Beahm’s Auto Service

I finally got fed up with my Toyota dealer when the price to replace the timing belt on a 2004 minivan kept climbing and climbing, along with associated work that «had to be done at the same time,» like a new water pump, crankshaft seals, etc. Plus they seem to find a $ 400 leak in my transmission pan gasket every two years, like clockwork. Add the extra fees (dealer service fee??) and charges that get added at the end, amounting to another $ 400 for nothing! So I read the reviews here and called Beahm’s. Mr. Beahm himself answered. I dropped the car off this morning at 7, and by 2 pm Mike Beahm was calling me to tell me it was ready, and for less than he had estimated — which was quite reasonable to start with. Even after I had told him all the work the dealer said was needed, he did his own assessment and determined only the timing belt itself needed replacement. Needless to say, I will be using him when I need to replace the brakes in another few thousand miles. I trust him and like doing business with an independent businessman whose name is on the sign. Sold.

The guys at Beahm’s are super-​friendly, honest, and respectful. They never try to upsell or pitch unnecessary repairs, and they get things done when they say they will. It’s like taking my car to have my grandpa work on it… and I mean that in the best possible way.

Due to some bad car luck, I’ve unfortunately had the opportunity to try out several car repair shops in the last three months. Each time I’ve gone to a different shop, and Beahm’s gets my vote! This time around I needed the plastic shield just under the front bumper either removed or replaced since it had popped off and was scraping, and I needed new brakes/​rotars. I dropped it off first thing in the morning and 25 mins later I received a call back letting me know the estimate of work needed, parts, and cost. The work was done by noonish, and I picked it up just before 5. While I’m always skeptical of mechanics as I feel like I’m going to get ripped off, I actually felt like these guys were trustworthy (especially because their evaluation of work necessary was in line with what I had previously been told about the brakes.)! All of the shop guys were quite nice. I will call on Beahms again should I so need (fingers crossed I won’t for while)! My only negative comment is that the 5pm closing time makes it difficult for the typical worker bee. However the shop does open at 7:30, so that’s a long work day for them.

I started to notice an unpleasant grinding sound when I started the car and drove at low speeds. I called Beahm’s and talked to Michael who said to come by and he would take a look. He started up the car, listened and promptly diagnosed it as a loose exhaust cover. Which makes sense since I was in a minor fender-​bender the previous weekend (which he didn’t know). He offered to fix it for a very reasonable price that morning. I opted not to since I have to get the body shop to fix the dented fender anyway. But he was friendly, responsive, competent and demonstrably honest. I’ll definitely go back with my next service issue.

I definitely trust this place. Brought my car there because I thought it sounded funny and they checked it out told me it was fine (which it was and has been – this happened over a year ago). Didn’t charge me a dime. As a young female who doesn’t know anything about cars, I always worry about getting scammed, but I’ve never felt that way over the many years I’ve been bringing my car to Beahm’s.

Beahm’s was recommended to me by a friend after Herb Gordon Nissan told me a cabin air filter replacement would be $ 180. I dropped my 2010 Maxima (44K miles) off to Beahm’s, and informed him that I was told I needed the filter and the other services that were recommended by the dealership was a transmission flush and a brake fluid flush. Mike was very nice and called me when the car was ready. He told me he checked my fluids and all were squeaky clean and nothing needed to be flushed at this time. The cabin filter service cost me $ 40. REALLY??? That’s a $ 140 savings. The other unecessary services the dealership recommended was an additional $ 300. I found Beahm’s to be honest and they provided me with friendly, prompt service. I’ll definitely be returning.

Scammer. I took my car hear to have my transmission looked at. This place was recommended by a few friends (in their early 20s and don’t work on cars themselves, so grain of salt with the recommendation). I wanted to like this place because it is conveniently located.
First, they tried to tell me I needed a whole new transmission, which I didn’t — a transmission flush did the job fine (at another garage). Then they tried to sell me a new transmission — for a 13 year old car. So two scams right off the bat. To make matters worse, they clearly didn’t even look under the hood. He admitted that they only plugged in the diagnostic computer and copied out the code.
They were nice and friendly, I’ll give them that.

