I was hesitant to have work done on my van there because I was afraid their service would be overpriced. I had that impression because I had heard about the decor in the waiting room. However, Babcock is within walking distance of my house so I figured I'd give them a try and not have to deal with a courtesy ride. As it turns out, they did a great job at a reasonable price. The staff was super friendly but professional and efficient. They kept in touch with me, letting me know what needed repair immediately and what could wait, what everything was going to cost, how long it would take, and when it was ready. Also, I did not think the decor of the waiting area was over the top. It was comfortable and clean. I will not hesitate to take my vehicle there for work in the future. read more

The KINGS of the upsell ! When you walk into any car repair place and see 4 service advisors at the counter , all who work mostly on commission just turn around and leave ASAP. By comparison, Park Place BMW has one advisor working and have NEVER pressured me I went for an oil change and overheard the service advisor talk about his new Hellcat (Hello commissions) as he tried to turn my $125 mobil 1 oil change into a $2500 bill, NONE OF Which was recommended by the mechanic. The BEST was the attempted CLOSER.......he said he would be careful driving very far because my coolant and hoses had 80K miles...........no leaks.........just miles, lol Go someplace , no anyplace else. read more

they overcharge made it down the road car broke down terrible service. They don't stand be behind there work. They're just out to rob people. read more

Service team was nice and professional. everything was done in a timely manner. I use them for all my car care needs

It's a great feeling to know your vehicle is so well taken care of! They are a 5 plus star business for quality and value of service. Hats off to a great team of people!! Thank you! read more

Turnaround time was great and everyone was friendly. We were very stressed about being without our main vehicle and having young children so the care and timeliness was extremely appreciated. read more

Timely, professional, thorough, great advice, this was a great overall customer experience!

If you're okay with being grossly overcharged for service at Babcock, take your vehicle there, but be prepared for price-shock. I found, after the fact, that Babcock charged me at least $166 more than I would have been charged at the Chevy dealership in Rochester. About three days after paying the excessive bill at Babcock, I sent a message of complaint to them in which I included the vast gulf in their charge compared to the Rochester Chevy dealership charge for the same work. I have not heard a word of explanation from Babcock. read more

Want to preface this review with a couple of things: - I drive a 2017 Acura RDX with just under 70K miles on it (as a point of reference) - The staff I have interacted with at Babcock have been nice and pleasant (only reason this is two stars and not one) - I admittedly do not know much about cars and prior to coming here have placed a lot of trust that those working on my vehicle have my best interests at heart (I know it sounds foolish but I moved to Rochester in the summer of 2023 and before this had a very reliable, caring auto service shop that I went to). - I do not say any of this to be malicious, but feel I need to report on this because what happened just wasn't okay for me or for anyone I have only been to Babcock a couple of times. This most recent one was for an oil change and tire rotation. When the appointment was done, they had noted that there were several services that "needed attention" including BG Automatic Transmission Fluid Exchange, BG Cooling System Fluid Flush, Brake Fluid System Flush, Premium Air & Fuel Injection Service, BG Transfer Case Fluid Exchange, BG Rear Differential Fluid Exchange, replace Upper and Lower Radiator Hoses, and rear brake inspection and likely replacement. I had asked the service advisor truly how soon any of these needed to be done, and his response was while they didn't need to be done "that day" they should be done "sooner rather than later." I not knowing the details of my cars service history super well and thinking they have my best interest at heart, ended up making an appointment the next morning (was traveling out of town the next week and have fears of car breaking down). I had spoken with some friends about this visit and each one of them thought it was very odd that all of those services needed to be done on a vehicle of my age with that mileage. Their suspicions led me to doing more research myself. I looked up the 2017 Acura RDX Maintenance Schedule and found some different various recommendations online, all of which made me start questioning why I was needing to get these services done now or potentially so soon if I had them done before. I remembered that I get CARFAX reports emailed to me so I decided to look there and see if they had my maintenance history on my car. They did, and low and behold, in June of 2023 I had a wealth of services done on my car, including: Transmission Fluid Changed, Brake Fluid Flushed/Changed, Differential Fluid Flushed/Changed, Rear Differential Service Serviced, Transfer Case Fluid Flushed/Changed, and Brakes Serviced. All of these services were now being recommended to be done by Babcock "soon" despite them being done less than 1 year ago. I am not sure if this was a conscious attempt to "pull one over" on me or incompetence on their part for not reviewing the car history (Babcock reports to CARFAX so I have to imagine they can see my car's vehicle history). Or maybe for some reason all these services do need to be done again that soon, but then I have to imagine something is terribly wrong with my car and then they clearly failed to identify that as well. I returned that morning to let them know about my findings and the response from the service advisor was "oh so just the brakes we're doing for you today?" Never apologized or tried to look into why I was about to spend over $1,000+ on services I very likely did not in fact need. Not sure exactly what happened on their end, but regardless I just can't trust them with my vehicle any further and won't be returning. Lessons Learned: DO your OWN homework and NEVER assume those in the service industry have your best interest in mind. read more

