ABJ Auto Repair

91 Marshall St, Somerville, MA 02145, USA

Address:	91 Marshall St, Somerville, MA 02145, USA
Phone:	+1 617-625-6632
Site:	abjautorepair.net
Rating:	4.6
Working:	8AM–6PM 8AM–6PM 8AM–6PM 8AM–6PM 8AM–6PM 8AM–2PM Closed

Location

Photos 7

Reviews 9

Anonymous User

They were very professional, and clearly knowledgeable, but they charged me for an hours worth of diagnosing the problem and coming to the conclusion that I had already come to. Other shops I have been to did not charge me an extra $60 to tell me what I told them when I walked in. Also, they did not call me prior to ordering replacement parts. I happened to call them to see if they had checked out the car and found out that they had already ordered a new part (without checking scrapyards for used parts, no doubt) and planned on installing it without letting me approve the cost. Also, they charged me for at least twice as long as the job should have taken based on my prior experience with similar issues. But the car is a pain, so I dont begrudge them too much for that. Anyways, I dont intend for this to be a negative review, the work they performed was thorough and professional, and even with the little issues I mentioned the cost was still several times less than my Mercedes dealer would have charged me. Heck, it was still less than I would have been charged at most local shops, and I have had bad luck with local shops working on my Mercedes. People love these guys, though. When I dropped my car off their driver was going out to pick up a guy from Hingham!

Anonymous User

And he runs an honest shop. This is a rarity in the repair business. Heres an example: Had an old mercedes 190e with the bosch CIS fuel injection system, which is a tricky thing to diagnose for most people. It wouldnt start one night after being dead reliable for years (ironically the night before I was due to sell it.) Towed it to a supposed mercedes specialist garage across the charles. They said it was my fuel distributor and itd be $400 to install a good used one. I said "no thanks" and had it towed to ABJ. They CORRECTLY diagnosed it as a vacuum leak in the main rubber hose after the throttle body. I believe it ended up costing something like $80, problem solved the right way. If I had allowed the other shop to gouge me Id still have the problem. This is just one example. In addition Al is a friendly guy who actually listens to your descriptions of problems despite being ridiculously busy most of the time.

Anonymous User

I chose ABJ after I saw the positive reviews here and I wasnt disappointed. I showed up at around 12:30 in the afternoon with a flat tire. ABJ seemed pretty busy with other cars but one of the mechanics, John, put down everything he was doing and agreed to look at my flat tire. As John worked on the tire, Mike, whos the owner (I think) came over, asked for some paperwork, prepared the bill and I was out of there by 1:15, and only paid $25 flat fee! I asked Mike if ABJ always drops what they do for a customer who is on-site and he said - no, they look at a per-customer basis. In my case, since I didnt need a lift or any special tools, they could address my car right away - Mike said that they generally try to accommodate customers whenever they can. That was good enough for me and is more than I can say for a lot of mechanics Ive dealt with in the past. 5 stars from me!

Anonymous User

After being recommended to ABJ by a co-worker who recounted tales of Als times servicing Saabs in MIT parking lots, I wont bring my Mercedes anywhere else. I change my own oil, but for anything else, I never hesitate to call Al for an appointment. He remembered me by my car the second time that I was there (all the way from NH), and now knows me by name. Al has discounted me a full hour of labour (albeit only $65) when he estimated less for a part lower than it ended up costing. Hell even get someone to pick you up or drop you off at the Red, Green, or Orange Line if need be--just ask for a ride. Hes a fair and honest businessman, and his practices deserve to be rewarded (and are, by various local publications and the fact that his garage is always bustling).

Anonymous User

These guys saved me more than $500. NO joke, I went to get my car inspected and failed because of my tail light. The place that inspected my car said for the labor and buying the parts the cost of them replacing the light would be $611. I call up ABJ and it cost me $63. All I needed was to pass my inspection. They didnt have to replace my lights! They arranged to have me follow one of their drivers to an inspection place to have it done, the price of re-inspection was included in ABJs fee! So I didnt pay at the inspection place. I passed the inspection and I was on my way. I also want to add that all the employees there including the boss were super friendly.

Blue Raspberry

I feel bad giving them a bad review since everyone else is so positive, but I was really not very satisfied with my experience. I took my car in because it seemed like my breaks felt weird, like they might have been off but I wasnt sure (I had been living elsewhere where it wasnt so hilly and wasnt sure if that was causing the different feel). So I took it in, told them this, and when I came back it felt exactly the same. I do believe they did what they said (adding break oil I think), but it didnt fix the issue which is the point of taking ones car in. There was another minor issue they did fix, though a month or so later it was back to not working again.

Anonymous User

Can you ever rely on your mechanic unless they are family? I dont have anyone in the family who can fix my car so I go to ABJ. They really treat you like family, they tell you like it is, they dont charge unreasonable prices, and they are good at what they do. My car had a simple strut top issue causing noises whenever I went over bumps. 3 other places told me this was a complete shocks/struts repair job costing well over $1000. Not at ABJ. They told the truth, because they dont want to get every penny out of you, their goal is to keep you coming back! Now I only have to pay $350 to fix my car! Honestly, its hard to find a place like this anymore.

Muhammad Al-Qaisi

I am very technical and I know about car mechanics a lot. Thats said, if you want a shop that knows what to do on your car go to ABJ. I have a Saab and many shops can easily screw it up, even Saab specialists. These guys are knowledgeable and they give the car the time it needs to evaluate. They also work with you on the cost of the repair, and their charges are fair.

Rachel Sommer

I have been going to ABJ since I first bought a car in Boston 15 years ago. They have been awesome. The owner, Al, died about a year ago. His daughter Mimi is now running the business, and she is every bit as knowledgeable and thinks of the mechanics as family. And she and the mechanics definitely dont assume that women are airheads.