Beahm’s is how auto service should be: honest people, a fair price and reliable work. My wife has taken her car there twice with great results. They even fixed something for less than $ 200, that the dealership said would cost over $ 600! I highly recommend Beahm’s to everyone I know.

I discovered a fuel leak under my 1994 Ford E 150 conversion van while filling up a while back, which was alarming, to say the least. I ended up taking it to Beahm’s on my Toyota mechnic’s recommendation, since he was reluctant to work on it. They were under the van seemingly before it had come to rest in their shop. Within minutes it was determinded that the fuel filler hose had a serious split in it, so they jumped on the phone to get some pricing. Of course you can’t just buy the fuel hose, you have to buy all the clamps and flanges and all this other stuff, estimate $ 400+ labor. OUCH! The boss was busy following up on other pricing options when I noticed a similar hose hanging way up on the wall among a bunch of radiator hoses and pointed it out to the boss. He said, «I don’t know what it is but let’s take a look.» As it turned out it was a Ford fuel filler hose, exactly what I needed, which had been hanging there for who knows how long. $ 100 later and I was out the door.
Yeah, they may seem a little rough around the edges, but I’d call that character. They’ve been there a long time, they are trustworthy and I’ll be taking my van to them from now on.

You really get what you pay for here. These guys need to be told exactly what you want, but they’re great for tuneups and basic service.

They open early, and I have yet to need an appointment. I dropped off my car today around 8:45am, and it was ready by 9:30am. I got a 90k mile service along with a general vehicle check to ensure it was in tiptop shape before giving it to a relative. I have used them intermittently for my 30k, 60k, and random services over the years. I’ve always found the service to be fast and reasonably priced; I’ve never felt gouged nor have I worried about them coming up with fake problems to charge more. They are located next door to an auto parts store, so most regular parts are readily available.
I highly recommend them for your regular maintenance.

We dropped our Mazda 5 space-​wagon/​mini-​SUV with Beahm’s on Sunday night for work on Monday. This is a 2006 (original model) year car. We’d had a noisy suspension issue for some time and we also wanted to have the car checked out before a planned road trip.
I called the week ahead to find out if we needed to make an appointment and was assured we could just drop it off the night before, no problem. We did so on Sunday night.
By 9AM Monday, there was a message on my voicemail with an assessment of all issues. When I called back, I got a detailed run down of what was found (an issue with bushings and struts, plus rear tires out of round) and was given a verbal estimate of cost. Mike (Beahm?) told me that whether they could repair it that day depended on whether they could get the sole-​source Mazda parts that day, but they would try.
Later, when I called back, they told me they expected to be able to do all of the work (bushings, struts, scheduled oil change, and other safety checks) by 5pm.
Sure enough, I was able to pick up the car at 5pm, all work done, and the car felt like it was new (except for the noise from out-​of-​round rear tires, which we were told we could leave until they wore out or buy new tires; no pressure from Beahm’s, we’ll assess our options on our schedule). The price was about one third what I’d expected, based on my experience with the dealer.
The car really does ride and sound great, and it was a very pleasant experience (really, I’d been waiting for this for at least three years; I actually took it out on the road to FIND bumps and holes to make it make noise, to no avail). Mike (and others there) sound like real mechanics (a bit gruff but knowledgable), so don’t have other expectations. Just the facts.
Based on our experience over the last 24 hours (and without an opportunity to drive the car for an extended basis), I’d recommend Beahm’s highly.

I first came here on recommendation from a friend who knows cars. Most recently, I went after the dealer told me I needed new belts for $ 200; Beahm’s told me the belts were fine, I just needed them tightened (which makes sense, they’re only 50K miles old) and charged $ 20. Another time, dealer suggested various things totaling $ 2K+; Beahms took care of it for about $ 400.
And when the check engine light was on, they checked it, told me it was just because the gas cap hadn’t been tightened all the way at some earlier point (it was fine that day — I’d checked it), and didn’t charge me a thing.
Customer service is not warm and fuzzy, but these guys do a good job.

