Mears Automotive - Brownsburg

Kevin Beck with Mears Automotive saved our Christmas. There are few things scarier than your car breaking down on the expressway on the Sunday before Christmas about 700miles from home. Our car had been making a funny noise but running fine. When our dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree just beyond Indianapolis, we knew we were in trouble. We made it off the interstate and looked under the hood to see that we no longer had a serpentine belt. Miraculously, we found a Jiffy Lube open to replace the belt. However, when they cranked up the car with the new serpentine belt...the noise was worse than ever. Diagnosis--the harmonic balancer not working too well--or maybe something worse, like the crankshaft itself? Belt was never the problem, just a symptom of the main problem. Jiffy Lube had a card for Mears Automotive down the street just a half a mile away and said they are very good, highly recommended etc. Naturally, we called and they were closed like all the rest and not reopening until Wednesday Dec 26. After many desperate phone calls to many auto shops, we noticed an email address on the Mears business card and sent an e-mail explaining our situation and need for emergency repair. Ww honestly didn't expect to hear back. The owner, Kevin Beck, called about 10 minutes later saying, "my wife says it sounds like you guys could use some help." Yes we could! After giving a few more details regarding our plight, Kevin offered to meet us at the garage in about 45 minutes so we could drop our car and pick up a loaner car to drive to IA -- making it to a special family dinner in Iowa that night! Grandma couldn't have been happier! The call back was doubly miraculous because they just happened to check that email account minutes after we had hit the send button. Well, it all worked out perfectly and we cannot say enough good things about Mears Automotive. We traded our 2003 Odyssey for their loaner (Kevin's wonderful wife made sure we got a car big enough for all the Christmas gear she figured we would have in tow). From Iowa, we added a timing belt change to the (cheaper) harmonic balancer replacement work that turned outto be the original problem. We were going to hold off another year on that timing belt change, but stranded by the side of the road again was not something we wanted to face again any time soon. And while we really like and trust our local mechanic here, we got a really good feel about Kevin. Plus the shop looked top notch and something about the way the guys at Jiffy Lube talked about the shop gave us great confidence that they would do I wonderful job. The work all came in at the quoted prices. Kevin also handed us a sheet from a group of nationwide mechanics he is affiliated with, just in case we ever needed warranty work on the repairs. We piled our stuff back into the Odyssey and were on our way back to Virginia problem free. It truly felt like a Christmas miracle. We cannot believe our good fortune to have met up with Mears Automotive. It was our good fortune to run into a shop like Mears when we were stranded on the road. We would highly recommend this shop!

