I gave this shop a second chance with my 2011 BMW 3 Series after a disappointing experience in the past, but unfortunately the problems this time were even worse. I will not be returning, and I would caution others to think carefully before bringing their car here. My most recent appointment began on February 5, 2025. I picked the car up on February 10 after the repairs were supposedly completed. While still at the shop, I looked under the hood and saw a loose part that wasn't affixed to anything. Even one of their own staff, Joey, looked at it and said, "What the fuck did he do?" When I asked if it was supposed to be like that, he confirmed it was not. That alone was unsettling, but things got worse. The very next day while driving to work, a "Service Engine Soon" light came on. I brought the car back that afternoon. I was told it would take an hour, but after several calls and more than three hours of waiting, the response I got was, "I don't know what to do with it. It's not taking programming, not doing what it's supposed to do." I finally got the car back that evening, unresolved. A few days later, the light came back again. They eventually admitted that the valve cover they had installed was cracked and leaking oil, which required them to disassemble and reassemble the car again. To their credit, they were honest about the cause, but the attitude I encountered was frustration at the "extra" work rather than any sense of accountability. What should have been a routine repair turned into multiple visits and days of wasted time. When I finally picked up the car, I found the seats covered in debris because the windows had been left open while the car sat in their lot. I mentioned this politely as feedback and instead of an apology, I was met with annoyance. This kind of service is reckless and sloppy. Auto repair is about safety and trust. Leaving parts loose, installing cracked components, and responding defensively to customer concerns creates an unsafe and unreliable experience. While they did eventually explain the cause of the problem, the overall lack of care and responsibility makes this shop a risk I am no longer willing to take. In the past, I was generally satisfied with their work, but now after two major negative experiences I cannot recommend this business. A repair shop should give customers more confidence in the safety of their car, not less. ---- Past review: I have serviced my BMW here several times over the years and was generally satisfied with their work until the last visit. Two issues arose during that service. First, my car was returned to me 1.5 days later than promised. When I mentioned the major inconvenience and frustration this caused, Dave responded, "The contractor I am working with didn't show up for two days. I am equally frustrated. Your car had to sit and take up the space in my lot for two extra days!" There was no apology or acknowledgment that the customer ultimately suffers the consequences. The second, and even bigger issue, was that they short-circuited my $600 dual dash cam system when replacing the car battery. While I should have disconnected it prior to giving them the car, they should have done so as well. Instead, I was told, "I am not responsible for after-market hardware. I am not going to go around the car and search for things to unplug." Again, there was zero responsibility or regret, not even an attempt to improve by advising customers to disconnect all electronics themselves in the future. read more

I went in to get a diagnosis and repair for a problem I was having with my struts or something on my dodge Magnum. There was a creaking somewhere under there. They didn't fix it! But that's ok because they told me up front they weren't sure of the root problem. Instead of selling me a day long project that was a shit in the dark they offered a small/inexpensive potential solution (but no promises). I paid them the $125 if I remember correctly. Ultimately it didn't work but I don't mind because they were up front and honest about it. They are also usually pretty talkative and helpful with maintenance advice and giving context and answering questions. read more

I took my car to Baird Automotive for power steering repairs. While the car was in the shop, the garage called to say that they would need to cut into the bottom of the car to access the power steering. I gave my approval for them to do this. I picked up the car and paid about $1,560 for the work. Not even two hours after leaving the shop, while parallel parking, my car caught on fire. A passerby alerted me, and by the time the fire department arrived, the entire front end of my car was engulfed in flames. The car was a total loss. I returned to Baird Automotive to speak with Joey Baird. Rather than working to make things right, Joey's reaction was to refer this to his insurance company. I offered to settle things peacefully by asking for a refund in exchange for a non-disparagement agreement and a promise not to take legal action. Joey refused even that. While car repairs are never guaranteed to be perfect, a reliable and trustworthy mechanic should at least stand behind their work and handle customer concerns with integrity. The fact that my car caught fire less than two hours after leaving the shop raises serious questions about the quality of the work performed, and Joey Baird's lack of professionalism refusal to make things right was a disappointment. read more

