My husband and I had the most amazing experience you can possibly have with a mechanic. My husband has a Ford Taurus and for some reason he could not get it to pass smog. We took his car to another shop first and was charged over $500 bucks to fix the problem so it would pass smog and it still would not pass smog. So the guy at the other shop said you need to replace the brain of the car. He wanted to charge another $500-$1000 bucks! We took the car to Dale over at Athens and he found the first problem-The OT sensor that the other mechanic shop put in was bad. He replaced it free of charge because it was on warranty. That was the start of how awesome he is. He could of said you need to go back to the other guy and have it fixed but no... he took care of the warranty right on the spot. Next he confirmed that the "brain" did need to be replaced. He gave us options of having him buy it new and putting it in would be pricier or we can find a used one at a fraction of the cost and then he can put that one in. We went with option 2. We found the part and Athens took the car right in and put the part in. We found that the part failed right away. So we went to the same place and got another part. 2 days later Athens attempted to put this one in and it failed also. At this point they were now very determined to find out why it keeps failing. They could have set us free and said you need to buy it new and then come back. No they were great they asked to hold on to the car for a few days so they can get down to the bottom of the problem. To us it sounded like an electrical issue was happening now. Well..... We were so excited to hear when they called back-the car has passed smog. They went above and beyond to get to the bottom and really help us out. The car was at the point if my husband got pulled over it would be towed by highway patrol and at the same time it is how my husband makes money driving to and from work. We are sooooo happy with how honest and caring they are. The final price for everything they did was VERY affordable. I cant say enough good things about the people at Athens. Thank you very much! We will now be having all of our work on our vehicles and maintenance done here. I will see you in a couple months for routine maintenance & smog on my car. read more

San was super helpful and accommodating. I was able to get an appointment quickly and had a diagnosis within an hour. Luckily no parts were required so my 2010 Crosstour was fixed within another hour and I was on my way in less than two hours. Highly recommend this place to one and all! read more

Sarn is a awesome mechanic, who's expertise is off the charts! I recommend him to all my family and friends.

This guys save my trip last week, We were driving from los angeles going to oregon on my 2009 acura mdx when the AC starts to fail, went to a pepboys i think and recommend this place and the guy was so nice, i guess he felt bad for us and yold me give me 40 mins and get you out of here and he diagnose and fixed it, i guess needed freon, after 40 mins the AC was so cold i was only turning it on at minimum speed. Awesome shop. Thank you saving our trip. read more

Athens Auto Technicians - Fixed my Ac problem in no time. Made it to regon and back to socal. - Auto Repair Near Me - Redding, California

I have had work on a 2006 Toyota Tundra and a 2000 Tundra before that at this business over quite a few years. Both the previous and current owners do quality work. The oxygen sensor went out at an inconvenient time, and these guys fixed it for me in one day! This is in the busy summer time too! I had them change the timing belt on the truck about 100,000 miles ago. The truck has run great . I'll probably use them again to do this work. read more

Amazing technicians diagnosed my vehicle issue when the dealer and two other shops could not. Thank you! read more

Athens auto has always been very reliable and honest with there services. The customer service is amazing and very complete they never leave anything out today we have a car there again never do I worry about there service read more

Addendum to my 2015 post: They are still accommodating and kind! I'm totally isolating during the pandemic, and they helped me with the arrangements to get my car there and back. I can't thank them enough for being so thoughtful. read more

This shop has been nothing but honest with me. I was on a trip up from Sacramento headed to Seattle in my 2008 GMC Denali. All of a sudden my car just stalls at a stop light. I'm very familiar with fuel pump problems on these vehicles as it's my third one I've owned. I called these guys up and the gentleman I spoke to (sorry, I can't remember his name) arranged a tow to their facility. They had me in and out in just a few hours. They knew the sense of urgency and also saw that I was stuck with my family. They got me back on the road in no time, no upsales, flat out no bullshit. That's what I like in a repair facility. 100% honesty gets my business for life. If they were local to me, this would be my shop for auto repair. I have friends and family in Redding so I will be referring them to this facility. read more