We were passing through Indiana on our holiday trip home to Mount Pleasant, Iowa when our dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree about two miles before the Brownsburg exit on 74. We made the exit and looked under the hood to see that we no longer had a serpentine belt. The engine had been making a knocking noise for a day or so, so it did not come as a complete surprise. This was the Sunday before Christmas though and not too many auto repair type creatures were stirring, save for our friends at the Jiffy Lube. About an hour later I was set up with a new serpentine belt and feeling pretty good about my decision to press on in spite of the knocking noise (and against my wife's better judgment). When we cranked up the car with the new serpentine belt.....the noise was worse than ever. Diagnosis--harmonic balancer not working too well--or maybe something worse, like the crankshaft itself? Belt was never the problem, just a symptom of the main problem. Well, Jiffy Lube replaces belts (something I did not know), but that is evidently near the end of the list of things that they do and they certainly don't get to harmonic balancers or crankshafts. Spirits are low and getting lower with two cranky teenagers, one wife doing her best not to utter the "I told you so's", at least not in the middle of this somewhat self-induced crisis, and a Dad running out of decent options. The big dinner in Mount Pleasant would have to go on without us. More calls and more closed service shops. More calls and no open car rental places in Brownsburg. We're working the internet and the phones and coming up empty. Best option is shaping up as dump the car somewhere, somehow get the 10 miles to the Indianapolis airport and rent a car. Gonna take time and money. Well in the midst of all this the Jiffy Lube guys had handed us a card for Mear Automotive down the street just a half a mile--say they are very good, highly recommended etc. Naturally, we called and they were closed like all the rest. Dead end. My wife notices an email address on the card and suggests I send an e-mail. I cranked off a short "emergency request for repair assistance" email and thought no more of it. My phone rang maybe 20 minutes later and it was Kevin Beck with Mears Automotive, "my wife says it sounds like you guys could use some help." Yes we could! After giving a few more details regarding our plight, Kevin says we can drop our car at Mears, that he has a car we can use to shuttle to the airport to rent a car and the car will be fixed when we get back. Sweet--Dad may escape major doghouse time. Then he calls back 5 minutes later and it's no longer "lend you a car to get to the airport", it's "lend you a car to get to Iowa"--what, are you serious? "How much can we pay you for that?", "....um, no charge--maybe fill it up with gas." Dad happy, wife and kids happy--we make it to dinner in Iowa, gramma happy. Well that is the story, and it all worked out perfect in the end. We traded our 2003 Odyssey for their 2003 Pilot (Kevin's very wonderful wife made sure we got a car big enough for all the Christmas gear she figured we would have in tow). We called from Iowa to add a timing belt change to the harmonic balancer replacement work that was the original problem. I was going to hold off another year on that timing belt change, but stranded by the side of the road again was not something I needed again any time soon. And while I really trust our local mechanic here in Vienna, VA, Kevin and his wife were clearly great folks and how can you not trust someone who just handed you keys to a car at no charge, even though you were going to put another 1000 miles on it taking it across the country. Plus the shop looked top notch and something about the way the guys at Jiffy Lube talked about the shop gave me a great confidence--probably reading too much in, but kind of had the sense that maybe they would like to work there. The work all came in at the quoted prices. He hands us a sheet from a group of nationwide mechanics he is affiliated with, just in case we ever do need warranty work on the repairs. We pile out Christmas booty out of the Pilot and into the Odyssey and we are on our way back to Virginia, car humming just as it always did. It's the Christmas miracle story that we will be telling for years to come. Perhaps the biggest "miracle" part is that my wife notices the email address in the first place, that I actually send an e-mail in the midst of all the other things we were doing, though it almost seemed a waste of time, and that Kevin's wife happens to get the e-mail 4 minutes later, even though they evidently don't check that e-mail address often. And then, of course, that they had the spirit in their hearts to help others in a time of need. Thank you Becks, thank you Mears Automotive techs, thank you Brownsburg Steak and Shake, thank you Brownsburg Jiffy Lube!

I love Mears because they are always very friendly and professional. On top of those great qualities, they often go above and beyond which is what they did once again this past weekend when they spent about a half an hour to remove my stuck license plate and then refused to let me pay.It was such a nice surprise!

I've used Mears often (we have two older cars) and am always impressed with their openness and ability to get the job done. I would definately recommend them.

I scheduled a tune-up and the replacement of my car's front wheel-well cover and took a day off of work. I dropped the car off the night before. I did not get a call about the estimated price which was OK because I specified that I did not need a call unless they found something wrong. When I called at 3 PM to see if it was ready for pick up, they had not done anything yet and did not have the part (wheel-well cover) yet. I was told they could finish it the next day! I need my car for work and had to work the next day! They did the tune up that afternoon but I had to go back another day for the wheel-well cover. I was promised the part would be there in a day or two but I scheduled an appointment 6 days later. When I got there, they did not have the part and had NOT called me to tell me. (It was 30 minutes out of my way that day to get to Brownsburg.) I had to make a third trip to get this service done.

Dropped of vehicle Sunday evening, Monday afternoon they called to tell me the issues. Vehicle was completed Tuesday afternoon.

This was a very tricky issue, dealership could not find the problem. Mears spent alot of time to properly diagnose and held to the original quote.

They did fine work. They are normally the place I go to. I can trust them, because I thought I needed repairs and they told me I didn't. They are very honest. I thought I had a problem with power stirring, so they fixed the pump and told me that if it wasn't better in 30 days, they would charge it back into my account.

