Auto Stop

John P.‘s 11÷12÷15 review is 100% spot on in describing this over-​hyped scam shop. These «friendly» and «transparent» people are not honest or fair when it comes to major parts work. I had the worst experience that one fears having when going to a mechanic and John P.‘s review makes me realize that I’m not alone. I do not usually leave negative reviews but I have no choice in this instance because going to the mechanic should not be a nightmare as it was here for me.
They misdiagnosed my engine light problem and made me replace what may have been an unrelated part and significantly overcharged me for the part and labor (I realized this after a second quote elsewhere after their repeated attempts at «servicing» my vehicle failed to provide any resolution). In fact, they didn’t correct (or let alone realize) all of the other issues that were associated with the engine light going on in the first place and the light kept coming on every day after the repair (I spent 3 days almost back to back returning to their shop). Each time, they never gave me any clear clue about what the reason might be and acted aloof/​confused/​unconcerned and kept asking me to leave my car with them. I got a sense that they never took the time to do a full analysis or just didn’t care enough to do one, as if they lack pride and integrity in the quality of their work. Finding a quick way to superficially diagnose things in order to make a quick profit, especially when dealing with people who are not very knowledgeable about car repair, is really low. For example, they performed a basic smoke test and didn’t even identify that a cracked pipe that was leaking smoke needed to be replaced. Only after having a smoke test done elsewhere did I learn this along with other associated repairs that were needed that I hadn’t even heard about from the Auto Stop guys. I’ve heard of dragging out repair work to nickel and dime someone or just trying to ignore them altogether until they run into a much bigger (re: more expensive) problem but doing all of that while playing with someone’s safety has to be the worst thing.
Each time I brought my car back when the engine light kept coming on, their service guys kept getting unfriendlier until I felt like I was unwelcome. They were reluctant and evasive about helping me resolve what I unsuccessfully paid them to fix! The cost, headache, and dishonest attitude of these people (who by the way will put on a very friendly act) is the last thing I’d want anyone else to experience.
If you insist on coming here, please save yourself some long run disappointment, time, and money and ALWAYS get a second opinion or even third opinion elsewhere. You might be VERY surprised to learn the truth about what they diagnose/​quote you. Despite the friendly act and the free initial diagnosis (they’ll charge you for that «free diagnosis» in later service fees, trust me), it was my experience that they did not have the best interest of the customer/customer’s safety in mind at all. I used to be a regular customer for minor work without any red flags so I never expected this kind of fraudulent treatment. I think the good reviews on here are mostly for those simpler, standardized services but please do not be mislead if you have major work to get done.
I will never come here again.

Warning to other customers who think that this repair shop is honest and fair. Long story short, they’re not honest or fair.
I came to this repair shop after searching for honest repair shops and this place fit the bill based on Unilocal reviews. I came in to get my tires aligned because my car was steering to the right.
I dropped it off at 9am. 2 hours later, they call me saying I need to also do the following things:
1. Get 2 new tires
2. 4 new spark plugs
3. New air filter
4. 4 new brake pads and 2 new rotors
5. Brake fluid flush
6. Induction service
7. Transmission flush
Total cost: $ 1,600.
I was in shock. The car ran completely fine beforehand and showed no signs of those issues beforehand. Thinking that they might have caught some issues I wasn’t aware of, I almost agreed to have all this work done.
However, I decided to bring my car to another repair shop to have them double check it. This time, I watched them do the checks and explain to me what they were doing.
They showed me how the brake fluid was in perfect condition, how the spark plugs didn’t need to be changed for another 15k miles, how only 1 tire should be changed (but it still had a few k miles left), and how I didn’t need to do the induction service or transmission flush yet.
In short, I only needed about $ 600 worth of work done on my car, NOT $ 1,600.
This repair shop tried to steal $ 1,000 from me for work that wasn’t needed to be done on the car.
Buyer beware — you have better options out than this shop.