Well all I can say is the lady running the office bald faced lied to me about how they like to help their seniors in the community and told me about how they help them with making payments on work done, LIES. I came back a few weeks later to have the job done on my car and she said they don't do that there. Went on with a story about how they did that for an elderly couple and when finances got bad for the couple, they just stopped making the payments. I know its hard to find an auto machanics shop willing to do that for a customer so I was very surprised when she told me they did. Apparently she's one of those types that likes to hook people with how great they are to the people in the community etc, then once you're there, they think the customer will go ahead and have the job done anyway...WRONG. I have no idea how good the mechanics are that actually do the work, but if they're anywhere big a liar as the woman running the desk, well to hell with that. I gave it one star only because I had to to post the review otherwise, I would give them -10 for their bullcrap and wasting my time. read more

I actually signed up on yelp just so that I can leave a review for Athens. It seemed to me that a single review (which is what this shop had, prior to my review) based on one personal and subjective experience can be very misleading, and thought that I, in all fairness, should balance out the one entry with "my" personal and subjective experience. My review obviously does not negate the very negative experience of the previous customer, but hopefully, my entry will perhaps illuminate another side (maybe a better day?) of Athens... I encountered Athens when I was on a road trip. My car had developed grinding and rumbling noise on the front passenger side. It sounded like the wheel bearing, but just to make sure, I had two older tires replaced (which had delaminated and was dangerously close to blowout) at another shop. The noise continued, so I went to a repair shop in Redding with a high rating, which turned out to be a German-car-only shop (mine's Corolla). They referred me to Athens, which was just up the street. I needed the car fixed quickly, and the owner was willing to get working on it immediately. What made me stay with the shop instead of doing more research was that as I was waiting, I overheard the owner tell another customer who've come in with an old truck not to worry about the payment for inspection as he had not done anything on it. He gave me a quote for parts and labor, from the same cost estimate book that all autoshops (except maybe for the dealers) seem to use. It was a lot more than I expected, but I knew that this would be the quote regardless of where I went. As he was fixing up the wheel bearing, he alerted me that the front brake pads were wearing thin, and will need to be replaced. This I knew to be true as another shop said the same thing. Athens ended up replacing the front pads on both sides for a little over $40, for the price of parts only, and had me back on the road. Of course, I would have liked the labor rate to be about 1/3 of what the mechanics seem to be charging nowadays, but they have to make a living too...and if I were to put aside the sticker shock of walking into an auto shop and focus on what Athens did for me, I would say that Athens comes pretty close to a five star. read more

This auto repair shop ROCKS!! The never fail. Three time in this place and they did a great job repairing to my 02 Dodge Dakota. Reasonable price and most of of all they are very professional and very friendly. read more

I had an appointment at Athens Auto for later in the week, but took my car in several days earlier than planned, because the problem was getting worse, and I was afraid to drive the car. They repaired it in less time than I thought it would take, and for considerably less, than the estimate was. read more

The shop is the only place in Redding that I will actually go to. finally get an honest mechanic that doesn't try to get your money and get you out of the shop. They actually take the time to explain how my car works and how I need to fix it luckily for me they fix it and provide good customer service at the same time. They have gained me as a customer for life I will definitely be back thanks guys. read more

I have gone into ricks shop twice now and all i can say, is i have been blown away by how honest and how far, him and his team goes to meet all my expectations. Great service i will be back for a 3rd time. And will send all my friends here now. read more

Dale is back! Athens is now back under Dale and now they are always busy, because Dale is the man. Straight up integrate guy. Will always try to give you the lowest price. And they do a great job. I've taken my car there 4 times now and have been very pleased every time. Highly recommend you taken your business to Dale. read more

