Mel's Auto Repair [ www.melsauto.com ] (Old Bridge, NJ) Mechanic(s): Anjan Malapaka, Mel
1189 Englishtown Road , Old Bridge, NJ 08857 (732) 723-0095 // FAX: (732) 252-3194
Features and Specialties: Specializes in Transmission Work ,Specializes in Air Conditioning work ,Specializes in Brakes & Mufflers ,Specializes in Engine Rebuild Work ,Specializes in Radiator Work All American; Dodge; Honda; Nissan; Toyota

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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 ONCE TOOK MY CAR TO THE NEAREST MECHANIC THE MECHANIC SAID I NEEDED ABOUT $550- WORTH REPAIRS.Then i called my mechanic he towed the car and fixed it for $180-.I even told him how much the other guy wanted.

I took my car in for repairs after I took it to the Toyota dealer, the dealer quoted a price of $1100 and gave me a completely wrong diagnosis. Anjan at Mel's garage repaired it for $300 and fixed the problem completely well. His work and rates are excellent. I would highly recommend him for all your repair work.

I took my car in for repairs after I took it to the Toyota dealer, the dealer quoted a price of $1100 and gave me a completely wrong diagnosis. Anjan at Mel's garage repaired it for $300 and fixed the problem completely well. His work and rates are excellent. I would highly recommend him for all your repair work. (Himanshu Dey-Somerset)

I am glad that I found honest mechanic who charges me only for the needy repairs and takes reasonable labor cost too.

I have taken my car to him a few times, and each time he took care of the problem, e.g., my '84 Civic used to stall at times when the rpm dropped too low. Dealer's solution was some (bs) valve somewhere in the carburator which meant rebuild the carburator/replace it ($600 - 800). I talked to another Honda mechanic in California (from whom I bought the car -- another very honest guy), and he asked me to find another mechanic. Well, my temporary solution was to increase the idle rpm. I then took the car to Mel recently, and he found the problem -- choked oil filters. He also dropped and cleaned the fuel tank -- saved me at least $450.

My best friend is a mechanic and when I went to him for advice at finding someone near my work he recommended cartalk.com. I found Mel at RDS on this site and his many references so I decided to check him out when I had a check engine light come on in my Honda Pilot. Mel took the car in right away and gave me an immediate idea of what he was looking for in diagnostics. Not only did he do a thorough job running diagnostics, but then he made a mechanical change and let me drive it over the weekend to get a better idea what the problem was. Turned out my light hasn't come back on so so far I saved a bundle on repairs that Mel did not have to do. If the problem happens again I'll bring it right back there because I am confident that he will find out exactly whats going on and fix it the first time. Thanks Mel!

Anjaneyulu is Kind of erson who allways tries to understand the problems of the customer, rgarding the customers budget and allways tries to fix the probelm with in the range, I like that part very much. He allways tries to educate the customer about the probelms. The greatest thing is we can sit along with him for hours and hours and we never feel bored.

Steered me to an aftermarket parts dealer who saved me hundreds on a part.

Excellent service and repair. Mel is very knowledgeable and explains everything to you. Very reasonable prices. Very honest and won't do unnecessary repairs. I was extremely satisfied with his service.

I had some trouble with my brakes that Mel seemed to be able to pick up on as I described it over the phone! The brakes were taken care of quickly & efficiently, but the real test came when I decided to get my timing replaced at the same time. As I drove home, I noted it stalled as I came to a stop. Mel had me in right away, offered to drive me where I would need to go while he had my car, and thoroughly went over the timing belt. He kept me informed about the progress. All this, over a holiday weekend, too. It's been a pleasure to find out about Mel's shop.

Sept 2004 Took my 87 Nissan (298K) to Mel when my previous mechanic from this group moved. Mel explained my choices: new part $500, used part 250 or his solution 75. Also suggested that I NOT fix something as it was not necessay but pointed it out to me as not working. Not a pretty shop, but a honest mechanic. Mel is my new mechanic.

I bought this car in a hurry from a dubious used car dealer and the transmission was slipping. I took it in to Mel's and spoke with the owner Ganesh. I was expecting to pay to either have him rebuild the trans or have a replacement trans installed. Ganesh called and stated that before doing major surgery he would drain the trans fluid and try the recommended Honda fluid. Well low and behold that is what it was. I find Ganesh's honesty refreshing in this time when everything seems to be about the almighty buck. I hope this praise of his business gets him alot of new customers.

I have been taking my cars to them for over eight years now and I have always found them to be honest and straight forward about the problems with my car and how it can be fixed. Also, their price has always been below other local competitors and have extremely flexible hours of operations to accomodate everyones schedules.

