Harapat Lovetinsky Auto Services

The ac compressor has started to fall apart inside creating a noise. I took it in, took a week to get it back. Once I did get it back and $1,600 later it then began to chug and AC still did not work. They asked me to bring it in again to fix the chugging, kept it another week. No loaner car. Still don't have AC and out $1,600. Would not recommend.

They were honest, reliable, work quickly and they are reasonably priced.

very expensive but good results

It went well. They kept us informed of their progress and we felt for the scope of what they were doing, it was a fair price.

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Went really well.  Had my front pads replaced before going here.  The previous place wouldn't look at my rear drum breaks because they were worried about rust.  I only told the guy that i heard my breaks and wanted him to look at them.  I knew full well the front pads were fine and that the entire back assembly was done in.  He told me what I already knew (so he is honest) and charged me a fair price.  Great place with great people.

I thought they were awesome. I got a really solid explanation as to what was happening with my car and what I liked most is that they were willing to go through and look at anything I needed them to (free of charge since I was already getting service). Because of that, I was able to see that someone else was actually trying to charge me for something that I didn't need fixed. Also, the way they walked me through what was happening with my car and were able to hear out my thought process so that I understood exactly what work I did need to get done there and in the future (for some lingering things) was great. I trust basically no one when it comes to getting work done on my car and now I know I'm going back to them for everything. I know this sounds like a planted and scripted review, but with as awful as my history has been in 5 different states that I've lived in, it's good to know I can go somewhere and not get robbed.

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Gary has moved locations to:

436 Ruppert Rd, Iowa City, IA 52246

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The symptoms the car displayed we thought pointed to fuel pump or filter but when the guy went to turn on the car he felt something coming from the ignition. I can't remember exactly how he phrased it but I think he must be a Jedi or something because we never even thought that was where the problem was. We also took it somewhere else before that and they completely diagnosed a different problem. We did have to wait a while to get in there so that might be a problem for others but we were able to get around till then. The cost of the repairs also turned out to be more but that was because it was a totally different problem than thought before. I highly recommend HARAPAT LOVETINSKY AUTO SERVICES.

Addressed all concerns.  Car continues to be road worthy and safe.

The person i dealt with (I believe it was the owner) was friendly and helpful. The staff identified a bad bushing in the steering mechanism that another shop had missed. They replaced the bad part and performed an alignment. The truck drives great now!

They were easy to work with to set up an appointment, although it was hard to talk to them on the phone due to the background noise. They did a good job in diagnosing the problem and called to confirm before doing further work. They were prompt in doing the repairs, and we were happy with the work.

Excellent

Have always been satisfied.

We have a 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan with 109,000 miles and a host of problems. Gary Harapat, the owner, worked directly with me to diagnose them all and recommend, but not push, repairs on each of them. He also helped me prioritize the issues from most to least urgent. They are in high demand so you have to call and make an appointment, usually about a week out. You drop off your vehicle in the morning and then they call you to talk over what needs repair before proceeding. They usually have it done for end-of-day pickup, but in our case they needed an extra half day. We voluntarily chose to leave it overnight even though they could have let us take it home and bring it back the next day. 
The #1 thing that impressed me the most was that they were able to immediately (and correctly!) diagnose what was wrong with each issue I brought up. In particular, we have had a rubbing/"clacking" noise coming from our rear wheels for over three years, and three different mechanics have failed to repair it. Previous mechanics had adjusted the brakes, replaced the rear drums, and the last one said he didn't know what was wrong but that our brakes were safe as long as we weren't bothered by a cosmetic noise. But none of the "fixes" actually fixed the problem. Until Lovetinsky Harapat. Gary called me halfway through the morning after I dropped it off to say, "All you needed was some grease on the rear backing plates, and your emergency brake cable was too tight. But I won't charge you anything for fixing it. I want you to drive it for a couple of weeks to a month to make sure the noise has really gone away." Well it's three months later, we've never heard the noise again, and Gary still hasn't charged us for it to this day. 
We've also had them fix our rear A/C fan blower motor which was dead, re-charge the A/C and put in dye to test for leaks in the system. Also, our battery died (our kids were playing in the van and left the dome lights on). Gary put in a new battery for us and let us use it for a week while we sorted out the replacement warranty with Sears Auto Center. He told us we could just bring the battery back whenever we had it figured out, and he would charge us a small amount for their time. 
Overall I am ultra-happy with Lovetinsky Harapat and finally feel for the first time in my life that I have a mechanic I can trust. I will go there and nowhere else with my repair issues. I think their prices might be a little on the high side - for example it was approx. $170 for the A/C re-charge and dye, which I've gotten done for quite a bit cheaper elsewhere. However, I willingly pay for their competence and quality. My dad always said that a good mechanic was worth their weight in gold. I couldn't say it any better for Lovetinsky Harapat.