I worked with Adam for hubcap replacement. He got me in the same day and was quick, kind, and knowledgeable. As a single female with little knowledge of cars, I was dreading getting any work done on my car. But at Babcock, I felt very comfortable. It was also a great value! I will definitely be going back. read more

Super nice and understanding people here, would recommend! Great family style service

It's the worest place you go. They are not nice and very bad communication. They charging a lot. Please don't go to them. To get better service, and save money. read more

Babcock Auto was the only place in Rochester that could service our Honda since we were in a time crunch. In the end they provided an excellent repair job and an honest assessment of our problem using the usual modern test methods. They did the usual offering of fluid and filter changes that were not needed at the moment (in each case I said we didn't need that) and charged us a little more than we'd be charged elsewhere in town. I have no complaints about the diagnosis and the repair -- both excellently executed. I'd definitely consult them again for repairs. read more

When I was living in Rochester someone recommended I go to Babcock for an oil change. Im always worried places will try to over charge me or take advantage of me because I'm female. Well, I can't help but feel that Babcock met this expectation. The facility is very nice and the staff is extremely friendly but I left Babcock and will never go back. I'll say upfront that I am not the most knowledgeable about cars but I do know the basics. I know enough that I should not have been charged nearly $100 for an oil change even for full synthetic. They tried to get me to replace my air filter even though it was clean and I just had it replaced. When I asked them why it was so much money they said "the oil will last longer and you won't need to change it as soon". Yet when I look at the sticker they put in my car it says to get an oil change in the same 7000 mile increment that I always get. They will top off your windshield wiper fluid, however I don't recall any other extra services. I left feeling overcharged for a regular oil change that would cost $60-$70 elsewhere. I hate to leave 2 stars, but I should have been told up front how much it was going to cost especially if it was beyond the normal price for an oil change. And it doesn't seem right to lie and say the "oil will last longer". Full synthetic always lasts longer, but it's still a lot cheaper elsewhere. Update: I was contacted by someone From Babcock who looked into my invoice and price. The price was correct, however it was brought to my attention that they do use high quality oil (Mobil 1) and they always offer to have your air filter changed if your a new customer(so don't feel pressured if they ask). Lesson learned: you should always ask how much it will cost before getting any service done, regardless if it's an oil change. read more

They are a great place to call. Helped us when we were in a bind. Called back promptly and took care of our problem promptly. Highly recommend them. read more

I was on my way to Rochester for the weekend when my car died on the side of the road. I did a quick Yelp search while waiting for the tow truck and decided to take it to Babcock Auto Care. They were extremely nice and very service oriented, but their pricing made me feel like they were trying to take advantage of me. (I'm a single woman and often thing people assume I know nothing about cars.) My car ultimately needed a new transmission. The car was old and they knew I was not likely to put a lot of money into it, so they found and proposed a used transmission (with over 100K miles on it) for roughly $2K. I called my mechanic back home and he said the price was way too much. I decided not to do the repair and instead salvage the car. Babcock told me my car would only be worth $250. They said that I already owed them $150 for the diagnostics they'd done (and I agreed to) and that it would cost me at least $100 to have it towed to a Salvage lot so they offered to 'whipe my bill clean' in exchange for the car title. Again, my mechanic back home said that price was ridiculous. And I ended up finding a great guy at a nearby Salvage yard that came and picked it up for free and paid me $500. So bottom line - super nice, great service but watch out for inflated pricing! read more

