Jeff’s Auto Repair

Trustworthy, honest guys here! They’ve actually turned me away before for work that my car didn’t need yet! Convenient for anyone working/​living in University/​Sand Point/​Lake City corridor. Highly recommended.

If there were more than 5 stars I would give them to this shop. I have been going there for a year and they have done great work. But more than that, they never try to talk me into work that doesn’t need to be done. I recently had a fender bender, and when I took my car in for an oil change, they surprised me by buffing out the marks on my car. Roosevelt auto body has given me an estimate of $ 900.00, saying parts needed to be replaced, etc. I will forever be a customer of Jeff’s auto repair.

Just picked up my 1997 Honda Civic after having the work done that was recommended at my last oil change. Forrest (the manager) has been looking after my cars for years and is on top of what should be done to keep them well maintained and trouble-​free. I depend upon his suggestions and the quality of the work and have not been disappointed in the over-​20 years that I have been going to Windermere Auto.

Let’s just say I deleted the rave review I originally wrote about this shop when the car they had just fixed stopped working the moment I got it home. I still have trouble turning the shitty key they replaced for me to «just the right spot» so that the lights and AC will actually work and the car will keep running, and that was the part they charged me 400 bucks to fix. The main problem seemed like the battery, and I had told them that I needed a new one. Guess what? My friend and I bought a brand new battery and jimmy-​rigged it in there since the battery chord was pretty flimsy. With a twist tie, among other household items. And it has worked just fine ever since then.
No thanks to Windemere. Sorry Forrest, you were the only nice one and the only person who tried to explain anything to me. Everyone else was terribly rude, apathetic, and seemed annoyed by my presence. Most people there made me feel like an idiot every time I called to discuss the problems I was having. Like it was my fault that my car wasn’t working. Did you not believe me because I was a girl? Or did you just want to charge me more money? Whichever the case, I was bummed. I wanted to like this place, and I wanted to believe you.
Not great customer service, and I feel like I was vastly overcharged for spotty work. It seemed like my initial experience with Forrest only was too good to be true (besides the epic price tag, of course), and I guess that my shaky first impression was unfortunately correct.

So, one day the inevitable happened. The car wouldn’t start. So we called up the auto service we had coupons for, Windermere Auto Service. An appointment was made swiftly. So, good rating for that. Service was friendly… (At first), so that’s a plus. Price, pretty good. So, what was the problem here? Well, we went to pick up the car, and all seemed fine until we heard a knocking sound. Confused, we returned to the auto shop and told them the problem. The guy (different one from before) seemed skeptical that we were telling the truth until he took it for a test drive and must of heard it for himself because he pulled it into the mechanics workshop. Turns out they forgot to tighten the lug nuts! (Basically they didn’t tighten up our tires!) A basic mistake but a a serious one. This skeptical guy, even after he was proved wrong was pretty nonchalant about all this. Overall, quick service, decent price, ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ friendliness. But the question is; should quick, affordable service come at the cost of sloppy mistakes?

I recently was t boned in my car so I’m driving a rental car, bummer I know. This morning the light indicating low air in my tire was on so I pulled into the Windermere 76 station to get a bit of air. The air compressor wasn’t working correctly at the pump so I flagged over the mechanic that was working in the garage. He walked over and confirmed that the compressor was broken. I asked him if they repaired tires at this station? He said yes! I then asked if this compressor isn’t working then where do you fill up the tires you repair? Oh we have a compressor in the garage we use. Great! Might I be able to use that real quick to get a bit of air in my tire? Um we are real busy right now and our auto bays are full so no! Wow, really? I won’t be coming back there anytime soon for any type of auto maintenance what so ever or gas.

During the January «blizzard,» some «kind» stranger in my apartment complex decided to be «helpful» and put everyone’s windshield wiper blades up for them. As he or she broke my windshield wiper blade in the process, and as I live in Seattle where you frequently need windshield wiper blades in January, this was decidedly unhelpful.
I went to Windemere Auto Service the next day and while they didn’t have the blades for my car– Honda Civics have disproportionately gigantic windshields– he was able to special order them from somewhere and get them in the next day. When I came in the next afternoon, he installed them for me within five minutes. Since it started raining again about thirty seconds after I left, this was awesome.
Friendly quick service? I’m a fan.

I completely agree with Steve P’s Review (which said):
«(1) the Windermere techs fixed things that needed to be fixed, but also missed some really broken and important pieces, (2) I think they’re overpriced, (3) nobody knows how your car should feel better than you, the owner, so be skeptical when the mechanic says it feels fine».
First, I chose them because they are part of the «Jeff’s Mechanic Group» that specializes in Japanese cars, I drive a Nissan. I went out of my way to take it to Sand Point because of their reputation… if you don’t live in Sand Point don’t go here. They close at 5:30 and leave at 5:31. Seeing has how most people work until 5pm, getting there by 5:31 is not realistic. If you live in Sand Point, this will probably work out for your situation.
Second, like Steve said they suggested 5 things that needed to be fixed, which is a huge blanket to throw over the problem, their ploy to A) make more money B) explain that they don’t really know what the problem is.

Finally, I quoted the 5 things on the list out to competitors and they were twice as expensive for all 5 things and the competing quotes I received came from «name-​brand» places like Les Schwab, Schucks, Discount Tire, etc.
To their credit, their staff is really nice and didn’t charge me for the second round of diagnostics, they kept me up to date on their progress.

I’ve taken my Wrangler to Windermere several times over the past 2 years. The first issue was a weird electrical issue– I *know* how tricky electrical issues can be to diagnose, and the guys were excellent at keeping me well informed about where they were at with the diagnosis. Long story short, they never did find what was wrong with my Jeep, but I have never had that problem again (super weird)… and Windermere didn’t charge me a cent for *any* of the diagnostic work they did.
Multiple months later, my steering column basically disintegrated (my Jeep seems to be plagued with strange, catastrophic issues). I had my Wrangler towed to Windermere, and they told me the steering column would have to be completely replaced. The guys searched high and low for a column that would work for my Jeep to no avail, but I eventually found one on Ebay and had it shipped to the shop. The replacement was quick and *much* cheaper than I had expected.
I typically take my Jeep to a shop that’s closer to my house, but I definitely love the service at Windermere.

My husband purchased a service pack a year ago where we pre-​buy service maintenance for our vehicle. We figured it was a good deal considering how close the station is in proximity to our house. I’ve been in for 3 services. The biggest pain of working with them, is they require your vehicle to be in the shop a full-​day for something as simple as a standard oil change. Being without a car every 2 – 3 months has been a big inconvenience.

I got a flat tire on the way to work (for the first time ever), and luckily I stopped near Windermere. I was able to drive it the short distance and the guy was nice enough to put on my spare free of charge so I could go somewhere cheaper for new tires :) they are so nice and honest! Sure their version of my tire was more expensive but they told me I would be able to get it cheaper somewhere else (which I wouldn’t have known unless they said something). Very honest business.

I stumbled across this place when I was pretty sure my muffler was going to fall off. It was nice and close and within walking distance to my house so I gave it a try. The guys that work there are really nice and know what they are doing. They don’t over charge — they are keen are trying to get you to fix everything wrong with your car whether it needs it or not– but atleast they are thorough!
They aren’t too spendy and they get the job done quickly and well.