My first Yelp review! I'm new to the area, and so had not developed any kind of loyalty or relationship with an auto repair shop. Ron's fit me in the fastest, and I'm glad I chose them. When I arrived, one of the employees was engaged in conversation with a couple...to me, a green flag that they value their client base and people return. I will be as well. I was sent a report on my car's condition, with incontrovertible proof of my transmission fluid needing replacement. That wasn't what I had come in for, but they quickly earned my confidence. Even more quickly, my car was returned to me- new coolant reservoir and new transmission fluid. In the mean time, they had kept excellent communication. I am now loyal to 'my' auto shop. read more

My car broke down while I was traveling through Ames on 35 on a Sunday. Ron's not only was able to work on the car first Monday morning but gave me a fair price especially considering the quick appointment and work done. I highly recommend Ron's! read more

Summary at the end Went to Ron's to drop my truck off for an alignment and to take the strut spacers off. Ron's told my husband they would have to charge for an inspection (don't remember getting a price), the alignment was going to be about $100, and we didn't get a price on taking the strut spacers off. We get a call later in the day saying the alignment is done and it's as aligned as it's going to get and it's going to be $170 for the alignment and that they didn't take the spacers off because it was going to be $1000 to remove the spacers. To better assist customers, they should have called us before doing the alignment if they knew or even had a hunch they wouldn't be taking the spacers off. We were told they were going to charge us 170$ plus $140 for inspection. On top of that, we have to get a new alignment after getting our spacers off since you're supposed to take spacers off first. In hindsight, we should have read yelp reviews instead of Google reviews because there were reviews of people with similar experiences. So we took my truck to Trickles and they quoted us about 600 for the strut spacers and the new alignment. We went back to Ron's and told them our situation hoping they would be understanding and they said they'll only charge us for the inspection so they charged us $147. We were also informed at the checkout process that they weren't familiar with spacers/lift kits on ford trucks, which is fine, but I just wish we would have known that before dropping our keys off with them. I'm just very disappointed in the lack of communication because we didn't need the work they did if they weren't going to take the strut spacers off. I wish we were told before they proceeded with the repairs. Summary: They should have called us after the inspection and told us the combined cost of the strut spacer removal AND the alignment. Instead they did just the alignment even though we'll have to get another one after strut spacers are removed. I give it three stars because I appreciate not having to pay for the alignment but I did not have a good time, definitely didn't want to pay $147 just to have to take my truck somewhere else. The alignment and inspection is reasonably priced if you're not getting it for no reason. read more

My wife and I were scheduled to return to Kansas City the next day, when our exhaust came loose and left hanging. After random calls to area shops with no luck, Ron's agreed to do the repair that day. Further, exhaust isn't something they normally do, but knew we were in a bind. Work was completed that day and did a great job! I'd recommend Ron's! Great people, excellent work and, I have to include this... An incredibly, beautifully kept shop! Thank you so much, guys! read more

Few months back I brought my car in for a inspection as I had an issue with my parking brake. They misdiagnosed, quoted 2.3k on repairs, then said I couldn't walk away from the car because they broke a bold on one of the calipers. They never found the real issue, and were attempting to scam me due to my young age. read more

I had a terrible experience with Ron's Auto for a recent repair in March. They price gouged me on a job that I paid them $1,400 where other repair shop only would have charged me $500- $700. I also asked them to estimate the cost of fixing a sliding door issue on my Sienna. They quoted me $2,700 while Toyota fixed it for me for $800. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. I will never go back to them for my auto repair needs. PS - I used to have good experience with this repair shop before the new owners took over. read more

SCAM. Price gouging college students. Don't go. Preview: My car does not have a front differential and they recommended a $260 front differential fluid replacement...nice one. I saw how the business responds to yelp reviews and can't wait for their response on this one. There are much better options. Decent costumer service and service timing. Expensive inspection but they ask before doing anything. They also ask before doing anything that will cost you. Now here are the charges brought against them. Once again, my car does not have a front differential and they recommended a $260 front differential fluid replacement. They tried to charge me $600 for replacing the starter. $300 for parts $300 for service. A good starter motor costs $150-200 and took me an hour to replace by hand. So unless the mechanics have never actually worked on a car or are the most expensive mechanics on this earth...nice try. (If it's the latter, you probably shouldn't be working in AMES IOWA) read more

Honest and helpful. He took great care of my daughter when she had car issues at college. We so appreciate his trustworthiness and workmanship. read more

DO NOT GO HERE. Very shady operation. This place is completely garbage. Many other places to get your car fixed, and this shop is not one of them...Their appointment system is also completely broken. read more

I had an extremely fucking terrible experience with Ron's Auto Repair. They purposely misled me about my car issue and behaved very unprofessionally. They are dishonest, rude, and exploit customers for profit. And they're playing a VERY DANGEROUS GAME!!!!! Avoid this scamming company at all costs. read more

