Val Halla Automotive Service

I tried Valhalla because of the excellent reviews I read on Unilocal.I am always leary to take my car to a dealership because I think repairs are often done unnecessary making me pay more than I should. I had a mechanic at my work that took care of my car — when he left I really needed to find someone. I will look no further. Dan at Val Halla is a pleasure to work with. I scheduled an appointment a week out thinking my Chevy Tahoe could withstand a few more days. I had been negligent aside from regular oil and filter changes for a couple of years. My vehicle was overheating and needed a few checks as well as an irritating whine on acceleration and deceleration. I called Dan prior to my scheduled appointment and he happily made time for me that day. He called within a few hours after I dropped the car off with the diagnosis, cost and time frame. Everything was done as promised and he even went so far as to discourage me from a repair that might not be needed and that we should just «watch it». The price was fair as I am always happy to support private business and I will always happily pay for a honest job well done. When picking up vehicle all of my old parts were available for me to inspect however I didn’t feel the need but very much appreciated the option. The invoice was all hand written which I also appreciated.
My Tahoe is running great. A new water pump, hoses, coolant, temp housing, tensioner pulley etc. Will watch the power steering.
I am happy to have taken my vehicle to Dan at Valhalla and will continue to do so as needed for routine maintenance and repairs. Thank you Dan.

Went in for a big job and a transmission service. Was quoted a almost $ 1000 when called, and showed up to a $ 725 bill. This is a good company to bring your car to when you need a labor intensive job done.

I made an appointment because my cars brake pedal was losing pressure, (the wait to make an appointment was about 4 days) I dropped off my car at 7am, and told Brad I didn’t need to have my car done in one day and they could keep it a day or 2, if needed. 3 ½ days later they finally came up with a plan to first replace my brake rotors, because they said they were warped, and if that didn’t solve the problem, they would then replace the booster and master cylinder. They quoted me $ 117 for turning the rotors and $ 40 for installing them. You can buy 2 new OEM rotors at Napa for $ 126 for my car, and 2 non-​OEM for $ 51, they didn’t give me any options. The handwritting on the work order was hard to read and un-​organized. I just wasn’t that impressed with Valhall, but they seem like honest folks, and have a very high rating. I ended up doing this job myself, I replaced the booster and master cylinder first and that solved the problem, these guys told me that warped rotors can create the problem I was having, which I didn’t know, so I also plan to replace my rotors with new ones soon. Oh, also they quoted me $ 236 for a booster and master cylinder, and I got these parts for $ 190 at Napa.

Good honest and old fashioned mechanic shop. We called in thirty minutes before they were closing because our check engine lite turned on. We rolled in two minutes before five (closing time) and low and behold, good ol’ Dan was there waiting for us. He checked us out, and luckily there wasn’t anything wrong with the old Hyundai. The fact that he waited and ran the service for us despite closing time was really helpful. We were on a road trip and his integrity saved us having to wait until morning. These kind of actions are what instill the fact that there are still honest and friendly mechanics left in this world. And so, I give these guys two thumbs up. Thank you again for waiting. It means the world.

I needed to get some fluids changed and have my truck checked out before a 2000 mile road trip. I check the reviews on Unilocal and Val Halla came out on top. I called them up and they got me in the day before I was to leave — perfect!
Now — understand that while I’m no mechanic I do know my way around engines, drivetrains, etc — especially on my own vehicles. One of the worst to things you’ll find with many mechanics is:
1) They BS you about what is wrong with the vehicle
2) They upsell you on work that needs to be done.
I brought my Excursion in and neither of these two things happened. Heck, I thought some other things needed to be changed before I brought it in and they told me ‘nope’ — I had plenty of time. I appreciate that in a major way. Honestly is not the norm in this business and this is probably why Val Halla has such high reviews.
Pricing was EXTREMELY fair. I was very happy with the work done. This is one of the only places I’ll take my vehicles in for work now. There is pride in the work being done and it shows.
Please understand all these 5 star reviews are legit — these guys (and gal!) are awesome!

