University Auto Center

I am happy to report I am still bringing my truck here for service, tires, oil changes and things are still terrific.
Same guys the owner carried through the covid lockdowns, still, in my opinion, one the best places to trust your vehicle is going to be properly taken care of and not be oversold on services your car doesn't need.
Steady, busy place that is easy to make an appointment with online, get it done and move on.

Update the information. This shop is very dishonesty. This is a statement from University Auto Center (UAC) and my response to them. In their statement they try to twist the fact by changing the event time and censuring me careless driving without any evidence to escape their duty.

Statement of UAC
........ Six days & 295 miles later, the vehicle was towed in. This is where you get upset due to the timing of the incident and apparently, we did not let you knoYour son was present and advised us that the vehicle overheated and wanted the radiator to be replaced due to a large hole. wthat your vehicle had a problem and/or will overheat.
My answer:
The purpose I went to their garage on 6/30 was only for an oil change and maintenance. There was no overheating or radiator damage at that time. My car stalled and broke down on 7/4. Just 4 days after the maintenance.

........ It was unfortunate, your 8-year-old vehicle with a "plastic" radiator failed as all radiators do in time. As you stated in your review above, your vehicle stalled while driving, the engine was smoking and would not start. You failed to mention in your review that while you were driving, you did not notice your instrument panel gauge showing that your vehicle was running hot and continued to drive until it stalled from excessive overheating.
My answer:
It is not true. In fact I did not notice anything abnormal in my instrumental panel while I driving before the event happened. In other hand, as they stated that my radiator was "plastic" in an "8-year-old vehicle", they should have focused on inspecting the radiator's condition and not simply checking the coolant level. On their digital report, there is very little related to an inspection of my radiator system.

........Yes, your son came in after complaining a few weeks later about the car's engine light turning on and off and intermittent acceleration problems While he was in front of us, we stopped what we were doing and checked for any stored diagnostic code for the engine light. No codes were stored, the cooling system was operating in the normal range, and the coolant levels were within the manufacturer's guidelines. We even test-drove the vehicle with your son, and it was running fine then. It was unfortunate that we could not duplicate his concern.
My answer:
This is untrue.
1. I complained about the car the very next morning after the radiator replacement 7/7.
2. I know nothing about cars but I even noticed there were still symptoms with the car. For them to fail to notice any issues even after I pointed them out is unprofessional and shows they are unqualified.
3. I had an AAA Roadside Assistance Technician inspect my car on the morning of 7 /8 when it would not turn on. They told me the car's engine failure would've been easily diagnosed by checking the engine oil cap, which the garage failed to do.

Unfortunately, the head gasket was damaged when you first overheated, and it took 400 miles of driving for it to finally show symptoms. We did feel bad for you under these circumstances. When we quoted you for an engine replacement, we deducted the total amount you originally paid for the radiator repair. We did this not because we did anything wrong, but because we at University Auto Center genuinely care about our customers. You were upset and we indeed attempted to assist you.
My answer:
This is not true.
1. The first time I came to the garage was for oil change and maintenance, not for overheating. The overheating happened 4 days after the maintenance.
2. If, like they said that the head gasket was damaged when I first came, why did they not notice and fix it at that time?
3. It had shown symptoms just a few hours after the radiator replacement (not after 400 miles).
4. The reason they deducted the amount is because they could not reasonably answer my questions of why my engine failed.
5. I checked the garage's reviews and found many angry comments about them being scamming, greedy, and having habits of overcharging (I can provide those if needed). They also charged me a storage fee following my engine replacement which they did not mention to me at all.

Their conclusion completely twisted the facts. Just like I mentioned above, after they replaced the radiator the coolant went into the engine and showed the symptoms in few hours. I have noticed problems and even pointed out to them before the engine failure but they did not find out the issue. Therefore, it was their misdiagnosis and mistreatment that resulted in my engine failure.

This is the type of Auto repair shop you should stay away from for whole life. I took my car to University Auto Center for an oil change and routine maintenance. The car has been in excellent condition prior with no issues and has been kept up with routine maintenance every year. After an inspection by Mike, one of University Auto Center's managers, he said some parts needed replacement. I followed his directions and changed some parts. After the maintenance, Mike told me that everything was satisfactory and that the car would have no issue driving another "40,000 miles".

Four days later, my car suddenly stalled on the middle of the road and heavy smoke began appearing from under the car's hood. The car's engine didn't turn over and became undrivable. Immediately, I had my car towed back to University Auto Center. After Mike inspected my car, he told me that the radiator is heavily broken because the car's radiator fan was not functioning properly, causing the radiator to burst. I asked why this problem was not found during the maintenance four days before. He said that it was not noticed during the inspection and that it most likely broke down from bad luck. I followed his direction and replaced the radiator system. He then emphasized to me that car is good without any underlying issue.

As I was driving my car a few hours later, I noticed something was wrong: my car's acceleration was faulty, a check engine light that would come and go, and abnormally large puffs of white smoke coming from my car's exhaust. I then took my car to University Auto Center immediately. I explained to Mike the issues I was experiencing with details. After an inspection, Mike told me that he did not find any problems and that everything was fine. The next morning, however, I had tried to drive my car, but the engine failed to turn over. I called Triple A to request a road-side assistance technician. Once the technician arrived and inspected my vehicle's engine, he told me that there was serious issue with the engine head gasket, and it was no longer in working condition.

