Westside Service Center

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As always, awesome service, great work. I have gone to them for years, and never had less than an A+ experience. I only have one vehicle and not having it working would be a huge issue. They always take great care of my car, and of me, and try to get me out with the cheapest and best alternative. Once I came in ready to replace the exhaust system due to the gas smell that persisted no matter what, and walked out with a new gas cap and an (unrelated) oil change, since I had it in. They could easily have ripped me off - I all but told them that I expected to be buying a new exhaust, and I walked out under $80. Turns out that a cheap replacement gas cap I bought leaked fumes. Plus they email service reminders, have a loaner car, and they are always super polite. I would never go anywhere else, and my neighbors all use them, too.

I take my car to Westside every time it needs service. Last year they told me my timing belt was overdue to be replaced; I finally got around to bringing the car in. Dropped the car off, they called me and told me all the parts that needed to be replaced (three belts, all 4 brakes, water pump) and had everything installed the next morning and ready for me to pick up. They always find everything that's wrong with the car but never push you to replace additional parts. Parts and labor were $1000 total which is a great price for the timing belt and brake job alone. Car is running like it's 5 years younger now; squeaking and clanking are down noticeably. Thanks again Aaron and Godfrey!

My overall experience was great. I was able to get a loaner vehicle while the car was being serviced. The front brake pads were replaced and rotors turned. The back breaks just needed to be adjusted. My car was in and out in about four hours. Nice friendly place. I highly recommend this shop. Trustworthy and competent.

Another outstanding experience. My battery just died overnight...no warning. Luckily I have a jump pack so I was able to get the kids to school and myself to work. Under normal circumstances I would've done this job myself. But it just so happened that I had no time to do it and would be out of town on the weekend. I called up Westside when I got to work and explained the situation. They were able to fit me in THAT day. I went there on my lunch hour and the battery was replaced before I finished my burger at Bennet's across the street. Note that some may think $130 is a little steep to replace a battery. But they didn't replace it with some off brand. I got an Interstate MegaTronII with a seven year warranty! If you go by MSRP on the this battery, it works out to about $25 for labor. Considering they did it on short notice and made sure it was done before my lunchtime was up I have nothing but praise! Trustworthy, friendly, and competent.

This was our second visit to Westside Service Center, and I must say, I have never felt so comfortable with an automotive service center as I do with these folks. Prices are very reasonable, especially if you compare to inflated car dealer service centers. But even more important than price, the quality of work, honesty, and professionalism is second to none. Our first visit was brake work months ago, everthing still fantastic. Brought our other/second vehicle in today, also extensive brake work. Everything about Westside Service Center is "right" for us, and we will be taking our vehicles there for all future work. It takes a little work to find them the first time (unless you have a GPS), but they are just a couple minutes off the beltline, and I would highly recommend giving Westside a try with your vehicles. We are extremely happy with the service and professional work we've received there so far!

Was driving to work and I noticed that there was smoke rolling out from under my hood. I'd been having some mild coolant leakage issues and was planning to bring it somewhere the next day to get checked out but when I pulled over I noticed a mess of coolant over the entire engine (with the timing belt spraying it at me when I opened the hood) so this was an exponential rise in badness. I decided to pull over and find a nearby shop immediately. I vaguely recalled that I'd seen a well-reviewed shop nearby so I checked Angies List on my phone. This shop turned out to be less than a half-mile away so I gave them a call. They said I could bring it in and they'd try to look at it today but they weren't certain they could fit it in until tomorrow. I was fine leaving it overnight so I drove it over and they let me sit in their office until my ride could come and pick me up. They said they didn't have a loaner car today but they could reserve one for tomorrow which seemed reasonable. Fast-forward an hour and my ride has shown up. On my way out they tell me that their morning appointment didn't show up so they already looked at it. Turns out the water pump was broken (which was a bit of a relief when compared to other possibilities) and they said they should be able to get it done today. In the end they were true to their word, and their prices were fair. The final bill had a new serpentine belt and a new radiator cap but I completely agreed that those were necessary, and they were priced fairly. All in all I felt I was treated fairly and so far I've had no issues with the work they've done. Folks were professional and polite. Car's running fine now. Highly recommended.

