Fallon Automotive

I desperately want to like Fallon Auto. My best friend recommended them to me, and I’ve taken my 1980 z28 there a few times for various things… they have the nicest staff, and Mike is absolutely a guy that I could get along with — I couldn’t ask for better people, y’know, unlike the people at the NTB I usually go to that make me want to jump out a window. That being said, unfortunately they’ve dropped the ball a few times on me.
The biggest thing is when I took it in for a diagnostics. They offer free diagnostics, which is the COOLEST thing that I’ve ever seen… my car was consistently losing oil, and I could see that there was a patch under it growing pretty steadily. They told me after looking at it that there wasn’t any leak, and it had to be burning oil, and the engine would need to be rebuilt to fix it. I was going through some crazy personal things at the time, and didn’t have any time to look into it further… six months down the road, I finally jack the poor thing up to change the oil, and it’s pretty damn obvious that the leak is coming from the filter and the pan plug, both of which were loose. Tightened them up, and boom, no more leak, and my oil level has stayed consistent for the last three weeks or so with steady driving. Really? Y’all are going to tell me I need to rebuild my engine (Which could run me anywhere from 1−2k if I pay someone to do it, or 1 – 2 days of my time if I do it myself) when the issue was just a loose bolt and a loose filter?
There were two other, smaller and independent issues as well…
I had taken the car in to replace the master brake cylinder, which was done very well at a fairly reasonable price. However, a week or so later, I was coming home and my tire blew out. I had the car towed home, and didn’t think anything of it until later. After mulling it over and saving some money up, I decided to take it in to get all the tires replaced. Fallon Auto quoted me a little bit more than NTB, but I (as stated before) can’t stand NTB, so I went with Fallon. I went out to jack the car up, put the spare on, and take it in… except the lugnut key was missing. After flipping out and looking everywhere for it, I called Fallon auto, where it turned out that someone had accidentally left it in the workshop. They apologized profusely, and had someone drive it out… I waited for a good 4 – 5 hours, and he never showed up. I called back, and someone told me that he had knocked on the door, and no one answered, so he left. He might have left the key on the car, I honestly don’t remember… but seriously? Absolutely no communication. What if I had been driving somewhere and couldn’t get the car towed back? What if it had been months later and someone had thrown the key out?
Immediately following this, when I got the z28 back from the tires being replaced, all the hubcaps were off and in a bag in the back. I reached out to Mike later that week when I noticed (And subsequently tried to reattach them, to find that they had been snapped off and not attachable) and he told me that they had been attached with silicon glue, and putting the new tires on caused them to pop off. He offered to replace them, even though it wasn’t their fault, which I really appreciated… but it wasn’t really about the money or the hubcaps, it was about the lack of communication. The hubcaps were just put into a bag and tossed in the back. This is my baby — a 1980 z28 Camaro. I didn’t really want anyone but me to work on it, so bringing it to Fallon was a serious display of trust… no way in HELL I’d take it anywhere near a crappy chain auto place like NTB or Firestone. Anyone with a classic car can understand that feeling. I’m not pissed that the caps came off… it happens. I’m upset that no one bothered to say anything.
Let me emphasize… Mike’s a great guy, and he’s always made every effort to put things right. In other circumstances (Read: Dominos Pizza) I’m more than happy to screw over the company and get free stuff. But these things weren’t disastrous, just failures to communicate. It’s not something that I need to storm into the shop and demand all the free service (Or four new $ 50 hubcaps… seriously, thanks for the offer, but it wasn’t your fault, you don’t have to buy premium classic parts for my car if you didn’t break them). If I need anything done on any of my OTHER cars, I will probably still bring it into Fallon Auto. But the total lack of communication from their staff is somewhat concerning in the instance of my baby. Mike is the boss, he can’t be everywhere. I think he has a good thing going, hence the four stars. But there’s also a heck of a lot of room for improvement.

I’ve been with Fallon for 20+ years.
I will NOT make an automobile decision with out consulting them 1^st!
Honest, reasonably priced, and a pleasure to do business with these Gent’s!

After borrowing my grandmother’s car to drop someone off at the airport, I realized one of her blinkers was out. A Google search led me to Fallon, so I called to see if they could fit me in before I returned the car. The guy I spoke with was super nice and accommodating — and they finished everything a few minutes after I arrived. To top it off, they wouldn’t let me pay for their service! Not sure what more one can hope for in an auto repair place. I wish I lived closer so I could make Fallon my regular mechanic!