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NEVER EVER GO TO THIS SHOP! They misdiagnosed the issue with my car, overcharged me for an unnecessary repair, but the worse part was continued to deny that they had put in a off-market part. On top of that Joey was rude and unkind. Proof is in the photo - and yet Joey kept insisting I was wrong. Go to Tenleytown Auto - they will charge less, treat you better, and actually fix your car. read more

Baird Automotive - Auto Repair Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

If you are a girl that knows nothing about cars (me), you've gotta go to Baird's! But for real, you can trust their recommendations for your car and they won't try to sell you things you don't really need. E.g. when I got my oil change today, I asked them to look at my brakes (cuz my dad told me to), and they said the brakes looked fine. They could clearly see I'm an idiot when it comes to cars but they didn't try to take advantage of that. Bairds is the best! read more

I'm not sure why they get good reviews. The owner, Joey, is a curmudgeon. If you have more than one question for Joey he gets annoyed. He took my car for a test ride and left the radio on conservative talk radio. There is absolutely nothing special about this place. read more

I have a tire pressure issue and people there fixed my issue pretty fast and professionally and explain to me why it happened and how to do next time. They are doing it all free. These gentlemen are awesome! read more

Bad mechanic and bad people. Take your car to a real mechanic. They ruined my engine by putting the wrong oil in it! Also, they are rude people. I do not recommend this shop, use someone who is better. read more

Bad shop, do not recommend them at all. Not on schedule and charge more than quote for subpar work. I went elsewhere and got issues resolved that this shop was too incompetent to fix... FOR LESS. read more

Honest, Great and Reliable service! I've trusted my MB CL 55 AMG whip to Joey Baird and his team for over 4 years now. I love my ride but as most MB owners know.... The repairs and joys of owning one come at a steep price. Also, the inner workings of these things require great skill and knowledge. It is the kind of car that you can't put in the hands of just any ordinary mechanic shop. I stumbled onto this shop one day after being frustrated with bad MB dealer experiences and repair shops that always seemed shady / untrustworthy. The kind of places in your gut where you know you're getting "jipped or taken for your money!" I've never had that feeling here at Baird Automotive or this kind of bad experience. Joey has always provided an honest assessment of what my car really needed and takes the time to explain the issue in detail. You can be confident that the work will be done correctly. In my experience, I have found their quotes and repairs to come in at almost half the price of the dealerships. They are fast at getting the work done right.... the first time around. Mostly all my repairs were completed within hours or the same day if the parts were available. If not the case, Joey keeps you informed and communicates fully with you throughout the process. You really get a good genuine feeling dealing with this place. Something you don't always walk-away feeling....when paying your hard earned money to most dealerships and repair shops around the DMV. Kudos to Joey and his team...they can have my business any ol' day! read more

Baird Automotive - Auto Repair Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

Have been taking the family cars to Baird's for years. Excellent mechanics. Complete, total faith in both their work and their recommendations. The best shop in Northern VA, without a doubt. read more

I've been using Baird Auto for years and they are always fair, honest and give good advice on what to do (and not to do). When my car failed inspection, they checked it out, said there was nothing wrong and refused any payment for their time. I totally recommend them. read more

I came to Baird Automotive because of the good reviews on Yelp, and I'll be going back due to my own experience. I was told by a dealership that my car's water pump was leaking and needed to be replaced. I was quote $1600+ for that. I called Baird and was quoted around $1,000. Much better! When I took the car in, it turned out that the water pump wasn't leaking, but instead a connecting hose. That was a cheaper fix still. Only around $400. The service was quick and efficient with Baird being very responsive over the phone. All that combined with saving 75% compared to what I had been quoted by a dealer makes me a Baird customer for as long as I live in the area. Thank you, Baird Automotive!! read more

Handled what I needed in a timely fashion. Cleaned up other problems as needed and were reasonable. Thank you!

