Lawtons Automotive and Tire Center

Jerry and the crew are as goood and honest as it gets, I appreciate you guys and the quality work and I do my best to send everyone I can your way!

The crew at Lawton’s did an awesome job assessing my classic Mini, which suddenly lost all electricals while I was next door shopping at Honest Weight. The car was dealt with within minutes, and an accurate diagnosis was made just as quickly. They had me back on the road so fast it felt like a pit stop. Charges were extremely reasonable, too. Thanks, guys!

Be careful with these people, they present themselves as «the honest guys in town,» but after you become a semi regular customer they will try to take you for a ride. For example, I took my car in for an inspection and all was good, the mechanic says, (I love this car he says.) He goes on to explain that I have 5,000 miles left in front and rear breaks. The car is approved and I go on my way feeling that I have finally found a honest mechanic.
The next week I hear a slight knocking as I drive. I take it in and they say, «oh your breaks are metal on metal and you need new pads now. (BTW I live local and drive less than 10 miles a day. So right there they are liars.) Frightened by their urgency I drop the car off and assume they will fix the breaks and our business will be done. No such luck. I get a phone call, (and I’m gonna take my time with this) from a mechanic named Sean. Sean tells me that, not only are my breaks done but I have a broken coil on the back left and there is, «no cheap way to fix,» this problem that he has discovered. He (Sean) then tells me that it would cost $ 1,500 to replace the two back coils. He then proceeds to quote me a $ amount to replace the entire suspension ($ 4,200) that was so far removed from reality I had to ask to call back so I had time to think. he claimed that the parts alone would exceed $ 3,000 and he would be doing me a favor by only charging me an hour of labor @/$ 85 per corner to to «bring the car back to stock,» (side note he was NOT offering authentic dealer parts so even at this obscene price he was still trying to bilk me.) After Sean quoted me this ridiculous price I decided to price the parts out myself. So… on Tire Rack the cost of, not only the two rear coils, but the ENTIRE suspension, all four corners was $ 735 and change. Ok, ok, ok, that’s uninstalled. So you still have to pay for labor which Sean said would be 3 – 4 hours (for the breaks and the suspension.) that comes to $ 400 at best. Correct me if I’m wrong but 400 + 750 is 1,150, less than the price of 2 coils. So now I’m left feeling like even with 5 hours of labor I’m still able to replace the entire suspension for around the same price Sean quoted me for the two coils. HOW IS OK? So after Sean’s BS about, «no cheap way to do this,» I bring in the Tire Rack price list and he blathers around the garage telling me how crappy and bad those parts are, even though they are identical to the ones he wanted order.
*now if you were a mechanic and you called up your parts dealer and he told you that you needed to go back to the office and tell your customer that the price of two coils would be more than the cost to replace the entire suspension wouldn’t you question that? Sean, I am afraid, did not.
My advice to you is drive up Central Avenue to Mavis. Be real with them and show that you have parted out a price and THEY WILL MATCH IT. I was hooked on Lawton’s for a couple months, and maybe Jerry is a good guy, they treated me well, and they may do the same for you, but after my experience with Sean I am doing my best to spread the word about what a bunch of cheats and liars they have working in the garage.

I don’t really write reviews but I decided to write one today because, this isn’t my first or second time getting great service from Lawtons, but the third time. I have had very bad trust issues with auto mechanics in my 16 years of driving so when I moved to Albany and had my first auto issue, I searched online, went through many reviews, and called out to my friends on Facebook. One of my friends I work with went out of her way to highly recommend this place, and even though there weren’t many reviews online, I didn’t want to be rude so I hesitantly gave it shot. I had some difficulty making the very first appointment given my busy schedule, but Jerry got on the phone himself and squeezed me into the nearest time that was best for me.
I have since been back for 2 other issues… and Jerry Lawton has only charged me… once. The one time he charged me, it was extremely reasonable for brake and rotor replacement on my 10 year old car which I specifically asked him for. The other two times, I asked him to inspect the car and troubleshoot for loud dangerous sounding noises and wheel/​suspension/​strut issues and he repaired both times with minimal time and did not charge me. Even though the issues were not major overhauls, they still took time, effort, and know-​how to diagnose and fix the problem. I could not believe each time that he simply handed my keys back with a smile and said all fixed and no charge. He also has NEVER made some random recommendation on some next thing to fix. In fact, he has actually told me when it WASN’T worth fixing something yet!
I am now a loyal customer. You will not find a more honest, friendly, affordable place for quality work. The customer service is out of this world. I will be moving in the near future and I feel bad for the mechanics where I plan on moving because Jerry has set the bar very very high.

My husband and I have used Lawton Automotive for many years and have always been impressed with the service and price. The owner Jerry is incredibly knowledgeable, honest and his prices are consistently below other estimates. It would be a mistake not to get an estimate from this garage.

My car was brought here last year on the recommendation of a tow truck driver when my car’s starter failed. They came in below expected cost, service was prompt and courteous, and everything worked fine afterwards. All in all, a quality local operation, highly recommended.