I visited Hana Auto twice--first on Thursday, June 25th, and again on Monday, July 13th…read more
Back in March, I accidentally hit a pillar while parking my car. After asking several people for recommendations, I had my car repaired at Orion Auto Body, and they did a perfect job. Later, on June 13th, I took my car to the Downtown LA Hyundai dealership for a recall service.
Then, on the morning of June 25th, my check engine light suddenly came on. I went to Hana Auto to find out what was causing the warning light. This was my first visit there because the owner of Orion Auto Body highly recommended this shop.
The owner of Hana Auto was incredibly honest, knowledgeable, and friendly & attentive. After connecting a diagnostic scanner to my car, he told me the issue was related to the emissions system. When I mentioned that I had just had recall work done at the Hyundai dealership for that exact issue, he advised me to go back to the dealership and tell them the warning light had returned after the recall service.
So, on July 2rd, I went back to the Downtown LA Hyundai dealership. They reset the check engine light, but they insisted it wasn't caused by anything they had done. The staff was polite, but I was honestly frustrated because I kept having to spend my own time going back and forth between the dealership and repair shops.
Then I returned to Hana Auto on Monday, July 13th.
After inspecting my car, the owner told me that my engine oil was basically gone.
I was shocked and asked, "There's no oil in my car?"
He opened the hood, pulled out the dipstick, and showed me that there wasn't a single trace of oil on it. Then he demonstrated using another customer's car, where the oil level reached about three marks on the dipstick. Seeing the difference made it very clear that my car was extremely low on oil.
I asked if I needed an oil change, especially since I had recently changed to synthetic oil, which is supposed to last longer at another car center.
The owner then asked whether the Hyundai dealership had mentioned that my engine oil was so low. I told him they had never said a word about it.
Hana Auto owner, he gave me some honest advice. He said he would add enough oil for now, drive about another 1,000 miles, and then get the oil changed. At the time, my car had about 63,000 miles on it. Today it's around 64,000 miles. My last synthetic oil change was in November, and the reminder sticker said my next oil change should be at 67,000 miles.
Before adding the oil, I asked how much it would cost. He said he would see how much the car needed first. After filling it, he told me it took about four units of oil, and he only charged me $40.
He also gave me a great tip: after driving another 1,000 miles, go back to the Hyundai dealership, have them perform the oil change there, and take care of any recall service at the same visit.
Now I completely understand why this shop is always so busy. The owner is honest, highly experienced, and genuinely cares about his customers.
When I visited on Monday, the shop was packed with cars and customers. I overheard one customer saying he had been coming there since he was in his twenties, which says a lot about the trust people have in this place. The owner was even telling some regular customers to avoid Mondays because they're extremely busy.
I told him, "I thought Saturdays would be your busiest day, so I came on Monday."
He laughed and told me they aren't even open on Saturdays.
They also close for lunch from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM. When I first called on June 25th, I planned to come around 12:30, but they explained that they close during lunch and asked me to come at another time.
This is honestly one of those places I'd almost rather keep to myself because it's so good. If too many people find out about it, I'll probably have to wait even longer whenever I need their help! But they deserve the recognition, so I wanted to share my experience.
The only small downside was the restroom. There wasn't any hand soap available. I asked the owner if they had any soap, and he said they didn't. When I was paying, I suggested that they keep hand soap in the restroom because I think that's a basic part of customer service. He laughed and said that in over 20 years of business, I was the first person to ever mention it.
Even so, that minor issue doesn't change my overall opinion. Hana Auto is incredibly honest, professional, knowledgeable, and friendly. They absolutely deserve 5 stars, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.