Allen’s Automotive

I had a very good experience this past weekend. I had an issue with my car not starting. I called and was told the driver would be there in about an hour. He arrived 20 minutes later as I received a call to inform me. The driver jump started my car and literally followed me to the auto repair shop to make sure I arrived safely. Great customer service

Great mechanic. He has fixed many of my vehicles, of many makes and models, including a ’99 Cadillac STS, ’79 Ford F350, ’03 Honda Pilot, and a few of my other old and newer cars. If you hate going to the dealership, I recommend you take your car to Greg Allen.

I’ve been taking my cars to this shop for decades now. Fast service, reasonable rates and the best parts available. I can’t remember any return trips I’ve had to make because something wasn’t done right. There is a wealth of expertise here; any make or model, be it a vintage Rolls Royce or a Ford Focus, and any issue, from door locks, to carburetors to computerized fuel injection, they can do it all.

I have taken my 1984 Oldsmobile tornado to Greg for a few repairs now and have been satisfied with his services. He really understands this car and it’s unique challenges. If you have a toro, el Dorado or Riviera he is the man… and he always has some cool old Cadillacs in his shop. He might not be a great communicator but he is a great mechanic.

This had been THE worst experience I’ve ever had with any mechanic.
Facts:
I had to take my car back SEVEN times (YES SEVEN TIMES TOWING IT) to this man after he had «fixed» the issue. The issue kept coming back so he was not fixing the problem.
He NEVER calls to update you on the situation of your car. Out of my seven times turning the car back in from the $ 2900 worth of «repair» he did, he didn’t call me within that week to tell me what’s going on with my car.
He’s completely unprofessional. His writing for the receipts was illegible and when I asked if he could PRINT the receipt out with all the «fixes» he refused and just re-​wrote it in just as illegible writing.
He lies. He said he fixed my air suspension leaks which costed me $ 500 in repairs… It still leaks today.
Do yourself a favor and go somewhere else.
My engine is a 1989 350 Chevy, the most basic engines out there and he still couldn’t fix things.

I had never been to this place before, but I found it on Unilocal and saw all the great reviews. So I brought my Lexus in, and the owner, Greg, treated me as if I was a frequent customer. He drove me back to my house after I dropped off the car, picked me up after the car was finished, was very straightforward about what he was and was not going to do, and was just a nice guy. Highly recommended.

This is the best place to go for any auto repair. GM of any kind is what he works on.
I have a 99 ultra and a 00 chevy truck. Nothing on these cars give him a problem when it comes to repairs. My 71 ford 4×4 is also not a problem for him. SO take any car to him and he will know how to get it fixed.
He is so honest he will tell you if a car is not worth putting money into. This goes for maint as well.
Greg is a pilot and loves flying. Greg also gives your car the once over twice to make sure he did not miss anything. He is the god of GM and most other american cars.

this is absolutely the place to go in the south bay if you have a cadillac. greg worked at the st. claire dealership for many years before opening his own place. he is very straightforward and i never got the impression he would try to pull a fast one on me, even though i am a young female who knows nearly nothing about cars.
he’s kind of a quirky guy, weird signs all over his shop, says some odd opinionated stuff sometimes. he’s almost anti-​social when it comes to anything other than cars. but as soon as you get him on the subject of car issues, he will go on and on! you can tell he’s passionate about cadillacs.
he’s not expensive at all, especially compared to the dealership. he’s very upfront with costs and i have never had him go over the estimated cost without calling me first for a confirmation, even for a small cost overrun.
it’s really easy to pass the spot by, there’s only a little sign in the window, the parking lot has maybe 3 spaces. there is a large back area behind the gate by the garage, the employees will move the car back there. if you cross the light rail tracks you went too far.
it’s cozy in the crowded, dirty-​ish front office. there’s a cushy leather couch you can sit on while you are waiting for your car. i sat there for over an hour while pestering him for advice, and he didn’t appear annoyed at all for the time i was taking out of his day, even though he was relatively busy.
the mechanical locking mechanism for my trunk broke on my 97 el dorado. a new part was about $ 400, but greg was able to find a used one for $ 150 within a couple of days. i believe the labor was only about $ 50, even with the time he took ordering the part.
greg gave me a heads up on a recall that had been done years ago for a defective part on my model year which could cause flooding of gas over the engine. he said st. claire hated him because he always sent people out there for the free fix. unfortunately, i didn’t get this item fixed when greg told me about it, because i figured it was unlikely to happen, and i’m a huge procrastinator. so when the part broke a year later, it was entirely my fault. my dad, being irrational, decided to drive the car over to greg to get it fixed, instead of using a free aaa tow. i wasn’t there as i had to go to work. greg took one look at it, saw what was wrong, and told my dad to get the car the hell out of there, as it could blow any minute. oops!
we took it to st claire to fix, and they did it for free, but it may have been the death of my car, as it died about a month later *sniff* :(
greg was very kind when i brought it in to him after it overheated several times. he quickly determined that i had blown a head gasket. and told me it would be $ 500 in parts plus $ 2500 in several days of labor, as my model required them to drop the engine out to replace the gasket and re-​thread the pins, a serious hassle. i decided not to do the repairs, even though my car is in great shape otherwise.
he gave me paperwork to turn my car in and get a govt payout for my car as a low-​income owner (i’m not the official owner of the car, that’s an older lady who actually is low income). as long as the car drives (which is does, even if it severely overheats) and it’s still registered, i can bring it to pick-​n-​pull and get $ 1500, which is likely more than it’s worth! what a helpful guy. i was also supremely appreciative that he didn’t charge me for the diagnosis of the death of my vehicle. i offered to buy him lunch but he declined.
i asked him for advice on a new car. he had an inexpensive caddy of my same model year, with a salvage title for sale, but i was looking for a car with a little better mileage. he listed off a bunch of other american models that he recommended as reliable and inexpensive re upkeep.
i don’t have a caddy anymore, but i would not hesitate to go back to him in a second if i got another one.