I've been letting Ron's Auto Repair Center take care of my cars for awhile now, and they've always done an amazing job. They always have been great about fitting me into their schedule, and they almost have my jobs done within an hour. Their prices are insanely reasonable, and unlike many shops, I've never felt like they're over-recommending things. In fact, the owner has always been amazing with telling me what's a "Do this now for your safety" and what's a "This can wait, but sooner or later you should deal with it". How often do you find mechanics that are willing to be honest with their customers? They also offer a "service checklist" that I really love that categorizes main service issues. When they do a look-over for you, they'll go over this checklist and put a checklist in the "Good, Needs Work, Problematic" box. This ensures you know exactly what's wrong with your car plus it means they are less-likely to have forgotten to look something over. Turns out my license plate light bulb was out - something they figured out in broad daylight, so this checklist seems to do an amazing job! When it's done, they let you have the checklist which works really nicely if you tend to keep records of your car's repairs. Only downside is that they really don't have much "waiting area" seating. It's not the most comfortable place to wait around (though you can see all the work they're doing, so if you enjoy learning about car work, it's fascinating). However, there's a bookstore, Starbucks, Burger King, Hy-Vee, strip mall, and more within 3 blocks walking distance, so it's really not so hard to entertain yourself. They'll give you a call when the work is done, so you can just go entertain yourself if you want. read more

Ron's Auto Repair Center - Storefront - Auto Repair Near Me - Ames, Iowa

So helpful, great job, fast, fair prices, great customer service! Got my timing belt replaced and Ron and his crew did an awesome job. I would recommend to everyone, if you need a good and fast job done on your car go to Rons Auto in montrose!!!! read more

I needed my oil replaced after I overfilled my engine. I was able to get my car towed to Ron's the same day and it was done in a few hours. When I went to pick up my car, it wouldn't start. Robert came and made sure he could get my car running, and took it in a short drive to make sure it wouldn't my stall on me going home. I appreciated him going to extra mile - literally. read more

Had a problem with son's car while he was in college in Iowa. It wouldn't move and it had sounded like the engine dropped out. I used my trusty Yelp app to find a repair company that had a good reputation near him in Ames. Found Ron's Auto Repair Center and asked son to have AAA tow the car there. I called the repair center and talked to Adam to let him know the car was coming. He was very friendly and it turned out that Ron's was an approved AAA repair center. I spoke with Adam multiple times over the next week and was a bit frantic as we were coming down to pick son up and bring him home from college. Needed the car fixed within a week and ready to make a five hour trip back. Adam put my fears at ease by giving me detailed updates, making sure to rush the parts we needed and get the car in a state where it would make it back to our home. After he noticed that the bracket/bolt broke on the transmission we had newly put in, he made sure to have us contact the transmission company. He worked to get us pictures as well as a detailed write-up of what was wrong and what they repaired. They were very fair in their pricing and had the car back to us a promised on the day we left to go home. It was a pleasure working with Adam and the team at the repair shop. It is a great piece of mind to know that we have a reputable mechanic in the area for the next couple of years. read more

SHADY, DON'T GO!!! Today I go in and ask the manager Richard to look over my headlight and tell me what is wrong. I said I think it might be a connector and I have one in my car I bought already, let me know if that is the issue and I also have them change my other bulb. 2 hours later or so I get the bill. $138 to change out both headlights and and $35 for a simple headlight change on my right headlight for "labor". I also did not give them permission to install or fix the left headlight, I literally just wanted to know what was wrong, but they did it anyway and charged me. It gets better, they can't find the clip for my light and want to charge me $50 to find a new clip and $100 to have them install it and a new socket. Literally all I need is a clip and the piece that closes the socket and they want to charge me $150. I've had reasonable experiences in the past here, but today that scumbag manager Richard tried to take advantage of me and is not trustworthy. Shady, scumbag type of manager that you worry about getting at these kinds of places. Go somewhere else, NOT trustworthy! read more

AAA standard! I had my car taken there as a AAA member and received great service. Definitely my new choice for car repair in Ames! My car runs as smooth as butter now and it didn't cost an arm and a leg - the AAA discount wasn't that huge, either. read more

My girlfriend's SUV started making a loud squeaking sound upon starting, so I knew something was up with the belts. I had no idea who to go to because we are both new in town. I asked a buddy and he told me about Ron's. I setup an appointment and came in and spoke with Adam and he was really helpful. He was very upfront and told me what the possible causes might be. I had them do an oil change and tire rotation first and then inspect the belts. Adam called me when they were done with that and said that it looked like the belts were in bad shape (which I'm sure they were because my girlfriend said she had never changed them...ever) and that new ones should be put on. He was able to give me a quote over the phone for the price of the belts and installation, so I gave them the thumbs up to do the job. They got it done quickly and before I knew it I was back home. I was very satisfied with the service and I'm relieved that I found my new local shop. The guys are honest, quick, and reasonably priced. -Brian read more

