10/05/09

A place you can actually trust

by Newkirk Plaza David

I own a 1990 Toyota Camry which had an oil leak from August 2009. I took my car to Strauss, Pep Boys, and even One Stop Shell (a AAA approved facility yet) and they all told me that it will cost me at least $500 to fix/replace four different things or in the case of One Stop, $900 to fix everything, from the oil pan gasket to whatever was underneath it. Frustrated, I was going to give up on my car but I was still determined to find a better and more inexpensive way to fix the car with only what was actually needed to fix. Doing some research, I went to Mitchell's as my last hope to fix the oil leak. Mitchell persoanlly looked at my car and told me that the leak was coming from only one place, the valve cover gasket was worn and needed to be replaced. Mitchell even showed be the old parts from a dumpster, I never asked for them - - what a big plus in honesty.

And you know what??????? The total cost to repair the valve cover (parts and labor) was only $165. Not only that, my car is in better shape than ever before. After I took my car back for an oil change, I took my mother for a short ride through Brooklyn. My mother's first impressions on how the car sounded (after the oil change and repair of the oil leak) was amazing, she told me the car sounded like almost brand new and performed flawlessly. Since I am the driver, I can attest that my car's performance has improved with little or no knocking.

In the age of shady mechanics and subpar franchises eager to rob you of your wallet and destroy your car, Mitchell's Auto Repair stands out as a genuine rare gem in the auto repair business. Do note that Mitchell's services are "by appointment only" so please call ahead to make an appointment to see him. However, he does allow drop offs so you can head to work and pick up your car later in the evening, please talk to Mitchell about this convenience.

• Pros: Great honest service, straightforward answers, good work
• Cons: No weekend hours, not an AAA facility

06/20/09

A mechanic you can trust!!!

by kg213

I recently bought a new car and wanted someone to check it out before I bought it. Mitchell worked me right in and took me through everything step by step showing me any pros and cons with the car. He was very thorough. He test drove the car as well and again was very thorough in checking the whole car over. He really knows what he is talking about. I am not from brooklyn but I would drive the hour and a half just to go back to him because he is so efficient and thorough. Thanks Mitchell.

06/16/09

Best Auto Repair in the New York Metro Area

by BrooklynResident

What makes this place special is Mitchell's honesty, the great work and excellent customer service that he provides and the reasonable prices that he charges.

I never imagined that I could say all this about an auto repair place!

Thank you so much, Mitchell.

• Pros: Honesty, Great Work, Excellent Customer Service, Price

03/19/09

I cannot recommend Mitchell's Auto Repair enough

by JMA

I first found Mitchell's Auto Repair a year and a half ago, after getting tired of the crummy service from my local mechanics. He impressed me quite a bit at the time, both with the way that anything he fixed *stayed* fixed and with his honesty about whether I should have repairs done immediately, or if they could be postponed for a while. He was honest about his prices, and goes out of his way to combine jobs so that labor costs are lower.

Then I moved, and foolishly thought "well, if there is *one* good mechanic, surely I can find another, closer to home." It only took getting burned once--charged 5 times the retail cost of parts, and $278 for maybe 45 minutes of work.

So I brought my car back to Mitchell's, despite the fact that now that I've moved, he's more than an hour from my new place by train.

He checked out the car, told me the work the bad mechanic had suggested wasn't necessary, and he explained why, and showed me what to look for in the car to keep on top of that problem should it occur.

Every time I bring the car to Mitchell's, he takes the time to show me what the problem is, and he checks out other issues in the car so that I have the option of combining work, to save on labor. He has fixed a few small problems for free (tightening belts and the like).

I cannot say how much I appreciate the confidence I have that, if he recommends work, it actually needs to be done. I also appreciate that he is more interested in helping me to keep my car in running order than in making a ton of money for himself. Mitchell is the best mechanic I have worked with--the only one I could say was a *pleasure* to work with.

And for general information, he is doing this work on a '97 Subaru with 240k miles on it. He assures me that so long as I keep up the maintenance, I'll get another 100K miles out of it. With Mitchell, I think I will.

• Pros: good prices, excellent work, integrity, customer service
• Cons: an hour from my house by subway

03/02/09

Best Auto Service Shop in Brooklyn

by mcw2021

I've been going to Mitchell's for a few years now and they never fail to surprise me how quick, fair, and easy they make going to the mechanic. I would definitely recommend them as they always do the job right, the mechanic staff is amazing, and I always get out of there quicker and cheaper than I expect compared to the other guys.