I love this place. Greg (owner) was able to decode my engine light right away compared to skips were they were not and claimed that there was something wrong with my mini cooper. Skips said that their tools were able to decode other mini’s and cars but not mine. Allen’s Automotive is a place I can truly trust that my car is in great hands.

If you own a Cadillac, do not repair it at any OTHER place, only at Allen’s Automotive.
Greg, the owner, is very friendly,. knows everything about Cadillacs, very professional.
Before I came there the first time, 2006, I tried to fix my STS Cadillac at the local Midas, spend more than the car was worth, put another engine, put another transmission, but the problem persisted (overheat, smell, noises)
Greg fixed it all, and since then, for the last 5 years I’m fixing my Cadillac at his place.
Just recently, I had to do another major work on my car, head-​gasket. Wanted to save some money and found somebody who offered to do it for about half the price. And once again, I got either fooled, or just bad luck. Spend two times more money on this, the guy kept my car for few months, and after his ‘fixes’ I still had problems
Never again!
This coming Monday I will go to Allen’s Automobile to get the job done right.
Cadillac is a very complicated car, never entrust it to anybody but ONLY to a Cadillac expert with decades of experience. I learned this lesson the hard way twice…

I had been dreading taking my car into a shop because of the numerous problems I expected to pay for — brakes pulling to the right, loud exhaust, squeaking in the wheel, oil change, etc.
Greg Allen at Allen’s Automotive was referred to me by a family of 4 that has been taking all of their cars there for years. I was still hesitant but heard Greg was fair and reliable which is rare in the auto industry today from my experience.
Greg and his team fixed my car and all it’s issues quicker than I thought and well under my expected budget! He called me with updates which I appreciated and when I met him, he took time to explain what the problems were and how he fixed it. My car drives great and Greg and his team deserve a great review for exceeding my expectations in timeliness and cost.
I will be bringing my car back here from now on and will highly recommend Allen’s Auto to others!

Cadillacs, Chevy, GMC, yep, but really you can bring ANY car here. I’ve brought my Suburban, BMW, and I even brought him a SCOOTER that was made in China, and Greg fixed it! Really, he put the whole thing back together, kept it for as long as I wanted while he worked on it, and charged me next to nothing.
That’s why you should go here. You will get expert knowledge, an honest assessment and incredibly reasonable prices. Allen Auto has never encouraged me to get a repair I didn’t need, which is what I get when I go to, say Wheel Works (oh I’m reviewing them next, you betcha).
You can’t go wrong bringing your vehicles here.

First of all, Greg is the man.
My Cadillac SLS has always had a hard time starting. The person who sold it to me, also a mechanic, never figured out how to fix it. Greg Allen – besides being an overall nice guy – within the first fifteen minutes pointed out that it was my fuel regulator. After he replaced it, it started like a dream.
He was also kind enough to point out that my car was under recall, and told me to take it to the Cadillac dealership so I can get my fuel system replaced with safer parts for free. THAT is a whole other story on its own, but I don’t want to clutter this page with it. See my review of the Caddy dealership for one hell of a fiasco story.
Bottom line is, if you love your Caddy, or have another kind of car, but want a dedicated, professional, and passionate expert to keep it running smoothly, Allen’s Automotive is the place!

I’m really glad I found these guys on Unilocal.I took my Cadillac here for just an oil change and I will definitely be coming back for all my service and repair needs. Greg was very nice (and funny) and he did a great job on my car.
I love that his waiting room is comfortable, quiet, and clean, and plastered with nostalgia and humorous mechanic/​pilot/​automotive/​political cartoons and signs and stuff. But overall he obviously knows what he’s doing and it’s great to find someone who specializes in American made cars, notably Cadillacs, and clearly loves what he’s doing.
His prices were right on point with other service centers I’ve dealt with and definitely cheaper than a dealership and much much more personal.
Great guy, great business, great service!

Don’t let the logo on the website, or the logo on the side of the building, or the logo on the uniforms fool you… It’s true that Greg specializes in all things Cadillac, but he can work on anything.
He’s currently working on my ’63 Dart (If you go down there soon, yes, that piece of shit is mine), and is doing a job that I couldn’t have done anywhere. I dealt with a mechanic that had my car for four months, didn’t do any work, and then tried to charge me. When I decided to go with Greg, I told him to take his time, not to stress about it because the project I needed for him to do was a bit more involved than the day to day work I assume he normally does.
Well, you can imagine my surprise when he called me three days later saying that he was finished with what he could do to that point, and once I get him the rest of the parts the car will be done. (And yes, the reason my car is still there is because I’m lagging on parts– In my defense, they’re hard to find)
If you want a job to take forever, feel like getting swindled, and not be confident in the work being done, by all means, go find yourself any mechanic. If you want a job to be done quickly, efficiently, honestly, reasonably, and backed by a guy whose knowledge of all cars rivals an auto-​historian, then go with Greg. I can guarantee you won’t be disappointed!