A One Auto Works

Dropped in for tire pressure issue because it is the only store that was open around downtown Jersey City area on Friday evening. They put air into the tire that has flatten out a bit and charged me 20 dollars for the work. Left and drove for about 5 miles and my car started to make weird sound on the side of the tire that was getting fixed. Luckily I was able to stop at another auto repair shop before I got completely stuck on the road. By that time, I found the tire being fixed was completely flatten out, 10 times worse than it was before it got fixed. It was already 8 in the evening and I couldn’t call these people to ask what went wrong. All I know is I pay them to make things worse and almost got myself stuck in the road… Should have trusted the bad reviews and waited til the next day for another body shop

Now Called Able Autoworks — much better under new management!
Had a great experience. Mikey and the mechanics are friendly and knowledgeable. They were able to repair what 2 other garages could NOT repair. They diagnosed quickly and repaired on time and within budget. My car is humming perfectly :) I see they have some unfavorable reviews, but I think they are turning things around (maybe it’s Mikey ;)
Unheard of … I got a follow up call to see how my car was running and some even lessons regarding the quirks of my 98 Nissan. The starter in this model has a questionable contact from the ignition, but if I push my key up before turning … it starts every time! Also I needed my antennae and stereo repaired and he gave me some good tips and advice.

ABOSLUTELY UNPROFESSIONAL BAD EXPERIENCE. DO NOT TAKE YOUR CAR HERE. BEWARE !
I actually had a good review posted for these guys last summer, and had to delete it. How sad. I had a few good experiences and trusted these guys and recommended it to my friends. But then this happened:
I took my car in because it was wobbling– they made it worse ! and charged me $ 500 ! When I took the car back and said it was worse, they said it must be some OTHER thing that needs to be fixed, and cost another $$$. I paid $ 500 for a job to be done and they were NOT DOING THE JOB and jerking me around.
I took it to a family mechanic afterwards who fixed the problem (broken axle) and said it looks like they did no work at all to it. Unforunately (maybe because I am a woman) they took advance of me and my wallet. I plan on reporting them to the Better Business Bureau

I’ve had several bad experiences with this place (shame on me for returning after the first one). Here’s my cautionary tale:
The first time I went in, the front desk person «Winston» kept asking me if my husband knew I was driving my car around in this condition and asking what my husband thought of the repair. Well, if I’m not mistaken, this is the 21^st century and I don’t need my husband’s permission to get my car fixed (or not). The joke is that my husband knows nothing about cars… I’m the mechanical one in the family and make the car-​related decisions. Despite his over-​the-​top sexist behavior, I had the repair done and moved on.
The next time I needed a repair, I went back to A One and, since Winston was no longer working there, I decided to give them another chance. This time, after being told the extent of the repairs my car needed, I decided to skip them and start shopping for a new car. The owner of the place came out and talked to me a long time and really pressured me to make the repairs. He told me that they thoroughly checked my car over and it is in great shape other than the two things needing attention and that I could drive it for years to come. Well, I’m sorry to say that I gave in to the pressure and let them do the repairs to the tune of almost $ 700. After authorizing it, the owner revealed that he had already ordered the parts which I think was his real motivation for wanting me to make the repair.
This feeling was validated when the suspension gave out about a month later. I had been conned into sinking $ 700 into my car only to have yet another thing go wrong with it and be forced to get rid of it anyway. As I understand it, the suspension doesn’t fail overnight so I think they should have known that was an issue instead of spinning me lies about the car being reliable for years to come.
Needless to say, I’m through with A One. Next time I’ll go to someone — anyone — else who won’t rip me off, lie to me and treat me like a second class citizen because I’m a woman.

I was more than a little spooked about the wealth of negative reviews, but I had no issues here. My car needed an inspection and they got it done in about 20 minutes. The place has a sketchy vibe and their services are definitely overpriced, but it wasn’t an all-​out negative experience

This guys didn’t help me find out what was wrong with my car. They said they spent 3 – 4 hours checking my car and what’s going on and they found out about it but when I actually fixed it from another shop (After which my car works perfectly) none of what A one Auto works said was the fault.
Also, they will ask you to replace some water pump or something which is just waste of time and then you will have to pay 600 bucks for that. I don’t recommend this at all. Best solution is to find local mechanic from Craigslist and do it from home rather then going to any of these garages.

