Environmental Motors Garage

I write with mixed reviews about Environmental Motors Garage. I had a really fabulous experience there about a year ago when their business was just getting off the ground. As they had suggested, I was just preparing to bring my car back in for a timing belt services but I’ve had a very challenging and unsatisfactory time trying to make contact with the mechanics to schedule this spring. I send a «quote request» two them in March 2016 through their website without a response back. I have emailed Erik twice in May 2016 to get a quote and schedule without a response. I’ve also called Erik twice in the last couple weeks to be told «we’re really busy» I’ll get back to you «by the end of the day.» I really wanted to bring my car back for ongoing care and keep this as my go-​to garage, especially because I have a hybrid car which they specialize in but it appears that my business is not important to this garage and they can’t be bothered to try to respond to a customer. I understand times get busy but if a customer, like me is trying this hard to engage (5 attempts!) and they can’t respond then I’m going to have to take my business elsewhere. :-(

My prius engine light went off indicating a possible multitude of possible problems. As an older woman with little to no car savvy I feared this meant I would spend tons on diagnostics then another ton to fix it. Instead theses guys performed a diagnostic when I arrived, literally coming out from under the hood of another car. They let me know in the kindest way I just needed a new gas cap and to come back if that did not fix it. Wow! I am grateful!

My first experience here was great, but my second was not so much. I called to schedule an oil change, and the employee tried to talk me out of it by saying how expensive oil changes are at their business. After asking about the price, I was stunned how significantly the cost of an oil change had increased, and the rudeness as the employee talked over the top of me before I could even mention that I was a previous customer (not that this should or did change anything). On further inquiry, the employee got defensive, which made for a really awkward call. I really didn’t appreciate the new approach, and I’ve now gone elsewhere for my car service and repair.

These guys rock!!! Fast and honest service! I definitely found my new mechanic shop! Brought my Mazda in to have the check engine light scanned, emxgarage scanned it for free and diagnosed it as bad oxygen sensors. Had it repaired in less than an hour and my fuel economy returned!

The worst part of moving to a new city is losing the mechanic you trust. Well Environmental Motors Garage has cured my ill. Owning a Prius C and putting 300+ miles a week on it makes you want to be picky when choosing someone to work on it. Erik was easygoing to work with, not at all abrasive and to boot had a great dog hanging around the shop making time fly. Feels good knowing my car is being taken care of. Thanks EMG!

I took my Honda in to these guys because my heater stopped working and 3 other shops couldn’t fix it. When I talked to Erik, he offered to diagnose it for free and 15 min later they flushed the heater core. Finally, my car was warm again. This shop is a must. Finally real honest people that can fix my car.

This is my second 5-​star review for this shop.
I had the misfortune of purchasing a hybrid car that, for lack of a better word, ending up being cursed. It needed a lot of work in a short period of time, and EMX made the experience as painless as they could.
They worked hard to find a way to fix the car without breaking the bank, putting in a ton of hours to find the right salvage parts, and taking the time to learn everything they could about the issue at hand. The fact that they treat car repairs as opportunities to learn and hone their craft means a lot.
I will continue to bring cars to the shop as long as I live in the area. You should take your car there.
BONUS: Erik’s dog (Findlay) is awesome, and is waiting to meet you when you walk through the door! No one really likes to have to take their car to the shop, so meeting a happy puppy definitely helps!

It’s pretty rare to drop $ 2000 on car repairs and walk away feeling good about it. Somehow these guys managed to make that happen. As someone who knows next to nothing about cars, I try my best to avoid mechanics. I equate it to visiting the dentist… rarely does it produce anything other than pain and a hefty bill. In December when my Prius contracted a weird case of the shakes, I found environmental motors via a quick Unilocal search. I gave Erik a call and he seemed confident that they could solve the problem. Long story short, my car had multiple issues in addition to the shakes, likely a direct result from my history of mechanic-​avoidance, and required a hefty investment. Although not completely out the blue, car expenses are never fun. That said, environmental motors managed to deliver this news without making me feel like an ignorant woman who may or may not be getting taken advantage of. Instead, they graciously offered to fix some other longstanding issues with my car free of charge. My car is now back in tip top shape, and I can honestly say it’s been the best experience I’ve ever had with a mechanic. I will definitely be back to see these guys next time my Prius needs some help. I would highly recommend environmental motors to anyone in need of an honest, straightforward mechanic who actually cares about their customers.

