I live about 300 miles from Dave Mays Automotive, but they were recommended to me for an engine rebuild for a 32-year-old vehicle I own. Well, going the 300 miles for the work they did on my vehicle was absolutely worth it! They were true to the estimate they offered me for the original work, and communicated with me regularly about the progress made on the project. They did the work the right way, and I cannot be any more pleased with how my vehicle was cared for. They are a friendly, yet professional group of people that took care of issues that others I asked wouldn't do, or didn't do correctly in the past. It's a long drive for vehicle service, but when my travels take me back to the area, I'll work in extra time to visit them with my vehicle! read more

Used to be a great place, they were pretty friendly, and didn't overcharge us. Recently, however, we've had issues with them charging WAY TOO MUCH for what they are doing. I'd also say that they hadn't been maintaining our vehicles as much either. Finally, they hadn't been refusing to services our vehicles for multiple problems at once. They didn't want to replace the spark plugs and oil at the same time. Seems kind of lazy to me. read more

1) Great mechanics who can figure stuff out 2) While I was waiting for my oil change, I heard the owner talk to 4 customers by phone, advising them to not do certain work that would have been expensive but likely a poor return on investment. 3) Honest automotive repair business? Absolutely. read more

We were out of town and our daughters car overheated. Brian at Dave Mays took care of us. Walked us through each step, step by step and when all was said and done he did not charge us an arm and a leg. I highly recommend Dave Mays Automotive!!! read more

This was my first visit to this shop. They did everything thing I asked for and it was fixed on time and done correctly. I was told up front that they aren't trying to be the cheapest, but to do excellent work. They aren't cheap but they were fair and do great work with a guarantee to back it up. read more

They told me it would be $120 just to look at my car and not fix anything. What a joke

It pains me to give Dave Mays anything but five stars. Honestly!! I've recommended EVERYONE I know to them and have been happy with the service and prices they offer in the past. Recently (6/6/11) we dropped 490$ for a replaced alternator and battery. They originally quoted us a price over the phone (450$) but when my husband called to pay over the phone, the price magically increased to 550$. After much discussion, they did lower the price a bit. We were, however, also quite disappointed to see that we were charged over 90$ for a replacement battery and they only installed a generic one. Kinda bummed out and now we will likely be searching for another mechanic. read more

They not only upsold and overcharged me for my brakes, they messed up my cruise control, making it impossible to turn off on the highway -- a life threatening situation that I was lucky to have survived. Under no circumstances do I recommend. read more

Mind you, I'm giving Dave Mays a 5 star review, having never had my car serviced there. I should explain. My MINI Cooper S broke down in Gainesville, first day of my vacation/mother visit. By suggestion of one of my mother's friends, we towed to Dave Mays Auto. They were extremely professional with some amazing customer service. They looked over the car and the power steering went out, also took the alternator and melted some wiring harnesses. They quoted $3000, and said it would easily escalate from there. We discovered that this was a known issue with my make/model and that MINI had an extended warranty for that part (so they could avoid a recall, I assume). They admitted that the work would have to be done at a MINI dealer to be covered under the extended warranty. They charged me nothing to look over the car, and even helped me load it onto a U-Haul tow-dolly so I could tow it myself to Jacksonville for repair. (Gainesville's BMW dealer doesn't do MINI service...(???). They were just great at Dave Mays though, and even with out of state tags, they didn't charge me for diagnosis, and they could have. They were straightforward about everything/costs and where I could/should go to get the appropriate repairs. Honest. It's nice to see a business operate honestly, and in their business, reputation is key. They're building a good reputation that way, and how they handled my situation. Plus it was a great excuse to hit up #Satchels Pizza, as they are just around the corner! I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to others on my experience (with their customer service). read more

Excellent, honest service! I am in Florida for winters and have been bringing my vehicles to them for years and highly recommend this shop. They work to keep costs to a minimum and won't sell you something you don't need. read more

Very disappointed in this place that came recommended. Ford dealership was going to charge me $300 for tune up on 2004 F150, I decided to take it to Dave Mays because, I was told they are honest and fair. They gave me a quote of $600 for tune up and said I also needed another $600 worth of work. I told them I would just come and pick up the truck. $60 later, that I had to pay for them to tell me it would be $600 for tune up, the guy admitted that the other work probably wouldn't need done. Never will I go back there again or recommend to anyone. read more

