Albany Auto Repair

I have been taking all my cars( Lexus, Toyota, Subaru & Ford) to Nippon European Motors since 1997. Tom the owner knows how to work on cars, he's thorough, does great work, because he listen to customers need and is always honest and up front. I feel proud to call him my friend and lucky to have a mechanic I can trust!

My family has been going to this mechanic for as long as I can remember. I grew up in the east bay but several years ago my mom moved 3 hours away, yet she still drives her Honda all the way to the East Bay for tune-ups. When I was in college (an hour away) she insisted I bring my Volkswagen back to Tom any time it needed care. I can't tell you how many times Tom has told me that he watches over my far as thoroughly as he would his daughter's, and it's clear he means it. The service at Nippon European Motors has always been exemplary and they do great work, but there are a few occasions on which the team at Nippon European Motors have gone above and beyond the call of duty: (1) A house I was living in a while back burned down in a pretty ugly fire, and my car was stuck directly adjacent to the fire source. I couldn't get back into the house and therefore had no idea if the room where my car keys were had been severely damaged. I called Tom and he stayed late at work trying to get a rush order for a replacement key from VW. When I recovered my car it was pretty damaged from the heat and burning debris, but Tom's team checked to make sure the damage was all superficial and that nothing needed repair, free of charge. (2) After being away for a month, I came home to a car that wouldn't start. I had it towed to NEM but suddenly it started just fine. Tom was out of town at the time so I was working with his team. Rather than giving it back to me saying that it seems to be fine, they kept the car for several days while they tried to figure out what the problem was, but only charged me the basic diagnosis fee. At the time they didn't have enough information to figure out what was going on, but they made it clear that if any further problems occurred there would be no further diagnosis fee. An additional problem did come up, which turned out to be unrelated, and they still waived the fee. When the original problem was came up again yesterday (FINALLY with a corresponding check-engine-light so they could actually diagnose it), I brought it back to the shop, and Tom figured out it was a faulty fuel injector cable, which he swapped out in 5 minutes and sent me on my way without charging me a dime. (3) There is actually no point 3 except to say that the service and expertise at this shop is exemplary. Every time I go into the shop they go above and beyond the call of duty and furthermore, I have only witnessed courteous service towards other customers during the (large amount of) time I have spent in their shop. I have no point of comparison because I have never needed or wanted to go anywhere else. When my car finally bites the dust I am buying another European import so I can continue to have the most reliable mechanic I know.

I've been bringing my Toyota vehicles to Tom for over 25 years. I found him when I was paying other mechanics to fix a problem in one of my small trucks, and no one could do it. A friend referred me, Tom found it quickly, and I think he only charged me for the parts at the time. That was it for me, I have always felt he was a mechanic I could trust, and that he would never create maintenance issues with my vehicles just to generate $. If he said something needed attention, then it really did. Even retiring and moving to Sonoma County, I still drive down with my Toyota for its regular service. My friends up here recommend different mechanics from time to time, and I just quietly smile, and keep driving down to Tom's. Never a problem, never an issue, always good, polite, respectful and high quality mechanical service.

This place is AWSOME! My friend got hit by a hit and run driver and was left with a broken tie-rod in the middle of the intersection. Not knowing who to take it to he had his car towed home. He's a poor art student and can't afford a huge fix with all new parts etc. Also couldn't afford to have to tow it to multiple places to get a quote. Matt from Nippon European Motors drove out to his house in Berkeley to look at the car in the driveway!!!! Gave him a fair estimate helped him get his car towed tot the shop, and did the work over a weekend! The final price came in lower than the estimate. My car had a strange noise when starting that NO ONE and I mean NO ONE could figure out. Not the dealer, not 3 other mechanics. One had maybe an idea but wanted to charge $2000 (cause the engine pretty much had to be taken apart - lot s of labor) just to diagnose it and then would have charged me additional repair. Tom and Matt found the problem, tried to call and talk Toyota into fixing it (it's a faulty part) and did mega amounts of research on the internet to find the very unusual and very rare problem with my car. Determined that it doesn't necessarily need to be fixed right now, told us what to watch for and recommended we wait. Changed the oil cleaned stuff up and added an additive to make it quieter. Never charged us for all the research they did, and I don't think they charged us for all the labor they put into it either...they looked my car over from front to back. Had them also do the 100,000 mile service and it came in about $200 less than the dealer. Now it drives so smooth and quiet! We live all the way in Danville and will be going to Albany to these guys for all of our 4 cars that are now no longer on warranty. Great working with you Tom and Matt! Thank You!

