Shamrock Motor Company

my whole family uses Shamrock. the owner is an interesting little old guy who, believe it or not, was a lawyer but gave it up because he liked cars better than torts. it's a very unpreposessing shop--from the street, all you see is what looks like a half-abandoned auto showroom which, when you've looked through the dusty windows, exhibits some classic autos.the mechanics have always been helpful and almost unnaturally honest, as well as fair. on more than one occasion, i've been charged only half the labor i know went into the repair. when our '86 honda civic began stalling everytime you'd take your foot off the gas, or it went below 15mph (a real nightmare when stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, as i was for 2 hours one night) one mechanic spent a day looking for the cause. he thought it was a leak in some hose or other allowing too much air into the fuel-air mix, but he was honest enough to say that he couldn't pinpoint the leak amidst the cramped welter of hoses in the civic motor (forgive me if that doesn't sound right--my knowledge of cars is a good deal less than my understanding of the laws of thermodynamics, of which i know there are three but should be four [they left out the one about the first slice of pizza always burning the roof of your mouth]). when the civic subsequently died later (a blown head gasket leading to a well-baked engine), they graciously allowed me to park it there until i could find a charity to donate it to. these guys put the lie to the stereotype of the venal mechanic.

Simon & John own & run the shop now. (2006) They are great to do business with, & if you don't like girlie calendars in the office, this is the spot. They advised me after checking out the car I presently drive, & it is reliable & economical.

I have always found Shamrock Motors to be helpful. They have worked on the cars owned by my five and I over the last five years, we have no complaints. Our cars are a Toyota Corolla and a Honda Civic.

Simon, the owner and lead mechanic, is a straightforward and honest man. He is conservative in his recommendations, suggesting what must be done and explaining what can be done. Experienced with almost all foreign cars, and although not fond of domestics, will take care of them as well. Quick access to parts from regional sources.

Reliable, honest, no bull - He had trouble figuring out a problem with one of our cars. He drove it home one night to test the car on the highway and see if he could figure out the problem. (didn't charge for this). He was able to solve it after this.

They charged $400 dollars for an AC belt that shouldn't have cost more than 100. On top of that, the labor was 200-300 dollars, for a total of around $800. If I'd have done it myself, it probably would have been 50 bucks, but these guys charged a very excessive price for parts, and the labor wasn't exactly cheap either.