Carlos Auto Service

Great Service Bill and Dave have always been up front and honest in there diagnosis of my car issues they are a bit on the pricy side but mama always said you pay for what you get and you get friendly and honest service matched with great lasting work!

I’ve known Carlos and his staff a long time. They are as good as it gets. If you need either routine service or major repairs do yourself the favor and stop in. I’m as picky as it gets. They are GREAT. Honest, fair, efficient, and meticulous. Whenever I need something I stop in and they take care of it (when it’s small they usually they don’t even charge me).
THANK YOU!!!

I have been taking my car to Carlos Auto Service for several years to work on my BMW. They have done several jobs and I have been mostly satisfied. A while back I dropped the car off to get new brake rotors and pads for the front. Installation was completed successfully, but after several months I noticed the front calipers were «clamping’ the rotors and overheating. I dropped off at Carlos and they called back next day to tell me one of the calipers had seized up and both sides should be replaced. I went with their suggestion and they ordered and installed rebuilt front calipers as agreed.
A year went by and I noticed the same issue recurring — the front calipers binding up and overheating. I took to Carlos and he supposedly orders and installs a new set of rebuilt calipers under warranty. Two months later I was picking the car up from another shop, and on the way back home the front calipers seized up for a third time. I almost decided to return home and take back to Carlos, but since I was still near the other shop, I decided to take it in to them and have them diagnose the problem. While I waited they rebuilt the front calipers with new pistons and showed me the condition of the old ones. This shop was a BMW specialist and told me that the parts were very old and had been reconditioned to temporarily extend their life and they didn’t think the parts were a year old. I realized at that moment that perhaps the reason I had been having recurring issues with the calipers was possibly due to Carlos Auto Service not replacing the calipers, but instead cleaning the pistons and putting them back into service.
I confronted CAS about their practices and they denied it, blaming the distributor for recycling unrefurbished used parts. If their claim is true and they did in fact replace the calipers the distributor would have provided defective parts twice in a row. If CAS is not recycling used parts they are nonetheless failing to correct the issue and costing customers repeated visits and expenses. In addition, when I replaced the flywheel at the BMW shop I was told that a drivetrain gasket had been installed backwards and would prematurely fail. This was a job CAS had done incorrectly several months prior. To their credit, the shop cut me a check for the last service charges when I presented a receipt; unfortunately, trust has eroded and I have since moved on to greener pastures.

Yesterday was my first experience with Carlos auto Service. I was a bit nervous because I have never visited a mechanic before and I went in to ask a few questions. I had a friend who used to help me with my car so I didn’t have to even know how often to change the oil. They were really nice and helpful, explained to me with pictures what I might need and gave best and worst case scenarios for my bad rear brakes. They accommodated me the next day and I was able to pick my car up that evening.
I was also informed when I got there that my oil had been really low and they filled it up for me as a courtesy, which I really appreciated.
I can’t speak for or against the price since this was the first time I have gone to a mechanic, but they were up front with me and that’s all I could ask for given my position. I had a good experience and it is convenient, so I will keep going back to them.

What a great place. I lost my wedding ring and had a feeling it went under my car seat. Strange i know. Took my car to the honda dealership in Bethesda and they would not help at all. I went on my neighborhood listserv and Carlos Auto Service was recommended. I went there and cannot tell you how nice Bill and the crew were. Bill promised me that if it was there he would find it. In just two hours of bringing my car in they found it. I cannot speak highly enough about the shop. In addition my husband has taken his car there with great success.

I like them very much. I’ve had them work on a 97 Honda Civic, 96 E-​150 conversion, a 96 Taurus, and 05 Odyssey. They do good work, are reasonably priced, and are very clear at explaining what work they think you need.
Once the Civic was making a terrible rattling noise, so I brought it in and they jacked it up and found a rusted piece of heat shield. Pulled it off, said «no charge», and sent me on my way. That’s generally how they treat their customers.