Superior Auto Service

Took my aging 1997 Honda here for a tune-​up after reading Unilocal reviews. Very fair and gave me a list of to-​dos for the future, including quotes for parts and labor, in order of importance. I’ve been checking them off one by one and they’ve stayed pretty close to their quotes.

Always super nice, fair and honest. Can’t ask for much more :) I’m happy with all the repairs and services done to my vehicle it is running perfectly!

Great experience. Jay spent a lot of time answering questions around what parts they use and pricing and was very patient while I shopped around to get quotes for some work on our Audi Q5. Their prices matched the lowest quotes I received and it was an easy decision to go with Superior considering how quickly Jay would respond to my inquiries and never did I feel pressured to make a decision or to choose them. They quoted the job to take a little over a day but they were able to get the car done in a day and kept me updated throughout on progress. All the staff I spoke to was very kind and pleasant to deal with. They also warranty their work although I hope to never have to use it. Overall a great experience and will definitely come back if any other service is needed on our car!

Knowing nothing about cars always makes me a little wary when I need to bring my car in — whether I just feel ignorant or like I’m being overcharged. Julian and Charlie were super nice and communicative, making the whole process very easy and not at all as stressful and fixing a car problem usually is.

I used Superior upon moving to Seattle due to their high Unilocal reviews. I was generally happy with my first few visits. Then I went in with a coolant leak. They claimed the water pump, intake mainfold and coolant reservoir were all leaking and it was going to cost $ 1400 to fix. I found it suspicious that so many things went simultaneously wrong but I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and go ahead with the repairs. On the car ride home all of a sudden my temperature gage shot up to the limit and the high temp light came on. I pulled over and the temp went back to normal. I called them and they said I could bring the car back, but upon talking to my father he said it was probably just air in the system and not to be concerned, so I didn’t bring the car back. Then a few days latter the engine started misfiring. I called them again and had the car towed in. They claimed that everything with the coolant was fine and this was completely unrelated and the car simply needed a tuneup, and offered me a great deal on said tuneup. Now I was really suspicious but calling around no one else would give me a tuneup so if that was truly the problem this was my best bet, not to mention the car wasn’t drivable due to the engine misfiring so I stupidly had them go ahead with the repair. When I picked the car up I noticed the coolant level was higher than when I dropped it off, peculiar if the coolant level was fine… Anyway a few days latter the engine was misfiring again. At this point even I wasn’t naïve enough to go back to Superior. I brought the car into the deal (Bill Pierre Chevrolet). They said I had a head gasket leak and looking at the cylinder the coolant was leaking into it this was not a new problem (in other words it had been the problem all along). So now I had a 10 year old car that I had put close to $ 2000 into thanks to Superior Auto Service that was completely worthless unless I paid for another $ 2000 repair. I did wind up going ahead with the repair at the dealer and thankfully that problem was fixed. I also was able to get some money back from Superior, though they didn’t refund the tuneup which was clearly completely unnecessary.
Insult to injury soon after all this I noticed my coolant hoses collapsing. Reading online I saw this can be due to a bad coolant cap something that costs only a few dollars, so I figured why not just buy a new one. I went to the autoparts store got the one for my car, however, when I went to put it on I couldn’t get it to tighten, and worse yet then I couldn’t get it off. I wound up driving the car around the block a few times until it warmed up and that caused the cap to pop off. Turns out the new coolant reservoir they put in my car doesn’t use the standard cap. The dealer wasn’t able to find any cap that fit it. Superior did give me a new cap upon request but seeing as it looked identical to the one that had gotten stuck I was afraid to actually try it.
So I do believe Superior does have some care for their customers (again they did refund me some money), but there are problems they can’t properly diagnose and they are using nonstandard parts.
A quick edit to clarify based on the comments below.
I do believe this issue was «worked out» as I did receive a substantial refund as mentioned in my original review. That is why I never took the matter to court or contacted my credit card company to contest the charges. However, I think we all prefer a mechanic that diagnoses problems right the first time so I did decide to share my experience. I say the problem was misdiagnosed because i have multiple reasons to believe the head gasket was shot all along yet no one at Superior caught it despite two trips in. Those reasons are as follows: the original repairs slowed but did not stop the car from losing coolant, the car was running a little off from when I first noticed the leaks and this was not fixed until the head gasket was, the dealership believed the head gasket was not a new problem and was willing to put that in writing for me if I had needed to take Superior to court, the car was not driven around overheating, the temperature gauge shot up once the car was immediately pulled over and turned off and not restarted until the temperature returned to normal a minute or two latter (and if that couple minute spike did cause the problem it means Superior caused $ 2,000 worth of damages to my car), and while the car was 10 it had received a tuneup 3 years and 17,000 miles before.