• Pros: Great service, expertise, customer service, price

03/01/09

Thank You Mitchell

by Norit

I don't know too much about cars, but every time I took my car to be checked I was told that it needed a lot of work. My friend told me to try Mitchell's Auto, and I did. Mitchell checked my car and told me that I didn't need to do anything for the time being. I really appreciated his honesty. Thank you Mitchell!

12/19/08

Give Mitchell a try!

by smashingchick

We bought a BMW over a year ago and it has been such a nightmare for us! I don't think we ever had a good experience with mechanics anywhere. They all seem to want you to fix all these "problems" So the last time we took our car to this one shop, they fixed a minor problem that we had with the car, but somehow they ended up busting something else. After we picked our car up, two days later it literally started to smoke! the smoke really scared the **** out of us. I mean we just got our car fixed for crying out loud!! We had to take it to the nearest auto shop, I don't remember the name, but it turned out that we were leaking antifreeze and it was evaporating and that's what caused the smoking effect, no it's not the same kind of smoke from a fire, but I can assure you, if you see that while driving, your heart would definitely drop to your pants. Needless to say I am cautious of taking our car anywhere. Now we're stuck with this antifreeze problem. After doing some research online we thought we were going to take it to L&M auto, which is so popular and they get such good reviews, so we called Bill and he said he was going to charge us $40 just to look at the car without even diagnosing any problems. That , to me seems pretty absurd. I mean if you just want to throw away money that's fine, but I think if I'm spending 40 bucks I better get something out of it. So we started shopping around and that's when I decided to give Mitchell's auto a try. I came in with skepticism of course, but to my surprise, Mitchell was very courteous. He showed me all the problems with the car and explained everything thoroughly. He tightened a couple of things and told me that should stop the leak, but if not, then I should come back. He sent me home without charging me anything! Now that's an honest mechanic. So far so good, I just hope that this thing stop leaking, but if not, then I would definitely take it back to Mitchell. Thank you.

• Pros: good honest service
• Cons: Zero

12/01/08

Great mechanic; nice person

by deko3

I recently moved to Brooklyn, thinking this was the last trip for my beloved VW Jetta. A mechanic in Vermont had told me the underside was so rusted, the car wouldn't pass its next inspection. As a result of this diagnosis, I had let a lot of things go that I would ordinarily maintain. Before resigning it to the scrap heap, I decided to get a second opinion and took it to Mitchell's. He put it on the lift and eventually brought me over to inspect with him because he had no idea what my Vt. mechanic was talking about. Not only was it not too rusty, but it was in pretty good shape. I had him go ahead and do all the things I had neglected, including struts and a broken spring. His price was more than fair, he was careful to show me exactly what he had done and what each charge on the bill covered. And when I left, the car drove better than the day I bought it. That was two months ago and it's still running great. I am relieved to have an honest and skilled mechanic here; he exudes everything great about Brooklyn.

• Pros: honest, skilled, professional
• Cons: haven't discovered any yet

11/18/08

Wonderful!

by JaCrunk

I moved to Brooklyn this summer and was looking for a good mechanic for standard maintenance. After reading the reviews on Citysearch, I decided to give Mitchell's a try, and he was wonderful! Mitchell was personable and accommodating, and was very honest and up-front about cost, etc. I was expecting to leave my car in the shop for at least a few days, be he had my car working and ready to go the same day! As a young woman who knows nothing about cars, I am always worried about finding a respectful and honest mechanic. Mitchell's treated me with total respect, and I would highly recommend them to anyone!

• Pros: honest, friendly, near the D/M train lines
• Cons: none!

06/03/08

Thank you Mitchell!

by andreavigee

We just got our car (a '99 Honda CRV) back today; my husband and I had brought it to 3 other garages, including the dealer, and nobody knew how to deal with the litany of problems we were having with it. The first place wanted to do an engine rebuild, and the dealer just threw parts at the problem, did unnecessary repairs and charged through the roof. Not only did Mitchell and his crew fix the car (which is now driving PERFECTLY), but he also explained everything that he and his crew had done, and even took photos of the process.

Mitchell has all of the qualities you would want in a surgeon, a chef, ...or a mechanic. He is intelligent and passionate about his work, he communicates well, and he listens. I can't recommend him enough!

• Pros: Great communication, knowledgeable, honest
• Cons: small garage; no waiting area in the garage