I recently purchased a used car, so I brought it into Ron's for an inspection. I was able to schedule an appointment quickly and easily over the phone with Adam. After the inspection, Adam went over everything they found very thoroughly and patiently. He gave me a report of all the things to keep my eye and told me the level of importance of each repair. Super helpful! When I actually ended getting the repairs, I will definitely bring my car back to Ron's. Also, I hung out in the waiting area during the hour my inspection took. It's a very small area, so if you don't want to wait there, the shop is conveniently located next to a lot of places you can kill some time in Ames. read more

Ron's is probably the best mechanic in Ames. Great place to go if you are a female and don't want to get ripped off. They do quality work. I have been taking my car there for 3 years. I've only received the best service and advice. read more

Do not take your car there!! They said they would do a flush on my hoses to fix the heat, when I picked up the car they said they couldn't do a flush yet still charged me $400!! I said you couldn't do the job why am I paying full price Ron then compared himself to a doctor providing service. He couldn't even look me in the face as he scammed me. He knows what he is doing is unethical! Despicable!! I am 8 months pregnant and have limited income and to take advantage of a woman is completely wrong on so many levels! DO NOT GO HERE!!! read more

These people could use customer service skills refresher course. They could not give an estimate for what we thought was wrong with the car and could not give prices for brake pads over the phone saying they needed to see the car first. Why? why do you need to see the car to look up prices in a computer? Sounded shady to me. Sooo thankfully I trusted my gut and went to Campus garage who was awesome! Shame on these people. I just wanted someone to trust with my baby and her car while she is so far away from home. read more

I've been taking my cars to Ron's Auto for about 3 years now and my wife more like 8 years. I have always gotten good service, good communication, reasonable response times, and fair pricing from them. I would highly recommend Ron's to my family and friends. My most recent experience was that my car wouldn't start one morning this week, I called and Adam arranged a tow truck pickup out of my driveway and squeezed it into their busy schedule. It turned out that the starter failed after having been replaced about 10 months ago. It came with a 2 year warranty that also covered the tow bill to the shop! I drove away happy as a clam owing nothing! read more

This winter, I slid into a car in front of me on I-35 during a sudden snow storm. I was on my way to Texas from Minnesota. When we stopped at the closest business (a restaurant) to ask for a nearby garage, they recommended Ron's. We made our way over there and were not disappointed. An employee immediately came out and inspected our car to see if it was safe to drive. He did his best to get our hood to latch all the way. He got it to latch enough to drive on the highway. What's so amazing about this is that they did not ask for a dime! I'm very grateful that they helped out a couple of out-of-towners on their way. Thanks! read more

I took my car in for an oil change at this shop around 8/25/16. I had a Check Engine Light on, and asked them if they could scan the code while they were working on it, which they agreed to. Everything went smoothly, but then whoever I was speaking with mentioned that my plugs and ignition coils looked original and should be replaced, which he quoted at around $350 I believe. However, I had replaced two of the coils myself, as well as the spark plugs, about 10k miles previously. It should have been pretty obvious at least that 2 of the coils were new, as they were Hitchachi coils, and looked a little different that the originals. I was hoping I'd found a good mechanic locally here in Ames, but it seems that isn't the case. Hopefully it was just a mix up, but seemed like they were just trying to sell me unnecessary maintenance. read more

I have been taking my car and my wife's car to Ron's for about 3 years now. The first two years they were great, always good to work with and were very reasonable and upfront about costs. Then one of their employees left which is who I interacted with the most. Since this time I have been very dissatisfied with their customer service. They still do very fast work, but this is probably because there are far fewer vehicles in the shop compared to the last few years. Recently I took my car in for an inspection because I was considering selling it. They quoted me a price when I dropped the car off but when I picked it up it was twice what they quoted me and they wouldn't budge on the price. The told me to "bring in another car and we will cut you a deal". So when the driver window quit working on my wife's car last week I took it in and talked to them about my last experience and told them what they said they would do for me. Well long story short, I didn't end up having them fix the problem because it was going to cost $300 more than buying the parts and doing it myself. The charged me $50 for the diagnosis and since I didn't have them do the repairs, they wouldn't cut me a deal. I won't be going back. read more

I was driving down to Kansas from Minneapolis on friday august 9 and my car broke down on 35 S at 4:15. I called AAA to get a tow truck and find somewhere that would be able to repair my car. After calling 10 auto repair shops that were only open til 5 and not open Saturday I begged Ron's auto repair to stay open for me. 3 of their employees gave up their Friday night to help a young college girl stranded and alone. They worked quickly and had good prices. I cannot express how grateful I am for them to help me on a desperate situation. I would recommend Ron's auto repair to anyone in the Ames area. read more