My vehicle needed 100k preventative maintenance. Dealership wanted $ 1400. I called 9 shops with estimates from $ 780 to $ 1400 with most over $ 1100. When Val Halla gave the lowest estimate I was skeptical. I read the five star Unilocal reviews and positive feedback from previous customers. I was sold. Made my appointment and got me in within a day. It was positive reassurance when a local auto supply chain store employee assured me Dan does wonderful work.
Dan was a pleasure to work with over the phone and in person. Shop is no thrills and located by the Atlantis Casino. This means low over head and cheaper prices. There were no surprises, no hidden costs and no pressure. He called mid day to give an update and had the car back when promised. I was thrilled to get a written warranty with a 12k 12 month coverage at ANY ASE shop. I also checked the DMV website and he’s a licensed shop and a clean better business bureau record. All the licenses are in the shop. He’s too good to be true. I’m simply amazed I found Dan. I highly recommend.

You usually don’t see a lot of 5 star places with 100% 5 stars… it usually makes a person a little skeptical but you just have to try them to believe it. Honesty is the best policy, but usually not one that mechanics hold to. However, these guys break the mold.
My husband and I went here and basically gave them the go ahead that leaves mechanics seeing $$$: We asked them to take a look at the car and tell us if anything was wrong before our big road trip.
When they performed the basic oil change and break checkup we asked for, they called my husband to let them know they hadn’t found anything wrong yet but they were inspecting further. Amazing: They checked in with us! Couldn’t believe it…
Once they were completely done they called my husband to let him know they didn’t find anything unusual and didn’t come back with a big list of things they thought we needed to fix. I was amazed…
As a person who knows nothing about cars (not a ditzy woman, but this is my husband’s area) I would feel safe coming here without risk of being ripped off, misled, or pushed into things I don’t really need.
What a wonderful little local business!

Dan has been so helpful with all my car problems. They charge very fair prices and I really trust these guys to tell me what needs to be fixed with my car. Even went in once for a broken side mirror and they fixed it without a problem. Call to make an apt around burning man time cause they get very busy!

Amazing. There are no other words to describe Val Halla, seriously. My boyfriend and I recently moved to Reno and, after traveling in my truck from Texas, I needed to have it looked at. Nothing major, but needed an oil change and my tailgate looked at as something was wrong with it. I called on a Wednesday I believe and asked how early I could be seen. I was told if I came right when they opened Friday, I could be looked at. So, right at 8, my boyfriend and I showed up to Val Halla. At the time, my truck was the only vehicle we had, so we just assumed we would hang around. We didn’t end up doing that, but the wife who works the front desk (can’t remember her name) spoke with her husband and offered us a ride in one of their awesome oldie cars to anywhere we wanted to go! She also had food and offered us some of that as well.
We did end up leaving for awhile, but came back and waited about 30 more minutes. I sat and read a little bit, but my boyfriend and the lady at the front talked the whole time! She was so friendly and polite and told us a lot about Reno since we were new. My truck was finally done and they actually took the time to explain to me (in understandable terms) what was wrong with my tailgate and how they fixed it. The whole bill was about $ 40. Yep. Val Halla, you just earned yourself a new customer because this is going to be my place of choice! Absolutely amazing service at a fantastic price.

On my epic continental trip from Chicago to San Francisco, I stopped in Reno and had to get my 2000 Corolla’s exhaust system checked because it was getting really noisy in the motor area when accelerating (thank you, Chicago winter street salting). Found Val Halla via Unilocal and was very happy with their honest and prompt help.
Spoke to Brad on the phone who told me to come by. They put my car on the lift thingie in no time and confirmed my suspicion that there was a leak after the exhaust manifold. The great part: Brad did not try to sell me their service but just reassured me that I would still make it to CA fine without the pipes coming off. He was honest to say that fiddling with the donut connection at this (rusty) point might open a can of worms that could get me grounded longer than a few hours. He advised to get it fixed at my final destination.
Then: no charge.
A fine establishment with fine people. Thank you.

Company provided poor service in repairing problem with the car creating new problem of almost equal value in cost that was over 930.00 initially.

