Carlton Auto Repair

Remove your «Request a Quote» feature and I’ll remove my review…
I requested a quote through Unilocal from these fellas and this is what they told me:
«Chris, thank you for the inquiry on your Toyota Prius, but we do not give any phone/​internet quotes, we are not looking for the „price shopping“ customer. We take an appointment, by phone, then look over the vehicle, determine what it really needs and how difficult it will be to do then call the customer with a price. There in no way to accurately give a phone estimate so we will not try. We do use the highest quality parts available and do the work in the best way we possibly can. We are looking for customers who want the best value, not the lowest cost. Thanks again for finding us on Unilocal.
Bob FCarlton Auto RepairWheaton IL630−668−4141»
Not looking for price shopping customer? F**k you too.
I received 2 other quotes from other reputable businesses. I didn’t go with the cheapest. I went with the one that was the most thorough with my questions. They executed. Feel free to read my other review. Your response was ridiculous. The nature of an estimate means it is not always accurate. Your customers are intelligent enough to understand this. Save other Unilocalers the time and remove the feature.

Very happy they could take me right away for an oil change on a Monday at 5:00 pm.
Friendly people and I ate some free candy :-)

I have known Bob and Russ for many years and they are a rare commodity these days. These guys love cars, they love customers, and they love performing quality work for happy customers.

I can always depend on Carlton to give me timely and trusted response and service. If a fix-​up is not worth the investment into the car, they will let you know rather than make a quick profit. For someone who doesn’t know much at all about cars, I trust Carlton completely to give me the best service, quality and value. I cannot say that for any other auto shop yet.

I have been taking my automobiles to Carlton Auto since 1998 and wouldn’t think of taking them anywhere else for repairs. Bob and Russ have always been responsive, honest and I have always felt that their prices are fair. I regularly refer others to use Carlton Auto and will continue to do so. My first experience was when I got a second opinion from them regarding a brake job. The told me that some of the work Midas was suggesting was not necessary and was able to do the repairs I needed for much less. More recently, I had an older car towed to their parking lot over a weekend because I thought the transmission was shot. At the last minute, I made the decision to sell it to a salvage yard for $ 300. Bob called me on Monday morning and said he thought the problem was something other than the transmission. He said the decision, of course, was mine, but he could fix for a nominal amount. I was relieved and had the repair done. Kept the car for about a year and traded it in – still running for $ 800. These guys are great.

So happy that this place got recommended to me! They took the time to explain everything clearly, were honest and fair and got the job done in the time frame they had provided to me upfront. On top of it all they were pleasant to deal with… You really can’t ask for much more than that! Will definitely be coming back for any and all auto related issues.

I had to get new brakes and Carlton was recommened by friends so i decided to try them. The service was incredibly polite and professional. More importantly the work was excellent! Highly recommend!

Looked right at me like I was a jerk from moment I walked in, kept talking to each other sitting leaning back doing nothing. Without asking what work needed to be done, just said we are booked for a week. No follow up, no would you like to schedule, no referring to another place or mechanic. And I was referred by their customer!

Trustworthy. Honest. Clear & concise in their communications.
I have lived in Wheaton for 23 years and my only regret is not finding these guys sooner.

Terrific experience. Friendly and informative staff, prompt and excellent service, welcomed advice and clear explanations. Will return again whenever in need of maintenance, service, or repairs.

If I could give these guys more than five stars I would. I was trapped in an Illinois Air Team hell with three fails on my work van (and I needed to pass so that I could renew my registration)…because for some reason the“Air Team” couldn’t read my OBD. The «Air Team» couldn’t tell me what the problem was… I couldn’t figure out what the problem was and at first Carlton couldn’t tell what the problem was. But after a couple of days of diagnosing and talking to others in the field they came up with the answer… got it fixed and even took it to the testing center to make sure the van would pass. Turns out my van had a rare glitch to where everyone could read my OBD except the «Air Team» testing center. Thanks to Carlton’s perseverance… they got me through and I’ll definitely use them again in the future.

My parents don’t have a Unilocal account so I’m rating this place for them. Whenever they need anything done from an oil change to a repair they bring their cars here. The work is always honestly done, and the repairs are done exceptionally well, never leading to a future problem. Whenever they get one of their cars back I always hear how happy they are with the work.