I had a laundry list of repairs that needed to be done. They helped me figure out what needed to be done, and how much each repair was going to cost. With the info they provided I chose to have the sway bar/links repaired, and my brakes replaced. There are additional repairs that Westside Service noted in their initial inspection, but I was able to put those off until later as they were much more expensive. I highly recommend them. They are personable and very responsive. They have loaner vehicles available if you schedule ahead.

We are new to Madison and had no idea where to go to find an honest auto repair shop that wouldn't scam us. Westside's service was extremely professional and very prompt. They fixed exactly what was wrong and didn't try to add on a bunch of other stuff. I highly recommend them! They said they can even take care of tires and auto glass needs too. Also, I really appreciated the option of receiving the estimate by email. We will definitely be back!

Vehicle serviced had 110,000 miles after 14 years of operation when the brake warning light went on. My inspection revealed that the fluid level in the brake system reservoir was low. I added fluid and ceased operation until Westside Service Center could work on the problem. Although accumulated rust made component removal a bit challenging, work was completed within one hour less than the standard flat-rate. The typical dealer I have worked with during the last 50 years would have charged flat rate plus a difficulty fudge factor. I really appreciate the technicians skill and honesty.

Fast response, reasonable and accurate estimate with no surprises.

I was very happy with the service, the flexibility in the time for appointments, and I trusted what they had to say. They didn't try to find 900 other things wrong with my car even though they probably could have. I was very happy with the service, the timing. They had it done when they said they would have it done. My husband and I were both happy with the service.

Am very pleased with the quality of work as well as how quickly it was completed. Very professional, will definitely be using Westside Service Center again.

very professional, quick estimate and repair.

The estimate seemed reasonable, so I asked Aaron to go ahead and perform the service. He finished within the estimated time, showed me some of the replaced parts to help show the oil leaking that was going on, and was generally good at keeping me in the know. I particularly appreciated the prompt e-mail communication for estimates and letting me know when the work was done. Unfortunately, the first morning I had the car back, I tried a cold start, and it took even more coaxing than it had before it was serviced. I sent an e-mail to Aaron with a detailed account of the car's behavior, let him know about my disappointment, and ask him to make it right. He gave me a call within half an hour and told me to bring it in. The car ended up being in the shop for a week, because they were unable to get the car to show the behavior I had described. I have to give them compliments for being patient and waiting for a colder morning when they finally got to hear the issues for themselves. Aaron fixed another clogged valve he found, but was honest in letting me know that he couldn't guarantee it was the cause of the problem. I got the car back without any extra charge for the service, and so far it has been running perfectly. I hope it still does come winter. This was a tough situation due to the intermittent nature of the problems, so I would say that I am quite pleased with Aaron's diligence. My only complaint is that I had to call a few times during the week my car was gone to get updates on whether they had found anything; they made promises to call that they didn't quite live up to, but I wouldn't consider that a major failing.

