Du Fresne’s Auto Repair

Easy to schedule, polite staff, accurate info and pricing, excellent promotions and donates to charitable causes (food bank during Christmas)! Took great care of my TDI Jetta. I’ll be back!

Being brand new to the area it is always daunting when you immediately need a mechanic! I found Du Fresne’s Auto Repair through a friend and could not have been happier with my choice.
They were able to schedule me an early morning appointment to assist in me not missing any work! Steve made no attempt to push additional repairs on me but took the time to educate me about repairs that would be needed in the near future.
I genuinely appreciate when a mechanic can assist me in prioritizing the repairs as well as suggesting a time line.
Thanks guys … I will definitely be back!

Amazing service! My Honda rolled over a nail leaving a front tire with a significant (audible from inside the car) leak. It was at the end of the day and as a new customer I called Du Fresne’s and they said to come on in. They patched it up and had me on my way in 20 minutes with friendly service and the reassurance that there is a helpful, family run business always available. I would say «hard working, honest and friendly» like a another reviewer stated, is the perfect description for this auto repair shop. Highly recommend!

GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!!! Apparently I’m one of many who received terrible satisfaction. Brought my car in due to battery trouble. Asked for them inspect the alternator as well as the battery to see what the issue was. Marco-​the mechanic– took several hours to run the inspection, which seems normal. Later informing me that my battery was the issue. Paid $ 200+ dollars for the inspection plus new battery. That was all fine. I was headed on a long road trip and needed it fixed that day. Fast forward a couple weeks. I got into my car and the car wouldn’t start-​same problem. I was stranded 300+ miles from Portland. Had to get he car towed and inspected at another mechanic. The mechanic from the shop told me that it was my alternator all along. This cost me another 1000 dollars. I emailed du fresnes back and told them about the misdiagnosis. Received an email back from Marco several days later claiming that the problem wasn’t from his work. Well, it was!!! I replied back in hopes that they may in some way compensate for their shotty work. Still haven’t received an email, a phone call, or an apology about the ordeal. Which leaves me here… Frustrated enough to write a poor review. If you are looking for a trustworthy mechanic GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. Clearly Du Fresnes cares little about customer satisfaction and more about money.

What a pitiful excuse for a pre-​purchase inspection. Had a used vehicle brought in to see if it was worth it to purchase. 3.5 hours later and $ 150 and all I got was a sheet printed out telling me some stuff about certain sensors and saying the rotors and brakes needed to be replaced. When asking about the sensors and wondering what it all meant, none of the information was synthesized whatsoever. Instead, after telling them I read the sheet and wanted them to make sense of it, they just tried to read the sheet back to me!!! Then asked if there was anything else I needed. I didn’t even get a decisive answer on whether or not it was worth buying… Nor did they tell me a thing about the transmission which is what we all go to have checked anyway since we aren’t mechanics right? You’d think I’m 3 hours they’d be able to do some inspection but no… that costs an extra 50 dollars. Do not use these guys… Overpriced for the job and didn’t even do what was needed.

Tried this place out for the first time using one of their promotions for an oil change/​tire rotation. They also did a full inspect. Also got a free espresso! Staff was kind and helpful. After they said my car was in great shape. I would use them again if I did have any repairs; I appreciate honest, family owned-​business. The only reason for not giving 5-​stars is they did get oil/​grease on the driver side door and on the handle, which I had to clean up when I got home.

Pass on these guys. Nancy the owner turned down business because the car care club card I had never used expired two weeks ago. I offered to cash the card in completely and do extra work I needed done, a very easy make good on both our parts — extra work for her and an oil change I paid for back to me. Her response was that I had a whole year to use it so its no good anymore. Fine, they were out of my way anyway so in this case the lack of interest goes both ways.

I had a family friend take a car here for inspection and they gave her a laundry list of repairs well over $ 1500. I told her I can help her fix a few of those things in my garage. When i went over the car and checked the items that supposedly needed repair, I was outright SHOCKED that a mechanic would recommend these repairs. Never-​the-​less, I fixed those for her in about 2 hours time total, with less than $ 80 in parts. I can’t imagine the countless people this place has ripped off.

