High Road Automotive (Seattle, WA) Mechanic(s): Tom Wilson, Fred Wilson
1531 Leary Way NW , Seattle, WA 98107 (206) 789-7521 Fax: (206) 789-9539
Features and Specialties: Honda, Acura, Toyota

Please send us any corrections or additions to the above information. If you have experience with this shop, please add your own review!

Survey results:

They are always honest
They are competent
The repair price is always reasonable
They fix the problem the first time
They complete the work in a timely manner
They respond well when they screw something up
They take the time to explain the problems and necessary repairs
The shop is located in a safe neighborhood
The hours of operation are convenient for customers
They treat male and female customers in the same manner
They are near public transportation (or provide loaners, shuttle bus, rides as needed)

Reviewers Comments:

I found the people at High Road to be competent and very helpful. The work was even done on time.

We've taken our cars and sent our friends here for years. They aren't cheap, but are aggresive about preventive maintenance - my Accord ran great at 165K, and my Civic at 145K (both lost to accidents. Unfortunately, we have a Nissan now so are searching for a new mechanic.

High Road Automotive is a great place to take your Honda, Acura or Toyota for honest, trustworthy repair. The technicians are well trained and knowledgable.

High Road is a great shop for any mechanical work on Honda, Acura, (and now Toyota too). They do it right and back it up. They encourage preventive maintenance, this is the key to long term ownership,(this lowers your long term cost). I have used this shop for more than 10 years now, on three different cars, and am very happy to recommend them. P.S. This is a "green" shop with good enviormental and recycling practices.

Good Quality, integrity, not the cheapest, but they give you a list of prices and let you choose what you'd like to do. Very professional.

Another mechanic had recommended replacing my engine with a used japanese engine. High Road first gave the car a free 2 hour diagnostic check, then checked the engine and advised me that the car had to many other problems to warrant rebuilding the engine. This advice was invaluable to me and saved me from agonizing over "giving up" on my car.

This shop is world-class. The owner's are particularly responsive and if they spoke with a Boston accent and had a sense of humor, they'd do radio. All kidding aside, I've never seen both superior service combined with affordable pricing. This shop is th e best kept secret in Seattle.

I've been going to High Road since 1984, when they worked out of a three-car garage. When I (rarely) consider buying another car, I'll only consider Hondas, because I don't want to get another mechanic shop. They explain things, help you think through your car's repair priorities, encourage responsible preventive maintance, and won city awards for their environmental practices. No, I am in no way related to these guys. I just think a having a good mechanic is a blessing, especially in a city with only 1 mile of rapid transit.

The thing I like them the most is that they spend time explain the problem and they are very nice to customer. But I am hesitate to use their service for the reason that price is way above average. Case in point, a Subaru radiator they replaced was priced at $260 while my online search of new part price for this model rang from $140- 165. Oil change $40. It was really a price shock.

High Road Automotive is the best shop around!

Pete was a great help to us with our 1987 Acura. We knew that it was on its last legs and is honest assessment of the car and the repairs that would be needed, greatly helped us decide what our next move should be. We feel lucky that we found this shop--wish it would've been earlier.

I have been going to High Road for 14 years now! They are the best! They value preventive maintenance and take the time and effort to explain what needs to be done, and whether it needs doing now. I had a power steering leak in my car that they told me about well over a year before they recommended that I get it resealed. They are conservative, but not aggressive in their evaluations and recommendations. I took my Honda to the dealer once for a warranty item (when it was new--it is now 13 years old and has 150K miles on it. As it needed an oil change, I had the dealer go ahead and do it--well they ruined something on the oil pan. I trust High Road to do things right--and they stand behind their work 100 percent. I can't say enough good things about these guys. I think the only people that don't like them are people who just want to do the minimum on their cars--however, Hondas just don't last as long that way. PS They are now working on Honda/Acura, Toyota/Lexus and Subaru vehicles.

