Rod's Japanese Auto Care

I've been needing to get my car serviced, but I've had three instances with their rep Zack and it made me want to go elsewhere. That guy was quick to assume I'm an idiot (on 2 different calls) and wasted my time with a failed night drop (rental key wasn't avail as promised). Found another place to take my car because of Zack's attitude and don't want to deal with him.

We've been bringing our 2006 Subaru to Rod's since we bought it 4 years ago and discovered that the dreaded head gasket needed repair, something that added thousands to the price paid. We live in Friday Harbor, but took our car to Rod's on the advice of a local retired mechanic friend (who said no one on the island has the skills or equipment to deal with Subaru's properly).

And as tough as that unanticipated expensive repair was to swallow, the unbelievably thorough job of diagnosing and communicating what the car needed took the edge off and ensured we would return for the regular maintenance that we're told guarantees the repair for the life of the car. So we have now been back for that regular maintenance and a couple repairs along the way for the last 4 years, and every time we are impressed by the quality of the work done, the communication, and the understanding and kindness of all the staff members.

I've personally recommended Rod's to multiple friends both on the island and in Bellingham. Best "car repair shop" experience we've had in the 50+ years we've been owning and driving cars!

I've had two visits to Rod's and both were great! Zach and Sean communicated clearly what the problem was with my car and presented good solutions. Very efficient!

Rods auto has helped me maintain my 2000 Subaru Outback since 2006 and I'm happy to report it is still a beast of a car running strong! Reliable, trustworthy and great all around car caregivers! Services: Vehicle Inspection, Steering & suspension replacement, Oil change, Vehicle safety inspection, Engine repair, Auto engine diagnostic, General repairs & maintenance, Steering & suspension repair, Auto maintenance

Very thorough and thoughtful inspection process that includes photos and explanations Zach and Sean took time to explain to me what was most important to do in my case, and why, when I asked for quotes for if we did two or three different scenarios, they also worked on that for me. Overall their service is great, they have a transparent way of letting you know what your car needs, and they were done so much faster than I anticipated. They also took time to answer my questions after my car was done.

I appreciated the time they took to explain everything that was needed, what can wait and not wait. I spent a pretty penny to basically drive a new car out of there and I feel like thats what I did. I highly recommend Rod's Japanese Auto Care. Thank you Services: Electrical, Oil change, Auto engine tuning, Auto interior vacuuming, Engine repair, Auto engine diagnostic, General repairs & maintenance, Air & cabin filter replacement

Best Auto Shop in Bellingham! They care about you and your vehicle, they are efficient and respectful and don't try and cheat you into sneaky non needed payments. They do the work you ask them to do and more! Letting you know what needs to be done and what is the cause of the problem and they fix it for a decent price.

Rods is hands down the single best mechanic I've worked with before. The techs and mechanics are highly skilled, and they're extremely accommodating and willing to work with the customer to see repairs done in a timely and cost effective manner. I can't recommend them highly enough, both Zach and Sean have been great service advisors across multiple appointments with them!

These folks are awesome, I've never worked with such a transparent and professional shop like this before. I bought a used car that, as expected, had a few quirks and issues to iron out (and had a breakdown in its first week). Rod's did a pretty thorough visual inspection and test drive to figure out the checklist to take care of, fixed the acute issues (plus a few bonus issues that arose out of these!), and documented everything down to the "here's a picture of a part that's moving. it should not be moving. here's why it matters" level.

I was out the door for a very fair price in a very reasonable (and, given how much work was involved, seemingly pretty quick!) amount of time. I'll definitely be back for my future work on my 1999 Subie.

Rod's Car Care always does complete and thorough work, excellent reports on work and billing, and is willing to transport customers to shop and home. They explain what needs to be done and what has been done clearly. Excellent team! Services: Auto engine diagnostic, General repairs & maintenance

I could not say enough good things about Rod's, if I could give them a 10 star rating, I absolutely would. They are extremely helpful, nice, personable, and professional! They helped me out during a really bad situation with my car and we still are in the process of figuring it out, I am in there almost weekly and every time I go in, they are always super helpful and supportive. The customer service people at the front desk are awesome in every way, and the mechanics do thorough and excellent work on the vehicles! Thank you guys!

