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August 2024 by David Jacobs
I stopped in without an appointment to see if they could remove a large screw from my tire and plug it. They said "no problem, just sit in the waiting room". I barely got a change to sit down before they called me. I seriously think I was in and out in under 10 minutes. Very friendly staff, too. I definitely recommend Charles Automotive!
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August 2024 by Amy Ray
They helped me when I randomly stopped in with a nail in my tire. They were quick and kind and didn’t charge me which was so generous.
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August 2024 by William Adams
My wife and I just moved to Maryland. A couple of weeks ago, I needed a state inspection for our KIA EV to get my tags. I was looking for a shop that provides good service, located near the metro, and has reasonable prices. I found all three at Charles Automotive & Tire. On top of that, Hunter was helpful and pleasant. If I need automative work, I’ll be back. Thanks Hunter!
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August 2024 by Geo Villatoro
Stopped by for a tire repair, Charly was great. He was able to repair my tire & did not charged for it. He also took the time to check my battery and other items that needed my attention. I will definitely will be coming back.
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August 2024 by Roland Chan
I've been a customer for over 13 years and have brought 3 different vehicles to be serviced. Prices continue to increase and I just paid $115 for an oil change and $65 for a tire rotation. I was originally quoted $80 for a tire rotation until I brought up the fact that I paid $65 last year and $45 for a tire rotation 3 years ago (this is just labor!). I just paid $105 for an oil change and tire rotation about the dealership for my other vehicle.
I was also told that I needed a new cabin air filter for $60. When I told them that I literally changed the cabin air filter myself YESTERDAY, their response oh we just went by the CarFax report (so you never really checked that it was dirty but just assumed it was).
Pat the Manager seems to have left. He always provided great service. The quality/value gap from what I once received from Charles Automotive has narrowed and it may be time look elsewhere.
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August 2024 by Jay Martin
Love Charles. Went today with a new car, mine (from out of town). Been taking my Mom’s here for 11 years. HONEST, which is rare versus the Stealerships. Also an elderly relative started taking his here about 8 years ago. They love them as well. Strongest recommendation, and though originally a Toyota shop we expect to take a Benz and Honda to Charles as well.
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July 2024 by Wayne Wang
Updated Review:
After being a loyal customer for over 10 years, I've decided to take my business elsewhere. I had a simple inquiry around a quote I received from Charles Auto about a windshield replacement. This itself took 3 separate calls for me to get a definitive answer and to schedule an appointment.
On the schedule replacement day, I received a call as I was arriving to the shop for the replacement that the glass person forgot about the appointment and did not show. I said this was ok, as it was not 100% their fault if it was a subcontractor. I was told they would have the person to goto my house directly to do the replacement. A couple of days later, and I had to call back again to ask what the status was, and was told to call the contractor myself and back later in the day if I still don't hear back.
I was starting to get upset at this point, and asked to call me with the details instead of me chasing down the subcontractor and the status of the appointment. The quality of the front desk has left much to be desired since Pat left.
Once the glass was replaced, my wife swung by the shop to pay for the work done of $400. She had a coupon for $50 from Charles Auto from the mail, but they would not honor it. My wife cited the challenges and that the coupon itself had no disclaimers on what work it would not cover. The person said ok but raised the price of the service of what the coupon was going to cover, which still netted the same final amount without the coupon. They also told her we didn't have the quote in writing, so $450 - ($50 coupon) was the real price to change a windshield, and said anything less would cause us to consume their bottom line. Significantly more than shops around, but I had trusted Charles Auto for so long. I'll take the L, but this won't happen again. I have other data points leading up to this poor review and decision, but this will be the last.
Old review (from 2014):I started taking my cars in here when I decided that I should not be taking them to the dealership for routine maintenances. The folks at this shop are very friendly and will explain what you need. When my car is here, I see a lot of customers coming in lacking any knowledge of their car genuinely seeking help, and customer service has always explained exactly why and what was needed without that dealership flavor of selling you stuff you don't need.
Happy I found this place!
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July 2024 by Jessie Hsu
Just brought my car in for a look over and had a great experience. Hunter was thorough and honest about what work I needed. Will absolutely come here when the time comes to get the maintenence done.
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July 2024 by E Cas
I arrived early for the appointment I made online. The shop was able to pull my car right away.
Front desk staff were extremely courteous and welcoming. They explained FREE break diagnostic offer and showed me their waiting room with wifi.
Less than an hour later the mechanic said there was no issue with my breaks, just uneven wear. No safety concerns.
They didn't try to sell me services I didn't need and I was charged absolutely ZERO for the break checkup and advice on tire wear.
I can not express strongly enough how surprised I was with their level of professionalism and courtesy.
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June 2024 by David Holmes
Great service at a very reasonable price. Always friendly.
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June 2024 by Cat Roman
Excellent mechanic shop and customer service
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June 2024 by Tim Spiridonov
Charles Automotive has a great team! I appreciate the attitude of doing what’s right for the customer and the vehicle, first and foremost. Gary and Pat have always been very knowledgeable, personable, and helpful. They also have seasoned technicians with decades of experience to help with troubleshooting on trickier issues (e.g. electrical).
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June 2024 by James Hash
Super-fast turnaround time on our car repair and reasonable rates, too. Front office staff is also top-notch.
We needed the power steering coupler replaced in our 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT. This is apparently a known issue with these cars, and can be a highly dangerous problem if the steering fails completely. A local dealer said it would take 7-10 days, mostly waiting on parts. We went to Charles Automotive & Tire instead. The service techs at Charles already knew about the service bulletin from Hyundai and were very familiar with the fairly complex repair procedure required to fix it. Our car was ready the next morning! They also did a complete mechanical inspection and recommended some other maintenance areas that needed attention, and explained which ones were more of a priority, so we could make an informed decision about what else to have done. We opted for some additional work in addition to the power steering coupler replacement.
In the end, the price was great for the amount of work performed, and being able to get the car back the next morning was a huge bonus.
On a seemingly unrelated note - but worth mentioning here because it’s an indicator of professionalism in the employees - this is one of the CLEANEST repair shops I’ve ever seen. The floor is clean, the walls are clean, the work bays are well-lit. It’s small, but it’s a tidy as an operating room.
Great small, local business. Will definitely be using them in the future.
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June 2024 by xengq55
I just moved up to Maryland and I was looking for a nice affordable place to get my Maryland State Inspection done and Charles Automotive made me feel at home. The service was excellent and the process was easy. Thank you for everything. I appreciate it!
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June 2024 by Kat Hume
Charles Automotive earns their rave reviews: First I got an oil change and checkup, then major work done. Their friendly fast ( but not too fast, it was thorough) service is a treasure. Recommended to nice people who need work on their vehicles. ?? When I wanted a new repair place, I found them via the other rave reviews on Google.
-- edit - 2nd time there, needing major repairs ( old Buick) and trusted them to do a great job. They did! Friendly staff, and honest mechanics. Ty