I like their customer service, because they have a guy at the front desk whose sole responsibility is to explain things to customers. But that is also an indication of their biggest weakness... the up-front explanation starts feeling like a sales pitch after about the third $1000 visit, for what one expected would be a $300-400 service each time. In my humble opinion (IMHO), though the shop is very qualified and does superb work, they are overly conservative and tend to fix things that are not yet broken in an attempt to get the car's reliability up to unreasonably high levels. IMHO again, the cost of acheiving that last few % of reliability is too high. These days, the reliability of Japanese cars (that's all they service) is already extremely high, so they are just overdoing it. As a result, High Road offers the best guarantee in the business: 5 years. So if you have the money to take the "high road", go for it; you won't be disappointed. If you are more in touch with your car, and want to fix things as they break and not before, even the Toyota or Honda dealers are better deals; e.g. they'll still recommend that you change the water pump when doing a timing belt replacement, but you won't be replacing crankcase seals unless you insist on it yourself.

High Road is not the cheapest place for car repairs, but they do an excellent job if you don't mind paying. They perform a complete run through of a vehicle when it is first brought to them, highlighting all the problems and costs of repairs. This serves two purposes, one of informing you about all that is wrong about your car and second, creating possible future work for them. This is not really a bad thing though, because the report I received about my car was correct in it's evaluation and is a very handy resource. Just remember not everything that is starting to wear out on a used car needs to be fixed right away. Just remember you get what you pay for here, very friendly service and excellent workmanship.

2 years ago my 1981 Honda Civic failed the emissions test. I had heard about this environmentally oriented repair shop which repaired Hondas and drove my little stinker up there. Well, my 81 Civic sure does not look new anymore- I have spent years developing a dark patina over what was once a beautiful and cared for Rhodes Red Metallic finish. The guys at the shop said that they usually do not service such old cars, but they cut me some slack and decided to take a look. I imagined that the thing would only need a bit of an adjustment to the carbereutor and maybe some minor fiddling. So off I rode on my bicycle to return the next day. I was pleasantly surprised that the repair cost under $50 and then I, of course, returned to the emissions testing place after revving the hell out of the former little stinker. Joy filled my heart as the tester said that my car passed easily- almost like new! I am still planning to wring another thousand miles out of "Rocket" to acheive 200,000 miles! Thanks to High Road and of course to HONDA.

these guys are the best. they are incredibly competent, courteous and fair. all the things that i am looking for. heck, i can do without the courteous if they're competent and fair, but they're super nice, too. i have 2 great examples: 1.) before i found them, i had a buddy who was in the car business work on my car for me. 8 mos later (after i found high road) they were fixing it again, and this time it was done correctly. 2.) my girlfriend decided that what they charged to change her timing belt was a bit too high, so she took it to have it changed at another shop. huge mistake. turns out that there is something unique to changing the timing belt on her car (91 civic hatch) which is why high road charged a bit more. well the other mechanic botched the job and killed her car. and high road was honest enough to say "well, we could fix it, but the cost of repairs is more than what the car is worth". this is something that i have also discussed with them about my car (are these repairs more than what the car is worth) and have gotten what i believe to be honest answers. so no one touches my car but high road any longer. i've compared and they are the best.

I trust these guys explicitly because I value the integrity of the two owners, Fred and Tom. While I'm biased of course since they are both friends of mine, I have never been let down with either vehicle I have taken here, '90 Civic and '02 Tacoma. They are straight up, are honest about all that is wrong, and will always encourage a philosophy of regular maintenance as this will ensure a vehicle lasts the longest. I also buy my oil filters directly from them since they're imported from Japan. Plus, they have a philosophy on their site that's well thought out, and not the usual business cliche. Check it out. http://www.high-road.com/

The folks at High Road looked at my Honda Accord after it had already been "checked out" by the local Honda dealership regarding the funny noise it was making. Not only did the High Road mechanics not charge me anything to explain what the problem was (needed new transmission), they also explained what had gone wrong and suggested that this should still be covered under my original dealership warranty. Great people. I will go back to them for any other car trouble I have.

I have been taking my vehicles to High Road for years. During the time I owned a make they did not service, they recommended me to another shop that was excellent (Prompt Auto). They always go over the entire car and evaluate its needs based on safety levels, regardless of why I take in the car. They explain the issues in relationship to my budget and long-term plans for the car. I have been recommending friends to them all along.

I had a 10k service on my 07 Prius at High Road. They seemed like honest guys and had staff on hand that were very knowledgeable about the Prius.

You can fill out the survey or just add a quick comment about this shop.