Max’s Auto Service

I recommend Max’s Auto Service without hesitation. I had complicated problems with my car. I’m very happy with Max’s work, he is reliable, capable and professional in his work. I am always greated with a smile and friendliness. In many occasions, I went without an appointment and Max took care of me right away. Max saw the situation and in a short time told me what the problem was, the time needed to fix it and the price. I never had to take the car again after Max fixed it.
Thank you Max, I trust you with my car!

I have had nothing but excellent experiences at Max’s Auto — Max is now my regular mechanic and I refuse to take my car elsewhere. He’s efficient, professional, fast, consistent and reliable. Besides, he’s a people’s person and a very nice guy, which means he hears what you need and he will communicate well with you and let you know what is happening with your car and what are your options.
Max is flexible and will do what is in his hands to assist you — you can count on him to go that extra mile. I highly recommend his shop not just for all the regular stuff but also if you want a paint job. He painted my car and did a great job — I’m a very satisfied customer :)

Max Auto was recommended.
Car broke down, had it towed to Max.
Told him what happened, he said it was the battery.$ 140. Left the shop, got to the gas station, car didn’t start. Back to Max’s. He said it was the fuel pump, relay, and filter. Never heard of the relay again, but he changed the pump & filter. $ 320. Left the shop, and my car died at a stop light, and wouldn’t start again. Back to Max’s. Then he said it was something else, but because of the trouble, he wouldn’t charge me for labor (just the part), Thanks Max! $ 60. I leave the shop, and guess what! Car DIES at a F**KING stoplight and won’t start AGAIN. Back to Max’s. I tell him to check the CPS. 2 more days later, I get my car, drive it for a day, only to get in it and have it not start AGAIN. Needless to say I’m beyond frustrated, and will not be going back. The only reason I’m giving more than 1 star, is because he went to get my car on 2 of the occasions that it died, and didn’t charge me for the labor the last 2 times.
Then again, being that it was misdiagnosed 3 times, I spent over $ 500 without getting my issue resolved, AND I have been without a vehicle for a month in total, he kinda owed me that much.

Finding a mechanic is all about trust — and Max has never steered me wrong. I’ve gone back to him about 5 times for things large and small & he always shows me what he’s doing, gets the job done right. I’ve got a Jeep and a BMW, and both are running great with his help. He’s never charged me for anything strange or anything I don’t understand. I’ve also recommended him to friends, who have also been happy.

I had a truck with the check engine light on, and the indicator of the temperature was indicate that the engine was over heating, first he said: !!! is the fan !!!, just 10 seconds after he open the hood, (i though what $@^@^#) then they change it, but this do not fix the problem, so he said: ho is may be the temperature sensor, so i bough two of them and his assistant change it, again the problem was still. then he said no this will be for sure the catalytic converter, so they change it, but again this do not solve the problem, then he said not it will be some problem with the spark’s, so they review all of them, but the sparks was very good condition. finally he said: i think we need to change all the indicators of your panel inside, i though this is enough for me. so he make me to expend over $ 900, and the problem was not solve, i was very upset, i lost jobs and 3 days of my value time. I DO NOT recommend them. they pretend to be magician, but they never get the problem. finally i find a gay who do a quick review under the hood and he said is you radiator, he change it and the problem was solved and this take just 2 hours of my time and less of $ 150.

Great service. Speedy. Great prices. Straight forward answers and diagnostics. I have had no problems with my car since I brought it in to get fixed. I had an emergency problem with my car not running properly and my AAA insurance agent recommended Max. He was quick to look at my car and worked on it himself. I got my car back fast and didn’t have to pay nearly as much as the dealership wanted to charge. I’m definitely a happy customer and would recommend this place to anyone I know with a car!
–Jackie R.

I have been going to Max for 10 years. The job is done excellent, and very reasonable. I once had my car towed to him, and even the AAA driver knew his garage and spoke well of the work. I was impressed being they did not know eachother. As a woman, I am never nervous he will tell me things are wrong that are not. His work and ethics speak for themselves.

Max’s Auto Service is located where two old Albany repair shops used to stand: Albany Transmission and Nickson’s Brake Service. Max used to be an employee of Albany Transmission and when the owner had some health problems Max purchased the business. It’s pretty much your classic immigrant success story and in the early years the old owner of Albany Transmission used to even come and work for his former employee.
In the early years Max used to do good work. In the early years Max used to do the work himself instead of relying on unsupervised hired help.
I had my car brought here for an insurance repair following an accident because I have family members who have had good work done here and I wanted to patronize a local business. Unfortunately Max wasn’t familiar with how to deal with insurance companies and I ended up having to play middle man when the adjuster did an incomplete estimate.
When things were finally worked out and the repairs complete I went to pick up my car. I turn the key on the ignition and as the car starts the first thing that greets me is an error message «SERVICE TIRE MONITOR.» My car has pressure senors in my tires, so I walk out to inspect the sensor in the wheel Max changed out and instead of the metal OEM air connection, I see a plastic head that indicates the tire sensor is missing. Not exactly an «oops» — when you scrap the old wheel you take out the pressure sensor and you either decide to buy and install a new one or you decide not to.
I bring this to Max’s attention and he promises to fix it, and several days later I pick up the car. When I get onto the freeway I immediately notice unusually high vibrations. Working with some friends, I figure out that the tires weren’t balanced properly — Max had put on a new tire in his shop and he doesn’t have balance equipment. I bring the car back, and ask him to make sure he balances all four tires because I was in an accident.
I return several days later at the time Max tells me to, and he apologies but says my car is still at the tire shop so he drives me down the road and we pick up the car. The next day I’m back on the highway and the vibration is a lot less, but still present. I take the car back to the tire shop and ask them «did you just balance the tires on my car.» The salesman looks up my record and says «yes, we balanced the front two tires.» I end up paying out of pocket to have all four tires balanced and next time I’m on the highway the vibration is gone.
My father also had his brakes changed out here. Several weeks later his brake pads fail due to faulty installation. Max offers to install them at no labor cost, but insists on charging for the materials.