I have taken my Honda into Du Fresne’s a few times and have had great experiences. They always get my car in quickly and do a thorough job. Their prices have been fair and they have not pressured me at all to have additional work done.
I have found the people at Du Fresne’s to be hard working, honest and friendly. I will continue to take our cars there for service.

I have had a few minor repairs and oil changes here over the past three years. There are a few problems with this repair shop. The support staff whom you speak with is a little bit rude. Also, they charge quite a bit for some small repairs — for instance they wanted $ 50 to change the tail light on my vehicle, and that change is not a complicated one because I did it myself and saved the $ 50.

Story one: This shop is rather close to my house and I liked the thought that it was a family owned, indy shop who’s been there for awhile. I took in a recently purchased used vehicle for an inspection and there was a number of things wrong with it. I spent 5k on the truck and ended up putting 2k into it with repairs and inspection fees from Du Fresne’s. The staff was very nice and friendly and I felt like I found a gem. After a few days with my truck back, the brake light was sticking on and it ran my battery down. I took it in, and they told me I needed to pay $ 180 for a brake inspection. This is RIGHT AFTER I just had it in for a total inspection. I was upset that they didn’t even look at my brakes when it was in before. Luckily, I had a coupon from them so I didn’t have to come out of pocket on the inspection. I got a call with a list of things wrong. They said my wheel berrings were all shot and needed to be replaced, all four of my brakes and rotors were toast and needed to be replaced. The estimate for repairs was $ 1600. I decided to get a second opinion. I had a friend recommend me to his mechanic on the opposite side of town which is far away for me but worth the drive if it proved to show a different opinion. Trendsetters PDX called me a few days after having my truck and said the wheel berrings were perfect, that my rear brakes and rotors were fine and that it just needed new front brakes and rotors. The estimate was less than $ 275.
Story two: around this same time, my girlfriend also bought a used car and took it in for an oil change and a general once over. They told her she needed a new serpentine belt and a new timing belt. Total estimate: over $ 1000. We ended up calling around and settled on just taking into the Dodge dealer where they quoted just over $ 575 for the same work.
Guess what? Du Fresne’s rips off their customers. I would not recommend this shop to ANYONE. If you don’t believe me, take your car in, get an estimate (you’ll end up paying for some sort of diagnostic fee I am sure) and then take it somewhere else. I don’t even understand how this place is still open. Avoid this place!

They pretend to be a friendly local shop in the neighborhood. However, they are nice if you just let them do what they want to your car and charge you as much as they wish. Nancy the owner is not pleasant at all. Steve, the manager lies to persuade you on the issues on your car.
My last experience with them was the supposedly new tire they put for my car. When I asked for the warranty, they said the receipt will work as a warranty for 800 000 miles. I wish I had not trusted them. In less than 3 months I had 3 times flat tire issue. Each time that I went back to them and asked if they can get me a new tire, they just claimed that nothing was wrong with the tire. They fixed it and it worked for a little while and same experience again. Last time that I went to their shop, Nancy was really rude to me and not even willing to let me know which company they got the tire from. I will never go back to them and would not recommend them to anybody. Even if you are in the neighborhood and this is the closest shop .
I would not even give them 1 star. If I had option of negative points, I would have given them –100.

Whoever writes a great review about this place must be an employee or friend. I simply stopped by to get an estimate and they wanted to charge me $ 35. I told them I’m shopping around for the best price. $ 35 bucks dude. So if you want to put a bid in for working on my house I have to pay you? Your nuts. And that Nancy, I got a look from her. I wouldn’t want to be in a place where I’d have to argue about a price or problem with these guys. Stay clear.