Great people who seem to actually, y'know, like cars. They were willing and able to fix my weird JDM van and did so very well. I was kept in the loop and shown pictures of the process, and it is completely fixed and runs better than ever. I can safely say that I trust them with all my vehicles.

Worth every penny. If you really care about your vehicle, and want service that reflects that. Rod's is the place to go. Following a 5 day nightmare with another shop in town, I called Rod's and was greeted by Zach. After telling him what I had just been through and how my suzuki grand vitara was behaving, he assured me they would take care of me and get my car back in top shape.

I dropped my car off that day and instantly felt more safe and comfortable with these guys than any shop I've ever hired. They did a full inspection with detailed analysis, photos and suggestions, for free. After confirming the EGR valve was likely the source of my vehicle's rough idle and hard start, they took the intake manifold apart, replaced all the gaskets, cleaned the EGR passage tubes and replaced the faulty valve.

My car is now running better than it has since I've owned it. The entire process was smooth, Zach is extremely kind and personable. They truly want their customers to be safe on the road and can be trusted 100% to do the job right. I could go on and on about my experience. Thank you Zach and the team at Rod's. 10/10 would refer my mother, your mother and her boyfriend.

I will not go into all the details, and I rarely ever leave reviews, but I just must do so on this one. Mechanic shops need to be honest or risk losing paying customers. I totally agree with other 1 star reviews that they are dishonest and waaayyy overcharge. They gave me a quote that was $350 more than the dealership, which is usually the most expensive.

They also told me yes absolutely you need this done at 100K but then I looked at Toyota maintenance schedule and nope it's at 120K. I'm not saying they do bad work, but I wouldn't trust them after this and I definitely won't take my car there again. I'll pay fair prices for good quality work and I do all my regular maintenance so they lost money on me for sure.

I have no interest in bashing any honest business people, speaking to a manager, etc. I just want consumers to know the reality of a place so they can make the best choice for them. Peace and love!

To sum it up, they price-gauged me bad and were dishonest. Then they left me with a new problem with my taillights. Now to get into it specifically. They claimed the source of my problem was a missing fuse. (As if fuses just disappear) and charged me for two "diagnostics" to try to figure out why the car wouldn't turn on. So be warned that a diagnostic is not a set of procedures but rather just a flat hour of work THAT COST MORE THAN THE DEALER!

They also tried to sell me a battery that is $70 at Costco for $150 and wanted to charge me $50 to install it. These people are the absolute epitome of the cliche dishonest mechanic. I did confront them about my concerns and they did take half off the second diagnostic fee. But now my taillights don't work either. I left them a voicemail and no one offered to fix anything (not that I would let them). In short THESE PEOPLE ARE THE CLICHE' DISHONEST MECHANIC.

We took our vintage VW to rods for a tune-up, after it had set idle for many years. we took their advice re: many preventative work items - and - no surprise for an old car - there were unforeseen surprises staff was friendly: planning + communications were a bit of a challenge at times, but in the end, I appreciate their willingness to follow thru with their resolve to complete the necessary work to get things taken care of to get the car running

Sterling replying to Brittany-Just as there was no honesty at your shop the day of repairs, your reply lacks honesty. The parts you used on our truck retail for $190. + some brake fluid you charged $1129.62. Your email shows that you worked on my vehicle less than 2 hrs. you charged $582.19 labor. At every turn we have asked you to give us information, documents that back up the prices you charged and you have refused to produce any.

Since 9-25-20 you have belligerently refused to give us any information Your only justification has been I can stick-it-to-you-pay or I will keep your vehicle and file a lien on it. Dealing with you at the truck pick-up: 1. We had called about the high price of your parts your employee said they were OEM parts and that is why they were so expensive, you used aftermarket parts on my repair.- 2.

When we came to pick up the truck and found out you had not used OEM parts but aftermarket parts we asked to see the manufacturer and part numbers of the parts used in my truck repair. You refused to give us this information. 3. You told us you shred all your incoming parts invoices just as soon as the parts arrive so you couldn't show us a parts purchase invoice 4.we asked you to get a copy of your invoice from your supplier you told us your supplier will not give you a copy of the invoice 5.

