Far East Motors

Be careful. Took my car here a year and a half ago when my battery kept draining. I told them I thought it was an electrical issue, but they insisted the alternator was the problem. After fixing it for $ 600, the battery would continue to drain. I took it back and they told me there was nothing they could do except replace my battery because they claimed that was now the problem. After refusing, I took it to a dealership who diagnosed an electrical issue in about 15 minutes, and fixed my car for free. It has been running with the same battery since then. I would recommend getting a second opinion before giving away your money here.

Very friendly and professional auto repair. I was traveling and got stranded with a bad alternator and Jon and crew got me in and repaired my car very fast and put me back on the road with minimum delay.

I broke down from out of down. Far East went above and beyond the call of duty to get me back on the road safe. Thanks for the quick service!

Everything far east motor attempted to fix had to be re-​address and never resolved. Moreover, far east motors failed to diagnose a serious problem in my mazda’s transmission even though the «AT» light came on and the vehicle failed to shift gears often. Far east washed the transmission and replaced the fluid for around $ 300. One week later the transmission completely failed. I feel Far east motors mechanics are not knowledgable.
They are courteous though

I’ve been taking my 1997 Honda Accord to Far East for a couple of years. They’ve worked on the exhaust pipe and muffler, a series of oil leaks in the engine area, the ignition electrical wiring, oxygen sensor replacement, and other odds and ends.
The only time I had an issue with their repairs was when the timing belt got replaced. It continued leaking after the work was done so they redid the work under warranty. Since then, I’ve never had any other concerns. I was most impressed when Far East quickly diagnosed why my car turned off while driving. The other shop had no interest in putting in the effort to find the problem and seemed nonplussed to send me back out on the road in car that was extremely unsafe to drive.
Overall, I’ve found Far East to be accommodating, transparent, and just generally easy to work with. I’ve never felt that I was being taken advantage of or misled. In the few instances where the quoted prices seemed high — or I questioned the recommended repairs — Far East was willing to adjust the costs or explain the service in a helpful way.
When I needed a car to get to a job interview, Jon lent me one from the shop. If I need a ride to the metro after dropping my car off, Paul is always willing to clean off his passenger seat. And Watchmen never makes me feel bad for always being late to drop off/​pick up my car. Another reviewer mentioned parking as an issue but it hasn’t been for me. If I take the car in during busy times, Watchmen will feed the meter for me.
I’ve used mechanics at everything from major chains, shops that don’t speak English and prefer customers to bring their own parts, to gas stations. When all is said and done, I trust that as long as I’m willing to continue investing in a car that has 200K+ miles on it, Far East will be the place to spend my money. It isn’t the cheapest shop around but they do mail coupons, have a rewards program, and are interested in sustaining long term relationships with customers.

I have trusted my Honda Accords and now my Hyundai Elantra to Jon Moser and his capable crew at Far East for more than 14 years now. Jon, Watchman, Paul, and their service techs know their stuff. They are quick, honest, polite, and fair. I’m always greeted by name, told exactly what to expect as far as needed repairs and wait times, and given a heads-​up if anything unexpected comes up. I’ve never felt pressured into a repair; they always tell me whether something is critical for safety or whether it can wait. They have frequent coupons and specials, which is helpful. I have trusted them for regular maintenance, major and minor repairs, and body work over the years and been consistently satisfied. Highly recommended!

Professional, fast, respectful, reasonably priced services. This place is the unicorn of mechanics.
I had them add a cruise control system to my ’03 matrix and was treated incredibly well. When something went wrong which was beyond their control, they did everything in their power to correct the issue and get the service done quickly. They’ve definitely earned my business.

1998 Honda Accord. Competent service. Great warranty is better than the dealer. Good prices. Professional environment. I’ve never felt that I paid for a repair I did not need. I’ve never felt pressured. I believe I have received honest service recommendations. I don’t feel like Far East is trying to take advantage of me while they hold my car in the service bay. I’ve always been offered «options» when a repair is needed — e.g., how urgent, now or later, original equipment or other manufacturer part. I’ve often made an appointment and waited while the car was serviced in a reasonable amount of time. This is the cleanest auto service center I have ever experienced, both in the auto bays and in the waiting room. Front desk staff and mechanics are ALWAYS courteous and professional (something a lady really appreciates). The reward program is great too. Makes you know they appreciate my business. It’s all good and I keep coming back. I continue to recommend Far East Motors. They have serviced my 16+ year old car with 123K miles for over 2 years and I hope to drive it another 123K because of Far East Motors. Prior to Far East Motors my car was serviced exclusively by the Honda dealer. I started service at Far East while working in downtown Silver Spring. Now no longer in Silver Spring, it’s worth the drive to know it’s done right and with a 24 month warranty. I am a satisfied Far East Motors customer.