Definitely will be coming back and recommending to all my friends. If I had the option to give six stars, I would.
Had a coolant leak and made the mistake of bringing my truck to Autonation Dodge Service center. I waited 1.5 weeks for an appointment and then they pressure tested my truck and told me I needed a new radiator. Pressure test was $ 125 and then the radiator replacement was going to cost almost $ 1,100!
Considered doing the job myself, but called Superior Auto Service since they are in my neighborhood just to get an estimate. Quoted at around $ 500…half of what Dodge was going to charge me.
Ok so here is the best part. I called them on a Tuesday night. They say their next available appointment is going to be Thursday. That’s awesome news to me and a great turnaround. I drop the truck off Tuesday night and don’t expect a follow up until maybe Thursday afternoon. I get a call on Wednesday at mid-​day saying the job is finished. Wait, what!!! They got the work done a day EARLIER than it was supposed to START. WOW!
Awesome/​fair pricing, quick turnaround, and overall very friendly customer service.
I got my truck back with new radiator and unfortunately it was still leaking. I should have asked for another pressure test, but didn’t. Went back to Superior Auto Service and immediately they tested it, fixed the issue, and had me on way in no time at all.
Moral of the story: Superior Auto Service gets a 6 star rating. Autonation Dodge gets 0 stars. Thank you Superior Auto Service!

These guys took amazing care of my car and got it all done in a hurry. I appreciated every second of the experience.

Superior Auto saved the day. My visiting friends had their van lock burglarized and they needed a prompt repair. Superior looked at it that day and had it fixed by the close of business. Their professionalism and reliability is unmatchable.

My 99 Toyota Rav 4 had an oil leak and I am new to the area and had no mechanic. I checked out Unilocal and decided to try Superior. They were very polite and kind on the phone and were able to get me on the schedule the next AM.
I appreciated the fact they start early at 7:30am. I was able to drop my car off early and hoped to get it back the same day. Dropping the car off was a breeze and everything was discussed about the car and repair. Danny called me later to advise me of the costs which seemed a bit high. He was great, though, and pointed out he would rather estimate higher on repair costs than too low and then have major surprises. We agreed that some of the items he included such as a new water pump would be evaluated once the mechanic could decide if it was indeed necessary in dealing with the oil pump.
To make a long story short, Superior kept me in the loop with calls throughout the day with information on repairs. I was not able to pick up my vehicle the day it was finished due to my schedule but Superior was kind enough to keep the car over night with no charge. The best news is that they came in under the original estimate by $ 400 so I was very pleased with that news.
I picked up my car the next morning at 7:30am and it was ready to go and all the paperwork was done. I am very pleased about my experience at Superior and felt they made it as painless as possible and were very accommodating with my needs and requests. I would recommend them if you are looking for a mechanic. I know I will return for my routine maintenance going forward even though I live on Whidbey Island.

I was traveling through town and found these guys on Unilocal.The reviews seemed good so I checked them out. Inside the buisness was neat and clean. The people working there were very friendly and genuinely took interest in helping me.
What I thought was my wheel bearings turned out to be my rear differential. These guys tried and tried to find the parts but could not. They referred me to another company who was able to work on my car.
They had every opportunity to take advantage of me, but instead went out of their way to help. They went above and beyond what was expected of them.
I am truly grateful and highly recommend them to anyone needing automotive assistance. Thank you again guys!

My car (VW Golf) broke down on a Sunday, and I had it towed to Superior. They were able to look at it the next morning, gave me a call to tell me the estimated cost at 9am, and at 3pm they called me to let me know it was done, under the estimate. What amazing service!
I’ve been going to Superior for regular maintenance and repairs for almost 2 years, and I’ve gotten high quality, professional and friendly service every time. Their technicians usually leave actionable details in their notes. I will keep coming back as long as I own a car in Seattle.

These guys are awesome. I just moved to Seattle and was bummed to leave my mechanic behind but Superior Automotive took all that worry and sadness away. I was about to leave on a long road trip and wanted to get my car checked out since it had already been in the shop twice this summer and is quite frankly just getting older. Charlie was extremely helpful on the phone, working with me to get my car seen in the short window I gave them. The service was super fast and friendly after that. Charlie then, was patient with me over the phone and when I came to pick up the car, going in detail over everything they had done or recommended, including showing me pictures so that I could better understand what was going on with my car and it’s repairs or maintenance. They were also just super informative and never pushy when it came to the maintenance/​repairs, they let me know what they thought but then also letting me make all of my own decisions.
I’ll definitely be coming back. THANK YOU.