You told us you had no way to lower our bill --the company who supplies your repair order processing programs, set the prices and if we didn't like the prices, we needed to contact them. We asked for the contact information they refused. 6. We asked for the parts manufacturer and parts numbers-you refused 7. We asked to talk to the owner of the business you would not give us his contact information. 8.

You threatened to keep my truck and put a lien on it if I didn't pay the bill. I paid the bill at which point I was legally entitled to my vehicle, Brittany refused to give me my truck unless I signed her copy of my invoice. By the way, the signature you coerced out of me by refusing to give me my truck keys is not valid, it is extortion. I wish I would have had a lawyer's legal advice at this point.

I did not know I would need it. Summary of how I felt when I left your shop: It made me feel ill to realize I should have had legal assistance to examine every point where I could be misinformed or overcharged. Sadly, I have been naive enough to believe I didn't need to "lawyer up" to have a local repair shop do a standard brake job. Dealing with the rehashing of my treatment at your shop is very unpleasant, really not worth the effort and time, but I felt that I must share how your system of quoting created a bill priced grossly disproportionate to the true value of the work performed.

My repair job was a straight forward simple brake job there were no unforeseen variables that could affect pricing Example of Rod's overcharging : Factory Dealerships are the priciest place for repairs, their location has high overhead, mechanics required by factory to maintain a high level of training and they use OEM parts. The local Nissan Dealer quoted the exact job you did for me @ approx. 1/2 your price.

They also said my rotors which you replaced & chgd $700 for parts---should be good and have lots of resurface area, if so their price was approx. 1/3 of yours. I trusted you for an honestly priced repair at my local shop. You looked at me as someone you could swindle and attempt to charge over $1900. for a job that prices out at other local repair shops @ $550. and at the Factory Nissan shop @ $750. This is how I feel about my treatment at your shop. Sterling

Took my sons car in to have it checked out because he had a hard time starting it. When he got it started after the 4th try his radio and clock were not working. They did a full inspection on the car. They said it needed a new starter and it would cost $169 for the inspection $300 to install and $440 for the part. We paid the $169 when we picked up the car.

We were going to get it fixed when in the next week or so. He drive it for about week then it would not start again. My husband popped the hood and noticed the battery cable was loose. He moved the cable a bit and the car started. He has tightened up the cables on the battery and it has been fine. I called them up and told them that I felt they were trying to rip me off because of they did a full inspection on the car then they should've noticed that.

Instead they were trying to get $1000 from me telling me it was a starter when it wasn't. I asked for my $169.00 back and they would not give it back. Instead they said if it makes me feel any better they had fired the technician. Actually that makes me feel worse. DO NOT TRUST THEM Now they are trying to act like they did nothing wrong if I pay $169 for a full inspection you would think their technician would've noticed there's a loose cable on the battery. No they did not notice that because they wanted to get more money from me telling me it was the starter. My husband's not even a mechanic and he noticed a loose cable.

I keep trying to think of ways I can take my car back. These folks know what it takes to do the job the right way. Does the service come at a cost? Yes but you get so much in return. Consistent updates during your estimate and when work is being done. Have always gottan more than what I expected from them and not less. The follow up to make sure everything is working was great. Not many places you can go to that give you this much education and service left. Thank you

I drive an older Toyota. So far it has had a good life. I used to take it to a dealership but all it ever needed was an oil change. Hmm, looking back, I guess I should have wondered why that was given it's age. Rod's did a very thorough inspection. The estimate came back with actual pictures and videos that helped me understand why my car needed each recommendation and helped me evaluate how important each one was. Rod's offers loaner cars if needed by the way.

They treated me as a human (not just a person holding a credit card). They were polite and honest. They have one of the nicest waiting rooms I have ever seen not to mention I was warmly greeted by TWO x 4 legged new friends. Oh and my car? It thinks it's a healthy teenager once again. It's tighter and has more pep. I feel safer knowing that Rod's is looking after my car. Rod's: Thanks so much for the lovely surprises I found in my car when I picked it up! I was made to feel as though my business is valued. not just today, but in the future.

