Ball Square Auto Repair

I live up the street, so I thought it would be great to have a local fix-​it shop I could trust and recommend, but sorry to say I’m now a warning instead of an evangelist.
I got new brakes and an inspection done in November (failed but knew I would), When I showed up for the re-​test a few weeks later, they had closed up shop for the winter. No notice, no nothing. Closed for over a month. I paid another place to do my inspection. $ 30 down the drain. Then my new brakes started squealing in march. I took it to another shop, who told me the brake pads were fine (as far as wear) but whoever did it put the cheapest ones on he could find (given the option, always go for ceramic. I was not given options), so now I have loud brakes to live with. I tried to get in touch with the owner (or anyone there), but no one ever picked up to answer their phone.
Treat your car right: Look elsewhere and don’t waste your money on this place that should be closed soon.

I went to Ball Square to get my mass inspection sticker and they wanted to charge me extra to put the license plates on my car ($ 2 per plate) and refused to let me put them in myself. Awful service. I immediately left and went down to road to Sunoco, where they didn’t charge me. Don’t waste your time. Don’t get nickel and dimed.

Ive waited a long time to write this review but each time i drive by i get more and more upset about the experience i had here. I live down the street and have been going here for this and that for years… the guy that runs it is always kind of rude, old man syndrome… nothing i hate more then supporting a business by paying for services that they provide and getting attitude. The last incident threw me over the edge and i will never step foot in there again. i was charged $ 85 for an oil change! I was charged labor cleaning oil off the engine apparently. the advertisement outside offers a $ 29 oil change with of course some exclusions, which i understand but seriously. I really think you owe your customer a phone call when you realize the work your doing on their vehicle is going to be 3 times what you advertise. do not go here.

I had to get my breaks fixed and wanted it to be done in the same day. I went right in and told the guy the problem and he took it in and called me about an hour later explaining the problems. I then was worried about how much everything was costing so I asked if there was some work I could go without and he said he would knock down the price of the parts to help me out.
They were very helpful and at the end he showed me everything they did with prices next to it and what I read online and found out through research the guy did me a huge favor!
Some people have written this is not a friendly place but they were very nice. its not the kind of place that you would go in to chat someones ear off. its a place to get your car fixed and they did a great job.

If you want good friendly service, this is not the place to go. The owner was very rude. I brought my car in for state inspection for not knowing having a frame around the license plate is illegal. He wanted to charge me for removing the frame otherwise he would fail me on the inspection. I declined his offer and wanted borrower his screwdriver as anyone can easily remove screws and take the frame out. He shouted at me and said nothing is free unless I want to work for me. So he failed me. I don’t think I would ever say that to any customer in a loud and rude attitude. I asked for refund of the inspection because the inspection hasn’t even started yet. Guess what? His response was «no, I inspected the visibility of the licence plate. you can come back for re-​test for free.»
If I could give them zero stars, I would definitely do that.

Zero stars. THIS SHOP SOLD ME A CAR THAT PUT MY LIFE AT RISK!!! The shop owner sold me a used car that had been declared unsafe to drive multiple times by another mechanic.
I was in an accident last fall and was really excited when I found a car for a great deal in the back lot of Ball Square Auto. The owner was REALLY nice, showed me how clean everything was under the hood, and let me take a test drive. There was nothing wrong with the engine, so it ran and sounded great. Three months later, something went very wrong with my breaks and Ball Square was closed, so I took it to Hillside Repair down Broadway. I knew the car had been to Hillside before because of an oil change sticker in the window.
It turns out the woman who had owned the car had been taking it to Hillside for years. In 2007, Hillside Auto told the woman the engine cradle was rotting and needed to be replaced. In 2008, they told her again. By early 2011, she was told the car was unsafe to drive. They put the car on the lift and showed me how the entire under-​side of the car is completely rotted. A large pot hole could have brought the whole thing crashing down. Hillsides printed their records for the car so I can bring them back to Ball Square to get my money back.
I AM a college girl who’s not 100% knowledgeable about cars, so I completely understand someone trying to take advantage of my lack of knowledge to con me out of more money than the car is worth. But to sell me a car that puts my life in danger, no matter what the price, is disgusting.

AVOID this place. Not trustworthy.
My car had a flat, so we took the car here because it’s very close to where I live. They fixed the flat OK — or well, we’ll see how well it lasts — but charged rather much for that. Then they noticed my inspection sticker was up this month, and jumped on the opportunity.
To pass inspection, I knew I was going to have the airbag unit on my (1995) car replaced; another mechanic had diagnosed it already and quoted me about $ 300 to replace it. But they said nah, let’s see if we can fix it… and charged us $ 120 in labor to check it out.
Then they put an inspection sticker on my car anyway, illegally, and told me I should be grateful it cost me $ 120 instead of the «over $ 1,000» it would cost to do the actual repair.
So for $ 149 (including $ 29 for the inspection), I have a sticker I shouldn’t have, a car that still needs $ 300 in repairs, and a bad taste in my mouth. I told them I’d never set foot in there again, and I won’t.

I really liked the service and attention that my car received at Ball Square Auto Repair. I took it in for an inspection soon after buying it and before a very long distance trip. The gentleman gave me a long list of what they did, what needed fixing, and what would need fixing. We talked to manage the repairs that were needed in order to pass inspection and I was satisfied with how much I had to pay.
On top of that, he did identify a trouble spot with my steering but suggested I get a few quotes for repairing this before coming back to him — which I plan to do, the quotes I received were pretty much the same as what he quoted. I felt I could trust the mechanic and he even took the time to show and explain to me everything in great detail.
In terms of how long the inspection and making those minor fixes took — I had my car in and out within half a day.
I am very satisfied.

I went here this morning to get my car inspected. They are open early, (I got there at 8:11 am) and they are very fast. (I was out by 8:40 am). The man who inspected my car was very polite, and I liked that he called me dear. They inspected my car and told me that I needed to have new windshield wippers replaced and that I had to take the vanity plates off my car because as of this year they only want your license plate visible on the car. Now I know a lot of people grumble that you go in for an inspection and they grumble because you have to get windshield wipers. But truth be told, I did need new windshield wippers. The reason I’m giving these guys a 5 star is because the man told me that he could reject me now, and I could go put my own windshield wipers on, and come back for a free reinspection. I thought that was very nice, you could leave and save a little money doing it yourself, or you could pay a little more for the convience of having it done right there. I happily just paid them there so I could be done with it and I was really happy to find a place where the mechanics don’t talk down to you, and they treat you kindly.

I had a nail in my tire and a need for a quick oil change, another Unilocaler (Barbara Ann) suggested this place based on past experience and location. I am very glad she did.
The garage opens early in the morning (Either 6:15 or 7:15) and they start work at 8. I brought my car in (after calling the day before) at 7:30 and got a phone call around 8:30 telling me that the work I requested was done. They also advised me on what else my car might need and how dire it would be if I didn’t get it done immediately. So I had them change the battery… a few hours later, I got another call telling me my car was finished and that they would stay open late for me to get down there. I think they normally close around 4, but they stayed there till 5 ish for me.
The service was great, my car is in much better shape, and I didn’t even have to take time off from work to get this taken care of. The costs weren’t that high (An oil change is 20 bucks there) and they gave me a free key chain! :)