This place is a huge auto emporium located next to Hwy 52 near the Napa and Menard's. It has a giant lobby like a fancy car dealership, with coffee and magazines and stuff, looks all new and swanky. The woman I worked with was nice on the phone and I was able to get my car in within a few days, unlike other places that are often booked up for weeks. I dropped my car off and I was able to get a courtesy ride home during the repairs and then picked up afterwards. Convenient. I got an oil change for $29.99, air filter changed out for $17.98. They did a courtesy check on the rest of the car because it's been almost 150,000 miles and I just wanted to make sure it was in good running order. They told me the rear brake pads and rotors needed replacing, that cost about $250, unfortunately. I meant to ask to see these myself to confirm but I forgot to do it (they did show me the dirty air filter though). They replaced a serpentine belt for 110.67. Lastly they told me the battery was not measuring up to what it should, and gave me a little receipt I could use to try to get a credit on my warranty for it. They did not pressure me to do any of these repairs but just presented them as options with varying priority levels. Overall, this was a very good experience and I would recommend this place. read more

My husband and I cannot say enough good things about Babcock. We actually don't live in the area, but were in town over the holidays and needed some routine work done on our car, so we took it into Babcock. A complication occurred with the maintenance and some necessary parts, which was obviously not ideal and, as a result, we had to leave our car with Babcock much longer than we expected. But, it is not possible for the management at Babcock to be more amazing about the issue. They took care of us and eventually got both us and our car safely back home. They were reasonable, professional and very friendly. If we're ever in need of service in the area again, we'll definitely go to Babcock! read more

I got the chance to take a tour of Babcock Auto's facilities and talk to some of the team and all I can say is wow this is awesome! Everything about this place is great including the friendly can do attitude of their team. Jeremy and Jeana really care about their customers and team. I really like this in a business that I deal with. I would highly recommend Babcock to everyone read more

Babcock Auto Care - This is a world class waiting area at Babcock Auto - Auto Repair Near Me - Rochester, Minnesota

Babcock Auto was a great experience. I moved to the area about a year ago and had been going to the local dealership, until now. My father is a mechanic and has run his own shop for 30 years and this place feels just like home (but maybe a little more modern). My vehicle had a problem shifting out of park so I did a little investigating and was 95% sure it was in the shifting console (factory part that was plastic broke from wear and tear), so I purchased my own part and was going to attempt taking care of the problem myself, but it seemed like the process was going to be more complex than I originally thought. I called the dealer and they stated that they wouldn't be able to get me in for at least a week and a half, and then they would have the "transmission dept" look at the problem. Well I need the car for work... so I called Babcock. Mike was great on the phone. I described the problem, said it seemed like it was a known issue and also told him I had purchased my own part. He said they don't normally use customer purchased parts, but since I had just bought it from next door (at napa) they could probably just use it. I also asked how fast they could have it done and he said most likely 2-3 days. Luckily I didn't work until the weekend. I dropped it off and hoped for the best. Interim point... I asked my dad how much he would charge for the work I was looking at having done for a paying customer and he said probably about $300. Fast forward... Later the SAME day, Mike called to let me know that I had diagnosed the issue correctly and they could have it done the NEXT day. Great! Picked up the car today, Mike said the job went a little easier than they thought so the price was dropped closer to $250, which is great. Sure it seems steep, but when you bring your car to a shop you are paying for experience and someone to do LABOR. So I don't understand why people think all the money is going into their pockets. Shops have to pay for a butt load of insurance, their man-power and equipment. So I see this price as fair, or even better because it beat my father's quote. I could have done the repair myself, but I made the choice to have Babcock do it for me and I am glad I did. Mike was professional, communicative and considered my input throughout the process. Jeremy and Jeana, as far as I can tell you guys have a great guy Mike on your team, along with the rest of your crew. I hope to continue having great care at your establishment. read more

One of the nicest places I've been in . luxurious waiting area even a play space for kids. Great pricing and very friendly definitely get my business again. read more

Babcock Auto Care - Auto Repair Near Me - Rochester, Minnesota

I called and talked Dan to see if I could get an estimate to fix what seemed to be a transmission oil leak. I asked if there would be a fee for the estimate and was told no. When I arrived it was towards the end of the day and they opened the hood and looked at it. I was going to set up an appointment and again said "there is no fee for the estimate, correct". This time it was $125. I asked if that would be applied to the repair and they said not necessarily. What changed? The Ford dealer was upfront and said the estimate is $99 and all would be applied to the repair. If you charge for an estimate be open about it and the public can decide if they want their vehicle looked at before driving out there. read more