Blown away! I totally agree, I'd give 10 stars if I could. I've been in client services for two decades, they nailed it. Super friendly, super fast, great use of technology for communication, excellent work. I came in for a wheel bearing issue, even though I had it replaced a year prior at another mechanic, it was failing already. Brittany took extra time figuring out if it was covered under a national mechanics network warranty, which it was, and saved me $500.

If they were about inflating their bills, they could have not done that and had me get the repair done again with them. But they didn't. I never felt pressured to do any of the recommended maintenance. They had my car overnight but had a free loaner for me. (You know your mechanic is good when your loaner Subaru has 270k miles on it and still with the original engine and transmission). They even had a gift basket in my front seat when I picked my car up! Who does that?

First time in the shop. Welcoming staff and animals! Comfy couch while waiting on my car repair. Great shop!

I'd give these people 10 stars if I could. They are simply the best. Top quality work, reasonably priced, super friendly, helpful, and everything you could want out of a car shop. They have been working on my Subaru cars for years. And in the rare instance where they got a defective part or something wasn't done to my 100% satisfaction, they went out of their way to make it right.

One time Rod even drove up to Squamish, BC to tow my car down to Bellingham for a repair after I my car broke down on a ski trip. I see a few one-star reviews here and all I can say is that if there is anything about your service that is not to your satisfaction, talk to Logan or Brittany and they will help you resolve it.

My daughter brought her car in to repair a problem related to starting. Rods replaced the starter for more than $500, but then said that that $500 repair didn't really fix the problem because something was wrong with the "multiplex" wiring under the dash. They wanted more money. We took the car to a different mechanic who said not only were we overcharged for the starter, there was nothing wrong with any wiring.

This confirmed my suspicion about Rods. In my opinion, they are not an honest repair shop and they are just looking for ways to inflate their bill and get more money out of people for nothing. Needless to say, we wont be going back.

I am always hesitant to take my car to a mechanic. Hoping to find one that wouldn't try to fleece me, I took my car to Rod's based on reviews and recommendations from other Subaru owners in Bellingham. The service manager Brittnay is an absolute star. Very helpful, knowledgable, and remembers details about my previous visit. She sent an email telling me what is good on my vehicle, what will need work in the future, and what they recommend me taking care of ASAP.

They included pictures on the email as well. My car is an older Subaru, so it needs some love to keep it running in tip top shape. I really feel great taking her in to Rod's. I have since taken my car on a few long distance trips and I have 100% confidence it's going to get me there and back without issue. Rod's charges a fair price in my opinion. It's certainly not the cheapest, but I don't mind paying extra for the peace of mind their guarantee and roadside assistance offer.

"Great experience". it seems those words rarely describe taking your car to a car mechanic, but in this case it does. Had our first experience with Rod's Japanese Auto Care, and so far, I'm pretty happy. Went in for a new head gasket and the check engine light. They called to confirm the issue, and had the work done in less then 2 days. They even paid for a loaner car for the two days because their current shop loaner car was being used.

They have competitive pricing and extremely EXCELLENT customer service. They went above and beyond to make sure I had all my car service needs met. I found them to be punctual, intelligent and honest, a pretty rare combination in the auto-shop world! Overall, a VERY well run business. Will be back in a heartbeat! The yelp recommendations didn't fail. I cannot THANK YOU enough Rod and Brittany!

I drive a 2002 Subaru Forester and had a growling noise coming from the back of the car (turned out to be a wheel-bearing problem). To make the story short, I pulled out of Rod's with the problem fixed, at a cost LESS than the estimate, and will return there for any future service/repairs or just general questions. I am no longer afraid to walk into a car repair place and ask a question (fear of huge bills!). - Rod's reminds me of how auto repair used to be. Explanations about what is wrong and estimates that include REASONABLE labor and parts prices.

I will not be going back to the dealership for any service or repair work. - Rod gave me a free oil change with my repair work and offered me $25 credit for any friends that I recommend, which I will do so gladly. Not for the money, but rather because I know I'm sending friends to a repair place they can trust. Great place to take your vehicle, and I enjoyed seeing the pictures on the wall of the local teams that Rod's sponsors.