What I like about Baird is the staff are honest, competent, and proactive at noticing part conditions that would require unscheduled service in the future. I also like that it employs award-winning talented technicians who previously worked at a car dealership. Customers can get top end dealer service at mid-range non-dealer prices. I was able to drop my car off right before closing, take the public transit to work and return the next evening to a repaired car. I like that Baird is within walking distance to a bus stop and metro rail station. What I think could be further enhanced is the name because when I drove by earlier, I mistakenly thought the place was a used car dealership because there are so many cars parked around the place. However, upon learning my favorite automotive technician transferred to Baird this year, I promptly visited to be pleasantly surprised to learn it was a car service place. Additionally, I could recommend a windshield sticker saying when the next recommended service interval is or a comment on the receipt. Prices appear a little higher than surrounding repair shops but Baird has a reputation for completing time consuming repairs on time and within budget. If I could only time a repair to happen over a long-weekend vacation or something. Overall, I give this place and give a huge thumbs up in recommending this to any Honda owners who appreciate high quality service. read more

I drive a 2005 Toyota Corolla and when I mean drive... I actually mean it sits in my apartment's underground parking lot for most of the week, except when I need to drive to soccer games and go grocery shopping. So although the car is actually more than 4 years old now (it was purchased late summer of '04), it has finally been driven enough to need its 30,000 mile check up. While living down in Blacksburg, I used to take my little Corolla to the Toyota dealership to get it's oil changes and check ups. It was convenient enough, appointments were easy to make and it was affordable. The 30k check up is the big pricey one! And I live in the DC area where pretty much everything is just more expensive than little podunk towns located in Southwest Virginia. I checked out some prices at Toyota dealerships and was a bit sticker shocked! I ended up going to the CarTalk website (btw, best radio show ever!) and they have a "Find a mechanic" option there. I looked up my zipcode and read some reviews of nearby mechanics and decided on Baird's. I figure, if Click and Clack recommend Baird's, they have to be at least ok. So I went ahead and made an appointment. The service was good (my car is running fine, haven't had any noticeable issues... ignorance is bliss sometimes). The price was way cheaper than the Toyota dealership and the guys working there were really friendly. The only minor complaint I have is that I dropped my car off around 10am. The guy said it probably won't be ready till 5:30pm, but they will give me a call. 5:00pm... 5:10pm... hmm still no call? 5:20pm... ok, maybe I can start walking over and just wait at the shop for my car to be finished. 5:30pm... walking down Washington Blvd 5:40pm... My car is sitting out in the parking lot, just chilling. It had been ready to be picked up awhile ago. I never got my phone call... argh! Well for the next car check up, I plan to bring my car back here to Baird's. Maybe I'll just have to call in next time to check if my car is ready or not. read more

Baird is expensive and I was happy to pay to get my car fixed without a hassle. These guys get one star for eventually fixing my car, but not after many tears, receiving my car back in worse condition than I dropped it off in, missing half a days work, and crying a couple buckets. I went in to Baird on a recommendation, and asked them to diagnose a noise that seemed to come from the right front wheel. I told them to drive it down the street, and they would catch the problem. One week later, I got a call from Joey Baird, the owner. He didn't get my car to make that noise from him (nor did he drive it down the street), but he found $900 in repairs "needed" and fees. This included $51 to replace a bolt on my left back tire that they broke when trying to diagnose the car. 6 bucks for the bolt, $45 for the labor of screwing it in. The $900 also included a $90 diagnostic fee (though he didn't find the noise!), which he would waive if I got work done. I asked him to just replace my battery, at $150, and figured I'd get a second opinion if the car continued to make noise. He guessed I was low on oil, $15 to top off. I went to pick up my car and was pretty annoyed that the diagnostic fee wasn't waived (I didn't allow for ALL the work on the diagnosis to be done on the car, though the estimate didn't say that). I was livid though, that the noise was still there, and that there was now a bigger, more terrible noise from the underside of the car. After driving the car for a couple miles, I broke down in tears...and then I composed myself and returned to Baird. I asked Joey to take a ride with me. It took 1/2 of a block's drive for him to diagnose the problem--a brake piece was leaning against the wheel. He took my car back, fixed it in a second, and told me that the fix should take care of both noises. Nope, the louder noise was still there. I went back yet again (at this point, I've missed 3 hours of work), and asked yet again that one of the guys take a ride with me. I left the car with them, and returned to pick it up after they promised my car really was fixed this time. I actually asked them to do a test drive before calling me, I was that ticked off. What was that big noise? They didn't put the parts back together when they took my car apart for a $90 diagnosis. A brake drum was leaning against something (I've forgotten by now, and you can tell I'm not a car person). At least they didn't charge me to fix this error. read more