I brought my 1997 caravan in Tuesday for an inspection from bumper to rear windshield wiper...they sent me the inspection in a text message, as well as the paper version. They wrote it up from most important for safety to least important. They kept the repairs to what I chose, not only remained with in the estimate but was a little less. I am very happy with the service, Adam and Richard were very courteous. I will be returning for all of my auto repair needs. Richard even let me borrow his jeep for a quick run home, my phone died and Adam let me borrow his phone for a call to my daughter and car rental store. read more

This place is great. At first I got the wrong idea about it but after I realized people are people too, I felt bad for having my attitude.. This place helped me with my car and I'll most definitely go back when I have problems. Thanks to all the friendly guys at Rons auto. Truly. read more

I am a widow and have lived in the Ames area one year. My 2004 car had been reliable. I began having issues with it not wanting to shift out of park. I went to a shop recommended by co-workers. They were friendly but very pricey. I contacted Ron's through this web site. My entire experience was excellent. They repaired my car in a matter of hours instead of days and at less than half the cost estimated by the other shop. I would give their team the best recommendation possible. read more

Not impressed with Ron's Repair! Had vehicle taken to Rons after reading reviews and talking with them. Took them 3 days longer to get vehicle in the shop than they told me. Charged what seems like a ridiculous amount of money for labor to fix a tie rod. Not sure how management at Ron's can sleep at night knowing they charged a college student $25 to put spare tire on! Should have known better when they wouldn't give me a break down of the total work they wanted to do. Go to a different shop. read more

Our family was on our way back to Nebraska from the Dells when our wheel bearing went out on our Tahoe. We called Ron's after hours, and they lined up a tow truck and shuttle vehicle for our kids and bags to take us to a nearby hotel for the night. We were 30 minutes outside Ames, and they arrived within an hour. They had our car fixed by 10:00 the next morning, provided my husband a ride to the shop from the hotel, explained everything to him, and the price was very reasonable. Great customer service! read more

"$270 to replace the battery for 2000 Chevy Malibu "....That's all I needed to hear from Ron's and I could not get there fast enough to get my son's car! It gets better (or worse) - they also quoted me $300 to replace a hood latch cable. Upon picking up the car, I drove to O'Reillys and tested the battery. NOT A THING WRONG WITH IT!!! The hood latch now operates without issue as I simply lubricated it. Cost: $3.50 for WD-40. I think this place attempted to pull a fast one as they see college kid and plates on car indicating parents live 3 hours away. Luckily, I happened to be in Des Moines and was able to drive up. I would not have allowed them to touch the car after their outrageous quote. Also, this is the first time I've ever had the dubious pleasure of being charged for a shop looking a car over. They called it "diagnostic charges " and charged me $75 to tell me a bunch of BS. Of course they listed everything else that could possibly be wrong with a car that is 19+ years old and probably hoping I'd see the necessity of fixing them all...even though the car is worth less than quote for battery/latch cable. Btw: O'Reilly's did not comment or bash this shop but gave me the number to an honest/competent mechanic. O'Reilly's is awesome....Ron's is not. read more

repaired my daughters rear brakes for probably twice I would have paid in Chicago. they use cheap parts. they bent a line which developed a leak. they were honest enough to admit it and replace the line for free. once was quoted $800 for a "cat" back muffler and pipes BUT admitted other places will do it for cheaper. read more

I needed windshield wipers and it was cold out so I called first to ask how much it would cost. Ron said $30. That is expensive enough, but I thought ok, it's cold. When I went over I thought this should take less than 10 minutes, really 5, but after a half hour, I was getting antsy! Finally Ron came into the waiting area and said it was done. I was prepared to pay the $30 plus tax, but then he said it was $60!!! I was really mad, and the next day there was a small amount of ice on the windshield and I turned on the wipers and they got messed up! Bent and had to be replaced! So not only did I waste $60 and my time, because it was cold out, I ended up re-installing the wiper blades myself, (which I should have done in the first place), vowing to never return to the car repair shop from Hell! read more

My daughter now lives and goes to school in Ames - 300 miles away so it's a bit more difficult to help when she has an issue. Her brakes were acting weird when she was on her way home at Thanksgiving - where do I find somewhere for her to take the car? Look online, find Ron's, trust the reviews. So glad we did. They got to her car within a day, called me with a reasonable quote, and then beat the quote by $80! When she picked up the car, it was very loud, so she took it back and they had damaged a very rusty pipe in the exhaust. I would have understood if they said hey, the pipe is really bad and you need to have it replaced. Instead, they repaired it gratis and she had her car back the same day. I can't say enough about these guys and their friendly, professional attitude. I know I have someone to call on for the next 5 years when the car misbehaves. Thanks so much! read more