Best Service Station in South City! When it comes to auto service, I'm all about having a guy. I don't particularly like going to the big box stores for something because it always ends with a big bill and me yelling at strangers. I had a guy in South City, but he's been pretty flaky lately. Therefore, I looked into Advanced Auto Service on Gravois. Mike Silva is a standup dude. A friend suggested that I talk to him about my next oil change, which I desperately needed, and the rest of pretty much history. He is by far the friendliest mechanic that I've ever met. I guess that doesn't say much! Haha. However, he and his wife have been very friendly and helpful. While big box stores will put the fear of God in you, Mike does keep tabs on routine maintenance and makes suggestions for improving the life of your car. He also understands when someone is on a budget. He helped my friend locate a used hood because she had damaged her old one in an accident. Altogether, he is very easy to work with, and I highly recommend his services to anyone in the South City/Bevo area. read more

OK-customer service, but then annoying to deal with when you spend $1600 on a repair but your car is still unusable because "it wasn't leaking when in shop." It's fine though! I got $56 back! :-) Out of shop my car worked for one day. Then stalled on me twice while driving. I brought it back and it was another $1200 maybe $900? To fix the problem. I would have just bought a new car if the repairs were more than $2000 initially. I did not have the financial capability to accommodate any price over $2000. I tried to make the $1600 work though because my car is very useful for my line of work. After pulling some strings I was able to cough up the money. Mind you, to repair the car any further it was at least $600-900 more because the coolant can was damaged. But I wish I knew this prior to driving it. Again, it didn't work after a full day of use. But all fluids were checked. I couldn't pay for this again nor could I go without a car for much longer. I ended up bringing the car to car max and trading it in. Again a car is very useful in my line of work so I needed it ASAP. I didn't have a car for about three days while it was in their shop and it really set me back. I called initially to ask for compensation considering how much money I had dropped on the repair. Mike had told me he could tow the car to the shop and try and fix the problem. All I would pay for was the part. The part USED, was apparently $600. I would not pay that money on a 2007 Toyota Prius. Nor would I have the capability to be without a car again. I declined. I asked for a $400 refund Mike said he would call back, never did. Two weeks pass and I drove there again asking to speak to the owner, Mike. He was at lunch. I came back again two hours later, still at lunch. His employee relayed the information and Mike called me back that night right after they closed. (I'm glad they're busy!) :-) Mike was short and demeaning, understandable. I look young and oblivious to the world. It's easy to act like I'm the person in the wrong. And apologized for taking so long to get back to me. He mentioned his lawyer would allow for a good faith agreement. Sure. They gave me the option to either get their auto repair service maintenance thing for a year OR $56 for the initial diagnosis. I'm not planning on living in STL for much longer so I opted for the $56. I understand the work put into my car but I expected some compensation. Not $56 worth of compensation, but it's okay! It's some money back. All in all, I would not recommend them to anyone. I always believed that a diagnosis meant FULL diagnosis. But Mike told me countless of times, "I can't predict the future." Because I guess you're supposed to be able to predict the future rather than addressing the problem before it surfaced in the future. Maybe I was just one of the unlucky ones but you're free to give them a try. I ended up getting a new car, one star for a great oil change though! read more

Mike and Linda have excellent customer service. The shop is very reliable and services are reasonably priced. They are trustworthy and family oriented, as they have 2 daughters themselves. I only take my vehicle to them when it needs to be serviced. read more

I lived in Bevo for a year and this place was a Godsend for a girl from Texas who didnt know any local mechanics. They were super friendly and caring without being fake. They gave me good deals on inspections, oil service and some tires, got me in quickly when needed, and gave me advice about what to do with my high mileage car that wouldnt cost me an arm and a leg. They never tried to upsell or cheat me. And I like the location and ALL the employees. That is rare. You can trust them. read more

