Convenience Auto Service

This is my go-​to auto shop. The staff are all incredibly friendly and honest (I’ve brought things here for a second opinion and felt I got a way straighter answer on what really needed fixing right away and what could wait), and I’ve almost never gotten any sort of upsell.
These days, we don’t need service as often, as we’ve switched from two used cars to one used né to now — one newer one, but we still try to do our main preventative maintenance and checkups through these guys. When friends ask for an auto shop, especially for Subarus, this is my first recommendation. (Though Steve Steeb and a few other shops are also well-​trusted).
An added bonus — the Liberty Street location is an easy walk from the #12 bus line, which comes in handy if you’re trying to get back downtown or home on the west side. They do also offer a courtesy shuttle, but for me the bus is easy enough I’ve only needed it once so far!
I haven’t been to the Jewett location (which is smart spot to open a second shop), but if they are sharing and hiring the same sort of staff, I would still trust them in a heartbeat!

Best mechanics in town. Honest, professional, and great at what they do. I’ve had my car at other places where they tell me I need to fix everything. I take it to Convenience, and they tell me what needs fixing, what can wait, or what is just fine. No unnecessary work here. In one case, I had the dealer tell me I needed to replace the engine, which was more than the car. The dealer didn’t seem to understand that didn’t make sense. Here, they gave me a honest run down of what I could do, we discussed what I was willing to try and pay for, and we ended up saving the car for much, much less. Even been helpful in advising me on work I decide to do myself.

Eight years and three cars later and our household is STILL doing business with Convenience. Nothing has changed since my first visit to the shop. I trust the word of these guys because they don’t do unnecessary work and when work is completed, it is quick and affordable. I still recommend Convenience to all my friends in A2.

I love this place! I have been a customer of Convenience Auto for years and they have helped me keep an old car running for a long time (250,000 miles) and they were friendly and easy to work with the entire time. I trust them completely with my cars. You don’t find a business like this every day and I tell everyone about them (I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to write a review).

Best mechanic that I’ve ever used in the U.S. Professional staff. Excellent and timely service. Great value. They care about you as a customer and your car. Highly recommend. Um discount.

After another auto repair place couldn’t diagnose my car troubles, I went here based on a co-​workers glowing review. I had a great experience! Everyone there was very knowledgable and friendly. My problem was diagnosed and fixed in no time. Fairly priced too. Will go back and recommend to my friends.

My Mazda 3 was in need of major engine repair and after «new engine» quotes and attitude from a few other shops in the area, I had a stroke of luck walking into this shop. I felt comfortable after chatting with Lou for only 2 minutes.
Now my car is fixed and running like new for thousands less than the other shops wanting to just put a new engine in. I also now have my go-​to garage for ALL future repairs/​maintenance.
These guys are professional, courteous, and not lazy. They will do the research needed to get your car repaired. This shop is a breath of fresh air in the auto repair field, don’t hesitate to give them a try.

This place is a typical repair shop. The job took longer than I was told, the cost was higher than I had expected, and I’m not sure that anything was actually fixed as the problem is still there (albeit in a diminished fashion). If it were anything other than a car repair shop, I would give it a 2. However, this is about par for the course in my experience with mechanics so I’ll give it a 3. The best things about this place though were the large parking area and the taxi service they provide.