Cheats!
They tried using scare tactics to sell me on job worth $ 2000, which ended up costing me only $ 50!!! When I confronted them, they resorted to vague references to OEM parts (nothing specific). A quick search of those same parts showed that they’re charging almost 2.5 times the retail price. Needless to say that the labor cost was just as outrageous with no details on the breakdown of the time spent on it.
My advise, if you do end up going there, do your own research.

This team goes way above and beyond, highly recommended!
As we were just about to leave for a seven-​hour drive for the fourth of July we noticed one of our tires was low on air. Despite a mile of other cars also checking in before their trips, someone was able to quickly help troubleshoot the issue. As it turned out, a nail was caught in the tire, which could have deflated (womp womp) our trip. The team was able to quickly patch the tire and send us on our way, while refusing any form of payment.
This could have easily ruined our trip and Superior, but as a company that stands up to their name, they acted superiorly on all accounts.

Superior was able to take my Jeep in last minute and pretty much saved my holiday weekend, despite them being very busy (was obvious with the number of cars parked around the shop). They were easy to work with and communicated well throughout the whole process of replacing my camshaft sensor. The price was fair and the work was quick.
Perfect location for where I live too, happy to have found them.

These guys are wonderful! They’re honest, friendly, and the service is fast. They also don’t mind explaining things to me if I want more information. Super great people. I will always take my car here!

Went back for an oil change (~$ 35), thought I’d also have to get my front brakes replaced as I had been told they were wearing down. They checked it out and told me I had 35% left on them, so I feel like if this was a dishonest garage that over sells maintenance, as some of the negative comments here would say, then they would’ve pounced on this opportunity to sell me new brakes (since I basically lobbed it up for them), but they didn’t.
I think they’re a good, honest group. Will definitely go back. I also heard them pricing out some brake replacements for some other customers while I waited and I think their prices are actually on the low end at least for what
estimates for this area (don’t really know if that’s a reputable source though).

Friendly and fast service!

I took my car in for a check up and a once over as I was embarking on a long road trip. I told them of this and asked them to do their magic.
Fast forward to a week later and I’m on the road only to have to pull off the second morning to take care of two basic issues they overlooked. Shotty work, guys, just careless.
So I give them a call and say, «Hey, I am not going to post on Unilocal or anything, but you didn’t really do a great job and you need to tighten up your game.» That was all I wanted to say and I wasn’t even a b**** about it! (patting own back)
But the manager hung up on me. Yep. He hung up on me. I called back, because let’s face it — now I’m mad, and he said, «Oh, I didn’t mean to hang up on you.» Really? The phone just slipped from your hand and fell directly into the cradle? Is this a real-​live fusilli Jerry type incident? Ok — hang up on me. Now I’ll post your incompetence on Unilocal.
Yeah, so these guys aren’t as great as appears on Unilocal.Wish I had taken my car back to Automotive Brakes & Service. Those guys may be hard to find, but they were some of the best mechanics I’ve ever met and they were sweet as hell.

This place does adequate/​good mechanical work, but I have issues with their inspection and servicing salesmanship. I went in for an oil change and a standard inspection.
They recommend services preemptively. Substantially preemptively. They recommend I get my transmission fluid changed when the vehicle only has 35K miles. The manual recommends such at 150K and the dealership (Ford) recommends 50−60K. Proposed cost of air filter replacement was exorbitant for the price of the part and the labor involved. Finally, they recommend that I get my wheel bearing repacked. After checking this out, I found that my bearings are sealed and should under no circumstances (per the manufacturers warning) be unsealed, and are instead fully replaced with time.
Car maintenance is a proactive venture, but the practices of Superior Auto, in my opinion, cross a line where they seem to be more concerned about pressuring you into services that are really just normal wear. That, and they proposed something that should not be done on my vehicle. In all, I simply went with the oil change and a drive belt replacement (also done early), and didn’t opt for anything else. I would not return or recommend them.

