Tom’s Automotive Service

These guys are amazing! They did a fantastic job taking a look at my work van a few months back, so when our Jeep was not going out of 4wd and we stopped by to have Tom’s take a look.
John came out and looked at it, grabbed a wrench and fixed it for FREE!!! NO OTHER SHOP wouldn’t even talk to us without wanting a payment. Its extremely rare to find a shop that will go out of their way like these guys do. Needles to say i returned to the shop to give John a present (beverages).
I will return to this shop for all of my automotive needs for years to come!

Had my first experience with Tom’s yesterday when I took my lady’s car in for service. I dealt with a few people between the appointment scheduling and the pick-​up when my car was ready. Everyone was incredibly friendly, and seemed genuine. I also got a very honest impression from them, like they weren’t trying to push parts & service I didn’t need. I talked to a guy named Tracy who seemed incredibly knowledgable, and a nice guy to boot. We’ll definitely be coming back when we need future service.

My check engine light came on last Friday and my car began to shake like it was running out of gas. I took it to Tom’s and they were able to diagnose my car immediately (a bad wire connected to one of the spark plugs). I left my car with them for the weekend. They offered me a loaner car but I declined as I don’t have much need for a car on weekends. Still, I thought that was a nice option. They gave me a call with options for repairs and maintenance work that could be done on my car. I told them I had a certain budget I needed them to work with and they said that that would be no problem. I picked up my car on Tuesday and it is running great! Very friendly knowledgeable staff.

I went in today because my cars headlight had burned out. I originally planned to spend $ 50+ to get them fixed which I wasn’t looking forward to. Also I was nervous it would be super busy since I went around noon when people are on this lunch break.
My experience was perfect! I didn’t have to wait for my car to be worked on. Everyone was super friendly and I had both my bulbs replaced and my oil topped off for $ 27.
Very happy and will be returning for my car needs!
Thank you!

I strongly recommend Tom’s Automotive. After a cross-​country trip, my ’98 Honda Accord started shifting really hard. I called and was encouraged to bring it by for one of the technicians to run the codes and to take the car around the block to feel what was going on. Upon taking it in, the staff was prompt, friendly, and professional. They gave their professional advice, topped off my transmission fluid, and set me up to have the permanent fix taken care of soon. Unless given a reason not to, I will continue to take my car to Tom’s for any/​all future issues!

I’ve had to bring my car here on different occasions, they have never over charged me, and have always been very honest about what I should and shouldn’t spend my money on .I will never go anywhere else everybody there is so helpful and friendly.

Burn out headlight in my sisters car, I’ve been using it while visiting. She uses Toms Auto and so I drove over, they said no problem, we will do it while you wait.
How great to be able to get it fixed right away. Nice to take care of for her so she doesn’t have one more chore.
Friendly and great service. Highly recommended.

