Auto Know How

This is a good, honest shop run by nice people who care about their customers and doing good work on their cars. I have been going to this shop for over 15 years, so you know I’m a satisfied customer.

These guys are the best! It’s easy to schedule an appointment at the last minute, central location, and they always do great work with my Volkswagen. Very knowledgeable guys who take the time to explain the issues to me and help me take better care of my car. Reasonable prices and quick service.

Kindest and most helpful people! I went here last minute due to a check engine light by the referral of some friends. Yes all the previous reviews are true… the waiting area and office are full of everything you could call clutter. I personally would not wait for my car here but I am not paying for nor am I driving out in a waiting room couch. They were so wonderful – fitting me in and fixing the problem very quickly. My cost was more then reasonable. I have every intention to make this my number one automotive repair shop.

Auto Know How is unquestionably my auto shop. I have taken my 2000 Jeep Cherokee here for about 8 years now — probably 8 or so visits. In those visits, Paul and Laura have shown me they are 100% committed to the integrity of their work and to building solid, long-​term relationships with their customers. They do great work in the shop and do a nice job keeping you updated. As an added bonus they pretty consistently come in under the estimates of both the cost and the amount of time it will take. Someone bashed them for this in a review, but I have to say I completely disagree with the premise of his argument. I have not found the estimates to be outlandishly high as some sort of setup. Rather I’ve consistently received what I thought were appropriately priced estimates, and then maybe 70% of the time the final cost has actually been slightly cheaper than estimated. It’s a pretty awesome feeling when that happens.
Having a shop that has demonstrated they are unfailingly trustworthy is priceless — and a huge comfort — when the inevitable inconvenience of car troubles turn up.

I am so excited and grateful for the service I got from Paul and Laura at Auto Know How. I have a 2000 VW beetle that was sounding like an old clunker truck. I took it to two (!) different VW dealers to get it fixed. They did some work on it, charged me a high price but never fixed the problem causing the «clickety clack». BUT not Auto Know How. Paul listened to the sound and knew right away what the problem was! Yeah! Thank you Paul and your great team!!! They also didn’t charge me my life’s savings!
Kristal in Denver

…Or, they might screw you over. They dicked me around so many times with my brakes. I finally realized they had no idea what was wrong with my brakes and were just trying different things and hopeing it would fix the problem (at my expense.)

I’m moving to MN in two weeks, and I’m going to miss this place so, so much.
Adiós, hilarious company while waiting for an oil change.
Adiós, ridiculously cheap car repairs.
Adiós, gigantic German Shepherd.
Adiós, high-​quality old-​fashioned perfect service.
Laura and Paul, thanks so much for all of the help and dog advice!

I have been taking my vehicle (2000 Chevy S-​10, over 250,000 miles on the odometer, all miles put on by you guessed it… me.) to Auto Know How for over 10 years. I find that they are the most honest and reliable auto shop I have ever dealt with.
My previous vehicle didn’t fare as well as this one, since I took it to a different mechanic (RIP old vehicle).
Paul, Kevin, and some of the other mechanics (don’t know your names yet) are awesome.
I have NEVER had to take my vehicle back to fix the same part because of shoddy work. Also, Paul will identify parts that could go bad down the road, but doesn’t fix these parts, unless you tell him that you want these ones fixed. In fact 30,000 miles ago Paul told me that my upper and lower ball joints were getting loose and that I could wait to get them replaced. So I waited. Well now 30,000 miles later the ball joints have finally worn out and I am having them replaced.

Quirky mom and pop shop. I was happy with what they provide, but they’re not for everybody.
My experience:
I had a stock clutch replaced with a higher performance one that I provided. As work was performed I was notified that the rear main seal was also leaking a bit and it was suggested that I replace that at the same time. Good catch on a simple repair that could have cost much more to do by itself, good work on the clutch and no problems nearly a year later.
Pros:
These guys have been doing this for a long time and know what they’re doing. No community college mechanics here. They’re thorough, understanding of their customers needs, and willing to take the time to discuss any issues.
Cons:
Weekday-​only business hours. Not a very convenient location, particularly if you need to leave your car (which you probably will). Some people may be put off by the mom-​and-​pop style.
Summary:
I will go back to Auto Know How again if I ever have major repairs to be made. I trust that they have the experience to do the job the right way the first time. Smaller, more routine work will go to a local chain shop that is more convenient to get to.

I only give them a 2 star because they’re nice people. However! I was quoted over $ 600 to install new break pads and turn rotors and replace calipers. I took my car to another guy who said my calipers were fine and so were rotors! I was sad to find out these nice guys were also trying to hustle me like all other shops. I was told calipers themselves cost $ 500 when I went to autozone and they cost $ 30! Moral of my story is buy your own parts and find a craigslist guy to do them. Shops increase parts cost by 200% at least and always tell you more needs fixing than the truth. I took mine to craigslist dude and got it all done for $ 70!

Okay, okay, a five star review!
In the words of my husband: «prompt, honest, and beat the other guy’s price by 30%. he even came in under quote»
We went to Auto Know How after, yup — you guessed it — the awesome Unilocal reviews. This is a no frills joint. Do not expect to be greeted with a latte, free snacks and kids play place, a free ride to where you need to be, and a man dressed up in a suit. Nope, these guys are just true mechanics who know their stuff.
We brought our CR-​V in after a very high quote from another establishment (I’m pretty sure you could find that review on my Unilocal profile as well)… They looked over what they had given us, chuckled, and proceeded to yell back «Hey so-​and-​so, did you see what **** is charging for a rear diff these days??»
They gave us a quote over the phone and then we made our appointment. The work came in under quote and well done. They also gave us some great advice for fuel/​when we should get things checked again and told us that if we kept up the maintenance on this schedule, we’d have the car for a long time.
I can totally endorse this business. Thanks to Unilocal for leading me to another great establishment!

