H A V Auto Services, Inc

These guys were amazing! Fastest and cheapest servive on my volvo! I will definitely be returning! Thanks HAV :)

I have 76k on my Volvo SUV now and for the first four years I took it to the dealer diligently because it came with 5 years free maintenance. But I had a long trek to the dealer and getting a loaner and stuff always made it more work for me. BUt I live so close to HAV but only started using them last year. What a great small business. Owner, staff, techs, very pleasant and prompt. I had to get a new tire, and fix a part of my window seal that was leaking — boom, in and out in minutes.
Also integrity — I had a check engine light — they said, call your dealer, see if the catalytic converter was under warranty, and it was. So one more trip to the dealer is coming, but they didn’t have to say that. I hope to keep the Volvo for another 75k and rely on HAV to help me keep it going!

I have an older Volvo and found HAV thru Unilocal.After reading the reviews and talking with Art, I set up an appointment for some needed repairs. HAV did not disappoint. Art’s team was fast, efficient and pricing was very reasonable. They get how important it is to have a mechanically sound car to rely on and they don’t make problems to push up the repair bill. Art actually did not charge me for repair work that should have been done because they missed it the first time. I’ll be back, not because I have to, but because I feel like I have a new friend. Bob Raz

I am amazed, happy and thankful for this establishment. Everyone was extremely professional, the waiting room was clean and well organized. The most amazing and spectacular part of my experience was my oil change appointment was scheduled for 8am, I got there at 8:05am and my service was complete at 8:27am. I will not return to Catonsville Toyota again, I was at my wits end with Toyota’s service departments lack of professionalism, 2 – 3 hour wait for oil changes and exaggerated need for additional services, I thank everyone on Unilocal who suggested HAV Auto Services. I’ll definitely be back, what a way to start a weekend …:)

Since I’m new to Baltimore and Maryland in general, I relied on Unilocal for a new mechanic and stumbled upon HAV Auto Services, which has great reviews. Unilocal didn’t do me wrong. I brought in my Toyota Highlander today for an oil change. When I stopped by in the morning, I wasn’t aware that customers were supposed to make an appointment beforehand, but luckily, there were still appointments available in the afternoon. I’m glad they help their customers schedule appointments, so customers don’t have to wait hours for a simple service like an oil change. I came back again in the afternoon and Matt and the owner, Art, immediately got started on helping me. While I was waiting for my car, both Art and Matt were very friendly and made conversation. The oil change only took about 20 – 30 minutes. Their office is also clean, which is great. The price for the synthetic oil change was also reasonable, which I like since I’m a grad student and on a tight budget. I’ll definitely come back for any car maintenance or if my car has any issues. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this spot to anyone who needs their car fixed.

My husband and I used to take our cars to Art at HAV Auto when we lived in Baltimore. When we moved to California 8 years ago, we were sad because we knew we would never find another mechanic as good and honest as Art. Our Hondas are now 18 and 19 years old, each with about 200,000 miles, and we still occasionally call Art when our mechanic out here can’t figure out what is going on with them. Art is always so helpful and generous with his time, and usually suggests checking things our local mechanic (who specializes in Hondas) hadn’t thought of. If we could afford it, we would fly Art to CA every time ours cars needed servicing — he’s that great!

Gonna keep this short: I went to these guys for a pre-​buy inspection on a cheap car today. They spent over an hour on it, told me all sorts of stuff was iffy with the car I hadn’t known about, and they didn’t even charge. (Not that we should ever expect this kind of charity service… but man, was this a kindness.) I am very grateful for their generosity; it was my first experience with the shop, they obviously had no investment in fishing for my business, they just came through in a way that was really impressive. Mad respect.

You know a place is good when you give them 5 stars and you didn’t have to have any work done on your car. I had my car serviced by H A V in April. Had to get a new alternator. Unilocal did not do me wrong. Everything that everyone said about this shop was right on the money. Well, over the weekend my car started doing the same thing that it did back in April. All I could see was $$$ cha-​ching. I took my car back to H A V. No problem. It was my battery. Fortunate for me, it was still under warranty so I didn’t need any work. I picked up my car and H A V presented me with a report that showed that my battery was low and explained the various levels. As I pulled off the parking lot, I noticed that my dash board was no longer lit up like a Christmas tree. They had replaced my wiper fluid and filled my tire with air. What GREAT customer service. I recommend this spot to EVERYONE!!!

I’ve been bringing my Toyota Rav4 here for the past 2 years since I moved to Catonsville, and I could not be happier. The staff is always friendly, very knowledgeable, and very honest about what you do (or do not) need to get done. Their prices are reasonable and the work has always been done right the first time. For as busy as they are, they’ve always been great about finding time for same-​day service for things like a quick oil change or patching a hole from a screw in my tire. I would highly recommend them!

I’ve been going to HAV for four years now and have had nothing but great experiences. They’re honest about what needs to be done, how urgent it is, and whether it’s worth it; they don’t try to push repairs you don’t need. I’ve recommended them to my friends, and they have all had great experiences as well. I’m currently looking for a new car and am only considering cars that HAV works on.

