Zepeda Auto Service

This is probably the best auto mechanic place that I have ever been. I brought my jeep to fix a leaky trans and they did it. Quite an accomplishment considering I brought it to two other places and they were not able to fix it. Zepeda also did other work on my car which was well done, and their customer service is outstanding.

I’ve gone here a few times for repairs. Last time I thought it was a bigger problem than it was, and it turned out to be a $ 28 dollar fix. They could have totally convinced me I needed a new alternator.
Another time they took a picture of a bolt left in the innerworkings of the car by a previous mechanic, which was the cause of some crazy sparking and noise on a long drive.
Solid service, very polite and they never try to upsell.

Finding a quality auto repair is important to me. If you’re in the same boat, look no further!
Carlos and David (and their team) are fantastic! I have taken my car in many times over the past several years after my husband read positive reviews online. They have fixed both my vehicle and my husband’s with professional service all around.
As a young female patron, I’m used to having auto repair men speak to me condescendingly, patronizingly, or completely avoid explaining the problem with my vehicle and moving straight to discussing the bill. That is not the case at Zepeda’s. They never talk down to me and treat me with respect. A few times when I was having trouble deciding whether or not to fix something, they encouraged me to ask lots of questions and take my time and do more research before I made the decision to spend the money. They even got on the phone to explain one issue to my father. Additionally, they’ve saved parts of my car that were garbage to demonstrate the problem and help me understand what went wrong. They take the time to teach and never try to tack on all of the unnecessary other items that could be fixed just to make a buck.
I recommend them to everyone I know, and now to strangers, too. They’re the best!

I’ve been bringing my car to Zepeda for years and I’m sorry I haven’t written a review sooner.
I absolutely love this place. As a woman, I am always skeptical of being treated like an idiot or duped into paying for things I don’t need. The guys that work here have never, ever done either to me.
Additionally, I am from a small town where the auto repair places are small and the people treat you like a human and bring you in back to point to the actual issues with your car. Zepeda has ALWAYS done that for me.
I’ve brought my car in for simple oil changes, check ups before a road trip and major repairs. They are always timely, informative and NEVER pushy.
Even if I bring my car in for just an oil change, they do a complete check up and let me know if there is anything else going on. HOWEVER– if I don’t want the work done, they don’t do it– and they don’t press the issue. They let me know they will put the info in my file and I can let them know in the future if I want the work done or not.
Addtionally, I have matched prices vs. other places for work they’ve done on my tires brakes, etc. and they are always the cheapest.
I had a brake light out once and needed an oil change so I took my car to NAPA auto parts becuause it was the tiniest bit closer. I let them know all I needed to do was purchase the brake light– I could put it in myself. They were like, «It’s really no problem for us to put it in– it will just take a second!»
I was there FOR AGES. Then, they miscommunicated that my car was finished so I sat there 30 minutes longer than needed. Finally, they CHARGED me for putting the brake light in after I expressely said I could do it and they were like, «It’s really no big deal!» $ 20 in labor for just the brake light.
$ 80 later after an oil change and a brake light replacement– I learned another lesson in reliability vs. convenience. I haven’t been to another auto repair place since. ZEPEDA FOREVER! LOVE YOU GUYS! They even send me a Christmas card every year! Who does that anymore? Go here. Go here forever.

Took my car in for emissions repair. They did everything in their power to fix the issues. They ensured I passed inspection. It’s been two months, and I still have not seen my check engine light since.

A friend referred me here. His go-​to recommendation for his lady friends that have car trouble.
Spoke on the phone. I have an older car that I was looking to sell, but it needed some maintenance before I put it on the market. Cautious not to spend too much money. I think his name is Carlos and the other David, were very kind, honest, and fit me in last minute. After a very thorough inspection, he gave me a consultation over the phone and in just a couple of hours I was picking it up.
It’s also worth noting. I had a dent with some red paint on my rear driver side door. When I picked it up. It was gone!!! I went back inside, and I said ‘I can’t believe you did that!!!, thank you so much’ he said ‘I had the guys clean it up for, no big deal, you’re welcome!‘
These guys are very kind, efficient, fair, honest, and went out of their way to make me happier than I was for the service I paid for! That’s a great mechanic! Wish I had found these guys ages ago!