Very satisfied with the friendly and quick service to my Chevy Tahoe. Thanks for saving me some money and hassle going to the dealer!

Called Environmental Motors, which I found on CraigsList, after experiencing the first really scary symptoms on my ’06 Prius (103,339 miles)…car finally would not start, the dash lights were all over the place, beeping, etc., etc.
Erik patiently listened to my desperate story, and once I told him I had an Optima battery he basically said; Eureka! Get it out of there fast, and install a factory Toyota battery! …which is the ONLY battery you ever want to use in the Prius. [Note taken!]
Long story short, the «Yellow Top» battery was the issue and the Prius is back to normal… maybe better. Wish you were closer to Burien. Thanks.

I can’t tell you how glad I am to feel like I’ve found a mechanic I can actually trust. I’ve had negative experiences with mechanics in the past and was so relieved to find Erik and his team. Firstly, Erik made some recommendations verbally before I even brought in my car, and when I made my own attempts to fix the issue and made a mess of things, he was very gracious, and very thorough with his explanations. Also, he didn’t make me feel like a dunce or an idiot, which I really appreciated. It was a very bizarre tricky issue, and when the first «fix» didn’t actually fix the problem, he immediately asked for the car back and ran an extensive amount of diagnostics… turned out to be a faulty throttle position sensor, though the symptoms were not typical of the problem. His prices were very fair, frankly generous, and 4 weeks later the car is still running much better than it had been for months and months.
Would highly recommend, I know they specialize in hybrids, but they took great care of my old Toyota Corolla and I feel like they would rise to any challenge. Both Erik and Neil seem to be curious, thorough, and smart. I will be back!

I’m so happy to have met these guys, they are not only great professional, they are great people!
We wanted to buy our first car in the US (we are from Spain). We decided to look for a pre-​owned hybrid and I searched a mechanic specialized in hybrid motors for the pre-​buyers inspection. I found them in Unilocal and contacted them. After some good advices via e-​mail we finally decided to buy a car in Mazda’s dealer in Renton. It was a 2013 Ford C-​max energi with less than 30k miles, it seemed a good deal. We paid a $ 500 deposit and signed all the paperwork agreeing to pay the rest after our mechanic inspection and signing a contract that said the dealer would repair everything that costs more than $ 500.
I happily brought the car tho Environmental Motors Garage and it took them 5 minutes to tell me «stay away form this car». The engine sounded as the worst car they have ever seen, the car’s computer error codes were deliberately deleted but he was able to get them back, the front of the car seemed to have been repainted… The cost of the reparation was higher than the price of the car itself. I ask him for a report so that I could go back to the dealer and break the contract. He told me Erik would send it to me later and he didn’t let me pay for the service.
Once at home I was looking for legal information and we were really scared since all we found said that once you sign the car purchase there is no turning back.
I called them to ask for my report and they ask me to go back to the garage to get the codes for the report. Once I arrived Erik asked me who was the dealer and he called on behalf of us to explain them what they found. I really appreciated that since our english is not good enough to deal with this kind of situations. He firmly told them to return us the money back and that nobody should ever buy this car. I just wanted to hug them for their selfless help.
We returned the car without problems and got our money back.
After that I brought 2 more cars for the pre-​buyers inspection. The second one was not so bad but the dealer was hiding that the car was involved in a car accident, it took him 5 minutes to find out that all the front was replaced. The third one was the one that we finally bought with their consent and we are very happy with the decision so far.
I’m really thankful to have found them, it is not so easy to find a trustworthy mechanic when you are far form home. Thank you guys!

Great work done on my ’08 Prius by this shop. Transmission flush, inspection, drive belt, and PCV valve, all done quickly and for a good price. Neil was very patient explaining what was being done, the condition of the car, and even some things about possible future work on the battery. I’ve taken my Prius to another shop that’s open on Saturdays in the past, but this time I had time during the week, and I have to say it’s really nice taking the car to a group of people who specialize in hybrids. There was even an adorable dog whose company I enjoyed while I waited.