Very impressed! The two guys that I talked to at the desk were very friendly and professional. They got me in right away and they didn’t try and sell me anything with my oil change. They showed me what my car looked like underneath and what I should keep an eye on for the future. I am overall thoroughly impressed!

Awesome shop! Very honest, polite and timely. I walked in telling them I was sure I needed a new transmission. Instead of taking me to the cleaners, they conducted a thorough inspection, determined the real problems with my car and gave me several cost effective options to address it. They are great!

I always come here to get my car maintenance (oil change, fluid check, tire rotation, etc.) but i had a problem with my window regulator. I didnt see window repair as a service on the website so I originally contacted another local shop that specialized in windows, before heading in and i called Auto Stop, out of curiosity i asked if they happened to repair window regulators, and they do! I would recommend this shop to anyone looking for a «One Stop Shop» they have a great staff and great prices.

Phenomenal auto shop with excellent mechanics and employees. I’ve gone to this auto shop for my state inspection twice with a week’s time frame — each time for a different vehicle. Both vehicles passed with no issues. I highlight this because I’m am in the military and stationed in Maryland. Since my vehicle is registered in VA, I am subject to the yearly state inspections as required of VA registered vehicles.
For the past two years, I’ve taken my vehicle to another location, and each time, both vehicles needed something replaced, fixed, or added in order to pass inspection. What’s interesting, is reading some of the recent reviews of that location, everyone is complaining about the same repair always needing to be made — a headlight readjustment or something similar. Yes, that same repair was recommended to me on both vehicles each time, but so were many other «required» repairs. I’ve never walked away paying any less than $ 150 for a vehicle to pass the state inspection.
The folks at Auto Shop were fantastic. Although I didn’t have issues with my vehicle (thankfully), I heard them on the phone with other customers and they seemed open and honest. They were never pushy with repairs, and they would state which repairs were really needed and what repairs were merely recommendations. I didn’t consider them pushy at all.
From now on, my state inspections will be done by this location. I am completely comfortable with these gentlemen and I know they are looking out for the customer, not themselves. I can’t say the same for my former state inspection station.
Also, although I didn’t need to use it, the Auto Shop offers military discounts on work. Not the state inspection because that is a set price as per the state, but any repairs they perform are discounted for military. Definitely appreciated!

This is my second time at Auto Stop for care of my Saab 93. It’s great to have a local and honest mechanic and I always trust this place to do what’s right with my car without shady practices. My oil change was done in under an hour on a busy morning, since I waited for it. However, they do have shuttle service that will take you where you need to be while your car is being worked on.

I’ve been coming to Auto Stop for years, and I wouldn’t trust anybody else with my car. They have had so many opportunities to take advantage of me, but this shop is 100% honest and does not perform unnecessary work. I’m sure there are other places that are a bit cheaper, but I wouldn’t risk my car with anybody else. Highly recommended!

Stopped in here in order to get the inspections for VA. I’m new to the area. The mechanics are really nice… the service was done really fast.

Brought my car for an annual inspection and they were straight forward and honest. Told me what needed to be fixed but didn’t charge me with a bunch of others stuff.

By far the best repair shop I’ve found in town. They were quick to fix everything wrong with our poor breaking down car. They were nice enough to tell us what the priority was, and what could wait. Completely knowledgeable and friendly. They seriously will bend over backwards for their clients. If you’re wondering where to go, go here. You won’t regret it.

Brought my car into Auto Stop in addition to another shop in Leesburg and Auto Stop was legitimately double the costs for the exact same services. Not an emotional response, strictly facts (btw I also had a third store inspect my car, for the exact same repairs, and they were still significantly less than Auto Stop).
I would absolutely NOT recommend this place. Driving an extra 30 minutes to a reliable shop was well worth the extra thousands (yes, thousands) of dollars that I saved. I hope this doesn’t come across as me trying to promote another shop, I’m not. I did my due diligence and took my car to 3 different places, asked for them to review and quote the same exact services and Auto Stop was not even in the same ballpark as the other two.
The repairs I’m referring to here are simple things like brakes, ball joints, sway bar, etc. pretty basic stuff that requires very straight forward parts so apparently Auto Stop has magical technicians with fingers of gold performing the actual services as compared to everyone else.