I went to several places before settling on Baird. Joey & Co. are honest and straightforward in their repairs and maintenance work. They work on all kinds of cars, though honestly they're best at domestic and japanese cars. If you have a german car, they're okay tho i've never found any good repair shop in the area for those. They almost always get things done right the first, tho on occasion i need to take it back for a second look, but that's just the way some car problems are. They also often through things in for free on major repairs like an oil change or tune up so that you're car feels better all around. Everytime I, or someone in my family buys a used car, we always take it by there for a quick and inexpensive assesment. They'll layout what's wrong with the vehicle and give you a good idea of whether or not you're getting a good price. Overall, there labor rates are extremely affordable for the quality of service and experience of their staff - and they're honest. read more

Simply cannot say enough good things about this place. Now taking my second car to Baird and have been going for several years. The work is always quality and well done. The advice is excellent and Baird regularly takes time to walk me through and explain things to me. Regularly I come in with what seems to be a big problem - or the dealer told me that I need a $900 repair - and Baird turns it into a small problem costing much less. This last time was an AC repair that the forums made sound like would be expensive, that he turned into something simple. Among old Arlingtonians Baird has an incredibly strong reputation and lots and lots of people recommend him. When you are there, read the plaque about the old Arlington burial ground behind the shop. read more

Place is amazing. Highly recommend. Took my SUV to another place (before knowing of Baird ) got a crazy high quote tans was told required expensive diagnostic tests. Would need to leave my car for at least a day hours of labor and can't be certain what it is. Took to Baird along s friend recommendation. Issue solved in 2 mins. Joey is the bomb. Honest Great quality service. read more

I really like and trust this repair shop, and for a young female who doesn't know anything about cars, that's saying a lot. I work across the street so I am easily able to drop my car off in the AM and pick it up in the PM. The proprietor is always very nice; all the men have pictures of their daughters on the corkboard behind them. If they determine that I need a repair that will be very expensive, they call me for approval. They tell me ways I could do something cheaper. They've told me when I WILL need a whosywhatsit repaired, but that it doesn't have to be repaired right now, but just FYI I will have to within the coming months. I have tried to make good on their "children left unattended will be given a cappuccino and a puppy" claim, but, having no children I have never been able to get my hands on the cappuccino or the puppy. A warning: You need to make an appointment for this place. Also, the parking lot is TINY! read more

My family used to live closer to Baird Automotive and went there for many years with our car troubles. Mr. Joey always did a great job, and this time was no different. Recently, I had trouble with my mirrors and articulated this problem as best I could. Mr. Joey knew exactly what I was talking about and promptly fixed it - free of charge. I'm very grateful for the free service and glad to know that Baird Automotive is still a quality auto repair shop. Will be back if my car has trouble in the future. read more

Outstanding service and high quality work at a fair price. I really can't say enough good things about this place. Now that I use Baird, I no longer dread taking the cars in for service. I have full confidence in their work and trust their diagnoses. Work is always completed on time and done right. Just knowing this place is around gives me confidence to keep my older car running a few more years. read more

Been using Baird Automotive for a few years and a few different vehicles now. Experience uniformly excellent, and I really wish I'd started with them years earlier. I first used Baird to doublecheck some shoddy work done not too far away. Great honest job at fair rates, and laid out the options (instead of just telling me about the most expensive fix). Have referred at least a half dozen happy customers to them by now. I'm sure you'll be pleased with them, too. read more

Straight forward about price and needed repairs. Took our old volvo here 3 times and feel good enough recommending it.