Tom and Ken are as good as it gets - straight forward, trustworthy, competent, professional, and punctual. They have helped me assess what my car needs over an extended period of time to run well, and their assessments have been spot-on - I get no sense they're trying to pinch an extra penny out of me, and simply want to do their work well. I'd recommend these guys to anyone.

These guys were very nice and helped me get my taillight fixed within a few hours of bringing my car in. They stayed below the quote they gave me for fixing an annoying electrical problem that has been plaguing my taillights. They went above and beyond to ensure there would no longer be lighting problems with my car and even fixed the license plate light as an added bonus. My check engine light had been on for awhile and they checked out what was wrong with it free of charge and told me that it was nothing to worry about. Now that's a good auto repair shop.

I had a wonderful experience with Nippon European Motors yesterday. I was in the process of smog-checking my car in order to sell it, and was under a pressing deadline and very limited funds. When I found out that I would need to have the check engine light bulb replaced and then diagnosed and turned off, a few other mechanics quoted me at $500-800, and that it would take at least an overnight stay. I thankfully walked into Tom's office, and he promised me to have it worked on right away, gave me a fair estimate, and said he would do everything to make sure it would pass smog check. Sure enough, within a few hours, he had replaced the bulb, diagnosed the issue, reset everything, and gave me advice on how to keep things running well. All this for HALF the cost of his estimate. Sure enough I passed the smog check, and he even called me that night to check up on me and see if it had passed. I highly recommend taking your business to Tom and his Nippon European Motors. Finding a trustworthy and honest mechanic is hard enough, but finding one that cares most about satisfying his customers is even rarer. Highly recommended!

Car mechanics and honesty don't really go hand in hand. So when my car needed its routine checkup, I was nervous about finding me a mechanic I could trust. In the end, I wound up choosing Nippon European Motors, and I'd have to say I am very pleased with my experience! Tom is an honest man with one agenda - to improve your car and customer service. What more can you ask for from a car mechanic! My car came back in great shape. My engine starts up like a dream, brakes are solid, even and my gas mileage seemed to improve as well?!? Thanks so much Tom! I got back safe from Tahoe no problems at all!

These guys were really wonderful, and the owner was extremely friendly and very forthcoming not only about what was wrong with the car, but what was going to be done to fix it. I was at about 59k miles, and noticed the car was starting to feel a little "weird." It was time for an oil change and tuneup anyway, so I took it into these guys fearing the worst (maybe something wrong with the transmission or an axel). Since I was about at the 60k mark, Tom, the owner, offered to do the 60k service package for me, which was essentially all the basics I'd wanted to take care of anyway. Once they got a look at the car, the problem that finally got me up off my butt to take the car in turned out to just be a tire (silly, I know... low profile tires are deceptive!) All together, diagnosing and repairing the problem along with the 60k service package actually ended up being about $100 less than I was anticipating paying, they finished all repairs and service within a single day, and they even cleaned and vacuumed the car before returning it to me! I was extremely impressed, especially having dealt with some rather shady mechanics in the past...

I can't understand why anyone would give Tom a bad review. My mom and I have been taking our cars to him for the last 20 years, literally. I live in SF now but I wouldn't take a car to anyone else. As I type this he just fixed my breaks and did a tune-up, AND took my car to a shop down the block to get it smog certified. I told him I could only afford $500 this time, but get more work done in two weeks, so even though the work came to $650 he's going to let me pay the lesser amount now and the rest the next time I get work done. I mean, c'mon. Who else would do that? He's thorough, does good work, works with clients well and is always honest and up front. In short, he's pure awesome. I feel pretty lucky to have a mechanic I can trust!