I have been doing business with Mike at Advanced for more years than either of us care to remember. I have always been treated honestly and fairly. My son, his wife and her family take their cars there. I was recently tasked with assisting a friend who could no longer drive or care for his father's prized 1979 Cadillac with preparing the car for sale. Who else would I turn to but Mike at Advanced for assistance. Mike and his team not only worked on the mechanics, but also recommended a place for needed interior work. Mike was more that a mechanic on this project he was almost a partner in it, answering numerous questions and providing guidance. I know he worked on the carburetor himself to get it right rather than replacing it, and who really does that these days. The car was sold today for a fair price to a savvy buyer. I don't think this would have been possible without Mike and his team. Thank You So Much Advanced Team. Greg P. read more

A driver hit my car and left the scene. A worker there willingly showed me the video of the incident and unbeknownst to me walked the neighborhood and actually found the car that hit mine. Great neighborhood business. read more

Family run auto shop with an incredible number of years of experience in their garage. I first tried this shop while looking for a second opinion. A different shop had diagnosed a noise under the hood, and told me that I needed to have my air conditioner compressor replaced immediately, or my car would break down. After Mike at Advanced Auto Service had my car looked over, his mechanic found that I actually had a timing belt bearing that was almost shot. Advanced Auto Service saved me from spending $600 on a compressor that I did not need, and fixed a much more severe problem that could have ruined my engine. Had that timing belt pulley broken, I could have damaged the valves in my engine. I am glad to have found an honest and reliable service station in my neighborhood! read more

Mike and Linda Silva provide great customer service. Their work is guaranteed and often finished within a timely manner. It was tough trying to find a good mechanic in St. Louis to work on my 02 VW Jetta (because it's a foreign car) at a decent cost, but not anymore! Whenever I need to have something replaced, Mike will have the old part at the front for me to look at and explain why or how that part went bad. Very few places take the time to do that. They're also honest about how long they think something on the car may last, which helps me get the most out of that part. Additional, they've also done great work on my 05 Ford Ranger replacing the tires, shocks, and brakes! In short, go here. I highly recommend this place. read more

Top Notch Service!! Brought in the old beater last Monday July the 6th after the holiday and before I left for work for a week away I wanted to make sure the wife wasn't going to get stranded while I was gone. This business has amazing customer service, very friendly, they know your name and treat you with respect even going so far as to explain everything to you and break it down for those of us that are mechanically challenged that are paper pushers. I really appreciate the service that they give for my wife and myself. Thank you for still being a good repair shop that has respect and keeps the customer at the top on the priority list, not the almighty dollar. You will have our business for years to come. God Bless read more

I took the women's car class from Mike and Linda, the owners, and John, another person I think works here. You could trust them right off the bat because their daughter and niece were taking the class too, and they were really family oriented and down to earth from the get go. The value I got from the class makes me wonder if they even make money on it or do it just because they want to do a deed for women who want a no-expectations environment to learn about their cars. I plan to take my car to Mike or John when it needs something. read more

they are so friendly, honest, good personal and excellent service. No rip-offs here, they explained and help me solve my problem at the least possible cost. The best services I ever known, highly recommends. read more

Mike is a great honest person. He was friendly and knowledgable about my car and didn't try to nickel and dime me. He was straight to the point. read more

Took my wife's car there to have an intake manifold replacement to the tune of $1300.00. Within 800 miles the manifold failed again because the shop failed to locate and repair the source of the problem that caused the manifold failure in the first place leaving me and my disabled wife stranded out on Hwy 64, 100 miles from St Louis. They are an AAA shop and I had AAA membership but because I didn't have the premium membership I ended up paying almost $500 to get my car towed back to St. Louis. Taking the vehicle back to the shop Mike told me that the work they did was correct and if I wanted them to repair it It would cost me another $1300.00 for a new manifold plus another $1200.00 to replace the catalytic converter an EKG valve. When I told him I disagreed he said I could disagree if I wanted to but that was that. So if had been stupid enough to go with Advanced again this repair would have cost us over $4200.00. Instead we took it to another shop who replace the intake manifold, catalytic converter, EKG valve and a new oxygen sensor for just under $800.00! These folks at Advanced charge dealer repair pricing and have few if any business ethics. I wouldn't let them touch my child's tricycle. read more