I love Zepeda’s. Every time i take my car in they are courteous and friendly. They explain in detail what the problem is and what the solution is. I took it in twice in a week recently, the second time it turned out a belt wasn’t working properly so they replaced it and gave me complimentary service. I highly recommend them!

I, like everyone else, dreaded taking my car in to the shop. Called on a Monday, they were booked. Dropped it off on Tuesday almost at closing. Had a call by about 11 am with the issue and 2 fix options with estimates. Next afternoon got the call that the car was ready for pick up.
Did a little research and the price definitely seemed fair for the work done. They did an inspection and provided some thoughts on things that may need to be addressed, but did NOT try to sell me on extra services. Nice

I cannot tell you how much I love Zepeda’s. David and his team are so kind, patient, caring, and honest. I don’t know a lot about car ownership, and they explain things with respect and no condescension. I would recommend them to anyone.
With the cold weather, my windshield developed a crack. I called them after hours that night, and David called me back first thing in the morning and told me he could replace my windshield for $ 170 (parts and labor). I brought my car in at 10:30am and they were done around 1. So easy.

Job was done under estimate, quickly, and with no problems! This will be my new mechanic from now on

Wouldn’t recommend. Zepeda seems to be the epitome of a «me too» mechanic. I brought my car in for the brakes to be looked at and got a laundry list of things that need to get fixed. The car is 12 years old! I’m sure the random belt you tell me to replace could use it but that’s not why i’m here.
My check engine light was on and they told me the fuel pump needed to be replaced (a somewhat expensive repair)… I was going to get rid of the car but drove it for the next 3 weeks while treating it with fuel-​injector cleaner. When I took it to another mechanic they told me nothing was wrong. For some reason I decided to take the car back to zepeda a month later to get the fuel injectors cleaned out (regular maintenance depending on who you talk to.) Turned out the hose that’s attached to fuel injection system might be malfunctioning, what a surprise ! Cheaper repair so I went with it.
Car runs exactly the same. I think I was duped & I don’t like getting duped so I won’t be back to Zepeda

Zepeda is great! They are fair, reasonably priced, respectful and truly care about their customers. I’ve been taking my 2008 Lancer there for a little over a year and am very satisfied every time I do. Without me asking, they showed me (literally in the garage) the work they did with my transmission and even had pictures on an iPad. They are upfront about what work has to be done now and what can wait. As a young woman, I feel that they want w
hat is best for the customer and not only interested in turning a profit. Thanks Zepeda!

Zepeda Auto was my mechanic for 7 years; up until my move from Chicago to Portland, Or.
Over those 7 years, Zepeda Auto did great work, their prices are fair, and the folks are great. I noticed the improvements over the years, including a more comfortable lobby, and the addition of David who helps run the shop. In those early years it was hard to get Carlos on the phone. Now, with either David or Carlos to talk with, things are running great. It shows that there’s a commitment to improve.
Before my drive to Portland, the Zepeda car got my car ready fro the drive. They let me know exactly what needed to be repaired and what could wait. Sure enough, my 17-​yr old car easily made the 2555-​mile drive up and down the mountains in Colorado and Idaho, and the wicked turns in Utah and Oregon.
I was well taken care of for 7 years in Chicago, and recommend Zepeda Auto without hesitation.

After my sour experience with Zepeda, I started looking elsewhere for a mechanic. I haven’t found anyone exceptional, so I’ve come back to Zepeda with my wife’s car based on the continued good reviews — maybe my bad experience was bad luck, or a bad time period for the business.
They seem to be better about calling to let you know the car is ready, etc, and David was very thorough about explaining the issues they fixed as well as some issues that they didn’t yet fix. He was willing to answer lots of questions I had, and spent a good amount of time doing so.
I’m now bringing my car in because it has also had an issue or two of late, and we’ll see how that goes. So far, things are looking up with Zepeda and I’m glad thus far that I’ve given them another chance! I will definitely come back and update after they look at my car as well.

Great service. Quickly fixed my flat tire. David was very friendly. Glad to have this place so close to home, will be back!

