Oriental Import Auto Svc Incorporated

The owner is always willing to talk in depth about any problems with your car and explain them fully. He has, on many occasions, tried to determine if my repair was covered by warranty. This is a good, honest family-run shop with fair prices.

In my younger years, I usually repaired my cars myself, and I generally know what needs fixing. But I don't have the time now, and I first contacted Michael a decade ago about an aging Accord that needed work on a carburator. Michael answered the phone at a late hour on a Friday evening and took the time to explain his familiarity with this carburator and his availability to fix it. He did excellent work (when most mechanics would simply remove and replace), and I have used him ever since, taking two cars there regularly for service. Michael and his team do simply outstanding work. He handles only Asian cars.

When my parents lived in Brookline, almost 20 years ago, they took their Subaru and Toyota to Mike and Nancy. When I first moved back to Boston with the Subaru, I took it to a few other shops that were more convenient to where I lived -- and regretted it. I should have gone back to Oriental Imports in the first place! They are very honest, are very good at explaining what needs to be done -- AND what can be left alone. Their prices are not the cheapest ever, but they are reasonable, and they treat their customers with respect. They present you with all the options, and make recommendations as to what they thing will be the most cost effective solution to any problem. There was one job that Michael was unable to fix as quickly as he had initially said due to a hard to find part, but when I told him that I HAD to have my car back, he stayed late to make sure that it got done, and did not charge me for the extra time or more expensive part that he'd used instead. The walls in their office are covered with letters and postcards from happy customers, so I know I'm not the only one. And thanks to them, my 1985 Subaru is still going strong!

Their repair service seems fine (so far) and they work efficiently. Prices are steep, but they gotta pay the rent in Allston. They often point out issues with your car that will crop up in the future. Unless you're very specific about not wanting to repair that _right now_, you end up with a lot of work done that you don't want. You either pay for it or wait for them to undo it. They don't call when your car is ready (don't believe them if they say they will), so it pays to harass them. If you go here, be really specific about the work that you want done and what you don't want done.

Michael & Nancy Kung (and their longtime colleague Wilner, too!) have run this shop for decades and have kept several of my Hondas running well into the 125-150k range. They're always straightforward in explaining 3 things: 1. what you have to do today before your car is fixed/safe 2. what is advisable to do but not mandatory 3. what's coming up that you need to remember next time I echo others' comments re: the shop hours are fine, they stay late to finish, and bottom-line they are really good to their customers. I must recommend them to 5+ customers a year and I've never had anyone question them after their own experience.

I discovered that my brakes were failing disastrously on a Friday afternoon at 3:30pm. I called around, and everyone said to make sure to bring my car by at 7:30am on Saturday AM, and be prepared to leave it with them for the whole day. I called Michael Kung at Oriental Import Auto Services, and he said during the summer they are closed on Saturday, but bring it by now (already 4:30pm), and they'll look at it before they closed at 6pm. It turned out my rear brakes completely failed, and they ordered calipers, disc, pads, and got it all fixed by 7:00pm, and they all stayed 1 hr past their official closing time to do it. Michael and Nancy were very pleasant about the whole thing. It was a completely incongruous experience to have at a garage--people who were actually out to help you and not over-charge. I wish I found this place much earlier; they'll be our mechanics for as long as we live in Boston.