I located Mel's shop (via this board) after refusing an estimate from the Freehold Toyota dealership for $2400 (rack & pinion, steering pump, wheel alignment, brake work). Mel diagnosed the problem, agreed that the seal on the R&P is leaking and warrants a full replacement, disagreed on the pump ("let's test it out first" and it proved to be good) and brakes ("they still have 6000-7000 miles left"), and alignment was necessary. Using aftermarket parts and with a cheaper labor rate, total bill was $800 (you can calculate the savings). The car runs smoothly and quietly now, and I am both pleased and impressed. I know who will be doing all my maintanence on this car and our others as well. It just pains me to think of all the money the dealership extracted out of me to date... Well, no more!

Took my car there for a brake job and the car came out with an extra 35 miles on it. I asked for Bendix or Toyota pads and he said the ones he used where better. After 6 months my brakes started to squeal. Very nice man though.

i found mel online when i had a squeek in my brakes. mel asked if they had been done recently and i said volvo had done them about 4 months prior. he said to go back to volvo and they should fix the problem. he was right. i have been coming ever since for my 70k checkup including a new water pump, work on my trunk and now my wife's 2000 s70 will be going to him for it's 30k checkup. he is honest, fair, kind, informed and fixes the problem every time. i could not ask for mor. well, maybe if mel moved down the block from me?

This is mel from mels auto repair i am 53 years old, have been in the business from 1972. The work carried out by us is warranteed for 6 months or 6000 miles we generally do not ask questions about come backs if any job carried out by us is not satisfactory we do the job for free. We try to do the best sometimes people want an economical way out which we do not prefer but we do it because the customer insisted to do so. We give a loaner car to customer at no cost if it is an allday job.

I would like to state that we do have to test drive customers cars to find the actual problem. We test drive before and after the job is done. The length of the test drive is dependant on the problem. We do install oem parts where required or use parts purchased from reputed companies who are exceptionally reputable. We had always stood by our job and will always do so.

Mel has a lot of knowledge and expertise. He is very thorough and always ensures that he does just what is needed--never more and definitely, never less. I have seen numerous occasions where he actually tells the customer not to get something done--even if it means he loses money, He is honest and is very genuine, Mel would rather build a lasting relationship with each person than have a one time money exchange. I recently moved to California and still call him whenever I need advice on my vehicle. I will never do anything to the car without consulting him. Mel always puts the customer first. His vast experience in automobiles, various automotive related certificates and fair prices makes him one of the most trusted and valued automotive technician.

what to hear a savings?had a problem with my 94 olds van,I took it to the dealer (I've been doing business with for 8yrs)who told me I had a cracked intake manifold. priced $1,135. I took it to mel who said "let me try something"and patched it with a bonding agent..cost $25. that was 4yrs ago,van running fine. my opinion: you can trust mel !!

Reliable, honest, knowleadgeable and hardworking to say the least! Have always trusted him with our cars and we never hesitate to recommend him to our colleagues and friends. Thank you Mel for your excellent work and wish you continued success in your business. K & S Rao

I have 2000 Nissan Maxima and have been taking my car there sice 2003 for all types of work general maintainance, o2-sensors and recently struts replacement. I had a good experience with him and recommend anyone with car trouble to go see his shop.

I found out about Mel through this website and I'm glad I decided to bring my car to him. We recently bought a used car and took it to Honda for a quick diagnostic. They came back to us with a HUGE repair bill. Mel took care of it for about half of what they wanted. Two weeks later, check engine light came on. Mel did some research on the make and model of our car and found out that it had a history of transmission problems. Aparantly, we bought a lemon. Instead of charging us $2k+ for a new transmission, Mel told us to take the car back! We were considering paying the money to fix it but Mel told us it was not worth it. We got our money back and he definitely helped us avoid a diaster. Honest and trustworthy mechanics are hard to come by and I would recommend Mel to anyone.

Mel is a very honest and honorable man. He treats customers like friends. Very personable man will tell you exactly whats wrong if you have the time to listen. He even took me out to lunch one time when my car broke down by his shop, it doesn't get any better than that.

I brought my 2000 Toyota Camry to Pep Boys because it didn't have any pick up when I pressed on the gas. They told me I needed a complete tune up, and it would cost me $450.00. I agreed. After they were done with my car, I paid and left. I got into the car and drove a few miles and noticed the car was running the same way as when I brought it in. I turned around and went back to Pep Talk Boys and explained to the service manager that the problem still persists. He told me that it needed further diagnostics and that would cost $85 and the car had to be left there for a day or so. My father took me to RDS service, Mel's Auto. Mel did the diagnostics at no charge and diagnosed the problem to be a plugged catalytic converter. I don't believe in corporate-owned repair facilities anymore. Thank you, Mel. You will definitely be recommended all the time from me.

I have been going to RDS for a number of years for regular car maintenance on my Maxima and Forrester and I am really satisfied with his work. Mel takes the time to explain the problem and the viable options for fixing them. I highly recommend RDS!

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