I was not that impressed with these guys. I took my truck to them because the clutch cable has rusted through and I couldn’t shift anymore making driving impossible. I had first called Japanese Auto to work on it but I was told they had a two week wait so the owner referred me to Convenience and said they do good work so I was thinking «ok I’ll give them a shot» how bad can it be? I should have just waited. So I have my truck towed there on Wed I believe it was, and I was told they could fix the problem by the next day and I would be set. The next day comes and they call and tell me the work is completed and I am set, so I was like «cool» and I went and picked up my vehicle. I tested the clutch and it was working fine so I paid and left thinking everything was ok. Literally 10 minutes after I left their shop my «brake warning light» pops on with a big red glow. I had not even arrived home yet at that point. So I was like” ok this is not good” and I proceeded to call them back up and let them know what was going on. They tell me to bring it back the next day and they will look at it again and see what’s the problem. Next day comes and I’m told it’s now the brake lines that are rusty and they will need to be replaced too. I thought that was funny considering the clutch and brake lines are right next to each other so when they changed the clutch they should have let me know that I would need my brakes done as well but I was not told that at the time. I was also told «well we have to resurface our lot tomorrow so you can leave it here over the weekend and we will do it next week. Oh well that’s great, so now i’m out of my truck for another three days, thanks. Monday comes and they tell me it’s going to take a little longer than they were expecting but it will be ready on Tuesday. Tuesday comes and they finally have it repaired and I can come get it, so after work I go there and pick it up. I paid and left and as soon as I drive out of there I realized something was majorly wrong because when I tried to stop at the light, my brake pedal went all the way to the floor! I literally had to push the pedal all the way in to get any kind of stopping power. At that point I was getting extremely frustrated with these guys. I went back there and was told that it’s just how it is on some cars, they have squishy brakes and there was nothing I could do other than replace the whole unit. But after a few seconds of me telling the guy something is still not right and it’s not just the unit, he starts to think about it and says «well we could turn your back brakes and that should help it a little bit». I had to leave it there ANOTHER day until they did what they had to do and then finally I picked up my vehicle and it was back to a normal driving level, I will not be going back there because I felt like they should have had my brakes working a whole lot better from the first time I took it there, and the fact that they thought they could give me my truck back without actually having fixed my problem was enough to show me that they do not care about their work, they just want their money. Its too bad I wanted to like them but I can not in good conscience recommend them on Unilocal and have some other person go through the same ordeal that I did.

Despite the boring name, this place is a gem and it’s not just for Subarus! I’ve brought my Toyota to them for maintenance and repair over the last three years.
For the maintenance check-​ups, if they find a problem, they tell me if I need to fix it right away or not. Usually it can wait. For instance, at one maintenance visit, they told me my brakes would need replacing at my next visit. So when I went for my next maintenance check, I told them the brakes would need replacing. Instead of just doing it, they told me that actually the brakes were still in good shape. I feel like I can trust what they say and there’s no dishonest pressure tactics.
For repair, they’ve given me an accurate estimate. On one particularly expensive visit (I have bad car Carma), they threw something in for free. Another time, my check engine light came on after a visit and they let me come back in and read the code for free– in case they had missed something. It was something that they told me I could fix or wait to be fixed. (Don’t ask me what– caskets and tubes were involved and leakage). (Yes, I am perpetuating the whole women know nothing about cars image. But really, it’s not women who don’t know cars, it’s just me. And I could know more if I really really wanted to but why bother when there’s plenty of info on google to check after the fact)
As for the one bad review that says they were unfriendly etc, I have found them to be very polite and friendly. I used the shuttle service once and had a lovely conversation with the driver. Admittedly, there are limited hours to the service but many places don’t even have a shuttle service!

So what follows is a bunch of examples for why this place is no more than two stars for me. Forgive the exacerbated venting. After three service visits and numerous phone conversations, I’m sad to report that every experience has been negative.
It’s strange that a place called «convenience auto» makes me feel like nothing but an inconvenience every time I go there. I’m used to hanging around shop guys and I know the no-​BS culture. I don’t like to chit-​chat either. But here my simple questions are met with more gruffness than a Russian mobster dishes out, followed by rude sighs.
At this point you might be thinking that maybe I’m a difficult customer. You might be asking: «Are you one of them self-​entitled folks that thinks the world revolves around them?» Or, «Are you one of those gear heads that try to prove that they know everything about cars?» or «Are you asking stupid questions with obvious answers?» Believe it or not, nope! And yet, I still leave feeling like I am the scum of the earth.
The first time I asked to use their shuttle service they hemmed and hawed and made me feel guilty that I was taking a mechanic out of the shop. I just saw it offered on their website and assumed it was part of their daily business? I told them I was flexible and that it was no rush and still, they complained about how it was rush hour and I lived ALL THE WAY across town (mind you, it’s a 10 minute drive — 15 in traffic).
On top of that, some loose ends have been curiously left after they serviced my car and when I asked about it, they gave me a battery of irrational excuses and then mumbled something nasty under their breath. They offered to cut me a deal to fix what they broke. No thanks? If you broke it, please fix it for free and an apology would be great.
And on top of THAT, phone conversations are always rushed and unclear with some prices thrown at me. It always sounds like I’m lost in a stack of paperwork.
I don’t think I’ll be going back after all of this. I understand that they’re busy and I understand bad days, but I haven’t been able to catch them on a good day, let alone a neutral one. Their prices are great but the shop work is half-​arsed and the service is unbearable.
The good thing is that all this frustration has inspired me to be my own mechanic and I’m learning about cars while saving myself half the cost of parts costs, all of service costs, and ALL of the unpleasant attitude. Thank goodness for online VW DIY culture.