i went here twice, and both times I had to go back at least once to get the job done that I paid for. Jon and Watchman are great guys, Paul –eh.
But the most important things are the work and the price and I was not satisfied with either. The first time I had a headlight replaced. it stopped working a few days later but I was out of town. I returned and they replaced it.
Second time, I had some services done and my windshield replaced. The service was crappy as I had to replace my battery the next week and that wasn’t even on my rec services list. Paul kept trying to get me to replace my windshield wipers (which I can do myself), neglecting to mention more important things like my battery and worn tires.
the rearview mirror was loose on the new windshield and after going back twice with no repair, I had to pay the dealer to fix it. and Far East returned my car with some God awful noise coming from the rear, which I had to go back twice for them to actually listen to and fix.
Not worth the effort, not worth the money. I will never go back

Horrible Place!!!
I think it is safe to say that I am not the only one that wishes they could find an honest mechanic that they can patron often and not worry about being ripped off, Far East Motors will not fill that void for you. My girlfriend took our car here for the dreaded MD state inspection they said we needed $ 2,645 dollars in repairs, ridiculous. Because I hate feeling like I am being ripped off, I hope you read these prices to give yourself a chance to call around (this is for a 2005 hyundai):
–Replace left front strut: $ 320
–Replace both arm bushings: $ 750
–Reconnect parking brake: $ 45
–Replace tag lights: $ 40
–Battery secure handle: $ 30 (it was there it just needed to be screwed down)
–Headlight restoration: $ 120
–Replace windshield: $ 300 (nothing was wrong with it, will circle back to this later)
–Remove tint: $ 160
–Replace rear motor mount: $ 260
–Replace both front axles: $ 600
–Re-​inspection: $ 20 (if they do repairs)
Needless to say, I went elsewhere and my girlfriend and I were extremely stressed. I took the list else where (K&W please read review for them, they are great) did all of the above for less than $ 1600 and guess what, I did not need my windshield replaced and I am happy to say I passed the state inspection. I don’t know if they did this because my girlfriend went or if they do this all of the time. I will never go to this place again. It is one thing to charge exorbitant amounts of money for repairs but to try and force people to get things fixed that are fine is a form of theft and I will never go down the street this shop sits on. There is nothing they can do to rectify this wrong and make me want to go there, again. Even if they say there was one person who got it wrong or some excuse, it is inexcusable, this is a lot of money people have to pay and I highly doubt they would have refunded my money if I went elsewhere and found out they were charging, too much. I hope this helps future victims… I mean customers.

I have a 2004 Jeep Wrangler Sport with about 100,000 miles on it. I had severe vibration coming from the passenger side near the door when driving at 65 mph. Another shop where I’ve taken it in the past for tires and alignment couldn’t figure it out and Watson and his team at Far East diagnosed it quickly and correctly the first time as a bad u-​joint and they had it fixed that same day at a reasonable price. I’ll definitely be bringing my jeep here for future repairs.

I called to inquire about a routine maintenance for my car. Told the guy what I wanted, and he quoted me a ridiculously high cost. ($ 175 for an oil/​filter change and a tire rotation. The dealer is charging $ 73 for the same service.) My response? «Wow, that’s interesting, thank you!» His response? «Click.»
Maybe it’s because I’m from the south, but I don’t take too kindly to: #1 rudeness, #2 being hung up on. Absolutely not. I’m a big believer in customer service… and I’ll be taking my business elsewhere.

My entire family uses Far East Motors and now most of my friends do too. Here’s why:
1) I know they won’t take advantage of me. One time I went and they gave me a quote for parts and labor and when I went to pick the car up the final bill was almost $ 150 less than the quote. When I asked why, they explained that they were able to finish more quickly than they thought and so adjusted the bill to reflect that. They could have easily charged me the full quote and I never would have known the difference. I was so impressed with their honesty and integrity.
2) Watchman is wonderful. Everytime I talk to him, I end up smiling!
3) Their quality of work is top notch. I’ve never had a problem with them and more than that I’ve never known anyone else to either.