Horrible experience. I consider myself above average than the average person about cars and how they work. I am not stupid! They come, primarily the owner, come off as a ‘good guy’ and knows that many mechanics are trying to rob of your money.
I went in to get inspected and I told him the problems I had, most importantly the check engine light, as I had a bad exhaust system. I stayed their about an hour waiting for the diagnostics, and he told me that it will run me about $ 400. He said my o2 sensors were bad and were costing me 140 each, which is a rip off in itself. They arent that expensive.
A few days later, I find out they couldn’t just change my o2 sensors, so they had to but in a new cat. converter. Price came to right under 1000. WTF was I gonna come up with that money. I couldn’t do anything about it since nothing was every on paper about a price and what not. Ended up selling my car just to get it out of there. Luckily I did not need it.
Fruck these people. I do miss riding stick shift though :(

I would recommend giving this place a chance. I have had my O2 sensor replaced, a popped tire plugged, and a routine oil change done here. All were done correctly and in line with the proper price range. Where I am from in PA there is a mix of trustworthy good local places and sketchy crooks. Although the Unilocal reviews prior to mine seem to accuse foul play, I seem to find the same reviews about any shop nearby. I have found no foul play yet and the experience is about as good as going to a mechanic gets.

This place is highly untrustworthy and unethical!!! They live up to the common perception that auto mechanics are dishonest and are in the business to rip people off! We have been to them 3 times with the same issues and each time it’s a different issue and always $ 900. On our third visit, we were told we had a hole in our radiator, but we weren’t leaking antifreeze so we paid them to fix it. Then the next day, the car overheated and kept cutting off. Although we were gullible, we now know they are either totally incompetent or crooks… either one is unacceptable when you need reliable transportation and dealing with money!
BE AWARE and STAY AWAY!

Miserable experience. I feel like a fool for having gone back to them. Continuous problems after each visit. These guys are criminals and should be making license plates not fixing cars. STAY AWAY. I took my car in for an axle and then needed a new power steering pump a week after and then two days later after the pump is fixed I had a leaky ac… so they fixed that and then I have a starter /​crank cam shaft sensor problem. SKETCHY!!! I have a reputable car from well respected Japanese car manufacturer not Toyota.
I first went to them for a clutch. I drove tge car 20 miles and it lost fluid. They never changed the hose. I’m an idiot. I should have known then. Plus. They tried to make me eat the towing fee like they weren’t responsible for that!!!

Okay. So I don’t usually review things. But I have to comment on this place because my experience was so negative. I, too, went to just get my car inspected having just moved to town. They also found something wrong with my parking lights (similar to the previous reviewer). I just had an inspection in another state like a month ago with no problems. But, I didn’t ask to see the light bulb, so it could have been out, to be fair.
The real problem is that they had me wait for 2.5 hours. I dropped my car, and the guy said to come back in 1.5 hours. No prob. I had stuff to do. I came back and found my car was clearly in exactly the same place I’d left it. As soon as I got there they brought it to the back. Nobody told me what was going on. I waited in the waiting room for another hour and 15 minutes. It was agonizing.
I would just say, if you are new to the area, like me. Go on Car Talk and find a reliable mechanic. Resist the temptation to use these guys. It is not a pleasant experience.

Also had a sketchy experience here. I went in for a standard state inspection, though this being my first in New Jersey. They claimed to have found an issue with a break light, which they fixed me without asking or telling price of parts etc. However, I drive a car that tells you when you have malfunctions specifically like that one, and I had no such message from the car. I don’t think I’ll be coming back here.

Very suspicious. I went in for a routine oil change one morning — I waited 30 minutes for them to do the work, paid the $ 25, and left for work. While driving home that night, my engine started to overheat, and by the time I got home, there was smoke coming out from under the hood.
My husband checked the coolant that night, and it was empty — which was very strange, since it had been fine before that day and we’d never had any problems with it before. So he went and bought some coolant and refilled it. By the next night, the coolant was empty again and the engine was seriously overheating — which meant the coolant was leaking.
The next morning, I managed to drive my car to a reputable auto shop (which I found on the Car Talk website), and, as suspected, the guy found a hole in my radiator. He showed me the hole and told me that it really looked like someone had made the hole with a screwdriver, as holes like that are not usually created by accident.
I thought about taking the radiator back to A-​One and confronting them, but I figured it would be no use, since they would just deny any wrongdoing and swear that the timing was just a coincidence. But my gut tells me that they made the hole while changing my oil so that I would have to come back to them and pay them for additional work on my car.
It all seemed very shady, and I will definitely avoid them from now on. If I could, I’d give this place negative stars.

This is a place close to Grove st, Downtown JC. They do work on all types of cars. I’ve been there a few times and they’ve done some jobs well (Replaced the engine gasket (rubber seal in engine), Window out of alignment.
Others didn’t seem as necessary, owner said my axle was broken but I had the same repair fixed only a year before. Their prices are high as well. Better then going to the dealership or Pep boys, but if you can do some more research you may find better place.