I’ve always taken my vehicles to Firestone for regular service, repairs, questions, etc.
A couple of months ago, I noticed smoke coming out from my engine compartment on the passenger side. I took that bad beast into Firestone to have it looked at. I told Firestone the following:
«I’m seeing smoke, but there’s no drips. I can only imagine that my valve cover gasket needs replaced. Can you check on it, find the issue, and fix it?» They replied with a resounding, «YES!»
One day and $ 400.00 later, I receive my truck back with new valve cover gaskets! Woohoo! Crisis averted. Let’s get this beast a-​rollin’ and drive ALL THE PLACES!
A month goes by, and I see a bit of smoke here and there, and think to myself, «Well that’s just residual oil burning off of the manifold. All is well in my world.» Keep doing this, and one day, I exit 520 onto 148^th Ave in Bellevue, and notice a s***load of smoke billowing out of my engine compartment. «You’ve got to be effing kidding me.» — Nope… not kidding. ALL the smoke.
Fine. Call Firestone, they’re busy and can’t get me in for like 2 or 3 days, and their lead tech isn’t there to do a proper diagnosis. «Hello, Google,» I say.
10 or 20 minutes later, I’ve got a list of potential shops ranging from Kirkland, Redmond, Bellevue, Factoria, Issaquah, Mercer Island, South Seattle, and West Seattle.
My inner voice says to me: «Ah. This part… yay. Time to talk to a bunch of people who are going to be annoyed by my barrage of phone questions and sound exasperated when I ask for information over the phone while trying to rush me off and schedule an appointment to charge me a $ 289.00 consultation appointment.»
Get to Tom’s on the list. Get one of their guys on the phone, and give him a quick breakdown of my issue. He is friendly, patient, acknowledges and addresses my questions, and lets me know to get in there, and he’ll have one of his techs check out my truck and take it for a drive if necessary. «Right on,» I think to myself.
I leave work early, take the trek across a couple of bridges, and land at Tom’s. Sit in their waiting area for no more than 5 minutes when they let me know that their lead tech is going to come have a look at my car with me. «Ah… more of this,» I think quite concernedly to myself.
Their tech comes out, asks me to fire up my engine and pop the hood. I walk around and point to the affected area; whereupon, he looks a hose coming off of my engine, gives it a little squeeze, sees and feels some fluid, and says, «Here’s your problem. You’ve got a bad seal causing fluid to leak from your transmission into your transfer case. We’re going to have to replace the seal.» He didn’t hesitate, didn’t question himself, didn’t say, «maaaaaaybe this COULD be a thing.» He just outright and flatly diagnosed my issue in literally 45 seconds.
We go back inside where I’m greeted again. A conversation opens up, and I ask for an estimate. I’ve already added $ 300 to $ 600 more to my original thought based solely upon this being transmission-​related. *sigh*
I get a quote for $ 925.00. «That’s it?! Do it,» I say.
«Alright. We’ve got you in for Wednesday, so hopefully we’ll be able to get it done by Thursday, Friday at the latest.»
«Good with me. Make it so, Number One.»
I go about my day. Wednesday rolls around, and I get a call from Tom’s at about noon. «Hey, just wanted to let you know that we got the transfer case opened up, and yeah — it was a bad seal. We should have it back together pretty soon. I’ll be calling you later today or tomorrow.»
«No problem,» I say, and go about my day.
Get another call from Tom’s at about 3:30 — 3:45.
«Alright! Your truck is ready. We got the seal in, and everything is good to go. Also, the price is a little different from what we quoted.»
«Okay,» I say…
«Yeah — we didn’t need two of the seals we ordered, and it was a little quicker than anticipated. Final price is $ 805.00.»
«Well… well, that’s… that’s just fine,» I think. «I won’t be able to get there by 5:00 closing, can I make payment over the phone and come pick it up?»
«Of course. We’ll lock your keys in your car, and leave the invoice in the driver’s side visor.»
I get to Tom’s just at 5:00, where I was greeted by the lead tech who did all the work. He lets me know what was going on, lets me know a few things I want to keep under consideration, and waves me merrily on my way.
All I can say is this. After taking my car to Firestone for the past 5 or 6 years, I can tell you that in one transaction, Tom’s has taken repeat business from Firestone. Not only for this car, but for both of my vehicles.
I’ve already shared this story with about 8 or 9 people recommending Tom’s for any auto service.
You guys rock. You’ve earned a customer for life. Keep it up, and keep me proud.

My 2000 Subaru Outback was smelling like burned rubber and my hatchback froze shut. I called Tom’s and they recommended I stop by so they could take a look at it before I scheduled an appointment.
I stopped in today and they fixed everything, on the spot, in the rain for FREE! My hatchback was rusted shut — they oiled it :) and my drive belt was slipping — they tightened it.
Nice, nice professional place!

This place is the best!!! I wouldn’t bring my car anywhere else. And the owner, Kandie is top notch. Thanks guys!!!

First time customer. I just got a new (used) Nissan Rogue and actually originally tried to make an appointment with West Seattle Autoworks. They were booked pretty far out and recommended Tom’s to me. Called Toms and they suggested I get an oil change and comprehensive evaluation to check out pretty much every possible issue my car could have. I was nervous they would take this opportunity to compile a laundry list of issues and run up my tab, but they just called to say everything looks excellent. One minor potential issue is in the works, but they said its not urgent and basically I can wait until I can afford to address it. Honest and considerate, super friendly staff, will definitely be taking my car back here. Definitely would recommend this comprehensive check too for any recently purchased used car.

