John Ellis Garage

I would like to just say up front that I am a retarded person. Not only when it comes to cars, but just as a general life rule I am pretty dumb.
I spent four days trying to jump my ’94 Pontiac Grand Am so I could get it home. I know what you’re thinking, «whoa, a 94 Pontiac she must be a lawyer or doctor or movie star or something» and you’d mostly be right. I am baller as fuck. But humble enough to know how to jump start a car thanks to Google and several male friends explaining the process in great detail and in a frustrated «I have a penis and you don’t» tone.
The problem was, the jump wasn’t working. I was certain thats what it was as the car had been sitting for a while, and there was nooooo previous problems with it. «It’s a good car» I kept saying. «Real perfect, no issues» and people would be like «this is a dental office, we don’t know you, why are you standing around here? Do you have an appointment?»
Anyways, after a few days of trying I resigned myself: it’s not the battery. So, I paid some money to a cool tow truck dude who will also get a shining review and had him ship it to this place– a garage that was recommended to me by Art Luna of Luna’s Café who assures they’re the best in midtown and MAYBE THE WORLD.
They were cool and considerate and accommodating over the phone, I didn’t have to make an appointment and they were more or less like «yeah, bring it on down whenever and we’ll help.» So I did. The guy who greeted me was smiley and handsome and friendly and explained to me that it would be 100 bucks for a diagnostic and we’d go from there. I agreed, signed the papers and waited for their phone call. Waiting for a mechanic to call you to diagnose your car is like waiting for my Saturday Tinder date to call and so he could tell me «I like you, but not in that way» and then it’s like POOF! all my money gone for NOTHING did we really have 36 Saki bombs that night?
Only about 45 minutes after I left the guys gave me a call and basically said, «yeah, um, there’s a little plastic thing that has to be plugged in by the steering wheel, you must have knocked it out with your knee or something. We put it back in for you, and we’re not gonna charge you anything.» I was totally elated, and thought it was really fucking cool that those guys didn’t charge me a dime for their time. They also took the time to look under the hood and check out the rest of the car, and said they topped off my fluids for me and gave me a nice, understandable overview of any problems I might have in the future.
With all the horror stories you hear about mechanics, it’s nice to be around some dudes that seem like genuinely good people who don’t want your money– they saw I was confused (due to retardation and small female brain) and were happy to help without taking a penny from me. I told them that I will always take my baller ass ’94 Pontiac to them in the future, and indeed I will the next time some random yet essential-​for-​function piece gets knocked off by my retard knee.

They where fast and the price for a smog was good. But honestly I felt a little like burden to them. No one really had time to talk or make me feel welcome. Also I was hoping they would be cheaper for a coolant flush but they quoted 140 and good year closer to my work quoted 99. So I like them for smog but wouldn’t go for anything else. I went because they where small and located near my work.

Saved the day!
I was in the middle of a car sales transaction and needed my old car to pass smog. At the last hour I snuck my car into their shop and they had it fixed AND smogged within an hour of dropping it off. Kudos to this service shop and I WILL be back in the future. You don’t know how much your service mean’t to me today.
Chris

I originally started taking my car here because it was conveniently located near my work over 10 years ago. I’ve since been taking all of my cars here ranging from a totally non-​computerized 65 Chevelle to a 2009 toyota sienna miinivan. They have always been very good about providing accurate estimates with cost breakdown for parts and labor and they have never let me down. I could recommend them without any hesitation.

I can’t say enough about the integrity of this place. I always take my car there to have it smogged because its really conveniently located in Midtown near my office. But that’s not why i’m writing this review. On two separate occasions i’ve taken my car there because i’m not a hypochondriac about my car, but I know when something isn’t right.
On two separate occasions when they could have charged me really ANYTHING when my car was making a funny noise and for an opinion on cupping tires they charge me zero, zero!
In my book they have totally earned my trust and i’ll continue to use them for my smog and hopefully one day I can actually pay them when something is wrong with my car.

The service was great and the price too! I will return for my next check-​up.
Its location is very walkable for many downtown and midtown residences.