I've been taking my cars to Baird since 2012 for routine maintenance and repairs. I keep coming back because the prices are reasonable, but more importantly the quality of the service and work is top-notch. If you have questions, Baird will always explain repairs to you so that you understand the fix. Baird won't ever sell you a repair you don't need. You can have an honest conversation with them about whether a proposed repair can wait or not for your car. read more

Baird Automotive is a top notch shop you can trust. My wife and I have taken our cars there for years. Joey & company deliver timely, reasonably priced service and repairs for our 2002 Accord and BMW. We've used Baird for brake work, oil change, tire mounting, new battery, new timing belt and water pump. I've experienced "repeat" problems (as one reviewer notes) with higher priced "specialists"--welcome to owning a car! In my experience, Baird can hardly be called "expensive" -- unless its compared to Jiffy Lube or such. I don't take cars to those places. read more

This place was recommended by a buddy of mine and is within walking distance of my place of residence. The brake pad wear sensor was on in my M3 and these folks got the front brakes (pads, rotors, sensors) replaced within one day (with an appointment). I dropped the car off at 8:30 am, they had diagnosed the issue by 2:30pm, and the car was ready to go by 5pm. I will be going back here to get other services completed including scheduled maintenance, rear brakes, etc. read more

Looks like I wasn't the only one robbed by this place. (See posts below). Was looking for a trustworthy small shop to take my car and heard about Baird. Dropped it off for an oil changed and asked them to check my breaks (based on a noise coming from them). Picked up the car that night and the breaks had been fixed without asking me. Along with it a few hundred dollar charge I wasnt expecting. Knowing I needed the breaks fixed anyway I swallowed it and relayed my dissatisfaction in their process. I was told that my next trip in they would make up for it. Stupidly went back, reminded them of the previous issue and promises to "make it right" but was not compensated. In fact the service the next trip was non-communicative again and I was without my car for much longer than they needed it for. Stopped going there and swore I would write a review on the place. Read some reviews on here in the past years about people getting worse service than me. Should have listened. read more

I took my car in last week as it was making a strange noise. I called on Wednesday and got an appointment for Friday. I spoke with Fred on the phone and he was extremely nice and helpful. Dropped my car off Friday morning, Fred listened and wrote down the issues I described. I called back a little after lunch to check my car's status and again around 5pm. Each time Joey, who worked on my car, was perfectly happy to explain what was going on. He didn't hear the noise when he drove ( isn't that always the way?) but he put it up on the rack. He made some slight adjustments and when I picked up the car he rode with me around a bit to be sure I didn't hear the noise again. I didn't. He told me that if I was in the area and the noise came back to stop in and let him know. I haven't heard the noise since Joey fixed it. This is a great shop with honest people. I'll be going here from now on. read more

I've taken my car to Falls Church ever since I moved here in 2005 and found that the shop out there wasn't as thorough or as forthcoming as I'd like. So I read a few reviews on here and called and talked to Joey about their history with BMWs. He had my ride for 4 days and got everything done in under the price I had originally thought. My old car now runs like a dream thanks to the guys at Baird. They are my new shop. read more

I've been hoofing my car to Baird for about 8 years now even though we moved 10 miles away. Hands down the most honest mechanic that I've found. My wife took her car to Safford because it was close to check out the AC and they gave her a $2K estimate. I don't work on cars any more but rebuilt an engine in collegeso I know enough about them and it didn't seem right. My rather 'cost conscious' friend recommended Baird and it turned out to be only $900 and was something completely different than what Safford said. Been going religiously ever since. read more

I took my vehicle here to get two things done. For one of those things I was quoted one price on the phone and another when the car when I brought the car in. The work involved swapping out the front control arms, pretty basic for any car and an alignment. I didn't know they weren't equipped with an alignment rack. These guys are operating like we're back in the 80's. For the most part, any place capable or equipped to do an alignment has a alignment rack. I assumed they did because I was told they could do one. It turns out they don't have one and they do alignments the stone-aged way - by eye-balling it and using a wrench. Under no circumstances is this acceptable. My car was driving like crap, but I ruled out needing an alignment since I just paid these guy to have one done, but it turns out that I did in fact need an alignment because the specs were way off. Not even close to what it needed to be. I paid $95 to this guy for absolutely nothing. By all means take your car here if you've had "good" service or if it's convenient, but do not waste your money on an alignment. They DO NOT have an alignment rack and anyone with a reasonably amount of car experience knows or can understand that you can't properly align a vehicle without the appropriate rack. These guys need to practice how to provide full disclosure. read more

