency trip to the shop. After a 1 day wait (which was definitely better than the 1 week wait the Japanese Auto Repair provided me with), and a same day heater hose replacement, I was once again a happy gal. I did appreciate that they happily used the coolant that I already had handy in my trunk, instead of forcing me to buy something via their shop! The pricing for the job wasn’t the best or the worst ~$ 130 all in.
Of course a week later, disaster struck again in the form of a check engine light which I returned to get checked on in case it was related to the prior job. Turns out it was just the catalytic converter (sorry Planet Earth, looks like I will be adding to the air pollution levels until this gets fixed!), but given the high expense of a replacement converter and the low urgency to get it replaced, I decided to defer the fix. I did feel that the diagnostic charge was on the higher side at $ 99.
Overall, the customer service in both instances was great and the people that work there are friendly. It seems like a fairly trustworthy bunch, pricing may just be a little above average.

Edit 6÷17÷2015:
In response to Susan’s comment: I appreciate your reply, but I would like to clear a few things up:
1) My car was not damaged in an accident. I never once told you or anyone in the shop about an accident. I got the car used and the tail light was already broken when it was purchased. Please do not make false assumptions publicly. You are continuing to prove that you are not the «respectful, honest and reliable» business you claim to be.
2) Looking back at my phone log, you called me at 7:56 am on Tuesday, June 9^th. I was already on my way to work and could not come in so I decided to bring my car in the very next morning, so please don’t imply that I was the one stalling the process.
3) I understand that things don’t always go smoothly when you run a business. You can’t control everything. What you can control is how you handle the situation and communicate with your customers. There was often a lack of communication, and when there was communication, you kept blaming other people and acted as if I was unreasonable for being frustrated with the situation. Your response to my review is a passive-​aggressive attempt to do the same thing you’ve been doing all along – passing the blame to others.
4) Thank you for your reminder about my oil levels. I will go ahead and get that checked out at another establishment where I will be treated with genuine respect and honesty.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — -
I’m baffled as to how Joyce Motors has such great reviews. I’ve had numerous abysmal experiences with auto shops, but Joyce might take the cake for being the worst.
TL; DR – TERRIBLE customer service. What should have taken several days to resolve took 3 weeks. Failed to deliver on promises and was unapologetic about it.
— — — — — — -
I came in for a routine safety inspection and received a list of issues that had to be fixed before I could pass, which came as no surprise to me. They told me to come in early next week, at which point, they would have all the parts ready and my car would be fixed by the end of the day.
Next Tuesday came along, and I brought my car back to Joyce. When I spoke to the lady at the front desk, she seemed completely unaware that they should have ordered parts for my car, but still assured me that they would take care of it by the end of the day. This was red flag number one. Sure enough, I got a call at work several hours later and was informed that the last part they needed wouldn’t get to the shop until Friday. At this point, I was quite irritated, but begrudgingly kept my cool. They said they would call me on Friday when my car was ready for pick-​up.
Friday came along and morning turned into afternoon, with no call from Joyce. Red flag number two. Finally sick of waiting, I decided to call them for an update. A different lady picked up, and told me she had no idea where the car part was. Ummmm, what? Red flag number three. After some heated exchanges, she said she would contact the distributor. Several minutes later, she assured me that the car part would get in by 4:30, and that I could pick my car up at 5. Sounds like things were looking up, right?
Nope. If you haven’t caught on already, this was like one of those scenes in the movies where you don’t think things could get worse, but they do.
I called at 4:30 to make sure that everything was going smoothly. Apparently they received the WRONG part. I’ve run out of red flags to count, and words cannot describe how livid I was at this point. I marched over to Joyce within minutes and gave them a piece of my mind. The whole time, they were completely defensive, claiming that it wasn’t «their fault» that their distributor messed up, which was truly the icing on the cake. I was completely appalled with how unapologetic they were and unwilling to own up to their mistakes. I don’t care if your distributor sucks, YOU figure that out, fix it, and apologize to your customer.
I will spare the extra details, but fast forward to two Tuesdays later (that’s 11 days after Friday’s fiasco, and almost 3 weeks after my initial visit), and the part finally came in. I never thought the day would come, but I passed the inspection, thanking the universe as I drove away that that would be the last time I would ever have to deal with Joyce Motors.

I went here to get my Virginia inspection sticker. I called two other places who told me it would be over an hour, or not an option until tomorrow. I walked into Joyce and they were very friendly and completed my inspection in 10 minutes, it was great. Even better, it only cost $ 16 and they take credit cards (some places only take cash for inspections). They don’t do inspections between 12 – 1, just fyi. I will return to Joyce again as their staff was wonderful and it was so easy to get in and out. Highly recommend!

I have been taking cars to Joyce Motors for about ten years. I have consistently found them to be very honest, and the quality of their work is very good. They always run a cost estimate by me before doing work and their estimates are usually pretty reliable.
I would highly recommend Joyce Motors to anyone looking for a good mechanic.

Very honest. Very friendly.
A got a screw embedded into my tire on the way to work. They took the car into the garage before they opened. The friendly mechanic came up to me with the screw in hand, saying it never punctured the tire. We shared a laugh and off I went.
Great to see an honest family business in the middle of Northern VA. My new go-​to place for everything car related.