Great guys, great service.
One Saturday afternoon I was frantically searching for a mechanic’s shop that was open that could take in my car which had all manners of sounds coming from the engine, would shut off every few blocks and would eventually start smoking from under the hood. From the moment I called them, they were sounded very compassionate to my plight (good customer service?) and were nice enough to stay open the extra 5 minutes as my car was being towed to their garage.
The next business day, they had my car up and running. On top of their friendly staff, from the person who took my call to the 2 mechanics I met, service was quick and the cost seemed reasonable — repairs were made to the belt and and tensioner system. I think what helped my opinion of them is when they took the extra minute or two to show me the actual parts they replaced instead of just having to take it on faith — it makes me more willing to trust them that the parts they claimed broke down was actually the cause of my problems.
I can’t say I have an opinon of the owner of the shop (Nancy) who seems to be the primary reason for Nathan G.‘s poor review of the shop, since I never ran into her.
All in all it’s a mechanic shop — people seem to either love their mechanics or hate them. Remember that when reading reviews.

They do good work and they don’t pressure you into buying shit you don’t need. If anything major is needed to be repaired and you don’t understand the necessary work, they will literally show you and explain the procedure while the car is on the lift.
I’ve been going here for a while now. Steve and Marco are very friendly and honest, plus they give my dog a treat since I bring her in when I drop my car off so we can walk back to my apt.
They also have specials like throwing darts at a board for discounts, plus coupons in their email newsletters.

If you want to go back to the good old days when you had a local mechanic that you know and trust, stop by Du Fresne’s for your next Auto repair. They have been in business for 43 years for a reason. I personally have used them for 14 years for my cars– spanning across Toyota, Subaru, Nissan, Ford, and now my Mercedes. Their repairs are always high quality and the prices are surprisingly reasonable. On my Mercedes, they provided repairs that were much better, quicker and far less expensive than the Mercedes dealer quoted. Here are some tips: Check out their Newsletters posted on their website–
and look for discounts and promotions. For example, I brought in a bag of Food for the Oregon Food Bank, and they gave me a brake free inspection and free Brake Pads. They have been doing this for so many years, that the value they’ve given to customers in Brake discounts is now over $ 197,000! They also are kind enough to give movie tickets when you refer their business to a new customer, so on your visit, please mention you read about them on Unilocal,and mention Mike Premi recommended them.

I have been taking my vehicles to Du Fresne’s for the past several years and would not dream of going anywhere else. Steve is always so friendly and seems to care about you as a person and of course about your car as well. He is always very honest and helpful. Staff remember the names of their customers and are always respectful and knowledgeable. I have never had a bad experience working with this team and highly recommend them to everyone!

BAD communication, bad customer service and got charged for work I did not authorize.
Just moved in to this neighborhood and was hoping I would be using them on a more regular basis since it is located just done the street from me, but after my encounter today with Marco I will NEVER return there.

I grew up in a small Oregon town where honesty and accountability were the norm… the mechanic who worked on my car was my neighbor! At Dufresne’s Auto, that refreshing experience is the order of the day. These folks are our neighbors, providing excellent service for a reasonable price. You will leave happy!

I declare that Dufresne’s is the BEST auto place in the greater Portland area.
Almost hidden in a residential area off the Sunset highway, Dufresne’s is the epitome of «family owned» business. Everyone that works here is so darn friendly and knowledgeable!
We have visited Dufresne’s for mechanical fixes, and they continue to be where we turn first (as do our family members). They always research everything and present you with the best information before they do any work on your car, and even when they don’t work on your car!
Example: we own a Mini, and when they didn’t have special tools to let them work on our car, they called around, hit the internet and helped us locate places that could help us – and even though they could not work on the car themselves, they also told us what problems there might be according to Mini websites. In addition to that, they had spent time trying to diagnose the car, but when they hit a dead end because they didn’t have the right tools, they didn’t charge us anything for their time because they had not been able to diagnose it. Honesty? Integrity? These people should be praised on CarTalk!
The other thing that makes me just love this place is that they have a monthly newsletter with cute info, contests and coupons. After one visit they were having a darts promotion, where you threw a dart at a board for various prizes — we got a 50 dollar coupon — score!
Okay, enough of my gushing. I think you can tell I love this place, and promote it with all I’ve got!