Abe’s Complete Auto Service

I pulled into Abe’s with a broken transmission that felt like it was going to either explode or fall out of the car. I could tell that something was severely wrong with it — I couldn’t get past 3^rd gear and it was starting to buck. I had plans for the weekend so I asked Eli if I could leave it at Abe’s to be checked out and if they would keep it over the weekend regardless of whether or not I decided to have them do the work or have it towed somewhere else. He said that was absolutely no problem and he would call me.
A few hours later Eli told me the bad news that the transmission had completely failed. However instead of trying to screw me over he gave me the option of either rebuilding the transmission (which he said would be expensive) or replacing it with a used transmission (which he said would be cheaper).
I called a family friend who is a mechanic and asked my father-​in-​law who is a car nut and does a lot of work (but not transmissions) and they both thought the price on the replacement tranny was extremely competitive and surprisingly fair.
I did some additional research and told Eli to move forward with the work. About a day and a half later the work was done and my car drives like «new» again.
Overall I was very pleased dealing with something that sucks to have to pay for. Fair pricing, great communication, great flexibility, great work and an overall positive experience.

It’s rare that I write reviews, but my experience has been completely different than some of the negative ones described here. I’m not exactly informed when it comes to cars (and in truth, I don’t care much beyond having a functional car and not paying more than I should). Said differently, I’d be a pretty easy target if a mechanic wanted to take advantage. Fortunately, my father (a mechanical engineer who knows cars well) reviews everything for me.
Over the last 10 years or so, I’ve gone in for little things like replacing bulbs in brake lights, inspection, etc. and stuck with the dealer for anything significant. As my car got older, I had a couple of belts and things replaced. Each time, dad reviewed the estimates and the work and was impressed.
A few weeks ago, I came in with a few issues (including body work and a windshield replacement). They managed to save me time and money — recommended waiting on something I was told needed replacing, gave me a detailed estimate (and came in exactly as promised), dealt with my insurance company, and worked around my crazy travel schedule. Did they recommend other work? Yes. Work that clearly (even to me) needed doing. My car-​lovin’ father was again impressed with prices and said everything they recommended was exactly right. Ely and Naeem have always taken great care of me and regularly go out of their way to be fair and helpful (sometimes beyond what I expect). Now, I’m no authority; but my Dad? He knows.
Thanks to these guys, my 13-​yr-​old Audi runs almost like new.

This place is full of crooks! I would not recommend it to anyone!
The background: went there to get an oil change and tire rotation. My car is 1.5yrs with 25K miles.
The mechanic called me 5 times to show me stuff that is totally bogus. He said I need an alignment and a new set of rear brakes. I looked and the brakes and they had roughly about 90% of life left on them.
I’m not sure if he was taking me for a fool or didn’t know how to check how much brake life I have left but I do not appreciate being lied in my face or be taken as a fool.
If I had been more naïve or didn’t know anything about cars he would have totally ripped me off.
To top it off, he went to put back the tires and I noticed he was putting them in the SAME PLACE! I had to go and physically move the tire myself! That’s the most simple thing you can do, how do you mess it up?!? If I can’t even trust them to do a tire rotation correctly how can you trust them with other things?
The whole place is filled with sleazy scumbags that are there to rip you off. Very very very disappointed. Never going back there again. Beware!

These guys are TERRIBLE! The tried to tell me that several different things were wrong with my car which they weren’t! Broke my break light just so they could fix it and charge me more. Then they destroyed my engine by putting the wrong oil grade in. It says which grade to use on the cap! How do you mess that up?!

Watch out. I feel I was wrongly told about parts needing replacement on two occasions, costing me over $ 1,000 and still no resolution to my original (suspension) problem. Neighbors of mine experienced similar behavior and feel they too got fleeced. I will need to try a third time to fix my problem but not at Abe’s.

Eli and everyone else at Abe’s Complete Auto Service were absolutely wonderful. So kind, so helpful, and fairly priced services. I picked a random body repair shop and it turned out better than I could have ever imagined. Highly recommended. I plan to go back for any car services I might need again.

