Santoro Service Center

This garage is great to go to for simple repairs, oil changes, and emissions but I’ve had a couple bad experiences with larger jobs.
I had to replace the whole exhaust system on my car, because their was a hole in one of the pipes. I paid Santoro around $ 650, which is the going rate for this kind of job, and just had to bring my car to Midas (2 years later), because the pipe that goes into the muffler had fallen out and every area where the pipes were connected to one another was corroding and about to fall apart. After seeing that, I didn’t have time nor did I really want to bring it back to Santoro. I don’t know too much about cars, but it seems like that shouldn’t happen after only two years, and especially on the connection points.
I had another instance where the breaks on my car weren’t doing well. I got a high price quote from Santoro and a friend recommended Midas in Watertown (same Midas who did the work above). So I brought it in, and it cost about $ 100 less.

The local Watertown Good news Garage! Walter and Busty «know what they’re talkin about when it comes to diagnosing a car problem. They are honest and smart as they come and WILL NEVER rip you off. They keep my 99 Toyota going and going. If you fear mechanics– bring your car here. They will diagnose the problem like they are car doctors. And fix it, too. With no hidden «add– ons». Great guys to desk with will pick you up too. Been in business for years and there’s a reason why.
Highly recommend.

I’m writing to talk about my recent great experience at Santoro’s.
When I tried to start my car last week, it was dead. I called Santoro’s and after answering a few of their questions (no lights on the dash, no engine sounds, etc.) they offered to tow my car to their garage. Shortly afterwards, they called me and explained that they tried to jump start the car and save the battery, but at 5 years old it had seen its last day. Because I’ve always had good experiences there, I trusted their judgment and expertise and agreed with their recommendation. After they changed the battery, they called me back to tell me the car was ready and offered to pick me up so I wouldn’t have to get a ride there, which I appreciated very much. I have always found Santoro’s to be honest, fair and a true local gem. I wouldn’t trust my car to anyone else.

just now saw a message from Walter.
Dear Walter, No one is expecting you to do the impossible. What I did expect is courteous and knowledgeble service, which I did not get. I got a grumpy guy being rude to me.
Also, does your part pricing vary depending on who you sell them to? Also does your labor cost differ form person to person? If NO is an answer to any of those questions, then relaying those costs should be available to those who contact your shop.
Again, out of all the shops I contacted in my area, yours was the only one that made me feel irrelevant. Also, no one wanted to charge me for an estimate! And other shops do NO work for free either, but they are aware that building a relationship with any customer requires some type of investment…
Cheerio…

Walter called me back personally, apologized, resolved my issue and explained circumstances further with me. I appreciate the length he went to make sure things were copacetic. Again, the call was much appreciated, thank you Walter

Being a young woman, I have experienced many forms of trickery regarding auto repair and padding the bill/​unnecessary repairs. These places were usually on the road and emergency situations. Had I a choice, my #1 place to bring my car for service would be Santoro’s in Watertown. Our family has brought many cars to Santoro’s for repairs and maintenance over the years. Most recently, I brought in a cousin’s car that had been hit while parked in front of my house, tearing the mirror off. Not only were they able to get a replacement mounted within a day, they were able to get me one at significantly lower cost than I had seen online (after searching for hours on end). They were able to look up the needed part right away. There was a little mix up in them being sent the wrong side mirror, but within 3 hours the part was rushed over and mounted on the car, so there was no real loss. Luckily I was just hanging around the area and had time to spare. Santoro’s is the one mechanic that I trust not to screw me over. I never feel like my questions are stupid, I never get intimidated, they never try to trick or scare me into getting to agree to unnecessary work, and always tell me what is expected up front. I HIGHLY recommend this shop to anyone looking for an honest person that will care for their car, especially those women drivers out there that might be easily intimidated or don’t know much about cars. Santoro’s goes above and beyond to make you feel comfortable. They are consistently the best service that we’ve had (which is why our family has taken our cars there for over 30 years!) Other shops should take note: THIS IS HOW YOU RUN A BUSINESS!

As I was sitting down to write this review, I realized that Busty and Walter Santoro have been taking care of my family’s cars for… FORTY YEARS.
I am grateful for their professionalism, their honesty and their skills at keeping my vehicle on the road…
Every dollar spent there is a dollar earned by Busty and Walter, and there aren’t that many places that can say that these days.
Thanks guys!

Extremely friendly, extremely knowledgeable… I wouldn’t bring my car anywhere else. On more than one occasion they sent me to the dealer for repairs because they knew it was a warrantied part, so they are also extremely honest.
Thanks Walter and Busty for many years of great work!

I’ve used Santoro’s for a few years now based off a recommendation of a family member and have always found them to be friendly, prompt, knowledgeable, and up-​front about what they can and can’t handle.

Busty and Walter are friendly and honest. You can have a conversation with them about whether a repair is necessary or whether it can wait. I’ve been bringing my car there for several years, since I moved here. At times they were able to complete work that the dealership had suggested for significantly less money. Even if I have to wait a day for a part, it’s worth it to save money. For routine service, they are quick and efficient. However, I recently had an experience where they were unable/​unwilling to repair an electrical problem in my Subaru. Busty said it was too expensive for him to keep the parts on hand to diagnose the problem. So I guess there are pluses and minuses with using small local businesses.