Okay, obviously when your check engine light comes on, it’s never a good day. Walking into a mechanic is like walking into a dentist’s office for emergency work — you know it will be painful but you just have to bite the bullet. I know that. I’m not giving this place an average review because I spent money I didn’t want to spend. Here’s why I gave three stars:
Communication:
I had to chase after them for an estimate. It took about 24 hours for me to get an estimate on the cost when initially I was told it would be 2 – 3 hours to hear from them.
Is that super crazy and unreasonable? No. Is it average for a mechanic? Yes.
Timeliness:
I was initially told the car would be ready on the afternoon of day 2. I rolled in mid-​day on day 3 to pick it up and it was still being worked on.
Is it absurd that there was more unanticipated work that needed to be done? No.
Is it reasonable to expect a heads up from someone if work is taking longer than expected? Yes.
Cost:
Couldn’t say, to be honest. An oil change and an engine check plus labor and parts ran me a little over 600 after tax. I know virtually nothing about cars, so instinctively I can’t say whether that’s a good price or not. My gut says it’s probably average, but even if it is some phenomenal deal that I stumbled into, I’m too dumb about this stuff to know. To be clear, I don’t hold the cost against the garage — my general perspective is that things cost what they cost.
Is it insane that engine trouble led to $ 600 bill? No.
Is it par for the course to walk away from a mechanic feeling vaguely ripped off due to a lack of knowledge? Yes.
I kind of feel like I need to defend my review here because other Unilocalers and my girl find had such good experiences, but that wasn’t mine. At the end of the day, I had to hunt them down to get a quote, I had to wait longer than I was told, and I am walking away half a grand lighter. The work got done in a couple days and the car runs without any warning lights, but I’m certainly not a life long customer based on the experience.
3 stars — average.

I love John Ellis Garage. They are so knowledgeable and have very reasonable rates but the best part is that they are the only place that I trust! I bring my car here for everything from an oil change to the strange clanking sound coming from the rear. If you’re looking for an auto repair shop that you can trust, look no further! You will not regret checking them out.

Amy and the team are great! Professional, thorough, cost effective, and so much more. So glad I found them!

My mom and I are not very auto-​savvy and John Ellis is really the only place I trust. Most recently, her truck had a problem where it would just stop working while you were driving. This was very dangerous given that she uses it to pull a trailer. We took it to a couple of other mechanics closer to her home. One charged a lot and it still was not fixed. The other returned the truck to us without fixing because they couldn’t figure out the problem. Ellis garage was able to fix it the same day. I can’t say enough good things about this place.

So, I bought an old car that needed a little work and a smog certificate and I was referred to JEG. I couldn’t believe the professionalism and how nice Jerry was to explain EVERYTHING to me. The guy I bought the car from lied, the car needed more a little work, but I was able to get the problems fixed and It passed smog. I am grateful to JEG, it is the first place I had taken my car to three other places and John Ellis is the first that didn’t try take advantage of me. Since my first visit, I went back work for on my radiator and now I will not let any other mechanics touch my baby. Thanks Jerry!!!

I was referred to John Ellis Garage after Paul’s Automotive was unable to keep my appointment. Our car had an issue with oil in the coolant, which Paul’s diagnosed as a failed intake manifold, hoses, and radiator — quoted us $ 1,500 for the repair. After they had the car for 3 days, without beginning the repairs, I asked to be referred elsewhere.
Amy, from John Ellis Garage, called soon after to tell me that they could check out the car that same afternoon. The problem was diagnosed free of charge, and a ballpark estimate of $ 1,500 was given, but later amended to $ 1,700 after finding more problems. The problem turned out to be a failed rear seal plate, radiator, hoses, and intake manifold gasket.
**It must be noted here that the car also had a god awful rattle that a previous shop had told us was a broken catalytic converter.**
We got the car back within 2 business days, and are very happy with the service. The final cost came in at $ 50 under the estimate, the engine is running great, the rattle is GONE! We will return to John Ellis Garage for future repairs.
I didn’t give 5 stars because of a couple head scratching moments at the shop. No need to mention it now, maybe it was just a weird day. If the service is as good next time, then I’ll bump up the rating.