Beahms was my father’s mechanic shop of choice, but I’ve stuck with them not out of tradition but because of their personal service and their standing behind their product. My dedication is such that I’ve stuck with them even after I moved closer to Baltimore.
They’re good at talking through different options, even over the phone. They’ve never stuck me with an unreasonable bill, and they’ve been especially reasonable when it came to follow up work. What drove me to do my review today was that they were able to throw in a fix to my locked out car radio as part of my oil change after two different dealership mechanics told me it would be at least $ 100 on its own to do the necessary change. Beahm has good people.

I didn’t take my car here because of the rudeness I encountered on the phone. I called to make an appointment and explained the problem. When I told him that the car is a Mitsubishi Eclipse, he started laughing and put me on hold. When he came back on the line, he told me to take the car to a dealer because it’s too hard to get parts for the car. This has never happened to me before. No auto shop has ever said anything like that before. If they can’t get parts for cars, then they shouldn’t be in the auto repair business.

my experience with Mr. Beahm was a surreal one, to say the least.
let me explain.
so, i had been noticing that my ignition had been intermittently slow to spark over the past few weeks and was perplexed as to what could be the possible auto ailment. none of the check engine lights were coming on, so there were no codes to check. i took it in to a nearby auto parts store to have the battery and alternator checked and they were fine. my thoughts now turned to a possible problem in the fuel line/​system.
sure enough, the next morning, the old bastard wouldn’t turnover. cue — AAA. now i have tried a couple of area mechanics in the hopes of finding one to be my main mechanic, but after living in the Sprung area for almost 8 years now ~ i have yet to find one. cue — Mr. Beahm. after reading the reviews on this here Unilocal site and some other word-​of-​mouth recommendations, i decided that now was a good time to give Mr. Beahm, an old timer, good olé boy from the days when DC could actually be considered a southern city, a shot at becoming my main mechanic.
after the AAA driver was able to start my car (yeah, i don’t know either), i drove on over to Mr. Beahm’s shop and dropped off my car. i told him about my problems, gave him my number, and he said he’d give me a call after he had taken a look at it. simple enough. cue — me chilling out at some of the local coffee shops. four hours later… no call.
i took it upon myself to walk back to the shop to inquire about the diagnosis. Mr. Beahm did a bit of a double take when he saw me in the driveway of his shop. i politely asked about the possible length of time that the work would take. he looked perplexed for a second, then muttered, ‘oh, you want to get going dontcha?’ i then got a rambling dissertation upon the possible problems which finally ended with — ‘i bet it’s the fuel filter. i’ll change it for you and get you out of here in 20 minutes.’ cue — me and coffee again. 20 minutes later, i get a call from Mr. Beahm.
the fuel filter is changed for the tune of 60 dollars. i then got another lecture, this time about my old fuel filter, which he really wanted me to blow into (yeah, i don’t know either), finished off with 2 pieces of advice if the problems came back: 1. jiggle the key in the ignition a couple of times, and 2. have someone kick just under the fuel cap in order to get it to turnover. at this point, i’m way late for work. screw it. the car works and i take off.
two days later. the car won’t start. so much for the fuel filter. cue — AAA again. i tow the car in, and this time, because i am working downtown, i drop off the car for the day and take the metro to work. Mr. Beahm tells me he’ll give me a call later.
it’s 1pm. i have yet to receive a call, so i call Mr. Beahm. he seems pretty annoyed that i called him about my vehicle. he says that his guys are looking into the situation and that he would call me with the diagnosis. uh, ok. there’s not much i can do at this point. around 3pm he returns my call, informing me that his guys are putting in a new fuel pump.
i seem to forget the part where i gave him permission to go ahead and begin work on my car, especially minus an estimate, but sure enough, that’s just what he did. Mr. Beahm obviously lives in a world of one way conversations, but at this point i have zero to nil options due to the facts that the car won’t start and i don’t have another place i could take it to, so i facepalm and mutter, ‘fine.‘
i get a call a half hour later. the car works. the fuel and air filter total $ 395 and total labor is $ 250. he says that he saved me $ 200 on the fuel pump, but fuel pumps for my vehicle range from $ 200-​$ 400, so i remain doubtful of the veracity of that statement.
either way, it’s been a couple weeks since i have taken my car in for the second time to Mr. Beahm’s shop and there has not been a problem with starting my car with the new fuel pump. that is the only reason why i have given Beahm’s a three star review. the process was painful, but the end result was satisfactory.

