Shade Tree Garage

I would not go to any other garage. These folks are honest, professional and service oriented. Everything is explained thoroughly and options are provided. There are no «surprises» and you can always depend on them to go the extra mile. I highly recommend them for regular service and large repairs. Outstanding people.

We came here to have our car seats inspected and it was a fantastic experience. I left very confident about how to reinstall the seats and the ladies who helped us were so knowledgeable. They were super nice and not judgmental at all about how the seats were previously installed, they just wanted to share all of the car seat safety info they had! I’d definitely recommend anyone in the area to get their seats inspected here. The program is run by volunteers so leave a donation if you are happy with this free service. I found their info on the
website and details of when they check car seats are:
Hours: 8am — noon, 2^nd Saturday of each month;
5pm — 8pm, 3^rd Tuesday of each month
For more information call: 973−540−9880

It’s very hard to find auto mechanics that combine quality and honesty. I’m glad to know that Shade Tree is available to keep our cars running. Having a family owned business that quotes you the right job at the right price where you can talk to the owner is a much better experience than dealing with the big dealers.

Reading some of the other comments, I’m baffled by anyone who could give these guys a bad review. (Maybe someone has an ax to grind and is never satisfied??) I’ve been coming back to Shade Tree with several of my cars for many years and have had consistently great service. Yes, sometimes it costs more than I’d like to pay — who DOES want to spend money on car repairs? But, their prices are always competitive. And I never feel like I’m getting upsold on repairs I don’t need. They’ve always been honest with me and they do know their stuff.

I will not return because they did not honor the quote given (the job did not change) and for a service they were more expensive than the dealership.
I called and told them the exact repair that I needed. I knew what I needed. They quoted me a price better than the dealership. When I arrived they tried to talk me into doing a diagnosis to ensure that I was correct. I declined because I didn’t want to pay for a diagnosis.
Well they called me after they had the car apart and told me it would be more than the original quote which now was a price match of the dealership, I agreed and asked them to do a fluid flush. They offered a quote that was $ 200 more than the dealership and when I told them it was more they stated that they had to drop the exhaust. I ended up going to the dealership for that service and they told me that they did not need to drop the exhaust.

I have used this garage for years. I started going because the owner is a parishioner at my church and had a reputation for being honest. I kept going back because I was generally happy with the service. Not anymore. I have heard it is under new ownership and, if so, it shows.
Recently went because my wipers were finishing each cycle at the top of the windshield. From research, this is normally a problem with the lynching and it needs to be reset. Not a huge issue. If the wipers wipe, it generally is not the wiper motor but it can be. Anyway, dropped it off to be looked at. Got a call that the problem was the motor (this despite them not being able to remove the plastic cover that protects the lynching and motor.) Also, I had some leaky values (about $ 600 to replace) and other assorted work (about $ 1,400 worth) not to mention the $ 650 for the wiper motor! The serviceman thought the timing belt probably needed replacing as well (until he realized they did it last year.)
Needless to say, I had them do the work on the wipers (since I would have been charged for some labor anyway) but that’s it. I won’t even slowdown as I drive by let alone go in again.

«Shady Tree» just quoted me $ 2200 for an $ 800 fix. When I asked Troy why he did this, he said he mis-​quoted me for another model. The model he quoted me would have been almost the same price, so he lied to me a second time and then mumbled something about not being able to compete with the dealerships! Shade Tree has been servicing my cars for years and I’m wondering how many times they have ripped me off. Be Careful! Get a second opinion!

The quality of customer service will depend on which representative writes up your request. Jeremy is the go-​to guy. He is confident and bright, and you walk away feeling that your car is in good hands. Troy, on the other hand, lost our keys on one visit. On another visit, he stalwartly told us that our car would take over a week to even look at. I knew this was wrong, so I left the car and called when Jeremy was there. Why would I leave a car that needs servicing over a week in parking lot? I guess Troy never heard of competition. Seriously, Troy really needs some basic customer service lessons, particularly given the clientele of this establishment.

This place used to be great. They were family owned, honest and would never over charge for repairs or insist on work that wasn’t needed. Now they are crooks. Two years ago, they laced me into several costly «repairs» over the course of the year and told me I’d have to go back in 3 months to replace something, a valve or something, otherwise my car would one day just blow up into flames while I was driving it, and i would die a fiery and charred death. Needless to say, I declined the repairs, never went back, did nothing about the «fire hazard» and a year later, my car still hasn’t spontaneously blown up, and killed me by flames. Find an honest mechanic. These people just want your money, they don’t care about repeat business.

These guys ripped me off. I brought my VW Golf TDI to this place almost a year ago, and they charged me almost $ 1500 for a repair that, at the dealership, cost me less than $ 500. If you have a VW to take in, do yourself the favor and take it to the dealership in Union. They’re honest and they won’t make unnecessary repairs.

went down the street to europcar and got an estimate for more than half the price of what these guys tried scamming me into. dont like people taking advantage of me. i dont recommend shady tree garage to anyone

My first time here. They are just amazing. Excellent customer service and cost-​effective auto repair. They even have drop-​off and pick-​up service.

Took my aging VW van to them to fix check engine light. While there I was told the tie bars on the front wheels had been installed badly, and they needed to be replaced. They said that the left tie bar had been installed on the right side and the right on the left. THIS is mechanically impossible, since both are marked L & R. After I paid to have the check engine light fixed, the asked me to sign a waiver that I drove the car at my own risk. Took the car back to my regular VW dealer, who said that the tie bars were installed correctly, and only a knuckle joint needed replacing, which they did for free. And the check engine light came back on while I drove 13 miles to the VW dealer. Not a good experience at all.

Outstanding personal service. I’ve never had an issue with anything here.

Top notch service and friendly owners who go above and beyond make Shade Tree the best auto repair facility I’ve ever encountered!

Finding an honest, helpful, and genuinely caring auto shop is a needle in a haystack these days.
One day I hit a chunk of metal in the road that utterly destroyed a wheel. Having just moved to the area, I had no one to trust or ask for recommendations for a repair shop. I took a leap of faith and limped over to these guys hoping they wouldn’t stick-​it-​in-​the-​rear and take advantage of my situation. They showed nothing but kindness and compassion as I juggled getting a new tire, a new rim, insurance, and a busy work week.
This family-​owned operation bought a customer out of me, and have consistently impressed me in my subsequent visits. Reasonable prices, stellar service. Highly recommended.

Bad experience here. Wanted to charge me $ 1,600 for a repair of a slightly leaking gas tank. Claimed it would take up to 12 hours for the repair. Tried to scare me into doing it immediately. When I shopped around, including the BMW dealer, found the real cost was about ½ that, or $ 800. It’s a 4 to 6 hour job plus the tank. Be very, very careful with their estimates and it wouldn’t hurt to get second opinion.