TL, DR: They’re good for mechanical issues, but not electrical
I’ve had some work done there before and happy with it, but never anything electrical. The car was brought in with generally weird behavior (temp sensor not working, radio not turning on, tachometer turning on and off intermittently).
They discovered standing water underneath the carpeting on the floor. A particular control module and it’s wiring harness had been submerged.
First off, rather than debug the root cause of the water, they tried going straight to a solution of repairing the wiring harness and even then, they only tried to address two very obviously corroded wires. If that is the root cause, that’s rather pointless work, unless you identify why the car had water to begin with!
They told me this submerged module was the culprit and suggested a new one ($ 590). Long story short, another shop fixed the water leak first, then the ENTIRE wiring harness and then discovered the module was totally fine.
Probably the most disconcerting thing was that every time I called for a status update, I could never get a remotely thorough answer from them. No plan of attack, no technical description of what they were doing. It was a lot of «uhhhs» and «we’re trying things»…just way too vague. Either the person taking my calls or the mechanic themself had no idea how to diagnose the issue but of course would not admit it.
Over the 7 days they had it they inspired zero confidence, which is unfortunate because they’re really nice guys. I was charged $ 300 for a week’s worth of them vacuuming water out of the car and repairing 2 wires.

Sooooo when was the last time you wanted to go buy your mechanics a drink and hang out with them? I’m guessing never. But you would if you brought your car here!
I had a 2001 Ford Focus for years that started having a ton of problems as cars will when they have 170,000 miles on them. David and the staff at Zepedas always made sure I got it taken care of, did amazing work, always showed me the damaged parts they took off of my car so I could inspect them (even though I’m a girl and had no idea what I was looking at) AND made sure I didn’t overpay. My car had several problems at once for a time and David would always walk me through which things needed to get taken care of first, and which ones could wait until I had a little more money.
Oh and did I mention how amazing and nice they are? Seriously… I don’t happen to live too far away, but David has driven me home when I dropped my car off on more than one occasion and I can honestly say I kinda look forward to it! haha!
So now I have a (new to me) 2010 Volkswagon that I love dearly with an extended warranty, but for things not covered like Headlights, batteries, and other small things… I wouldn’t even CONSIDER taking my car anywhere else. And that weird noise that it started making when I hit a pothole, uhhh yeah they’re looking at it as I write this.
You rock guys, thank you for not making any part of servicing my car intimidating or overwhelming. Thank you for explaining how things work, thank you for showing me the work you did and what you fixed so I know, and thank you for being honest, responsible, and super awesome!

These guys were great. I brought my car in for a rear brake job and they recommended much less work to be done than the previous estimate. They fixed it for less than a quarter of the first estimated price.
They also inspected the car and found an urgent repair. They were willing to show me the issue first (I can be skeptical of mechanics). Carlos spent a lot of time explaining how my brakes work and showing me the original parts after they were removed.
They did all the work on a Saturday and had me out the door on the same day.

I spent a few weeks checking out nearby auto repair shops to repair the timing belt and drive belts for a Honda Civic 2001.
Why I like them:
— Cheapest repair shop in Chicago
— Honest
— Reliable
I compared quotes from Firestone, Logan Square Auto, Oscar’s, Tico’s, and Carr’s Honda. Zepeda was a small repair shop but they gave me the very best price!
Not only that, but I came one Saturday morning and they finished the belt replacements, water pump replacement, and spark plugs by the end of the day. They had the old parts and showed me how they need to be fixed. Moreover, the guy at the front desk showed me on his computer a fancy website with 3D models of car parts. He showed me how they worked. It was a nice gesture so I wanted to mention it here.
Overall, I would go here again for major repairs for the cheapest price.

I went to Zepeda because they were the one of the top rated shops on Car Talk’s list and because they are in the area. The guys (guy?) at Zepeda was great with keeping open communication. My car is old and it took them a while to find out what was wrong but after almost a week they finally figured out the issue. Like I said the clear and open communication was great. The guy called daily, and ofter twice a day with updates. After finding out what the problem was I was given an estimate that was what I would have expected. In addition he also gave me a list of everything else that the car needed done but that wasn’t absolutely needed at the time.
When I went to pick up my car I was shown pictures of the issue and the old parts that were replaced.
Overall I am very happy with the service. Clear, professional, honest and consistent communication made me feel that they were interesting in keeping me as a customer and not just trying to rip me off as I have experienced at other shops.
A+