I’ve had bad experiences with car mechanics in the past, and I have to admit I’m afraid every single one is making up service my car needs to try to get more money out of me. But the last few times I’ve taken my car to Far East, it’s been more than a fear.
I started taking my Mazda 3 there because it was super convenient, since I live in downtown Silver Spring. And the particular services I’d called about were cheaper than Congressional Motors in Rockville, the Mazda dealer I’d been going to. I got a variety of services done there over about two years, but then I started to feel funny about things.
There was the debacular parking situation along Selim Road, which required me to sometimes circle for parking, or park in questionable street spots. There was the time that I dropped my car off for service on a Saturday and they called me saying that car was done and I had to pick it up immediately because they were leaving, or I’d have to wait until Monday to get it. There wasn’t even enough time for me to walk there — they had to lock my keys in the car so I could go over with my spare keys.
But mostly it was because the prices for routine maintenance were ridiculous. Even for an oil change they’re more than the Mazda dealer, and the routine mileage service is MUCH more expensive at Far East, because the dealer does some routine mileage service and an inspection, and then only charges you for what you need. So I started going back to the dealer for routine maintenance, and was much happier about things. I did go back to Far East for new tires, though, because the price was better, and I figured, who can screw up tires?
And that ended up being the final straw. You see, the last time I went to the dealer for an oil change and they did the full car inspection (free at the dealer — Far East charges for this), they found that my tires were mounted backwards. The tread on the tires is directional, and it was going in the wrong direction.
So, although I thought I was done with Far East, I found myself going back to get the tires fixed. They did that, and then called back with other work that supposedly needed to be done. I needed new wiper blades (which I knew). But they also claimed I needed a new battery, and I probably would have purchased one if I hadn’t known any better. But I did, because:
1. They said I needed a new battery after I took it in in Feb. 2010 after the week of two blizzards. But I was not buying that, because the car had just sat outside through two blizzards, and then I’d started it up and driven it five minutes over to Far East, which meant it’d had no chance to charge up. This was in fact the SAME battery from back then, and it’s always started absolutely fine, even after sitting for more than a week, and in temperatures in the teens.
2. More scientifically, the Mazda dealer had only three weeks ago done their full inspection on the car and rated the battery in good condition.
So who am I going to believe, the mechanic that can’t even put tires on right? Or the dealer?
The answer to that question is probably pretty clear. I won’t be back to Far East unless the dealer finds something else they screwed up.

My mother looked on the internet for repair places near our house in Takoma Park. By chance we ended up at Far East Motors. It is a small shop but far exceeded any of my expectations. I went with my mother to make sure that they did not over charge her or try and sucker her into any services she did not need. I have saved myself money many times by throwing out the hidden automotive knowledge I have. I now feel guilty for even thinking they would do anything like this.
Watchman is the man who greeted us and even showed us the defective parts from her car. (She was one pot hole away from a fatal crash). He was the most knowledgeable repair man I have ever met. He explained every expense and even let us know he did not perform the «recommended service» that most places do (and then charge you for when they are not an immediate issue). We both felt so comfortable and confident in the work done and customer service given my mother even called back twice to thank them.
I would recommend to anyone who owns an Acura, Honda or other import car to take their «baby» to Far East Motors. Your car and mind will be well taken care of.

Mama Bear got me into this place. She’s been taking her Acuras here through the years and so I started taking my Baby Bear Honda here (I’ve been stuck at the Baby Bear level for way too long — time for an upgrade). Anyway, the owner, Jonathan is very nice and helpful, as is Watchman who is at the front desk. The prices are reasonable and they have coupons on their website. They are also quick and efficient, no run around. Drop it off Thursday morn, and you will be getting it back Thur evening. Good Stuff.
It’s also convenient cause it’s walking distance to the SS metro so you can still get to work with no hassle. If you’re really feeling lazy, they can drive you there as well.
It’s located on Selim Road. Selim is the name of the horse that Elizabeth Blair was riding when she was thrown off due to being distracted by reading a love letter. Selim took off and she found him drinking from a «spring that shined like silver» and the rest, as they say, is history!