I am signing up for yelp to offer a full throated endorsement of Baird Automotive. They have been a go-to for about three years now, and have performed sensor changes, brake work, and fluid changes. What I appreciate most is the honesty. This week I took the car in and asked them to perform a repair that would normally cost about $500, maybe more. They took a look at the car and Joe Baird called me back to tell me that the parts were in fine condition and did not need to be replaced. They willingly turned down money for a service I would have gladly paid for, because I didn't need it. That's the sign of an honest mechanic. As for other repairs (I had asked to replace the headlight covers), he said that he could do so for about $180 per light (sounds like a lot but from experience I know that a fair bit of labor is required to actually reach and remove the covers) , but offered a FAR less expensive alternative (resurfacing). As an added benefit, they are within walking distance of the Clarendon Metro, which makes it much easier for us to drop it off and pick up. If I had to provide a negative comment, it would be that I wish they had a larger parking lot and could handle longer-term storage. read more

Edit done 5/28/15 I brought the truck in today for a front-end inspection based on some very intermittent noises I've been hearing. I wanted to make sure it wasn't ball joints. I would never go to a dealer for something like this because you're giving them a license to vacuum your wallet. Joey Baird advised that everything was ok. This gave me piece of mind. Also, he corrected a bum alignment that I had gotten at a local Chevrolet dealership. I strongly recommend Baird Automotive for honest, proficient auto repair and maintenance. I can especially recommend him for working on GM full size trucks/SUVs. He seems to have a lot of first-hand experience with them and has offered me a lot of advice on some of their maintenance quirks. I bring my vehicle to him from northeast DC. Closest Metro Station is Virginia Square. It's a very quick walk. This latest experience, which has proven to be the consistent story, has caused me to add another star to his firm's rating. Edit done 3/30/14: Once again, Baird's shop has done me right. A good shop in an area where it is hard to find good shops. I would recommend Baird to family. This place isn't going to rip you off. Joey Baird seems like a genuine car guy, not just a guy that fixes cars for a living. I really appreciate that, being that I am a bit of a car enthusiast myself. read more

Honest and outstanding service! I've taken my cars to Joey Baird for over 15 years, and I've never had a bad experience. You can expect an honest assessment of what your car really needs, and you can be confident that the work will be done correctly. In my most recent experience, a local Toyota dealership had "recommended" more than $2000 worth of work to my wife. We took the car to Baird and got all the needed service done for about $600. I particularly hate being ripped off, which is why I like Baird so much. If they say you need the work, you can be sure that you do, and they will give you a fair assessment of any other work that needs to be done. They can get busy and have limited space, but you can make an appointment (with night time drop-off), and, if you do, you can be assured that your work will be done promptly, and they'll call you to clear any changes. While they may seem a bit gruff, they don't waste time, and they take care of business. Located within an easy walk to VA Square metro station. Baird Automotive is a refreshing bright spot in a generally untrustworthy world of automobile service. If they don't do the service you need, they will often refer you to someone else that they trust. read more

Had both of our cars services here in the same week. Super clean shop with a very friendly staff that takes the time to review their work. If you have a Mercedes and get your A And B services done at the dealer you are over paying by almost 50%. read more

I took several cars to Baird Automotive when I first moved to Arlington, and was always very happy with result. Lately I have been using D &V Service Center, which is much closer to our home, and which we also like quite a bit. But our experiences with Baird Automotive were good, and I always thought the prices were very fair, and that Joey was someone anyone could trust. read more

I've taken my car here three times over the past year. Have had both the front and rear brake rotors resurfaced and new pads and they were the best price by far. Also had a thermostat replaced that had been causing the check engine light to be on for over 3 year. They figured out that there was another leak that was causing the thermostat to malfunction, something that multiple dealerships never caught. Recently took my 10 year old Volvo with 107K miles in for a number of maintenance issues that come up about once every 100K miles among which were a new timing belt and new plugs and a tune up. This a small car with a 4 cylinder engine but it was purring when I started up the engine this morning. The repairs weren't cheap (but were below what I would have paid elsewhere) but they were well worth it to hear that sweet harmony coming from under the hood. read more

When it came time to get my Honda Pilot's timing belt changed, I took it to several places for estimates. I was told that with my car is a very complex and expensive operation. I had heard of Baird and decided to take my car there for an estimate. I decided to have them do the work and couldn't be happier. Their price beat all of the others, Jessie did a fantastic job and everything runs great. This is my shop new for all of my cars! read more