Late review but great service and repair shop. It was last summer was an out of towner stuck on the the road side. Called and asked if he could fix it today. Said sure. Had it towed there. Got the thermostat replaced then he told me needed a radiator too. I thought hmm maybe trying to make some extra money, but got it done. Ended up being way cheaper than I could have had it done anywhere and on the spur of the moment. Was on the road again late afternoon. Would definitely trust him to fix my car again. And if you get stuck there don’t hesitate to have him take a look at your vehicle.

I went here last week to have an oil leak inspected and an oil change. I was really impressed by the candor presented. I plan to have more work done at this location. I would definitely recommend to others!

Excellent service. I had just moved to the area and needed my car repaired to pass smog. They diagnosed the problem and had me back on the road with a passing smog test in less than 48 hours AND for $ 40 less than they had originally quoted. The only reason it took as long as it did was because they needed to borrow a special diagnostic machine from someone else.
The only downside is that they are very busy. They will definitely try to work within a time frame if you ask for one, but it is just two guys who get a lot of business. If you are able to wait to get in to see them, however, the wait will be worth it. I will be taking my car here for maintenance whenever possible.

Quick and helpful with estimates. Returns calls. Friendly. Excellent price.

Hands down there is no other place in Reno, that you will get better service work or be treated right, they are no frills and straight up on what needs to be done, they don’t throw extras at ya, Dan & Brad are top notch and their work is stellar, I only take my cars to them for work., if you take your car somewhere else, for work you’re gonna get pooched.

We took our 10 year old car into Val Halla with a variety of minor complaints. He sorted through what was important, what wasn’t important and fixed it for about a ¹⁄₃ of what I expected to pay.
It’s our off road car so it needs to be functional and reliable, but not necessarily luxurious. He got that immediately and did a perfect job of triage. I’d recommend Val Halla in a heartbeat!

My daughter and I were visiting Reno, to visit the University of Nevada, Reno, from the Bay Area. Our Volvo XC90 started making a horrendous noise on the way up there, and thankfully we nursed the car into Reno. A stressful situation to say the least!
Having never been in Reno, I had NO idea what I was going to do. I awoke at 5am, and the first thought that popped in my head was «check Unilocal».
Val Halla was the repair shop that jumped out at me. I mean, an auto mechanic with 5 stars and not one bad review? Is this even possible?
I called at 7am, and spoke with Dan. Thanks goodness he had time to check my car! I explained that I had to be at UNR for a tour, and asked we could walk there…“No way, I’ll give you a ride”.
Took car to Val Halla, got a ride from Dan, had car repaired at reasonable price and made it home to the Bay Area safe and sound! Thanks to Dan and the ValHalla mechanics.
Side note: I mentioned to Dan his AMAZING Unilocal rating… his reply, «It’s really not that hard» I’m assuming what he meant by that was; treat people fairly and honestly, and it will be appreciated. BINGO!

Of the 3 mechanics that we took our van too, this guy really knew his stuff.
We took our van in for a pre burning man tune up and the previous mechanic assured us that we were good to go. We got there and it broke down so we had to be towed out of black rock city all the way to Reno. Of the list of auto shops burning man reps gave, we decided to outside of that list and chose Val Halla. What a great find!
They were quick and they actually fixed the real problem. Our BM van is still humming along with no problems. :)

The guys are back again for another spot on performance.
My old Mustang has 188K on it and started driving like sh*t Would barley start, wanted to stall, bad idling. You don’t take a 16 year old car to the dealership so I Unilocaled on Thursday and found these guys and made an appointment for Monday.
Dropped car off 8:30am Monday morning. Dan called me 12:45 pm
I expected to need to rebuild the engine. Nooooooooooope. After some tests — I was essentially running an 8 cylinder mustang on 6 cylinders says Dan. All that was needed was to reattach a vacuum hose which had shaken off its mount. He put in a new screw with some locktite tested again and seemed good to go. Cost was $ 131 — I can afford that.
Right he was. I picked up the car and sped off — just like it always does!
Oh, and don’t expect to SEE a dealership when you pull in — this is an auto repair shop that does great work for a great price — not a showroom!