This IS the only place my husband and I bring our cars to be fixed. Just had car repaired, purrs like a kitten now. Need to share story that happened maybe a year ago, we had a ford wind star that broke down, brought it to Carlton and they said it would be very expensive to fix and not worth it because if all the miles we had put on it, then they said let us look into one more thing and we’ll call you back. They did some checking and found that the items to be fixed were under recall by Ford, van was fixed and ran another good year. Carlton went above and beyond for us, and they always do outstanding work. Thank you all very much. Customer for life.

The good
Took my car in for service at Carlton auto repair not too long ago. First and foremost, they do good quality work, the price is right, and the car was all done the same day. I will be taking my car back there because of those facts. It’s hard to find a good honest shop nowadays. The techs are always nice to talk to if I ever need my tires filled or something of that nature, and they are very knowledgeable.
The bad
While dealing on the phone with Russ (one of the owners) it was a pleasant experience. He explained to me exactly what was wrong, didn’t talk down to me, and especially considering I am a female, I didn’t feel like they were taking advantage of me. HOWEVER, when I went in to pick up my car, Bob (the other owner) was the one I dealt with. WOW, what an ignorant old man. Not only did he tell me to hold on mid conversation to answer his personal cell phone, but when I was walking out I heard him mumble what a piece of s*** my car was and how I was stupid for buying it.
So to sum up, its great shop, and I would recommend it, but STAY AWAY FROM BOB!

i used to go to carlton when I lived in wheaton, unfortunately, now it’s a little inconvenient. I absolutely loved this place. the guys who own it, and all the employees are TIDY. shirts tucked in, polite, prompt, efficient. I’ve never found an autp repair place that I liked or trusted as much as carlton. they won’t try to screw you, and never talk down to you.

Their honest and excellent service makes up for the fact that they don’t have the convenient hours at most dealers. If your car is no longer covered under warranty, definitely bring it to Carlton’s. We save a bundle by bringing our 2004 Honda CR-​V and our 2007 Toyota Prius here, instead of to the dealers.

This is the only repair shop that I trust. I went to them a few times years 10 — 15 years ago after they had been recommended by the head of the automotive program at College of DuPage. After I moved to another town, I started trying some other places more convenient to me but I’m going back to Carlton now. I had my 2006 Chevy HHR at the dealer last week and when I left they said they I URGENTLY needed a new accessory drive belt, front and rear brakes, control arm bushings, and sway bar links. I took it to Carlton to find that the brakes were okay (25% left), the belt needed replacing, ONE bushing was bad and ONE sway bar link was bad. (I ended up spending $ 553 instead of $ 1444) They showed me the bad parts and explained everything thoroughly.

I totally agree with the others who have reviewed Carlton Auto Repair. I took my car there for several years for routine maintenance (oil changes) as well as more extensive repairs.
They always explain everything (on the phone and again when you pick up your car). They listen to and answer your questions. They are honest in letting you know what needs to be repaired and also when you *do not* need a repair immediately.
An added benefit is they are very close to the Wheaton Metra station, so it’s very convenient to drop off your car for maintenance in the morning and pick it up after work.
The only downside is I think they only take as much work as they can handle in a day, so a few times I had to wait longer than expected to bring my car in. (The upside is your car is always ready when they say it will be ready!)

Ditto what Jen said. I took my car in, knowing it was going to be over $ 1500 to get it fixed (brakes and other maintenance). I had gotten a quote for that much from another place, with a list of things I needed to get repaired.
Carlton Auto charged me less in total, and they found other things they fixed as well.
When I came to pick up my car, they showed me all the parts they’d removed, and told me why they changed them and showed me the wear and tear on the parts.
They explained everything to me, and did not talk to me like I was some moron chick who didn’t know where her steering wheel was located. Granted, I probably am that chick, but they didn’t let on that they knew.
I didn’t feel ripped off or scammed, and nothing broke down after I drove away.
Plus, I had my dog with me when I came to pick the car up, and they let me bring him inside, so extra props for that.
Highly recommend!

I have never in my life felt like I was being talked straight to and not being screwed when taking my car in (even for oil changes) until I went to Carlton Auto Repair. These guys are the best!
From speaking to me like I’m a fully-​functioning human being, explaining what they thought might be the issue, and giving accurate and detailed estimates, to the friendliness, to showing me the parts that came out of my car and explaining to me how they malfunctioned, I was treated with courtesy and respect every step of the way. I never once felt I was being taken for a ride (sorry, bad pun) by these guys. They actually tried to SAVE ME MONEY!!! Amazing.
Love them, and will continue to go to them whenever I need my car serviced. Thanks guys!