Why are auto mechanics so shady?…read more Whether charging you for unnecessary repairs, scaring you into making repairs on the spot instead of shopping around, and charging exorbitant markups on parts on top of their hourly rate, it seems some shops have spent more time learning how to extract money out of the customer than repairing vehicles. Bilo don't play that. While "honest mechanic" seems more an oxymoron these days, Bilo is as honest as they come. He doesn't flip out if you want to bring your own parts (bringing the wrong part just means delaying your repair). He also will show you where things are broken, where service technicians have screwed up (thanks Jiffy Lube!) and keeps your budget in mind when coming up with repairs. Plus, he has the skill and knowledge to make repairs, not just swap parts. If you're looking to be charged 200% markup on parts on top of $85/hr labor by all means go to one of the franchises in town. If you want a fair price and a competent, honest mechanic Bilo is your man.

An auto repair place that is honest and reliable? Can't be, right? Well they are! I can't say…read moreenough about the whole team there. They care about keeping your cost as low as possible, but still do the job right, EVERY TIME. I will never be taking a vehicle anywhere else.

Came here for a smoke test and everyone was great, answered some questions over the phone too. Much…read moreappreciated!

Finally found an honest and thorough mechanic. It's been years looking for a shop that treats…read morecustomers with so much care and attention. I brought my Mother over and Joe was like family. I absolutely recommend this place.

I am a woman and have always been treated with consideration at Joe's Garage. Condescension toward…read morewomen coming from car repairmen is a complaint with which I am very familiar, so I value the fact that Joe and Austin give me straight talk. They've serviced my car to them for several years now and they have been good about diagnosing and correcting problems, have told me clearly when a problem is beyond them (my Prius was having problems with the big battery), have suggested good alternatives to the town's exorbitant Toyota dealer when they couldn't make the repairs. If the part is going bad, they show it to you, explain how it should work, show you where the problem is with its functioning. Their prices are great.

Guy does everything. If he cant (some, not all A/C, others) he refers 'nxt door'. Fab, weld,…read moreexhaust, engine rebuild, breaks, frame repair, trouble shooting, diagnostics, a lill body wrk. I also use him to ck any 'new car' I might buy B4 actual sales (negotiations, 2 C whats nxt on repair list in future, expected costs etc). AND- Pre-inspection for the yrly specialty shop/ Commonwealth's Inspection service. Fella takes me in the shop, shows me what's wrong, explains it all to me, telephones w/progress, etc. Honest, low cost, I stick w/him so @ oil change I hear bout car's condition, any dangers, what's up coming on needs expected price. He knows what's been done, does not have to guess about what others have done (screwed up) up to visit point. 1st exit N. of Hamp on i91, 3 min past State Police on N. King. Always call 1st or you never know. Could B out ona prts run (10 min to several hrs) 210 9713.

Bilo is great: honest, and does excellent work, as our other mechanic has told us.read more

Chris Banner, of Banner Automotive has been absolutely amazing. We moved to town three years ago…read moreand were naturally worried about finding a new local mechanic. Chris has taken incredible care of us over the last three years. Today he made his second house call and changed out my battery. His prices are always reasonable, and he's super responsive. I had a rattle that I was worried might be my exhaust... nope - just a bent shield from the potholes on Damon. He could have charged me for a whole new exhaust. Instead he said - no charge - see you next time. And we keep going back - thank you Chris!

Chris Banner is an honest, top-notch, straight-forward, courteous & down-to-earth mechanic who will…read moreexpertly repair a vehicle when you need it, without finding anything unnecessary (or "unexpected"). And, best of all, - for a fair & reasonable price. I have trusted Banner Automotive as my number one garage for over 11 years, - faithfully travelling across 4 towns to reach his shop for needed repairs. Chris and crew are the absolute best!

lou has been Fixing my Acura for the last 175k miles. Still runs great! always reasonable and…read moreknowledgeable. I trust this guy completely with my car and will keep buying hondas and acuras as long as he is there to keep them going!