Fallon is exactly what you want from a mechanic. Fair, honest, and straight forward. The great thing is you can interact with the owner directly who is a seasoned mechanic that will give you the straight dirt on your car. No ‘sales people’ or other unnecessary middlemen pushing product. Mike can explain the issues to you, give you options, and you can be confident in his assessment. No upsells, no pressure.
You won’t get the white glove fancy-​pancy ‘customer lounge’ — but that’s not what you need for your car! People hate mechanics and the like because of the uncertainty of what you get and if its the right answer at a reasonable price… and that is what Fallon excels at. Piece of mind.

Friendly helpful honest and a fairly priced. Wished they were closer to Alexabdria. Specializes in German cars.

I trust these guys. I have been using them for many years now and the only complaint I have is that they are not proactive about calling to say that the car is ready. Other than that, they are fair, honest, nice, accommodating. I highly recommend them

I have been going to Fallon for 12+ years. I first heard of Fallon from a coworker. I was having an issue with my car that another shop could not figure out for about 6 months and costing me $ 1500+ to no fix. So i figured let’s try Fallon and they resolved it for only $ 150 on the first try! I met Mike who is the owner and ever since then I’ve been a very happy customer and telling all my friends that if they need a reliable shop they should go to Fallon! I take my cars in for anything as small as wipers, inspection, emissions and when my cars acts up they are the first people i call! Thank you Mike and all the guys i see when i come by! I’ll see you guys soon!

We’ve been bringing both of our vehicles here for over two years. Service is consistently exceptional, and we are very pleased to have mechanics that we trust. They know their stuff and are always thorough, ethical and honest. They’ve earned a life-​long customer and we won’t go anywhere else! Highly recommend them.

Rarely do I give five star reviews. I save them for places that go above and beyond and really «knock my socks off.» Mike and his team are about as honest as it gets in an industry that can be painfully dishonest.
My car was making a noise any time I turned my steering wheel. I suspected it had something to do with my power steering. I took it to a place close to my office out of sheer convenience. I was told I needed to replace my power steering pump and it would cost close to $ 800.00. This was right before Christmas and an $ 800.00 repair would have all but ensured that there would be little to no Christmas presents under the tree for my daughter.
A friend of mine recommended Fallon. I took my car there for a second opinion. Turns out that the cap on my power steering pump was loose and only needed to be tightened. When I arrived to pick up my car I was told that there would be no charge. I pleaded with him to at least let me pay something for his time and was told that I could repay them by bring my car back when it needed service and telling my friends about Fallon. I have and I continue to do so. I even wrote a letter to the editor of one of the local news papers titled «The Grinch who Tried to Steal Christmas, and the Mechanic who Saved it.»
A big thank you to Fallon Automotive for your honest, caring and hard working staff. I highly recommend them for anything from oil changes to major repairs!

Love Fallon! Local family business (I always love to support those first when it makes sense.) Well, an honest, straightforward and well qualified mechanic sure makes sense to me.
I consider my self a bit of a car enthusiast. I used to go through new or slightly used mid-​level sporty cars every few years, last decade when I was younger (and in a different economy!) I used dealer mechanics while under warranty or the one local to where I live (Leesburg) on my wife’s Jetta that seemed the most recommended and convenient at the time. That is until, based on the recommendation of several of my co-​workers I discovered Fallon. They now also work on my wife’s car, and her mom’s as well. He helped her decide if an old VW was worth fixing when something failed (no!) or better off replacing. Will not hesitate to tell you what he’d do if faced with a tough choice and it were his car in your position.
I’ve had some bad luck with a window regulator going south on me in the same door multiple times. (It’s a known problem with my older A4.) Anyway Mike and Mikey and everyone there have always made it right and I’m more than satisfied with the bill, which is rarer and rarer to find these days. I also don’t hesitate to take German cars there (Mikey is a MB fan, and I believe Mike said he used to be a service manger for VW in a past life IIRC…)
Don’t make them too busy though, I need to get my car back to get home next time I’m in there.

Mike, his son, and his staff are very knowledgeable. More importantly they’re honest and have fair pricing. Everyone is in business to make a buck, but they also understand that their customers are trying to find the best deal. The team at Fallon Automotive have found the perfect balance between both. Their prices are reasonable, and they wont try to squeeze every dime out of you every time you take your car in. I found these guys on a VW specific site, and their knowledge of German cars impressed me. When I went to pick up my car the first time I was there, we spent 30 minutes just talking about the different VWs/​Audis we’ve owned.
Having to get work done on your car, sucks. You most likely don’t know what’s wrong with the car, or how much it will cost. At least with Fallon you’ll know you wont be taken advantage of!