I’m a self-​professed «car guy» who really hates other people working on his vehicles, mainly because I’ve had enough bad experiences with shops that it’s just easier to do work on my own.
That said, my recently-​purchased ’05 Yukon Denali had a pretty nasty power steering leak, and a shimmy in the front end that I couldn’t pinpoint — and it was about 5* outside. My interest in doing the work was exactly zero. Joyce Motors is a block from the Clarendon Metro stop, and I was able to drop the truck off and Metro to work in Rosslyn with ease.
I had a call from Susan within an hour or so, saying they had the truck up on the lift and diagnosed the P/​S leak as a blown-​out steering box, and the shimmy was from the inner and outer tie rod on the passenger side needing replaced. I had records of the tie rods, idler arm and pitman arm being replaced about 30k miles prior (while under the previous owner’s care), but I figured their diagnosis was legitimate. If the steering box is blown out, perhaps premature tie rod wear is occurring?
Happily, the new steering box and tie rod have the front end feeling almost brand new, which is not a small feat. I thought all older GM trucks just had front-​end slop, and mine (mostly) doesn’t now. It may need some other front end bits down the line, as the shimmy is still there but far, far reduced. Good enough for now.
Communication was fantastic, and the shop was very easy to work with. They happily broke down the cost of each part and the labor associated. Their labor rate is $ 99/​hr which I find very fair for the area.
Only negative was that I needed an alignment after this work (expected) but Joyce does not do their own; rather, they work with a neighboring shop for the alignments, and that shop was too busy to accommodate the Denali that day. So, I had to drive it home in the snowstorm with a front right wheel with 1.95* of toe-​in. VERY scary handling and not safe or good for the tire. But, it’s my way home from work every day, so I didn’t have much choice. Given the work was completed by 1:30 PM, I had hoped they could find time before 5 PM to get it aligned.
I will definitely be bringing the Denali, and my BMW M3, back to Joyce for other work that I don’t want to (or can’t) do myself.

Joyce is my go-​to mechanic since the 1980s. Always there, and I hope will always be there. Family-​run, reliable, honest, do not run the meter, figure out what ails your car and what to do about it that makes sense. This is not a chain run by some faceless conglomerate that cuts costs at the expense of the customer or the people who work there.
I am happy we have an excellent car repair place like this as part of our neighborhood!

Update — SEPTEMBER 16
I was very premature with my review. I was frustrated, angry, and actually very hurt.
I followed up with Joe and Joyce on the frat business day they opened and within a few hours (two-​three) advised me that they ordered the part and would have it fixed the next day. Joe called around 9:30am the following day and my car was repaired.
They apologized and offered to covered my tow fees and any other inconveniences. They also explained that the mechanic who worked originally worked on it no longer works there.
I’m very satisfied and feel comfortable going back for additional service.

Came here for safety and emissions inspection. Nice guys and everything went quick and painless.
Inspection hours are Mon — Fri 8am — Noon and 1 — 5pm. In and out in 25 minutes.

Do not go to Joyce Motors.
I dropped my car off for an evaluation and was clear to tell the man at the front desk, Joe, this. I received a call an hour later with the evaluation report and estimated costs. I declined the work as after some research I found the repairs simply to be cosmetic. It turns out they already performed some work on my car. I told Susan I did not authorize any work on my car and she responded with «well we figured we would do the work since the mechanic was already under your car». This is unacceptable. I will never take my car back and would recommend you find a different mechanic.

A few weeks ago I brought my Cadillac CTS in to get a headlight replaced. The previous day, I tried to do it myself but couldn’t get to the bulb; I checked on line and discovered that the only way to replace the passenger-​side headlight on a 2007 CTS was to remove the front bumper assembly. I’m not kidding. The local Caddy dealer wanted $ 350 to do the job. I brought the car to Joyce, along with the bulb I bought at the local auto parts store and described the predicament to Joe, the shop manager. He said, «This is easy, we just need a slim mechanic with a thin arm» and off he went to get the mechanic.
Ten minutes later, the new bulb was installed for $ 20.
And that’s why I’ve been going to Joyce Motors since 1997.

****UPDATE****
The saga continues. So no more than three weeks and 300 miles after the oil change I was given here, my car broke down with a completely destroyed engine with NO OIL in it. Never go here for an oil change, because the mechanics clearly don’t know what they’re doing. If you do decide to go here, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
— - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — -
Following my review, I was called by the president and given my full $ 100 refund for the additional charged labor hour. I appreciate the gesture which is why I have improved my rating, although a proper response upon my initial complaint would have made the experience much more pleasant.
— - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — -
Went in for a safety and emissions inspection and ended up needing two repairs to fix it. One was a simple fix of putting in a light bulb, the other to fix my passenger door. All in all, I ended up paying for 4 hours of labor to get it all fixed — figured it would be quicker and easier to get it done there and reinspected than take it to the mechanic I’ve used in the past.
Not long after I get the car back, I realize they actually fixed nothing on my passenger door. So I take the car back and am told «we tried to save you money and make the easy fix». The guy, Joe, tells me to actually I’ll need to purchase new parts to get the full fix. I agree, but contingent upon there being no additional labor costs which Joe agreed to. After waiting 5 days because they purchased the wrong part, I pick my car up with the problem fixed. On my bill is the cost for parts (fine) and another hour of labor ($ 100). I leave a message about my issue and get a call back a couple of days later.
They claimed I was told there would be no additional labor for diagnostics. NO KIDDING, they already knew what the problem was and charged me two hours to NOT FIX IT. So I ask for a refund but am told «It’s my word against his» and am given the choice of $ 50 back or nothing.