These guys are awesome!
They helped me out on 3 cars I was intending to buy BEFORE I even gave them any business. Finally got a CR-​V and they completed an inspection for me. I like to do some work on the car myself and they were very helpful in guiding me through some dos and do nots.
They have earned my business — a good, honest mechanic is a rare find.

After finding these guys on Unilocal,I couldn’t ignore the great reviews! We were having some problems with our Jeep which actually disappeared but they found another problem (which I was half aware of) and repaired it no problem. Very friendly, very knowledgeable, this is now our go to auto shop!

Unilocal to the rescue! This was perhaps the first time I ever used Unilocal for anything non-​food related and thank goodness I did. I had become used to the random signaling click my car would make and then it started making more random noises early this year.
I was really impressed with this business’ positive reviews and the review amount. They easily outdid their nearest Unilocal competitor. I promptly went there, dropped my car off after explaining this issue and left. The mechanic called me later with an estimate. Apparently, he also did a thorough inspection of my vehicle informing me of other potential issues. Fortunately, they didn’t need immediate attention nor did he force the point for me to get additional repairs.
They managed to fix my car rather quickly and at a price lower than their original estimate. That, I believe, is the first time that has occurred. I’m very happy to find a trustworthy mechanic in the Denver area. Sidenote: they were totally unaware of the Unilocal appreciation

A friend has been very satisfied with their work, so I thought I’d bring my Jetta there. A warning light was on, and there was damage to the front end from a minor fender-​bender.
I’m confident if I’d taken it to the dealer, they would have insisted in fixing the body work and $ 3000 and 3 days later I would get my car back.
Paul had the car for less than 8 hours and replaced my thermostat and some other stuff for about $ 300.
I will definitely bring the car back to them. (It did smell like smoke upon it’s return though.)

Now that my Saturn is a collector’s item, I’ve decided I should probably take some extra care with her since I won’t be in the mood to buy a car for quite a while.
The olé’ silver bullet was having some problems of late — constantly alerting me to a coolant problem, idling pretty high, that weird thing where my trunk popper won’t work. (Yeah, I know, I’m not sure what’s up with that.)
The great thing about Auto Know How is that they will troubleshoot with you over the phone to see if it’s really necessary for you to come in or to figure out just how major your problem might be. After talking with Laura on the phone for a few minutes, I knew that my coolant issue wasn’t urgent but after several months of that persistent dinging alarm going off every time I got behind the wheel, I decided it was time to finally take it in. Turns out I needed some extra stuff done too, which I was happy to have them repair. Considering I’ve never had major work done on my car and it’s 6 years old, I think that’s pretty awesome. Particularly since it was less than $ 300. That’s almost a miracle.
Be prepared to leave your car overnight, even if you’re just coming in for an oil change, because they do get busy these days. I’ve also found that my final bill tends to be a little less than they have quoted me, which is also awesome.
Oh, and my trunk? Apparently I have a valet switch that kept getting locked. Who knew?

I love this place. Paul and Laura are wonderful, friendly, honest, and kind. Love their doggies behind the counter too! And the prices are quite fair and reasonable.
I’ve had a lot of mechanics in my life and this is the first time I’m completely satisfied and will be staying with the same mechanic as long as Auto Know How is around. They are the best!

Bark Bark Bark!
As load and true as the shop dogs bark are the two that run the place! Although the lounge is no Oasis, the prices definitely are. From the moment I walked in, until the moment I walked out, the service was impeccable, far exceeding any area of doubt I once may have had.
(I am no mechanic, but I do know how to work on a car and there was not one little problem area overlooked nor one up-​charge added to my bill. *even down to the $ 2 worth of deicer that I was asked about prior to application)
Thank You Auto Know How and fellow Unilocalers for excellent work and end even better recommendations!

I had a great experience with Auto Know How about six months ago, and I thought I should give them a review on Unilocal,because that’s how I found out about the shop. But I wanted to make sure the repairs on my axle would last. I haven’t had a problem with my car since. And the repair cost about half what my dealership estimated.
Paul and Laura were responsive and honest. My ‘check engine’ light had been on for months, and Paul indicated that I needed a new knock sensor. He offered to purchase the part and make the repair, and he provided an estimate. I asked him what the labor entailed, and he said it was basically for diagnosing the problem, and that the actual replacement of the sensor wasn’t that difficult. I asked him if a DIY mechanic like myself could handle it, and he said I probably could. So I purchased the part and made the repair myself. This guy actually told me that I could do a job myself when it would cost him some work! Talk about a straight-​up mechanic. I won’t go anywhere else.

I am so thrilled to now say that I have a mechanic. That is something you rarely hear nowadays. But Paul and Laura really are fair, honest and hilarious to boot.
My bf and I now take our cars to Auto Know How for everything, even oil changes. I have had my share of mishaps with the EZ Lubes and Brake Pluses of the world. No way would I ever go back to those shady places.
They will explain things so you can actually understand too which is great since I know zero about maintenance on cars.
I always seem to save money here too since they what they can to fix what only needs to be fixed and not add on extra stuff that isn’t necessary.
I turned my neighbor onto them too and she saved a great deal of money because they were able to fix something instead of replacing a whole part that was expensive.