Independence Auto Service

This shop has worked on all three of our Honda/Acura. They really know their cars, and can explain it in a clear and reasonable way. I had an 89' Integra, so really needed their help for quite a number of small problems. I have not gone to any other shop for the last 7 years since I found these folks.

I recently had an oil change done here which included a free 40 point inspection with a coupon available in the Palo Alto newspaper. I arrived when they opened in the morning and was out within an hour. They offer a free local "shuttle", but I wanted to be there to ask questions about the inspection results. The owner was that rare combination of friendly and professional in answering my questions. He gave information at a level I could mostly understand, and was polite; he was not in the least condescending to me as a woman. He was patient even though I was car-ignorant and question-loaded. :) Most importantly, they did not invent any unnecessary work. At some shops, they exploit your ignorance to exaggerate the need for repairs or even break things to fix (I have had this happen elsewhere.) Of course, free inspections exist so that mechanics can identify additional repairs or maintenance to recommend. Here, the only added expense was an airfilter, which they simply showed to me while pointing out that it was dirty (it was). In addition, he went over his recommended maintenance schedule for the future. The only extra charge was a $2 environmental disposal fee (for the oil, I presume). Based upon this one experience, I would definitely go back there.

I moved to Delaware recently, and one of the things I miss most is taking my car to Independence Acura. Seriously! I took my cars in to Vladimir for YEARS, even for oil changes, and he is always respectful, patient, and kind, the work always gets done promptly (and correctly, the first time!), and the price is always reasonable. His shop is one of the tidiest I've ever seen, and all his employees are charming. Someone will drive you wherever you need to go while the work's being done, or you can hang out and wait. My whole family takes our cars there. My favorite story about Vladimir, that to me truly illustrates his integrity, is that a few years ago, my 1997 Honda Civic was losing its transmission. Vladimir verified this, and called me to ask me if I still had a warranty on it. He told me it would cost about $4000 to replace, and that he didn't want to do that to me--he suggested I take it to the Honda dealer to have them replace it for free, under warranty. You can imagine what happened at the dealer--they pretended to fix it, didn't, and I had to make them really fix it. Fortunately, it was free--but it was Vladimir who really helped me out, and I always compare his ethics to those of the dealer. If I could only find a mechanic like him in Delaware...

The shop does great work! They're very good at diagnosing non-standard problems. They're very easy to deal with and will squeeze you in their busy schedule in an emergency. This is a great place to take your car to if you know little about car mechanics. Vladimir (shop owner) is very very good at explaining problems with complex car systems in very simple terms that anybody can understand. This the only shop I ever go to because I can count on them to do quality work every time at a very reasonable price.

I'm very, very satisfied. On one occasion when Vladimir couldn't figure out what the problem was, instead of "trying", he told me I needed to see a Dealer. This cost me nothing. Three cheers and 5 stars!

I like to work on my cars myself. Always have, always will. But when I don't have the tools or the time, this is the only shop I will bring my car to. It helps that owner is a former engineer rather than a Devry dropout!