Loved my experience with these guys! This was my first time there, based on recommendations only from Angie's List, and it did not disappoint. I went in looking for an estimate on some repairs I already knew of...but simply mentioned that I heard noises coming from what sounded like the driver's side front wheel when I turned left. Aaron, the mechanic, called back within an hour, saying he had found a bent plate near my right wheel that likely caused some rubbing, and he simply bent it back in place (this was something, by the way, that my dealer service center had never ever mentioned!). But he said I was likely hearing some other noises from a broken sway bar and loose bushing, causing rattling noises every time I went over bumps. These were things I had known about, and was satisfied he had noticed them without my saying anything about them! He gave me a VERY fair estimate (less than 50% of my dealer's estimate) for those repairs and I told him to go ahead over the phone. Because my car was 9 years old and had over 200,000 miles on it (quite a few cross-country trips in there), I also knew my timing belt/water pump was due to be replaced, and my boyfriend had pointed out a severely cracked serpentine belt. So I called back within 5 minutes, told the mechanic these items, and asked for an estimate for all that work to be done. He said he'd email an estimate for everything within the hour.... I got it in 20 minutes! Not only was it itemized part by part, but also parts versus labor. The grand total of about $750 was, again, less than HALF of what my dealer had estimated, that's with labor included. And get this (I had never heard of this anywhere): the cost of labor was less than the cost of parts!! So I called and confirmed he should do the entire repair set; he said it would delay getting the car until the next day, possibly near closing time at 5pm. I had another car to use, so that was fine with me (and this was after he got me in for a Monday morning appointment after contacting him the previous Thursday afternoon!). The car was done before he estimated; I got the call it was ready at 1pm that next day. Things I love about this place: it looks like a real garage. This is coming from a single young-ish woman who has no idea what she's doing with her car except how to check the oil and replace a tire (even of those things I'm pretty proud), and my boyfriend works extensively on his own cars. There's no fancy waiting room, no crappy coffee or old magazines. Has no windows that I can see...this is a garage for a guy who obviously has talent and loves to do this kind of work and simply does what he does, and it's great! The mechanic Aaron was friendly, approachable yet serious, and was not even remotely condescending when he spoke to me either in person or on the phone; just straightforward experience and respect. For this alone, I felt good the moment I dropped the car off. As for the car after it was done, it was clean inside, and ran like a beauty!! I felt like I had a new car, not making any more horrible noises with every bump in the road. I would come back to this guy for anything in the future, and have already spoken of him highly to friends in the area. He seems consistently busy, but obviously made time to get me in, for which I'm so appreciative! I couldn't believe the cost for the work done, in a good way.... and if he perhaps undercuts himself at all for the cost of labor, man is he ever (hopefully!) making it up with the sheer volume of his customers who know a good thing when they see it. These people deserve to be in business for as long as they want; excellent service and skill, and they should be reimbursed every bit for what they provide. Fantastic!!

I think he?s good. I am very pleased with the work and his price was better than the other place I was going to go.

Went great from making an appointment to getting an estimate to having the work completed

Awesome!! I called at the beginning of July after covering from getting a ridiculous estimate from the dealer where I bought my vehicle. They got me a emailed estimate within 1 hour and I booked the appointment. They are a small local shop and they are busy so I scheduled my appointment for two weeks from the date I called. They are super friendly and efficient and they are honest about charging for the actual time a service takes - not the amount cited in some manual.

West Side Service did a great job! They were very helpful. I would definitely use them again. Shop is clean and un-cluttered. Very professional.

I cannot say enough good things about West Side Service Center. They did a wonderful job on my car. It has 135,000 miles on it, and it is running better than it has in years. I'm not sure how they did it, but they even made the engine knocking noise go away. I had been led to believe by another service place that it would be very expensive/difficult to find and fix the cause, and that I should just use higher-octane gas. Well, I am back to using regular gas, and all is quiet. This is one of the very few car service places that I have felt completely comfortable with--often I feel as if I am being taken advantage of because I know very little about the inner workings of my car.

First I took the car to the service center at the dealer for the third time and they said it needed additional repairs on top of what they previously fixed and quoted me for 290.00 so I told the dealer I did not want them to do anything and instead I took my car to the West Side service center. It turns out I only needed one of the repairs done not both and had I needed both they still quoted me at a lower price. I have taken my cars there a number of times and they are reliable always seem to have lower price along with quality work.

Brought the car in and described the problem, saying he could go ahead and just try the switch. He insisted, "I won't fix it unless I see the problem". He managed to reproduce the problem, something the dealer did not do in two tries. Then he replaced the switch. When I picked the car up, he took time to show me the old switch, and just exactly what the problem was with it.

I have been going to West Side service center for the past 3 years, even though I live clear across town. It was recommended to me by a coworker, and far worth the drive. West Side is friendly, reliable, and a good deal for the price. They're small and off the beaten path, but because they are knowledgeable and fair always busy. They'll drop you off or pick you up if need be, have good advice, and perhaps most important in a mechanic, are honest.