Alba Auto Service

Biggest crooks in Chicago. Scam artists who target people who can’t afford to defend themselves.

I took my car to Alba Auto to have the steering hose replaced. Initially, I had taken it to Toyota for the steering issue. They racked up close to $ 2000 worth of repairs they said I should do. My car only has 51,000 miles on it. I purchased a Toyota because of its reputation. I picked up my car, went directly to Wells Automotive where they fixed the issue caused by Jiffy Lube. (Jiffy Lube sent me to Wells Automotive) It sat there a week waiting for a part, When I picked it up, I was given an estimate for rack & pinion work. According to Wells Auto, it was leaking power steering fluid. I took it back to Alba Auto and he put it up on the rack and showed me there was no leak, and then opened the hood and showed me that the steering fluid was full. Previously, he told me I did not require all the work Toyota recommended. I went to Alba on a friend’s recommendation and I am glad I did!!!
WELLS AUTO = RIPOFF
ALBA AUTO = HONESTY, GOOD SERVICE, READY WHEN THEY SAY IT WILL BE READY.

Let’s face it, taking your car to the mechanics is just about #9,999,999 out of 1,000,000 on your to-​do list (yep, you read that correctly), but you just gotta do it. Preventative care and all that jazz, right? Or, in my case, if your car has been pouring water inside when it rains and, in fact, is making a sloshing noise due to the swimming pool it’s created. Same thing.
I was able to get my car in quickly to Alba and they worked hard to find out the issue and fix it. In fact, when I came back for it later they took the time to tell me everything they did, what they thought the problem was, and how they fixed it. They also offered for me to bring it back in again should I have the problem in the future. Seems as though they got it right the first time, however, and as far as I can tell my car is no longer a swimming pool.

Amazing service! Very friendly and affordable. I was in and out quickly and he even found a nail in my tire that I wasn’t even aware of. Can’t recommend this place enough!

AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME
This place is built on customer service, honesty and integrity.
Getting a car serviced can be a stressful thing, especially when you’re a girl and most places try and take advantage of you.
Jim provided extremely fast, quality service for an unbeatable price. I am happy to say that I have found «my mechanic» in Chicago and will be highly recommending all of my friends here.
To make things even better, I also had the pleasure of meeting Sal and his two sons. How cool is it that Sal spends the weekends teaching his sons his trade?!? He too had great customer service and is just a good guy. This place is great and I really wish that other businesses could withhold such a high standard. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Jim is the best mechanic I have ever had. He’s fair, fast, and honest.
On a recent repair appointment I asked him to look into 5 things for me. He determined three of the requests didn’t need action (or could be as simple as cleaning parts instead of replacing them), saving me a lot of money.
On a recent road trip, my car conked out at a rest stop. I called Jim and he walked me through what to do to determine root cause. Not only that, but he called me back later to make sure I was doing okay and see if there was anything he could do to be of further help!

I had been taking my 2003 toyota to a nearby Midas for about a year and I felt like every time I went in there they always found some «required repairs» that added up to a few hundred dollars a visit. After finally getting fed up I took the advice of my smart and humble girlfriend and brought my car to Jimmy at Alba Auto. Not only does Jimmy provides excellent quality work at half the price, but he is also an honest, hard working, and all around great guy. On multiple occasions he has stayed late or come in early to meet my schedule and even gave me a ride to the train one time because it was 7:30 pm and dark out. Just recently my front bumper was beat up and needed to be replaced and Jimmy literally charged me half of what the other guys quoted me. I highly recommend this place to all my family, friends, and Unilocalers.

My battery and alternator died and after a call to Alba, they towed my car to their shop. Courteous service at every point, and swift work. Picked my fixed car up the next day and it runs like a champ.
Jimmy helped us from towing the car to fixing it… very nice guy and I will plan on bringing my car back there when additional service is needed.