I went to Babcock over a year ago because all four of my tires were wearing down to the thread on only the inner aspect of the tire. Babcock quoted me around $3000 worth of repairs that they said needed to be done. I took my car to an actual dealership for a second opinion. I did not tell the dealership that I had already gotten a quote from Babcock because I wanted their unbiased opinion and quote. The dealership told me that the repair I needed was something completely different than what Babcock had told me. I ended up getting the repairs done at the dealership, along with an alignment and new tires. I waited this long to post a review because I wanted to ensure that my vehicle was truly fixed before I posted a review. I was very disappointed with Babcock and would not recommend them to anyone. Or if you are set on going there, at least get a second opinion from an actual dealership. Update 7/25/17 The parts I had replaced (at a different shop) after getting a quote at Babcock were a control arm and ball joint, as well as 4 new tires and an alignment. The thing I appreciated the least from Babcock was how they tried to take advantage of me (a female) and by making it sound as if ALL of the $3000 worth of repairs HAD to be done IMMEDIATELY or else my car would not be road safe. I was nearly in tears. My car now has 170,000 miles and I have not had ANY problems arise since having it repaired at a (in my opinion) much more honest and trustworthy repair shop. read more

Shady place with a fancy front. We dropped the car off for an APPOINTMENT at 11:00, came back at 3:00, and they hadn't even worked on it yet. (It wasn't a big job.) We had to sit in the overly fancy, overhead-intensive waiting room for over an hour. (They had it for over 5 hours total!) We asked about a separate issue and they suggested replacing the catalytic converter (spendy part) instead of a semi-simple weld with a flex pipe (which we did at a different place and it worked fine). Never even offered the weld as an option. Never offered anything for the long wait either. A month or so later I noticed a horrid wear pattern on the front tires; you could tell they weren't aligned properly, even though we had unwittingly paid $89 for alignment as part of the repair work. I contacted them in an attempt to negotiate something for their crap work, and all I got was an empty "we'll look at it for free" kind of reply. Those were expensive all-season Pirelli's that they wrecked! To boot, my father-in-law noted their inability to perform a simple oil change! They overfilled it even after he confirmed the capacity with them. Over-selling, incompetent a-holes. Avoid at all costs! 10/8/2015 Reply to Jeana: I certainly intended on calling you back, until I read your reply... You called while I was working, and now I'm wasting my free time defending my bad experience and opinion of how we were treated. Can your pictures and documentation explain the absurd wait time? Can they explain the ill-worn tires? How about the lack of options? When I asked the service person if there were other options on the exhaust leak, he told me 'no' and showed me a diagram of the pipe. Not helpful... We took it elsewhere and had a flex pipe welded on for less than a fourth of what was suggested at your place, and it was by a dealership of all places where I would expect a higher price. I wrote this review after being reminded that the tires are now bald on the inside and need replacement before winter. They had at least another year on them, and now I have to deal with that cost. I viewed your attempt to rectify as inadequate, and I didn't want to deal with your business any more, hence why I avoided your "quality assurance" call. Even if you offered me free tires and service for a year, I would not step foot in your establishment another time. I apologize if I'm being a bit rude, and I'm sure you're all nice people, but my wife and I did not have a good experience with the work or the wait, and we're left to eat the cost of new tires. While I can't prove the alignment was absolutely the cause of the wear, the evidence is highly suggestive. Accusing dissatisfied customers of being wrong about their opinion is offensive, so kindly lose my number. read more