It appears that YELP is not reporting correctly and since this is my favorite shop in the world, I did not want my review to go unnoticed. The reviews that are really good are under a tab that for some reason says OTHER NOT RECOMMENDED REVIEWS. HA !!! I am a widowed mom with four kids. I have always taken my car to this shop because they do NOT take advantage and rip off single widowed moms like many other uncaring shops in this town. They have always done excellent work on my car and the cars of my children. If you want a seriously good shop that won't rip you off, this is the place to go!! Fast, kind, and honorable. read more

Stay away. The work I had performed seems to be okay. The thing that made me mad was when I stoped by on my bike at 10 at night i found my truck unlocked with the keys in the ignition. The vehicle was disabled but my subs and amp could have easily been stolen.When I confronted the owner of the shop he told me he knew the keys were there and that he had night security and insurance. Total BS read more

I found myself stuck in Redding, far from home and with limited resources when my aging Honda broke down. The guys at Athens got me up and running in a day. They gave me an estimate and a schedule and met both. Actually, the cost came in slightly below the estimate. I'm grateful for their help. read more

This is not a review of their work but instead it is a review of their humanity. I was jogging by and less than 15 feet away from them when my knee popped out of place. I fell and had to limp out of the driveway. I was hysterical and in so much pain. Not one of the four men working even thought to come make sure I was okay. Luckily a kind man stopped who lived nearby and waited with me while my husband drove to get me. Is this the town we live in? A town where we can't even care for an injured pedestrian. I am amazed at the lack of humanity these people had. I feel that anyone who can watch some one in pain and just ignore it should probably not be trusted as a mechanic. read more

I take my car to Athens because of the integrity they have. My car had been acting up so I took it to have Rick find out why it was dying on me when restarting it after a couple of errands, or when idling in line at a drive through, or when I turned on the air... etc. He ran it through diagnostics - no codes; He ran it out on the street - no dying; and after all said & done, he didn't find anything wrong and didn't charge me a penny. Wow! He simply gave me some pointers to watch for in the car and to let him know if it acts up again. read more

These guys are awesome. I had some major repairs done on our car and everything was fixed perfectly and speedily. The guys there are super nice and friendly and their prices are right as well. They stayed in communication with about the progress of the repairs and I can only recommend this shop. This was our first time we used their services and we will be back with our other two vehicles. It is hard to find someone you can trust and we experienced first hand that Athen's Auto is a first rate shop. read more

I am a single woman who lives here in Redding, and I'd like to tell a story and give you all a warning. I have a Mazda 626 that began to overheat. So I took it to Athens Auto Repair. I told they I had checked the temp-sensor,that is was not working, and that one of the 2 fans was not working. They told me I needed a new radiator, and thermostat. I was told the fans both worked and the temp-sensor worked So I paid them $340 to replace the radiator and thermostat. It still over-heated. Then they told me that I had blown the head and they could fix it for $1400. Second Mechanic found that the radiator had been installed wrong and a wrong-giant-used hose put in the way of a fan that chopped a hole in it. The thermostat was NOT replaced tho its on my receipt & I paid for one. The fan was NOT working and the temp sensor WAS bad. $150 for an honest Mechanic and my car is running fine. Does NOT have a blown head and is now not over-heating. I tried to talk to Athens Auto about their "mistake" and was laughed at and invited to leave. Don't have the $ to be cheated? avoid Athens Auto Repair read more

When I was stranded 100 miles from Redding with a broken down 1998 minivan a friend recommended this shop. And thanks to AAA I was able to have it towed to this shop for free. And from that point on they did nothing but cost me money and valuable time, due to their horribly inaccurate diagnosis. After a couple of hours diagnosis they (the shop manager and mechanic) told me I needed head-gaskets, which as most folks know, is a very expensive repair, about $1,500-$2,000 for this van. I decided to have it hauled a couple hundred miles to my home town mechanic, who discovered it had no problem whatsoever, except for the fact that water had somehow ended up in the gas tank, which as I had been driving down the road, ultimately ended up making the engine inoperable. My usual mechanic drained the water from the gas tank (less than one hour labor) and the van fired up and ran great. It had no other operating problem. There is much more to this story, however, my summary is simply to suggest that this shop is one I would strongly suggest you avoid. read more