I don’t always feel comfortable when bringing my car to be maintenanced. I don’t always think the service people listen to me, and I am not always confident in my understanding of the situation.
However, Eli at Abe’s Complete Auto listened to what I was saying, asked questions to clarify, and made me feel comfortable right from the get go.
Now my car needed a lot of work, much more than I anticipated. But I never felt like I was being pushed or sold. Eli explained the problems from most critical to the least in a way that I could really understand; was upfront with me about what could wait and what couldn’t. And didn’t make me feel like I had to make a decision on the spot without thinking it over (or asking for a second opinion from someone who knows more about cars; my dad!).
I ended up having everything fixed that he suggested. And so far, a week later, I am very happy with the way the car runs. I have had no more problems and now have a car that is driving like new!
I’ll be a long term customer of Abe’s, but hopefully just for oil changes and inspection stickers for the foreseeable future!

brought my car… was not working correctly… did a diagnostic check list… and took care of the things I need to get the car back on road… they are reasonable and very quick…

I love these guys. I have been coming here for years– they are always nice and courteous, and I never feel like I am being scammed. They listen to you, too, which can be a rarity among car repair guys! They do a good job with repairs, and will work with you if you are on a budget, to say what you need done (to pass inspection, to be safe), vs. what is OK to put off until next time. Plus, their waiting room is totally dog-​friendly!

BEWARE!!! If you are buying tires from them (you shouldn’t), they will do their best to RIP you off, overcharging BIG TIME. I had an awful experience with them — poor/​deceitful communication. I ended up having them put my original tires back on and going to Sullivan Tire in Watertown, which is an honest and fair business. I can only speak to this one experience that I’ve had with them– obviously not going back.

I initially had a bad experience with this shop. I previously had a review documenting this experience, as well as a BBB claim. I have come to find that there is actually a fair and professional office staff (or at least one office individual named Chris that I know of) that is willing to make things right. That is exactly what he did. If you have trouble communicating with the mechanic (s), ask for Chris.

TL;DR: You may experience a bit of an upsell, but if you’re straight with them, they’ll be straight with you. Quick service and fair prices. Just ask them for as much detail as possible.
Long version:
Okay, so I didn’t really want to completely redo my brakes today. Call it a good sales job on their part. I came here to get an inspection sticker and left over $ 500 poorer. Sounds terrible, but it’s not.
I knew my brakes were wearing unevenly and I’d get around to it «eventually». Of course what better time to do this that during a state inspection? When talking to the shop manager, he was of course eager to take care of this right away. Sure enough after letting me look at the situation on the lift, I could use new brake rotors, pads, AND calipers. Lately I’ve placed a bit more value on my free time. So I asked him, «well, how quick can you get the parts and how fast can you do the job? I’ve got two hours.» He said they could, and could price match against what I was going to pay for the parts I could have bought online.
They offered to fix a few other things they observed, and I politely declined — they didn’t give up super easily, of course, but they eventually did exactly what I authorized and nothing more.
So, two hours of sitting around and watching the shop manager try to upsell a few other customers getting their inspections done, and the work was indeed complete. I did a quick inspection on the lift (they were nice enough to let me) and it all looked good. Drives well too.
One thing I wish they would do is provide the exact manufacturer and part numbers they used… I did ask for Centric parts in this case. I’ll double check but everything feels OK so far. Considering the scope of the job, I think I paid a fair price. They didn’t double dip on labor charges, which in this case is great.

I can recommend these mechanics.
Fixing a car is rarely cheap, but many shops make a living on ripping off customers.
I had a rattling noise on my old RX330 for awhile, brought it to Lexington Auto Engineering (authorized Lexus provider) and they not just didn’t fix it, but they also gave me lots of BS about needing to replace expensive parts, in both exhaust system and rear brakes. Their estimate was sky high. I knew a half of that wasn’t true so I continued to drive until I needed an inspection sticker.
So I pulled over to Mobil Gas station during my evening commute for gas and to get a sticker. Abe’s is their service station. They found an issue with exhaust (which was NOT fixed, and not even detected by authorized service in Lexington), they took me under my car and showed me what parts need to be replaced and gave me a fair estimate. They worked till 8pm and fixed everything.
I’ve been to many shops around Boston area and these guys seem to be fair and honest. They welded my exhaust, fixed the leak, fixed the noise and replaced brake pads. Fair and square. No gimmicks, no BS — exactly what I appreciate in business.