Best Honda mechanic around. Willing to discuss options, won't recommend work that doesn't need to…read morebe done, always open and honest about repairs and doesn't overcharge. We've taken all of our vehicles here for the past 5 years and never had a complaint (btw, I bet if you have a complaint Lou will hear you out and try to come up with a solution).

I deliver pizza around UMass and beat up on my Corolla pretty hard. I've been to half the repair…read moreshops in the area and since going to Norms haven't been anywhere else. Cody runs a real honest shop and has been consistently fair, friendly, and helpful. I can't recommend them highly enough.

Ren's Mobil Service is a local and full service gas station that offers friendly conversation, a…read moreminiature store, and a warm welcome to the diverse community Amherst offers. The man I met told me he had been working there for his family over 20 years, and it's hard to find a better local resource than this for the price of a small tip and your gas. The station was very accessible and neatly kept right before the heart of downtown Amherst. You can pull in from either direction--just know what side of your car has the gas cap! All in all, I would tell international travelers, locals, students, and people of all ages and walks of life to go here. I'm certain they'll make you feel welcome and answer your questions, even in the bitter cold. Again, for full service gas, the price is low so mind to tip your attendant, 10% is a good amount and fits the current era we live in. The days where a single dollar was a good gas station tip were at least 30 years ago. :)

I'm just finished correcting College Street motors info- who incorrectly advertised they were…read moreopen until 8:30 tonite, Saturday before a warning of 2 feet of the white stuff up near the Vt. Border in Heath. I raced down here to AMHERST, instead of heading to Keene or Hadley which had tire service places I could have made. I've been calling folks offering my first born male child if they would stay open a little bit after 6., but pleas were not met with the Chivalry I'd hoped... Then called a place and while their service guys had already left, he did something that shocked me/ He HELPED! He went through the places I had been left out in the cold by - once is enough... but the Auto Angel urges me to give him 15-20 minutes and like an unlikely SUPER HERO, vowed to find me a much - MUCH needed place to put on my snow tires, without which it is likely I will not make it up into the hinterlands of Heath...and if I by some miracle, make it, I stand no chance of escaping to any semblance of civilization and basic needs for my two and four legged family. I didn't get his name- but it's going to be Yelped far and wide.. RENS MOBIL and AUTO SERVICE!!!! Hurrah for you!‍

These guys do great work, and pricing is fair. They had me back on the road quickly as well. As a…read morewoman it can be stressful taking my old car to a shop but I always feel comfortable at Northampton transmission because the service is honest and I'm treated fairly. Thank so much!!!

This place has a very bad rap when you ask around for a good reason. They largely benefit from…read morebeing the only transmission service in town. Last year when my check engine light came on and I brought my car to them, they told me that my whole transmission needed replacing right then, because it could fail in the next few months. (I've waited to give this review for that reason). They were urging me to get the work started right then, a cool $2800 right after I was out of work with a cancer diagnosis, and in desperate need of a working car to get to Boston for life-saving treatment, which I even told them. I was panicking more than any other time in my life, so I went out of town to get a second opinion. The other shop I found (in Springfield) tinkered with it for a few minutes for free and assured me it would be ok and was not a safety issue. 14 months later, my transmission is still doing just fine. I wish I had the resources to talk to a lawyer; this is unconscionable business practice. It put me under even more totally unnecessary stress than I was already facing, and it wasn't even true. And for the service of looking at the transmission, they charged me over $90 without mentioning before that it would cost so much. Even while they were explaining all this work I supposedly needed, they treated me like I was wasting their time, because they (I think Dave) kept saying "normally we work on cars that need $5,000-$7,000 in work", like mine was barely worth the dirt on the tires to them because it's old and basic. I still can't believe they tried to do that to me while I was facing a threat like cancer, needing to know that my car could get me to appointments safely.