A week ago today (Saturday) my wife and I decided to go out for lunch in Rochester. Before we left the house (in her 2010 Ford Escape) we noticed the "Check Engine" light was on. I checked the oil and that seemed OK, and nothing "sounded weird" so we drove into town. After lunch, the light was still on, so we drove out to the Ford dealer to have it checked out. It was around 2 in the afternoon, and so we went into the "Express Lane" at Rochester Ford...where we were told that they were too busy to even take a quick look at the car...even though we had some work done on the car just a few days before. We remembered the great experience we had with Babcock a couple of months ago, so we drove over there...it was very close by. Went into the waiting area, and a guy said he would come out right away to check it out. Turns out his name was Jeremy, and he was the owner of the place, and he brought some equipment out into the parking lot, connected it to the car...and in just a few minutes, determined that the problem was something to do with the fuel evaporating system or something like that. He said the car would be OK to drive, and that since Ford had been working on the car recently, we should just wait until Monday to take it back to Ford...which is what we did. We offered to pay him for his service, but he wouldn't take any money. The point of this review is that this guy, in the middle of a Saturday afternoon, came right out to our car with his equipment, checked it out...told us nothing needed to be done immediately, and didn't want any money for helping us out this way. You can't beat service like this...and it's a sure thing that when we need service on our Ford that doesn't have to be done at the Ford dealer, we will be going to Babcock. read more

I have taken my vehicles to Babcock Auto for about 2 yrs now and have always been pleased by everything they do. Recently, when I called to make an appointment for an oil change and to look into getting new tires. He took the time to research the best options for my vehicle and call me back with estimates (without even coming in). On the day of my appointment, I was informed of a few other things that were wearing out in our truck and all my questions were answered. My kids were happily entertained for more than an hour with the large play area. Very good business and customer service. read more

I was very pleased with Babcock auto. I have had so many nightmares with auto repair I dread taking my car in. They were very friendly and the service was exceptional. My car was pulling hard to the left and making a loud screeching noise. My brother said to call Babcock so I did. They took it in the next day and called me later with a estimate for the repairs. He explained everything in great detail and I really appreciated that since I know nothing about mechanical things. The job was done fast and affordably, great service. read more

On multiple occasions I was ripped off and received a lie after lie. They do not acknowledge their mistakes and never fix them. Services adviser is a liar and very misleading. I had my cars services there about 7 times and not even one time it was done right way. I chose to ignore them and their $10 discounts on $975 "service". Stay away if you respect yourself !! read more

I took my vehicle in for a brake job, which should be a relatively minor procedure. Everyone was nice and they were honest, which was good. However, I can't get past the price. It was over $700 for a set of four brakes with just reconditioning the existing rotors. In performing follow-up after the fact, even $600 seems very steep and that's if the rotors are replaced. I still have rotors that have 100,000 miles on them and I'm out $700, this just makes no sense I have perhaps $100 worth of new "stuff" on my car and $600 for labor and markup? ******* Update: I feel I should remove any hyperbole from my previous last paragraph as the owners and the General Manager are stand-up people--so that was removed. However, the overall point remains. I needed the most basic brake service--four non-squeaky brake pads and reconditioning of the rotors. I found the price for the pads to be about ~$100 online. I'm not begrudging companies a profit, or even $100/hour for labor. I just can't reconcile $725 to what others have paid for brake jobs with similar or less requirements. I want to make it clear, the rating is simply price based. If $600 and up for a routine brake job is normal or cool with you, you should definitely consider Babcock as they have great customer service, a nice waiting area, a great GM and owners and a shuttle service. It was not meant to be personal, just price. I apologize if it came across differently. read more

My family and I are in Rochester until the end of the month for my husband's visiting Medical Student rotation and one of our headlights went out. Since we aren't at home, we didn't have the tools to fix it so we decided to find somewhere to take it to. Not only did they complete the replacement quickly (which was so appreciated because I had my 1 yr old with me), but they even cleaned and vacuumed out my car (again, I have a 1 yr old, so you can imagine the mess). And all for a very competitive price (I called around before deciding on Babcock Auto) The waiting room is incredibly comfortable and they even have a whole area for kids with Legos, books, and other toys. I wish we lived in the area, so that we could make this our go to Auto Repair place! read more

We're from the Cities! On our way home we had car trouble! Found Babcock online, called, they had our part ordered b4 our cAr arrived. Car was done in a timely manner & the price was fair! The Mood & attitude of ALL the employees was so great. I have NEVER had such a great experience w/ any business! Wonderful experience & would recommend to any 1. What a great company!!! read more

They know what they are doing. Waiting room looks great. Jeana and Jeremy are both hands on and they understand Customer Service.