My 06 civic suddenly had muffler problems and I came across HAV repair shop after reading previous Unilocal reviews. They provided me a fare price for the repair. The shop was courteous and performed the repair work in less than a day. They will definitely have me back as a customer.

I’ve been coming here for the past 3 – 4 oil changes now after reading about them on Unilocal.I couldn’t stand the 2 – 3 hour wait times at the dealership for a simple oil change. I’ve never had an oil change go longer than 15 mins here. The mechanics are super nice and polite. And best of all, they’re honest. Highly recommended!

Great service– honest advice, quality and timely work!

I was looking for an alternative to the stealership… oops, I mean, dealership to work on my Lexus. It’s not a car that breaks down often, but the major interval maintenance services can add up. Based on the great reviews here and from the community, HAV seemed like the place to go… and it absolutely IS! Matt and the guys are great, and the prices are extremely fair with NO reduction in quality. A scheduled service (timing belt) that would normally run between $ 1400-​$ 1850 (parts included) elsewhere was done by HAV for just over $ 530, and was done the same day… dropped it off the night before and at 2P the following day, I got a call advising that it had been completed. Granted, I provided my own parts (a definite plus since a lot of shops won’t let you supply your own parts, even if they are the same ones they’ll be using), yet HAV’s ‘all included’ price was still waaaaayyyy cheaper than the other guys. I was even able to have additional work done (O2 sensors were starting to fail) and was still out the door for about $ 712…$ 10 cheaper than what Matt quoted. It may not sound like much, but it goes to HAV’s character… they’re not gonna do what doesn’t need to be done, what they will do will be done correctly, and what they charge is better than fair. I actually build racing engines as a hobby, but I’ll be taking my Lexus and Honda vehicles to HAV… they have a customer for life… anyone with a Lexus, Acura, Honda, or Volvo would be wasting money going anywhere else but HAV for service.

I found HAV on Unilocal when my car died and I needed an alternator. After waiting a long time (2−½ hrs) for a tow truck, we arrived late in the afternoon. Matt took my car in, he arranged a ride home for me, which was so kind – he did not have to do that. Within an hour he called me and let me know what the problem was and how much it cost. He said it was their last day before their holiday break and they wouldn’t be back until Jan 5^th. He managed to replace my alternator and drive belt within the next few hours! He also told my son about two other repairs I needed and which was the most pressing.
I have found my new mechanics and so glad I did. Matt, Chris.. . you’ve got a customer for life!

Great service at an honest price. It was raining and I was offered a ride back to my house three blocks away. Very kind mechanics.
They tell you the work you need and you are given a fair price. I would definitely recommend them. They will be my mechanic as long as I live here. And– as an added bonus– Matt the manager is certainly easy on the eyes. ;)

My fiancé decided to take his Toyota Matrix here a couple weeks ago after reading all of the great reviews online. The customer service that we received was outstanding and we very much felt the owner and the mechanics were honest, good people. They were knowledgeable, excellent at communicating, and straightforward with what needed to be fixed right away and what we could put off for a bit. The price they charged him for one of the issues was almost HALF of what the Toyota dealership estimated it would cost.
This week, the ABS and brake lights came on in my Prius and I was relieved we had found a trustworthy mechanic to take the car to. They diagnosed the problem being that my ABS pump needs replacement. Unfortunately, they are unable to do this in their shop, and he said I would need to take it to a Toyota dealership. Despite having taken substantial time and energy to diagnose the problem, find the parts that needed to be special ordered, and researching potential alternative solutions, he informed me that they would not charge me a diagnostic fee.
I HIGHLY recommend HAV Auto Services. Places like this are hard to come by.

My husband & I both had out cars (Acura and Volvo) act up on the same day — what are the odds? My husband did some digging around for a reliable shop while I was nagging that we should just head up 40 to drop them off at the dealership. Don’t tell my husband I said so, but he was so right to come to HAV! My car (2002 Acura) needed a new transmission and Matt was totally frank that I could pay the 4500 to service it, but there were known issues with the engine and once the transmission went, it was just downhill. He advised that I drive it up to CarMax and take their offer, which was exactly what I did. I was amazed that after one experience with HAV, I factored them in my decision about what to buy next so they could still service it.
My husband and his Volvo came out of the visit for less than 350 for the combustion coil. That would have easily cost us 600+ at the Volvo dealership.
These guys are our new service team. It’s really a no-​brainer.

Finally! A honest and efficient mechanic who knows what they are talking about and isn’t intent on bleeding you dry! I will never go to a Volvo Dealership for service again! Thank you Matt and crew!

We saved about $ 600 here.
My fiancé’s Civic had worn front bushings – its a common problem for those cars. The bushings themselves are inexpensive parts but you need special tools to extract and replace them. Other shops don’t have the specific tools so they replace the entire control arm, which is expensive. Since HAV specializes they invested in the tools and can do the job much more economically. I got two quotes from other shops between $ 900-​$ 1,100 and HAV were able to make the repair for about $ 300. You bet I’ll call them again when we need service!