Nick's Auto Repair

Write a Review541-207-0259

CLOSED NOW - Closed

I blew a head gasket and had a mechanic look at it before giving it to Gary. He said that the overheat was significant and it is better to get rid of the engine. When I took it to Gary and told him this he said that he does several similar jobs every week and that replacing the head and head gasket would be sufficient. I told him that I wanted there to be no problems and I'd rather change the engine, but he insisted not to and said that I could claim problems under the repair warranty at no cost to me.
So he replaces the head (cost me $1200) and the next time I go on the highway the engine throws a rod. The broken rod poked a 2" hole in the side of the engine block. I get the car towed back to Gary's and I was told Gary would call me back about it.
He didn’t call me back and I finally walked to the shop and talked to him the next day. He said the repair won’t be covered under warranty since he didn’t touch the parts which failed. Needless to say I was pissed since his so called warranty was what he used to sell me the repair in the first place! After some arguing he agreed to make the $1200 I’d already paid go toward the replacement of the engine. I was to get back with him after the weekend for the final deal. Every time I called and tried to get the final price out of him he’d say he would call me back the next day or in a couple of hours or something and he kept on pushing the repair back (about another 10 days). He then said that he meant that the “labor” portion of the $1200 (which was $900) would be deducted from my future repair, after that he reduced it to a $300 dollar deduction and added that he would “do this for me” out of good of heart. His final quote for the job was not even competitive and ended up about $500 higher than other mechanics (even after the $300 deduction). I finally gave up on it all and sold the car “as is” for $850 (huge loss).
Any time Gary tried to justify his high prices he would say that he takes my money and pays it ALL to the mechanic and he can’t pay the mechanic less so he can’t give me a lower rate.
I also should point out that I talked to the dealership which sold my car and several other mechanics and they all concurred that a bad overheat was possibly the cause of this while Gary insisted this was not possible.
I know many people have had good experience with him but I’ve got to say he does not hold up to his word when he messes up.

As a student moving to Corvallis from out-of-state, I figured I was going to have to go through some rough car repairs before finding a competent mechanic. Luckily, I went to Gary's first and hit the nail on the head from the get go.

My experience with Gary started almost immediately after I arrived in Corvallis two years ago. My girlfriend's mother helped move us to town, and on the way her vehicle started to act very suspiciously. (stopping randomly on the highway, overheating, spitting smoke) Safe to say, we were in need of a mechanic. Gary's Automotive was right by our new apartment, so we took the grumpy van in. Gary was able to get the van in right away and fix it in time for everyone to get home on time, at a reasonable price to boot.

Since then, I've taken two different vehicles to Gary on many occasions for anything from oil changes to timing belt replacements. He's always very diligent in explaining to me what work needs to be completed and why. The work is always completed on time for under the quoted price. He also guarantees his work for a year, which, to me, gives some peace of mind when you're spending money on a repair.

Anywho, Gary and the employees of Gary's Automotive are extremely competent professionals who have always proven to be fair and honest in the interactions I have had. I recommend their services.