Terribly overpriced. It cost me $120 for a regular oil change. After I had specifically requested the regular oil not the upgraded, they used the upgraded and charged me. They build all the the price into the labor. I will never be back! read more

I drove to Rochester from Dallas Texas for a 3 week program at the Mayo Clinic. While driving through Iowa I started to have major car problems with my AC and suspected my AC compressor was going out. I also knew I was having issues with my wheel bearings. Not being from Rochester I had no idea where to take my vehicle to or who I could trust. I was very worried about being taken for a ride being from out of town. I did a Google search and looked at reviews hoping to find an honest mechanic. I called Babcock to explain my situation and they worked me right in. They promised not to do any work until they could evaluate the problem and call me back. They had a shuttle service to get me back to my hotel. I worked with Fernando Rosas who was very professional and honest. He was clearly working with the mechanics and understood everything that needed to be repaired. He verified that the AC Compressor did indeed freeze up and that the driver side wheel bearing were shot as well. He gave me an estimate on the repairs and said they could get everything done. Fernando called me several times throughout the next 2 days to keep me in the loop on how repairs were going. Unfortunately after performing the final inspection and drive test they found an additional problem and were nice enough not to charge me labor, but rather just for the part since it wasn't initially diagnosed. These guys are very honest, extremely professional and are customer service oriented. It's nice to know there are still honest mechanics out there who aren't trying to rip out of town customers off. Thanks Fernando and Babcock! read more

Let me start of my review by saying that Babcock has great customer service- they treated me very well throughout the car repair process. But their work in my experience was a hack job. I was visiting Rochester from out of town and needed a few expensive repairs done. Babcock performed 3 repairs for me- 2 of which have had to be re-done since my return home. We had to bring the car back to them multiple times while in town, as " new problems" magically appeared after they worked on our car, and they had difficulty getting the repairs right. Not only did 2 of their repairs fail, but my power steering stopped working THE DAY after they worked on my car. Not a coincidence. But they happily replaced the power steering pump, only to have it fail on our drive home. I payed them $2300 for failed repairs and them creating new problems. In summary, thank heaven for their parts warranty! I've had my mechanic at home fix their repairs under warranty, with no problems. My car is driving great now, but I would never give Babcock my business again. Nice people, but the lowest quality work I've ever had done on my car. read more

They are across the street from Menards and the freeway from Walmart North. They took my Subaru Legacy engine check light as a walk-in, and replaced the catalytic converter the same day and gave me a ride home in their van. Also had them straighten out the Accord muffler that got banged up parking just fine, on a weekend walk in. The waiting room and especially bathroom are architect overkill. Good alternative to full price service and having to schedule appointment at dealer. There is also a cheap car wash next door so don't ever wait for 45 min at the gas station the saturday after the snow storm, and also a napa car parts store next door. read more

Terrific experience! Trustworthy, efficient, friendly, and they do nice work! I was staying in Rochester when my car started sounding like a muffler fell off. I looked at the AAA Auto recommendations and went to Babcock because they were highly recommended. Steve and Mike looked at the vehicle right away and gave me a couple options (including doing very minor work and having the rest completed at my local auto repair shop) at a very reasonable price. The repair had to do with my emissions. I was 6 hours from home so they could have taken advantage of the situation, but they gave me an honest estimate. They were so nice and knowledgeable that I decided to have the complete work done and they also provided a shuttle service that took me back locally where I needed to go. They called during the repair to let me know that things were going well and to give me an estimate of the time the vehicle would be done. The vehicle was done according to plan, all the repairs were explained in detail to me, my vehicle was nice and quiet to drive, and I have had no problems since. In fact, I just passed my emissions test with flying colors! I really wish this auto repair shop was near me!!! I would use them for all my vehicles! read more

From the Mike's at the front desk to the shuttle drivers they all showed excellent customer service! They were able to get my car in the same day I called to get a belt replaced. They also stayed late because my car ended up needing another part replaced. Which they had kept me informed the whole time before they did anything. This place was great they were able to drop me off at work and pick me up after. I will definitely go back. read more

Troy got my car in right away when it started making a strange noise and I was able to pick it up the very next day. They did a very thorough inspection, took pictures, explained what they found (including an error from another shop) and provided all this online for me to review. Will definitely be returning to Babcock when my car needs help. read more