I had been going to the same mechanic back home for as long as I can remember. I just recently moved to Cedar Rapids and had no idea where to turn when my car broke down. I used Angie's list to find Lovetinsky Harapat and have no regrets that I did. From the first call, they had phenomenol customer service. They were able to see my car as soon as possible and was very quick to return it to me. My check engine light was the first sign that something was wrong with my car. I took it to a couple other places and they both told me a wrong diagnosis. Lovetinsky knew exactly what was wrong with it. They even took the time to talk to my mechanic back home which meant alot to me because my mechanic would tell me the honest truth about the situation. My mechanic told me that Gary,the owner of Lovetinsky, was passionate about his work, knew his stuff, and his prices were fair. I received my car back 2 days after I brought it in and have not had trouble with it at all! Thank you Lovetinsky!

My son's car, 1999 Grand Prix, was constantly dying on him.  The traction control light would go on and off and the vehicle would lose power.  Sometimes it would die and sometimes not, very unpredictable.  Also, sometimes it would restart and sometimes not.  He is at college in Iowa City, so I was unfamiliar with the service centers available there.  My son took it to another garage that provided a diagnosis (not the same diagnosis as Lovetinsky's) and an estimate of $610 to fix.  Although, I am no mechanic, I was skeptical, so I turned to Angie's list for a recommendation.  HARAPAT LOVETINSKY AUTO SERVICES seemed to have very solid history of good experiences, so I told my son to take it there.  Lovetinsky's not only provided the right diagnosis, but the cost of the repair was less than half of what the other garage had quoted.   It has been over two weeks now and car is running fine.

I went to Lovetinsky Harapat based on the two positive Yelp reviews.My car had a few issues -- a broken antenna, missing support arms for the trunk, and the presence of a chirping sound at startup.I called about a week ahead and was told to bring the car by in advance, so that the needed parts could be ordered.  Later, when I brought in the car, this ensured prompt and speedy repair work.Unbelievably, my total labor charge was a whopping $37.00.  There's no doubt that they could have charged $100 or more and I would have assumed that that was a reasonable price (I know zilch about cars), but it looks like they are very honest.  In light of the fact that they took a look at my problem, quickly fixed it, and then humored my dumb car questions when I picked it up, I feel like I got an extraordinary bargain.This will be the first place I will go whenever I have car issues.  Also, a side note -- a ton of city buses and university buses stop at Iowa Ave (just a couple blocks north of Lovetinsky Harapat), so it should be very easy to get to wherever you are going if you are dropping your only car off, as I did.

We were always very satisfied with any and all auto service we received at Lovetinsky's. Please read the first paragragh for further insight about them. I would recommend them on any day!!

Gary Harapat, owner / operator, and his crew of mechanics are simply the best. They're top notch in both finding the source of a problem and then fixing it. In 20 years I've never had to take my car back because it wasn't fixed right. They're also really good about telling you to wait to fix something if it still has some miles left on it, and will happily recommend a used part where they think it will do the job. They're very good about explaining all the work they plan to do and if that changes as they investigate, they always call before going forward with additional work. I have pulled up to their door many times to have them do a quick diagnosis of a noise or a suspicious fluid and they're always happy to take a look. I've had them inspect used cars before buying them, and wouldn't dream of buying a new one unless Gary said it was a good model. I have total confidence in Harapat Auto and can't recommend them highly enough.

I dropped the Jeep off on the way to work as scheduled. Gary called me mid morning and said the ABS light was due to a bad controller, a very expensive item and probably not worth it on a vehicle with over 180,000 miles. I agreed. I have been using Harapat Lovetinsky for all maintenance and repair for about 10 years and have always been very satisfied with them. I have never had to wait more than a few days for an appointment.