Honka Auto Repairs

1266 Court St, Clearwater, FL 33756, USA

Address:	1266 Court St, Clearwater, FL 33756, USA
Phone:	+1 727-446-0596
Site:	honkaautorepairs.com
Rating:	4.3
Working:	8AM–5PM 8AM–5PM 8AM–5PM 8AM–5PM 8AM–5PM Closed Closed

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 4

Jason Henseler

Theres a bit of a story here which makes the rating difficult, so Ill be specific so that readers can make their determination based on this shops strengths and weaknesses. I had severe engine issues with my Audi. They saw my vehicle quickly and did offer transport to work. The store front is friendly and inviting, and it is clean. The advisor I saw then called me back promptly after running diagnostics and quoted the issues on my vehicle - saying I needed new rear tires and engine mounts for a total quote of $3000. No mention of the fact that the car would go into "limp mode" after ten minutes of driving. As part of this, I was also told that my front brakes were at 18% and rear brakes were at 2%. I was also told my rotors needed replacing as they were worn ($700 quote). This was about a year ago. I persisted and said "I need to have a running car before I do maintenance". That got through. They then diagnosed the catalytic convertor failing, and the price was fair for parts and labor. I also had their diagnosis double-checked, and it was correct. The quote offered was also below market price for the part (which is pretty expensive). So, +1 for that. Months after this work was done, additional problems similar to the ones that came up had manifested, and to their credit, they took the car back and re-diagnosed the issue for free. Throttle body was also shot. This wasnt detectable a the time the CC was repaired, so they didnt "miss it". I could not afford their parts price for a new TB and needed a running vehicle - and while they didnt offer a warranty, they did install the part I procured. To their credit, the vehicle has been performing well since. So, I give a +2 for working car, and making sure I was happy with the repair. Now, onto maintenance. I received an oil change (felt after the TB replacement I should give them a high-return service), and as part of that, was told that my rear brakes were pretty close to bare metal - as in, a matter of weeks. I was also informed that, on my vehicle specifically, the rotors need to be replaced with every brake pad change. This was false - flat out lie. Sadly, I hadnt done my homework on brakes and rotors, so put the service off until I could comfortably afford to do the nearly $700 service. Well, my brakes lasted another year before they started grinding. Had I actually researched, I would have known that the rotors were fine. Instead, one ended up needing replacement as I ran too long (being unable to manage the $700 quote). Heres the clincher, I ended up at a import specialist, who knew nothing of this, just that I needed brakes. He measured the rotors, and they were still at 9mm (factory thickness), perfectly healthy, and just needed resurfacing (save for the one damaged by grinding). This is now a year and a half after I was told my rotors needed replacing. If the mechanic had just been honest on the services needed, I would have done the brakes much earlier, and spared a rotor destroyed by a bare metal brake pad. It would have also saved me $200. Im not negative toward the shop as far as repairs. The advisor and front desk were totally friendly and personable. I actually liked the guy who was handling my repairs, admired him a lot. But the upsells and recommending needless maintenance for hundreds of dollars more that what is really truly needed have cost me more in the long run, so I am rating this shop as "disliked it", even though they did actually resolve the repair problem. Mixed feelings is probably the best description I can think of for my Honka experience.

Paul Muntjan

In the process of relocating my different businesses to the Clearwater area from Maryland . Owned and managed a transportation business with several vehicles under contract with the Washington Post for twenty-five years, so a lot of good experience in dealing with automotive shops and Im lucky to have gained basic mechanical knowledge through this process. Several repairs have been completed with Honka in the last two years (I waited to do enough business with them before posting this review) and I have been specifically dealing with Tim and Melissa. I appreciate their knowledge, experience, reasonable pricing and not trying to "upsell" for repairs not needed. Their honest service to women and their vehicles seems admirable and they do not treat them as "2nd class citizens" (comments courtesy of my girl friend!). They provide an honest assessment and tell you what is important and give you different options. They bring the vehicles in at night and never give you the vehicle back with grease marks on the steering wheel or hood and other places as so many other shops do. They also stand behind their work better than most shops. Their warranties for work performed far excells the competition. They also do not "nickel and dime" you for simple diagnostics that you choose to do at a later date. I expect a lot from vendors in my business and Honka does an excellent job of delivering. I would give them a "9.5" out of "10"

Mike Taylor

Dont listen to those randomly slanderous bad reviews. The shop is not owned by illegal aliens. The owners name is Tim and he is also the head mechanic. I have taken all of my cars to Honka since moving to Clearwater and they have always been up front and provided plenty of communication as to what the problems with the cars have been as well as pricing. Most of the time the final costs have been below what they original quoted and the costs are reasonable, not overpriced. In fact, the staff at Honka have gone out of their way to find alternative and more affordable solutions for parts that needed to be replaced, and in fact they saved me over $400 in parts at one point. They have always had my car out same day except one time when they had to do some welding on my exhaust system, and it was ready the next day. They stand by their work too. They fixed the A/C in my fathers car but something was still wrong with it and they took the car back and fixed it without any added cost. They also have a free shuttle service that will drop you off and pick you up if you dont have a ride. I would recommend them to anyone.

Alex Omid

Wasnt very impressed with this place. Very over-priced. My gf told me I should come to Honka to see what was wrong with my car because she had taken hers there, (not knowing any better because all of the google reviews with positive feedback) and when I brought my car in, they charged me 80 bucks (I assumed theyd charge the normal 40-60 bucks for a diagnosis like everyone else, but you should never assume! lol) to look at my car and told me my repair was going to be over 500 dollars.This seemed high to me so I thanked them for telling me what was wrong with my car and left. Upon shopping around, they had the HIGHEST prices in the Tampa Bay area. They said they would credit the 528 dollars with the 80 dollars I had already spent if I came back to get my car fixed there. I never returned because even with that 80 bucks credit, other repair shops were much cheaper. I recommend Action Imports in St. Pete, great quality and not over-priced like Honka.