Carol Stream, Oswego, Plainfield auto repair

I was driving out of my work parking lot and hit a well-placed pothole at the end of the lot. Next thing I know, it sounds like the bottom of my car dropped out and is now grinding itself to pieces on the asphalt. Yeah, I know nothing about cars, but I did figure out that the piece of car dragging along the ground was my muffler. Fantastic. My kind co-worker reattached the muffler with a coathanger (on a 90* day, on the hot asphalt, bless his little soul, and yes, I gave him a gift card for that), and sent me on my way.I stopped by Bartel's because it was on the way home from work. I told them the problem and asked if they could do it and give me an oil change at the same time. They said sure. They took my car in right away, on the spot, and told me it would take about an hour or so.They told me the screw had snapped in half in the hanger of the muffler and it needed to be drilled out, for which they charged me $30. They didn't charge me anything else than that and the oil change, which was $20-something bucks. My kindly coworker had told me the screw had snapped in half, so I know they weren't just going for a few extra bucks. Honesty is a plus.While I waited, I read their nice selection of magazines, talked to another client (whose wife I work with - small world), and drank several cups of coffee, which was pretty good. The waiting area was clean and comfortable, and their bathroom was clean as well, which is good to know when one ingests several free cups of coffee.I came out of there within an hour and a half or so, with an oil change and a rehung-muffler.The only reason I'm giving a star down is because, as other reviewers mentioned, they handed me a list of things I needed to get fixed as soon as possible. The list included roughly $1,000 worth of repairs. I've been to other shops in a few months worth of time, and no one gave me such a large list or such a nice big quote.I'm not sure whether or not my car really needs all these things, so I'm sure I'll take it somewhere and get a second opinion, so I can't say perhaps these things weren't truly necessary and they were really doing me a favor. I also have to give them credit for giving me this list AFTER having me pay my bill. They could have come out and tried to pressure me into getting all this done while they were fixing my car. But they didn't. So that's good.All in all, no major issues. I'd go back. :0)

I have only come here for oil changes but I love their service and they are very courteous. The price is good. I pay $25 for an oil change and that includes a tire rotation. This place is much better than these chain stores that are very impersonal and deliver half ass service. They have earned my loyalty and the first time I need some work done on my car other than oil change I will be taking my car there.

This place is great! They have always done a great job and surprise me with the quotes I've gotten for things such as brake replacements that were lower than I expected. Their oil change service is a little higher than some other places, but 1) it comes with a complete check on all your car's systems and 2) they always (if you live in the area) send out great coupons that knock the price down.That mentioned above, coupled with the fact that they have very long hours (7am-7pm M-F and 8am-4pm on Sat), earns this place 4-stars in my book. So, why the 5th star?They have a certain thing that is missing more and more from not only auto repair shops, but stores in general. This is a little something I call customer service. They have this in spades. Example: I was driving with my brother and we stopped to get our hair cut even though it was dangerously close to their closing time on Saturday. My brother drives pretty fast and we are dudes... so we could get in 2 haircuts in much less time than say a female getting the same. So, we risked it and would have made it save a massive traffice jam due to small strip of road construction that had just started that weekend.I called the place and apologized that we would be 15 minutes late to pick up my car. He said no problem... so, long story slightly less long: I show up an hour later and there he is waiting patiently. I felt terrible to be wasting his Saturday and yet he kept a smile and was nothing less an extremely curtious. He even offered me a bottle of water (it was a hot day).I don't know. This is more and more rare in my experience. Sure, maybe he went home and ripped me a new one to his wife or significant other... but that's what use to make American's working class great. You put in a hard day's work, busting your ass, and then you go home and it's either the topic of conversation at dinner while you enjoy your big piece of chicken... or you bond over that and similar stories with guys at the bar. Now it's: "hey, I'm tired and pissed off and every customer I meet today will feel my discontent, whether they contributed to it or not." Not here, however, I was a jerk, wasted his time, and still I recieved the "valued customer" treament. His reward? He receives my loyalty as a returning customer ...and this gushing endorsement on Yelp, of course.

They didn't try to sell us anything! Hubby just took his car in here for an oil change and to have the battery checked. He was also worried about the brakes and asked to have them looked at. They checked it out and told him he didn't need brakes or a battery, but he needed tires. There was no spiel for buying THEIR tires. They also fixed a rattle by putting a clamp on the muffler. All this for $33.93!He dropped the car off and it took 2 hours for this, so who knows how long it would take if he waited. Usually they are a little more speedy if you're sitting around. The inside of the facility is clean and it's pretty brand new. It's always hard to find a good mechanic, so check this place out if you need one!