I brought my car in because it wasn’t running right. From the moment I dropped my car off, I had a bad feeling about the place. Throughout our discussions, they quoted me ridiculous prices for fixing my car (the original quote was $ 1000, which is ridiculous).
They had mentioned that ONE of the coils was not functioning right, so we discussed replacing the ONE coil. They wanted to replace all of them and ALL of the sparks and plugs, because they don’t do «small jobs.» So, instead of fixing the thing that’s wrong, they’re ONLY willing to do an ALL or NOTHING job. Anyhow, we’d finally gotten to the agreement on the one coil. I had been under the impression that the coil was to be replaced, as was my dad, who had also spoken with them.
After all of the hubub, I found out that they didn’t end up replacing the coil, afterall, because they didn’t think it was necessary.
So a month or so later (on Thanksgiving, of all days), my car stranded me and my dog five miles from home – thanks for the extra exercise, guys. Because of all of the upselling, I didn’t trust these guys to stand by their word or product, and expected that they’d probably just try and charge me another $ 1000 for some other superfluous repair… or recommend to replace the WHOLE engine instead of fixing one thing, since that seems to be their practice.
Instead of dealing with that bullshit again, I decided to go with a guy who worked independently, without all the overhead, who depended on actually being honest to get repeat business– he found that the item originally replaced was, of course, no longer working because there was a bad coil. So, they’d not replaced the coil they TOLD me they’d replace and it ended up screwing up my car.
In the end, ALL I asked was that they refund me on the faulty part. I didn’t care about their ridiculous labor costs and overheads– just that one part, which I thought was a reasonable request. They said they could only warranty it, saying I should’ve brought it back to them so they could fix it. Yeah, right. So you could find other «problems» and charge MORE money?
If these guys really treat everybody’s cars like their grandmother’s car, they must be digging pretty deep into her pocketbook.

I called Jay and asked him to change valve stem seals in my suburban and got the run around ! He didnt even want to see my truck ! It eventually ended in a 5200 $ estimate for a new engine !! I saw so many good reviews … this was not my experience. Rude, talked down too. If I was the owner I would be pissed this guy is turning work away. I brought my truck To Service First ! Don did a great job and a super guy. He discovered I had a blown head gasket as well as bad Valve stem seals. he fixed it all for 2500 bucks !! MY rig runs awesome now! No smoke !! Jay asked me «if I was attached to the truck!?» HELL YEAH I LOVE MY TRUCK HENCE THE REASON IM CALLING YOU TO FIX IT !! Hey maybe these guys are great with brakes and tires but if you want any real work done this is not the place. The proper response is «bring it down so we can take a look at it»

I brought my own car to this shop several years ago and had a great experience so when my fiancé’s car needed service after failing an emissions test, I didn’t think twice about suggesting that we bring it to Superior Auto Service.
The car failed the emissions test on a Saturday, and I drove in the car when the shop opened at 8:30 am the following Monday. I didn’t have an appointment but I didn’t care if they got to it right away or not. By 10:30 am on Monday I had a diagnosis and two options for repairs — one cost-​effective/​repair only and the second for repair plus a coolant flush (recommended but not necessary). I authorized the repair and by 3:30 pm, I had a call that the car was ready to be picked up. The final bill was less than the estimate and the car passed the emissions test the following morning.
It’s really wonderful to have a garage that I can trust.

This review is specifically for Sara, who answered my phone call earlier this afternoon. I hope her managers read this, because she is absolutely an asset to the shop.
I called Superior Auto Service, desperate to find a shop close to my work location in Ballard. I wouldn’t even have considered this shop, honestly, if I hadn’t just experienced the worst customer service at Greg’s Japanese Auto (Renton location).
I explained the problems that my car was experiencing over the phone. While I am extremely aware that problems can typically never be diagnosed without checking out the car, I am confident that Sara gave me her honest opinion. «It sounds like it’s your transmission, unfortunately. The best place to take your car would be to a transmission shop, because you’ll save a lot more than bringing your car here for a transmission job.»
I had been set to make an appointment on Monday (they couldn’t fit me in Friday, and they were honest about it, unlike Greg’s — see my review) simply because I didn’t know if I’d be able to get an appointment ANYWHERE, and Sara essentially told me, «We’re happy to make you an appointment here, but I’m pretty sure that your problem is with the transmission.» (As some background, I have a 2003 Acura TL, which are notorious for having transmission failures. I am well aware of this unfortunate fact myself, but was really hoping it would not be the case.)
I ran through a couple different scenarios with Sara — «Could this be the problem? Would this other issue have caused this major problem?» and rather than shooing me off the phone since I haven’t ever been to their shop, she took a gracious amount of time to give me explanations and answers. She even put other customers on hold while I was asking her questions that clearly she wouldn’t know the REAL answer to unless she was looking at my car, but THIS is what real customer service is all about. She directed me to speak to a transmission shop, not because she was lazy, not because she wanted to «lose» money for her employer, but because she knows what real customer service is about.
If I ever need any other car issues taken care of (besides a transmission replacement), I think I’ve found my go-​to place.
Thank you so much, Sara, for showing me that there is still great customer service out there. (I work in customer service myself at a great company, and Superior Auto Service knows what they are doing with their hiring!)