My car was towed to University Auto Center again. George, another manager of the garage, checked my car and told me that the car had a blown head gasket due to the coolant going inside the engine; I needed to replace the engine. I asked him 1) why the engine problem was not noticed during the previous maintenance; 2) why this issue had happened right after the radiator replacement; 3) how did the coolant go into the engine and 4) why you still told me everything was fine just the day before after I had noticed something was wrong. He responded the issue may not have been as severe during that time and that I may just have bad luck. He said I would need to pay for both the full price of the engine along with the labor of the engine replacement along with any other supply costs that was necessary along with car storage.

I am very shocked at this poor service. I believed they were very irresponsible and negligent in the duties. Because of their series of malpractices and mistakes, my car went from having no issues to becoming a stone within a few days. First, the technicians at University Auto Center failed to give qualified maintenance and failed to install the parts correctly. Secondly, the above events led to the broken radiator as the malfunctioning fan was neglected. Thirdly, their unprofessional radiator replacement caused coolant to enter the engine. Fourthly, when I pointed out that something was wrong, they still did not find out the reason missing the last chance to save my engine. As a result, the engine totally failed. During this period, they did not show any responsibility for his unprofessional service but instead only gave excuses to escape any accountability. They not only lack professional skill but also have no responsibility for their job.

This is one place I wouldn't recommend unless you are my enemy, Stay away. The techs are a bunch of sloppy ones with old bad habits. Had my car tire installed there then few months later I needed to remove it. Had to get a 2 feet long breaker bar with an extension pipe to loosen the bolt. Is like they put 500 ftlbs on a 70 ftlbs bolt, What kind of animals do this. Is like they have no common sense.
Never going back. Stay away

This place is a huge scam in my opinion and extremely unprofessional.
Between the work they did , the time it took to get the work done . And the shape they gave me my vehicle back in. This place needs to have a thorough investigation because they really are taking advantage of people who don't know better or suggesting you use a service to help you pay for your car that ends up stealing your money .
This one by the the WORST experience I've ever had with any car mechanic shop and the worst part about it , this was a spot recommended by my (AAA)
Triple A .
I didn't do the scam payment plan thing they tried to get me to do and I paid 2000$ cash to get mg car fixed and guess what ... a week or two later it breaks because of something they didn't do properly .
Sigh. I hope a lot of people see this and stay far away ! I do not write bad reviews ever . So to give one out you really have to be going above and beyond to be the worst possible service .
They will hear from me in court ,
Letting the BBB know and probably Help Me Howard ..

Had an engine light come on while driving, went right to University Auto. Problem was diagnosis quickly and repaired professionally in a timely manner. Great shop for all your auto services and repairs. Once again thanks Mike

This is the type of Auto repair I will stay away from .
Took a set of tires/wheel to be installed for an old car I am working on, very simple.
The tech did not replaced the 18 + year old vales, ask the sales rep how come they did not replace the valve, his response was they do not leak. Per regulation every time they installed a new tire, valves needs to be replace for SAFETY not convenience. This guy refuse to replace the $1.5 valve because he did not charge for it. This is the kind of (short cuts) mentality older tech have and I strongly recommend STAYING AWAY FROM. I use to works on performance car, I been working in aviation for 30+ years.

I have been coming to George at University Auto Center for almost 10 years now. All I can say is reliable, reasonable, fantastic quick service. They've changed, tires, brakes, alternator, battery, oil, filters, headlights, wipers and added freon to my various vehicles over the years.

My favorite experience was yesterday, I called and spoke with Omarie and asked if it was too late to get an oil change, he said no...don't worry bring it by. As I arrived I was on a business call on the bluetooth and without even waiting for me to finish came outside took my license plate number and odometer reading and said "I'll draw up the paperwork so when your done we can get you right in". As he said it happened, he looked at my records verify all of my services were up to date and then realized I had a back light out. So my entire service, oil change and the usual, including the back light 20 min. How's that for service?

I was all ready for the long wait with laptop in hand and barely had a chance to boot it up and shut it down they were done so fast!

Kuddos to Omarie, George's right hand man, and the entire University Auto Team for your great and consistent service for all of these years,

Oh yeah, do I really need to mention "HIGHLY RECOMMENDED" or is the above review sufficient? ;-)

I was laid up in a nursing home and George was so accommodating. Having my car towed, fixing it and storing the car in his shop until I was ready to pick it up.
I wanted to have it ready to drive to New York from Florida, he had it ready for me.

George and his team did it again servicing my fleet of vehicles however this time I brought the family car Toyota Sequoia that keeps my four children safe. I brought it in and told him it was a little loose and George and the team through a set of shoes on it, tuned it up, hundred thousand mile service, and of course checked every inch of that vehicle to make sure that it was roadworthy and safe for my family making sure nothing was missed as they always do. The truck drives like it was the day that I bought it nice and tight and driving straight I'm very pleased again. If these guys can't make you happy & fix your vehicle, well nobody can because this anal compulsive adrenaline junkie gearhead is hard to please and they do a damn good job.