These guys are awesome! My car died in front of my house down the street, so I walked to Alba. The man who I assumed to be the owner lent me a battery charger to start my car to bring it in. As I tried to get into my car, my key broke in the door. The guy at Alba, gave me a number for a locksmith he uses. A couple hours later, I had a new key plus got my car in. Probably saved me hundreds by not having to go to the dealer.

this is the place to go either for a tune up, oil change, or buying a car. alba auto’s is as good as it get when it comes down to the facts on cars!!! ive been dealing with jimmy and his wife lindsay for over 8 years now and have bought 2 trucks from them. one was a 2000 lincoln navigator (i have 3 kids) and recently just bought a 1998 gmc yukon, as a treat for a second vehicle. there prices are phenominal and also have payment plans. its the best!!! stop all the searching and hostle enviorments come here for the best prices great costumer service wether its an oilchange or investment in a new vehical, you will not be disapointed! im not nor is any of my friends or family!!! hands down thumbs up alba autos is the place to go, jimmy is great at what he does!

Came in with two slow leaking tires. They took me right away even though there were some longer projects they were working on. Fixed tires in 20 minutes, cost me $ 33. Seemed like an honest shop.

Since leaving Chicago, I have yet to find another mechanic who even comes close to providing the level of service offered by Jim Alba. In fact, most fall woefully short. Highly recommended!
To the woman who feels she was «ripped off» I have to add that I am a woman and was treated with nothing less than the utmost respect during the years Jim serviced my car. I have been to A LOT of mechanics in my day, and I can assure you that Jim is as talented and honest as they get.

It is great to have a mechanic you can trust. Jim has been great for me over the years.

The first time I took my car to Alba Auto Service, it was because it was making a terrible sound. I know NOTHING about cars, and if they’d told me I had to pay 500 bucks to get a lot of stuff fixed on my ’92 Honda, I totally would have believed it. But instead, they told me that it was just a loose belt and tightened it for me, for FREE. That convinced me that I could trust them for life. Since then, I’ve had a few other things done to my car, and have always found the service to be reliable, fast, and friendly.

9-​24-​2015 Once again, Jim came through and fixed my car at a very reasonable price. I absolutely recommend him. The few times (when he has been on vacation) I have used someone else, have always been more expensive and a super disappointment.
Jim is a great guy. Very honest and straight forward. He has fixed my car for different things three times and his prices are very reasonable. Didn’t charge me for replacing a light bulb. He is definitely my go-​to-​guy. Would highly recommend him. I am in the neighborhood and it is great to have someone close by who is so terrific and doesn’t charge for things you don’t need!
Annie V

Very fast and reasonably priced.
I needed some work done and decided to come here after calling around the neighborhood shops. I think I’ve found my go-​to guy. My ancient lil Civic got fixed up real nice and fast, for less than I was quoted from other shops. A few weeks later I needed a tiny little repair, and stopped in, got it fixed on the spot, no trouble at all.
I’ll definitely be back as long as I’m in the city, even if I move away from this neighborhood!

I HIGHLY recommend Alba Auto Service. The owner is friendly and HONEST, which are hard qualities to find.

Went in to get the brakes checked on my Honda Civic. They ended up just needing brake pads and Jim did the work very quickly. The folks at Alba are super friendly, up front, and I found them to be genuinely honest. Would definitely return.

I knew going to a small shop I would be ripped off.
Reason 1. I know nothing about cars and parts
Reason 2. Female = $$$ in a repair shop
I also expressed my concern to Mr. Jimmy the non take advantage type so he says. I was desperate to get a battery after our below 30 degree weather we had this past month in January. Yeah, it was ten minute job.
As soon as I walked out the shop and drove two blocks my radio/​cd player is asking for a code. I called him a day later and he said and can take it in but it would cost me two hours of labor. What? I specifically asked him if I would encounter any more cost with replacing a battery prior to doing so and he said no.
So aggravating as I’ve been without music or radio for over a week. :-(
Waiting for moola or drive to the burbs and have the dealer take out the radio and look for some code to enter. I hope for free.

Jimmy is a good mechanic and won’t screw ya. Hard working and tells you what you need to know.