This place is great. I have trusted them with my Subarus for 6 years now. I found out about them on the Cartalk website, under mechanic reviews. The prices are decent and they do great work. The shuttle service is really helpful.

I’ve taken my car there a couple of times and I have found them to be a great auto service provider. They are quite honest and offer competitive prices every time I have had to fix my car. One time I had an additional issue once I fixed my sway bar links and they offered to re-​fix it completely free (just the cost of parts, which was $ 20). They are always friendly and I would definitely go back again!

Crazy that I haven’t reviewed this by now…
I’ve had to take my car in here a few times and I feel that the service is very honest, very high quality and the price is right. I took my car here for a look-​over right before I bought it and the guy said he’d buy the car for his daughter if I wasn’t buying it already and he was right — only one easily fixable problem in the 2 years I’ve had it and it’s a 13 year old car.
One time, I couldn’t start the car and they drove out to my house, sparing me the cost of towing it there – beyond nice of them. Turned out, I was using the old key and not the replacement that I had just gotten (DOH!). I was SUPER embarrassed, but they were so, so nice and didn’t charge me a thing.
Can’t recommend Convenience Auto highly enough!

I had an electrical problem with my 2000 Subaru. By all indications, and according to the tow truck driver, the problem was probably an alternator. I was preparing for the shock of how much this might cost, but when I called in to find out the damage, they told me it was just a loose connection which cost a total of $ 26 to find and fix! It would have been so easy for them to say it was the alternator, install an unnecessary new or reconditioned one, bill me for the full amount and nobody would have been the wiser. An honest repair shop, who woulda thunk it?!

This place received several positive reviews from fellow students in my program at UM, in particular for Subarus (the owner is a former long-​time manager (I think?) of a Subaru dealership.
I went here a couple of weeks ago when I noticed a plastic shield something-​or-​other was hanging down from the bottom of Kermie, my beloved Subaru Outback Sport.
I asked my dad if I could just tie it back into place with zip ties and he said while that was a reasonable temporary solution, he would prefer if I got it professionally fixed. Well, guess what Convenience Auto did? Tied my car back together with zip ties!
According to Lou (the father of one of my fellow students, it turned out) I must have driven over/​backed up over a parking bump or similar… the bottom of my bumper and the bottom of my car in general was a bit ripped up. I’m embarrassed to say that I don’t know when or how this happened, though after a winter of virtual «off roading» over glaciers (Ann Arbor roads SUCK in the winter) it could have been any time.
I went in without an appointment (though they’re recommended) and got quick, efficient, friendly service. Lou told me that ultimately, the bumper, etc. would probably need to be replaced, but that they could make it stable and safe – possibly for years – until something worse happened. Sounds good to me!
Using an ingenious combination of pushpins and, basically, zip ties, (and doing a much more thorough and sturdy job than I would have done) they pulled and pushed and zipped everything back into place. Took less than half an hour, cost me a mere $ 29.95. Everything on the car is where it should be, and some mysterious rattly noises have basically stopped now that everything is held in place.
Thanks Lou! I’ll be back.
**Also! They have a service desk email address and use it, which I appreciate a lot. Like many «kids» of my generation, I tend to do a lot of my business via email, and appreciated that Lou answered my question in a few hours and fixed my car later the same day.**