Honest, reasonable, and very respectful. I am a young woman in my early twenties, and am usually a prime target for con artists and schemers, but was treated with nothing but respect at Auto Stop. Already recommending them to others.

Disclaimer: This is a FYI post since I didn’t actually take my car in here.
I need a quick brake pad replacement for my 2010 Nissan Rogue and called Auto Shop for a quote. I had already bought some brake pads from Autozone and was hoping they would install them for me, but they don’t accept outside parts for install. Just keep that in mind if you buy your own parts and are looking for someone to install them.

They just saved me $ 2200! Had my Audi at the dealer and they said I had all kinds of issues. Took it to Auto Stop and found out they lied to me on all but one item. That would have been $ 2000 at the dealer and they charged $ 1300. All told saved a ton. So glad these guys are here and are so honest. Highly recommend them. Avoid Audi of Arlington!!!

Great customer service, helped me after being lied to by another repair shop. I will be returning here!

The rave reviews and high ratings people give this place boggle my mind. First of all, Tom’s is 20 percent more expensive than nearly every other mechanic in Arlington, and even more expensive than many dealerships.
Secondly, on multiple occasions, they recommended service to me that was unnecessary, going so far as to claim that my car «wouldn’t pass inspection» unless I replaced the rear brakes (13 months and two state inspections later I am still on the same rear brake pads). They also told me that my car was not safe to drive out of the shop unless I spent nearly $ 1000 replacing the front sway bar arms and ball joints. I took it anyway and «barely» made it to another mechanic who told me that they had a little give, but were far from dangerous.
I’m now convinced that they have squeezed hundreds or even thousands of dollars out of me with these bullying and borderline unethical sales tactics. I won’t be going there again. I’ve been to my share of mechanics that I didn’t trust, but Tom’s is the only place I’ve been able to verify was outright lying to me.
Oh, and they are huge pain about appointments. I sent my wife by to have a flat tire plugged (just a nail in it), something that any garage can and usually will do while you wait since it takes about 10 minutes. They said that, since she didn’t have an appointment, she would have to come back in 3 days. For something that would take 10 minutes. She went down the street to a gas station and they fixed it for her right away.
They might be great if you know cars and can discern the unnecessary from the vital repairs (I certainly don’t). And they are awesome if you love paying top dollar for services that are already overpriced in this area. Otherwise, stay away.

Brought in my car for alignment and the service writer edwin was very courteous and explain the problem in non car vocabulary.
I also had a noise that Bmw refused to admit it was not normal but the auto stop took their time to diagnose and address the problem. They have earned my business and will be taking my car in here for maintenance from now on.

Their manager/​owner sent me an email regarding my issues with the control arms they replaced. I appreciated their attempt to get in touch with me, but I had already gotten rid of the car by that point so it was kind of a moot point.
A friend took his Nissan truck in to get the suspension worked on and he was quite displeased with the work as well. Take it for what it is worth (though my friend is a meticulous car owner), but Tom’s Auto had put in the wrong type of shocks for his truck.
He took the truck back and they replaced the shocks.

I’ve only been here for an oil change but my car was definitely running better after the oil change since I was a few hundred miles overdue. What is important to note is that they only charge about $ 65-​$ 75 for a synthetic oil change. The place I used to go to on Fayette Street (Automotive Service Garage) charged $ 120 for a synthetic oil change — that is the same amount that Lindsay Lexus charges! If you need a synthetic oil change, do yourself a favor and come here!
They also told me about some problems that I had but didn’t push it on me. They told me how much it would cost and said I’d totally be find to wait and fix it on my next oil change which I thought was cool. Seem like honest, friendly folks.
P. S. If you have dog (s), very conveniently located to walk over to Shirlington Dog park while you wait.