Tired of getting ripped off by Goodyear and Hogan? Mike is a solid guy who earns his reputation providing quality honest service at a eat price. I use him every time.

This is the place is what I was looking for. Mike was very helpful, he will tell what to change and what not to be changed. He will give you the cost, advise you what to do and give you choices. I gave 5 stars and will be back soon.

My experience was very good. The place is run professionally. I went there for a state inspection and everything was completed in 20 minutes (as promised). I will definitely go back to this place in the future. They have free wifi as well.

Haven’t had a bad experience with them. When another shop told me i had to get x y and z fixed «right away» I took my car to fallon for a second opinion. Turns out the other shop was ripping me off and i still had plenty of time before anything needed to be replaced. I highly recommend this place.

Although I don’t live in Virginia any longer, I used Fallon for different types of repair work for a 6 year period and have always found them to be fair priced and honest with what needs to be done. Mike and the other guys I have encountered in the shop have always been very nice and easy to work with.
We’ve had oil changes, battery replacements, tires, an engine replaced, cooling system work, to name a few, on both of our vehicles, with good results. After replacing the engine, a few tweaks were needed and handled very quickly by the shop. I highly recommend them for auto repairs.

One of his mechanics bears a striking resemblance to Seth Green. After my first visit, I was mailed a sliding scale discount card to keep in my car or wallet. Mike is super friendly but service levels were occasionally inconsistent; I’d ask for update calls and once or twice wouldn’t even hear from them until they were done. Not terrible considering there was only one time they failed to finish in one business day.
This is within 20 minutes’ walking distance from my work, which was convenient when I still had my dying ’97 Eclipse GS. Pricing was much better than local auto repair chains (*coughcough* Hogan and Sons), and competitive with our family’s other preferred service location in an Asian auto shop in Falls Church. I think the only quotes I’ve seen to lowball this and the Asian shop’s prices were out in Winchester, and I’m not too keen on the idea of hauling out there just to save a net amount of $ 20. Coupons on their website are nice, I might use them again soon to get my safety inspection done, depending on the timing of my 35k maintenance.

I’ve been using Fallon Automotive for about three years now because it’s the best shop I’ve found in VA. Mike is honest, dependable and his service pricing has always been fair. As was mentioned in the previous post, he and his crew will tell you when something needs to be done now or whether it can wait. Service times are generally pretty quick, even when he’s fit me in at the last minute. Highly recommended.

I’d been a loyal customer for quite some time, but lately I’ve had some bad experiences there that caused me to switch shops. I used to work near the shop, so I started using them because of their location and because they offered coupons on their website.
The owner, Mike, is a good guy and an honest businessman. He rocks. One of his mechanics, Patrick, is also honest and will tell you when something needs replacing but you could still get a little wear on it. I appreciate knowing things like that so I can financially plan these things that need to be replaced or something. In fact, I appreciate their services so much that when I transferred to a different office that was much further away, I would still take my car there when I had to be in the area for work. I could take it to one of several shops near my other office, but I always chose to wait til I could get to Fallon.
Here’s the bad part. They have a guy that answers the phone and schedules appointments and he has dropped the ball on me twice now. One time, I was supposed to have my tires aligned and then have an oil change. I dropped the car off early in the morning and said that I would have to have it back by noon. I called the day before to remind them I had to have it by noon. The guy said no problem. The morning I dropped it off, he said no problem. I get there around 12:15 and guess what? The car was barely finishing the alignment and no where near getting the oil change.
It just so happens that several days later I was able to bring my car back, and after speaking with the owner, Mike, he said to wait for it and it would be done right away. He didn’t charge me, which I appreciated.
The second boo-​boo came when I had planned on having my other car inspected. I called to schedule an appointment and was told I didn’t need one for the inspection. I said fine, but that I’d be able to bring my car on Wednesday and only had until 1pm because I was catching a flight out. The guy said sure, bring it at 9am. I called Tues. afternoon to remind him I was bringing it. He said, yeah, no problem. Come Wed. morning, while on my way at 8:30a, I called to state again that I’d be coming in and had to be out of there no later than 1pm. That’s a long window of time to sit around and wait. This joker tells me, «Oh, the guy that does inspections won’t be in til noon». I flip out. He doesn’t even apologize till I question how in the hell he could not have called me and given me a heads up.
Oh well. They lost a very loyal customer. I only give it 2 stars because I liked the owner (when I could get around the guy that answers the phone!).