These guys rock! I would give them 6 stars if I could.
I am a Prius owner. If you are having problems with your Prius, don’t walk, but run in their direction! It made my week to discover a ‘garage’ with such integrity.
I won’t get into it, suffice it to say I recently learned that Toyota service reps work on commission. Don’t buy their recommendations. I was delivered a long repair list from Toyota service department, some of which were not even a problem when assessed at Environmental Motors.
I found Environmental Motors on Unilocal,as well as through recommendation from another garage. From the get go, Erik and Neal were helpful, honest, knowledgeable, reassuring, and timely in their service. They repaired my car (a failed main battery!) at significantly less than what Toyota proposed, and in addition, offered me local transportation, towing if necessary, and, a three year warranty as opposed to Toyota’s one year warranty!
Really, I can’t recommend them enough.
Get the word out. Prius owners (and others!) check this garage out!

Had a great experience at environmental motors — they fixed my car for less than half the price of what the dealer quoted, saving a few hundred dollars. They were even able to complete the multi-​hour repair same day, and Eric stayed past closing so I could pick it up after work.
They also have a convenient online quote system. Thanks!

These guys are fantastic. I needed to get a padlock cut off of my bag and was looking for a locksmith. After a few walks around the block trying to find the place, I popped into this garage to see if they could help me out! Apparently the locksmith I was looking for is mobile but they offered to cut off the padlock for me!!! Super friendly and accommodating. Made my day. I’m sure they do great work on cars too! Will need to check them out for my next oil change! ;-)

What the guys did to my car was great: changed my oil and replaced my turn signal. They were quick and efficient. They checked over my car to see if anything else needed doing, and were great about calling me to tell me what they found, and confirming what it is I wanted them to do. They even emailed me an estimate of the work they thought my car required.
HOWEVER, they thought my car required 2200 dollars worth of work, including requiring a timing belt replacement (they thought it had never been replaced), new breaks, and so on and so forth.
I took my car to Daisywagen, who said they had rarely seen a car in such good shape. They could tell that the timing belt had been replaced several years ago (wasn’t a volvo original — confirmed by my old mechanic who had done the work in California) and said the breaks were in good shape. I walked away without needing anything done.
Bottom line: if all you need is an oil change and new lightbulb, these guys are great. But, if they say you need thousands of dollars worth of work, get a second opinion.

These guys are awesome! Finally I have a
Mechanic for my hybrid and don’t have to deal with my over charging dealer.
My hybrid battery died. Dealer wanted $ 6800 I was hopeless. Pure luck I ran into these guys and the put a brand new 3^rd generation battery in my Prius. Not cheap but at $ 2800 way better than the dealer.
They were closing when they got my car but because I live in Bellevue they told me to hang out while they went to work. My car was back to life in only 1 hr !!!
Neil was very honest and kind. So was the owner.
Will deft be back

I am so glad I found this place! The owner Erik is so amazing… It is so hard to find an honest, straight forward mechanic who isn’t trying to oversell you anything. I took several cars here for pre-​buyers inspections and was really impressed with how thorough he was. After the first car I brought in was a total disaster, he spent time giving me tips on how to choose cars and what to look for. He was so helpful throughout the entire process– and his almost obsessive attention to every detail made me feel very confident in my purchase when I finally found a car. He also did the repairs the car needed for literally less than half of what I was being quoted at other shops… he explained what he was doing and even sent me pictures of the before and after of his work.
I love that he does diagnostic work for free. that alone can cost a bunch of money at a dealership. You can tell his business model is to make happy, lifetime customers, not to make money off of you. I wont ever take a car anywhere else!

I was very impressed with my experience at Environmental Motors Garage. Having limited automotive knowledge, it’s always a challenge trying to get an honest diagnosis and fair price for maintenance and repairs. I went to a dealership and was quoted a very high price. A friend referred to Environmental Motors Garage. The shop owner was incredibly friendly and easy to work with. He was quickly able to troubleshoot the problem, explain the issue to me in plain and simple English, and perform the work at a fraction of the cost I was quoted at the dealership. It was a relief to find an experienced mechanic I can trust, has my best interest in mind, and will give me an honest diagnosis and recommendation as if he were working on his own car. I will definitely go back to see the team at Environmental Motors Garage for any future repair needs.