My good friend who has dealt with this company before recommended it to me. I dropped by in the late afternoon, expecting to have to make an appointment for the next day. They surprised me by doing a diagnosis right then and there. The mechanic John was very personable and explained everything that he was doing, and told me the pros and cons and real costs of having work done. When he told me that actually there were quite a few issues going on, and even suggested that maybe it might not be worth my while to take on so many projects for such an old car, I was very appreciative. So I asked to pay the charges for his time (about 20 minutes), he amazed me by telling me that there would be no charge. So, meanwhile I’m considering all of the issues and may go ahead and have 1 or 2 issues taken care of, have not yet decided what to do. But all 3 of the people I dealt with were so helpful and personable, that I will definitely come back here at some point for my future car repair needs. I mean that.

Tom’s is a woman-​owned auto repair shop. She doesn’t like to make a big deal about that fact because she serves all customers with equal professionalism and honesty. But it gives me confidence that I won’t get taken for a ride because I’m «just a lady who probably doesn’t know much about cars.» Tom’s has been my service and repair shop for at least 12 years and I wouldn’t go anywhere else.

I have been bringing my car to Tom’s since 2011, when I moved to Seattle. What I really like about the shop is that they itemized and prioritized my car’s needs into «must do», and «should do» in the next 6 months or year. That really helped me budget for the expense of car maintenance. Thanks guys, Great service!

I brought a car I was looking to buy into Tom’s for a pre-​purchase inspection, and I am so glad that I did. Not only did they uncover some potentially expensive repairs that the dealer was trying to conceal, but they explained the problems in plain English — a godsend for a non-​car guy like me.
They saved me thousands of dollars and endless aggravation, and for that alone, I can’t recommend them enough. Take your vehicle into Tom’s — Kandie (the manager), John (the mechanic), and Bryce (who manned the desk, but likely does a ton more) won’t steer you wrong.

Fantastic service! Fair prices.
I have never really «Trusted my mechanic» until now. I don’t feel as if I need to have the estimates double checked or that they are going to take me for all they can. The guys explain what is going on and took the time to show me.
Thank you Tom’s and keep up the OUTSTANDING job!

Wow. Very impressed with this shop. I have a 1995 Jeep Wrangler and had my alternator go out. It is my work vehicle and it really important for me to have it running. It is great to call a shop and have someone knowledgeable about cars on the other end. They were prompt, friendly, knowledgeable and professional. I was able to pick up my Jeep in time for work tomorrow, which I am so grateful for. I will definitely be bringing my Jeep back here and highly recommend this shop.

Kandie & crew got our car checked out and brakes replaced inside of 3 days — so we could take it on a roadtrip to CA. Tom’s Automotive’s team were upfront with pricing, spot on with estimates and responsive to my follow ups. It was great to get the car taken care of so we could enjoy our trip to see family. Thank YOU!

We had really high hopes for Tom’s but once again they proved to be your typical rip you off car repair place. Took our car in for a spark plug issue, $ 400 later and an estimate/​laundry list of repairs to the tune of over $ 1,000 we walked out. The owner, Kandy, was incredibly indifferent to my concerns and didn’t seem to really care about keeping our business. What a disappointment!!!

I’ve been taking my cars to Tom’s for 9 years now and wouldn’t think of ever going anywhere else! The support staff are efficient, personable and above all professional. As mentioned in another review, Tom was always a joy to see and do business with. He is a top-​notch mechanic who can diagnose issues and typically did himself whenever I went in. And after he retired and Kandie too over the shop, the same quality of service continues. The mechanics, particularly John are excellent and have always gone above and beyond to fix any issue I’ve had — even when my problems were not routine. John has resources and experience to diagnose accurately.
Sure there might be cheaper shops available, but at Tom’s Automotive I KNOW the work will be done by the book by certified trained mechanics in a state-​of-​the-​art shop! And always they stand behind everything they do. As a female customer I also appreciate being treated as a reasonable person, not as someone who doesn’t have a clue about automotive problems. The staff never hesitates to fully explain the what and why of their work.
Don’t be dissuaded by the one-​star comments here from years gone by. This is a good business… you can depend on it. You won’t be disappointed with the work from this garage!