I use Dave Mays for all my major repairs. They have always been fair and honest. A little far for where I live but I make the trip when I need a professional opinion. read more

I can't recommend Dave Mays enough! They have saved me more than once now. I have a very tight schedule and live out of town with only one good vehicle and 2 small children who have to ride in it. They accommodated MY schedule and had me out the door at a very fair price on time to pick up the kids every time. They have fixed mistakes other shops have made on my car and kept me on the road safely transporting my precious cargo. I recommend them without hesitation. read more

I just can't believe these positive reviews on here are for real. The majority of them smell pretty fake. Dave Mays... from this smooth talker you can expect dealership prices. I was considering buying a 1993 van from a nice older couple but when I test drove it, it had some issues. So I told the couple I'd like to take it to a mechanic. They chose their long time friend, Dave Mays. They gave him a call and "luckily" he had time right then to see the van. The first thing he did was a stand in front of me going through his records of past work on it. Then said he wouldn't have time to look at it that day and that it would be a $200 dollar fee. I felt bad that I had caused the couple to have to drive there and leave the van so I decided to get his opinion on how much I'd be spending. So he took a quick look and said about $1500 but no more than $2000. So I agreed to pay $2,700 for the van (that supposedly had only 80k on the motor but who knows because the ford econoline for that year doesn't display the 100,000 spot.) I gave the seller the money and left the van with Dave Mays. A week later he calls me and says it's almost done, he just has to replace the real fuel filter which could be another $500. At that point, my bill was already up to $2,300... shooting right past that $2000 that he said it wouldn't go over, and it's not even done... another $500 had to be attached just for the part. But he made it sound like he was getting me all fixed up. In his appraisal and all the work he did, and the huge amount he charged me, he gave me back the van but neglected to tell me that the shocks in the front are bad and that the steering wheel box is going out. TaDAAAA! Final bill... $3,234. He took off $100 discount. I'm assuming that was to help offset the $115 charge for using a diagnostic tool? (In my head, I always imagine him and the seller giving each other a high five. They worked nicely together.) $115 dollars for diagnostics aught to tell you something right there. I had a mechanic friend read it over and he said the jargon on the invoice was intended to make things look a lot more weighty than they actually were. When he checked the brakes he SAID one or 2 of the bolts was stuck sideways and they had to drill it out... The charge? $230.54 labor, $8.50 for one wheel lug nut, and $12.93 for another wheel lug nut. Things have changed but where I come from, when unexpected things like bent lug nuts pop up, you call the customer to let them know but more importantly, to give them the option to COME SEE FOR THEMSELVES! Because $230 bucks is a lot for something that may not even be true. When you don't know the mechanic, the mechanic should give you the chance to see they aren't trying to scam you. But the very last straw is this... One of the things that didn't work right was that the air blew through the defrost vent only. When I picked up the vehicle, the air was on, and the front vent was working. When I turned the vent off then turned it back on, it wouldn't work. I called him and he said I just had to toggle it between 'max vent' and regular vent and it'd come back on. It didn't. So I called him and ask if there'd be more of a charge for that issue since it wasn't fixed and since he already charged me a total of $485.79 ($139.98 for Vacuum Reservoir and $345.81 for labor). His answer was that he wouldn't know until he looked at it. I'm halfway thinking now that they knew it didn't work, they set the little lever under the port in the dash so that it was in front vent position when I turned the vehicle on so that it looked like they fixed it. I didn't take it back and I will never take him another vehicle nor will I refrain from giving him a bad review whenever I talk to someone who mentioned they need their vehicle repaired. I've talked to at least 3 mechanics that told me that I was taken for a ride. I had already figured that but there's nothing I can do at this point. Except let as many people as possible know that he will bleed you dry if he can. read more

I first started going to Dave Mays in the 70's. Then left G'ville and moved around the country. Only found one other stop as good. Was happy to go back to him when I returned to G'ville. read more

Dave May's under quoted, misdiagnosed, strung me along, massively over charge, and worse jacked-up my engine. What started as an oil leak fix for $590 and a few days in the shop ended up costing nearly $1200 and over 1 month in the shop. Now my car still leaks oil and shakes like crazy while I am idling. Even though he admits the shacking "might be" his fault, last I talked to him "he would be fair" in the price to fix it. I wonder if you have to be in some type of club to get the "great service" that I've heard so much about. read more