We have used them regularly. They are flexible, which I like. They are locally owned. They are very courteous. They are very thorough, and I accept their judgment on cars. I think they are very reasonably priced.

It went very well. They are very professional, timely and courteous. They are very conveniently located for us and have done a nice job on several ofour vehicles. I feel their pricing is very fair and they communicate with customers VERY well and I appreciate that.

seem like good people, i just went to them because they were so highly rated on A list. would not go back or recommend them to anyone unless you have time to waste and are willing to pay alot of money for repairs that might not fix your problems.

We had them do a tune up and check on the car that is required by our warranty agreement. They were very quick, professional, and really nice to work with. We will definitely be using them for our cars in the future.

As always, it went very well. We're kept up to date, and given honest, frank answers about the state of our automobile, including what service they anticipate the car will need in the future. Time after time, they are great to deal with, and very reliable.

We always take our vehicles there and we are very pleased. I will use them again in the future.

I say that they are excellent. When I take my car in and if they don’t see anything wrong with it they will not charge me and will still look at it, which I just had with a new car. I thought that was something was wrong and they could not find anything wrong and it was still under warranty. They helped me out by fixing my 99 Camry because it was not running right and they found the problem and fixed it. They are always very friendly and accommodating to my schedule because I travel a lot, so I really like them. Their pricing is definitely reasonable. I would use them again in a heartbeat. I work in Chicago and I really wish that they were in Chicago, so I could take my car there.

My truck was towed to Mear's early Thursday morning. Stopped in to see them later, they were very busy, but said they would work it in. It was repeired and picked up by that Saturday.

They worked as quickly as possible, were very honest and fair. Needing this part replaced after it failed was the only problem we ever had at Mears, and they handled it superbly. Their other work for us has been polite, cost-effective and quick. They will give us costs for work, go over options, and have often handled small things at little to no cost. They just have an admirable level of integrity and professionalism.

The Security Warning Light kept coming on in our 2002 Impala. Found out that heavy key chain and normal driving vibration caused key lock cylinder to degrade. Fortunately, this triggered warning light. If not, car would have failed to start in the near future. Mears diagnosed and advised replacement. They did so quickly and competently.

My truck stared making a vibration and clanking noise coming from the rear axle. I called Mears, talked to Kevin and explained the situation. He was able to diagnose the problem over the phone (ended up being right on the money), and I was able to schedule an appointment for the following day (Sat. AM appointment). I ended up needing a new U Joint that holds the drive train to the rear axle. They were very professional and called me immediately after they were done. They also inspected the vehicle and found other minor leaks just so that I was aware of them. Thanks!

I took my truck to another mechanic to have a routine oil change. Upon this, they told me that there was a major leak in engine block and that coolant was leaking in with the engine oil. They informed me that when this happens I should probably just get rid of the vehicle, especially sine it has 230,000 miles. I decided to take it to Mears for a second opinion. They had one of their technicians inspect it and said it was just a small leak in the gasket. (The previous mechanic pressurized the system which made the leak look a lot worse than it was.). Instead of selling the truck or buying a new engine, they were able to fix the problem and now it's running great!

REPAIRS WAS DONE AHEAD OF TIME PROMISED.

Did a good job, even called me later to remind me of a rebate I could get.

Completed on-time with detailed summary of work performed. They only did what was needed and recommended items that were not required since parts / components / status was fine. Mears is courteous, prompt and very reasonable for price. We use them for all of our vehicles and find as good or better service than dealerships with a reduced price and excellent warranty.

I've always had a very positive experience with Mears. I feel I can trust them to tell me the truth and not to gouge me. I've had cases where the cost ended up being less than the estimate, but in most cases, the estimates is right on (which is positive). They do a good job in communicating what the problem is, what needs to be done to solve it, and the cost to repair. Delivery is as promised. I take all of my car maintenance needs to Mears.

They are very professional. They do a great job. They have always done well for our family. I would highly recommend them. They are willing to make up for any mistakes which rarely happen.