$ 240 for front brake pads? No thank you. Brake pads themselves cost around $ 60 from an auto parts store. So either they’re selling them at an exorbitant upcharge or they’re delusional enough to think their labor is worth $ 200 to spend 10 minutes replacing brake pads. I’m a 24 year old woman so maybe they were just trying to take advantage of me, but unfortunately for them I’m just not that stupid. I wonder if they’d treat their own daughter the same way.

I was very impressed. Not only did they take my car in right away, but it was ready within just a few hours. Furthermore, they actually helped me determine that I didn’t need a lot of service that some other mechanics told me I needed. They were even willing to take me back and show me why. Plus, Mr. Beahm just seems like a sweet guy. You kind of wish you could go to him for advice when you’re down. Overall, the service was great and the prices were very reasonable. What more could I ask for? I’ll be bringing my car back to this place.

Beahm’s was recommended to me by Barry at Superior Transmissions (also a great place for all things transmission related) just down the street.
I’m a few years out of college and still haven’t transitioned fully from having a dad who completely managed the maintenance and repairs on my 02 mitsubishi lancer. As a young female, I felt VERY comfortable at this business and totally at ease confessing that I didn’t know a thing about cars. You get the feeling right away from this family owned and run business, that even if they know «you don’t know a thing about cars» they are gonna give you the best service possible, for the cheapest cost. No taking advantage of the customer here, or pulling unnecessary tricks.
I called Beahm’s to get a price quote for a basic oil and filter change after getting off work at 1pm, and to find out how busy they were. Big Mike (Mike Senior) said «how soon can you be there?» Within 15 minutes of my phone call, I was pulling into the service lot. The whole process, including an upgrade to Mobile One oil and an air filter change, cost me less than $ 70 and was completed in roughly an hour — only because my car needed a special filter not in stock they had to go and get.
Both men were very helpful and kind, and explained to me the process and what they did and observed about my car. Definitely plan to go back!
As a side note, even if you don’t live in Silver Spring, the fact that Beahm’s is conveniently located within walking distance of Whole Foods, Mall, Restaurants, Starbucks, etc, is a huge plus (and an added reason to go out of DC for service) when you’re waiting for a couple of hours. I took my phone to the Sprint store and got it repaired at the same time I was waiting for my car!

It’s never fun when your car goes in to the repair shop for work. Am I going to have to give up eating for a week and all the other little extras just so I have the cash to pay for my car repairs?
Not if you go to Beahm’s!
My A/​C died and here in DC it is a must. On top of that the motor in my back window broke and my window kept slipping down (not fun when it rains!). I was not looking forward to taking my car in and being w/​o a car for the day, not to mention the logistics of how to get home… wait…and then return to pick up my car.
I took my car in at 7:00am and walked two blocks to a swank coffeehouse, worked out at my gym, bought some stuff at Whole Foods, window shopped in downtown Silver Spring (most shops don’t open until 10 am) and found a shop that opened at 9:30 that was opened where I purchased a cute dress.
Then, at 10:30 I got a phone call. My car was done! I was just getting ready to have my friend pick me up. Still, as I walked back to the shop I worried about how much this was going to cost me. Both jobs plus an oil change was under $ 400! I think that’s pretty good! Plus, I had expected to wait all day.
Beahm’s Auto Service continuously gets high marks from Washington Consumers’ Checkbook magazine. I can see why now. It is an easy walk to metro, plus as I mentioned, there are lots of places to visit to occupy your time if you chose to wait!