Hios General Auto Repair

I am a costumer of Hios Auto for the last 15 years. I live in Astoria Queens, and I do not care for the traveling, Jimmy John Rossy and the rest of the team, are very talented, respectful and HONEST people. Jimmy is not just the head mechanic, is the person who will look at you and give the same answer, that he was going to give to his family. to much bad criticism is just fishy! more

Honest about what needs to be done, what has to be done and what can wait. Although always busy, will work overtime to get your car back if you need it. Great customer service, the owner and his employees will bend over backward to assist you. And lastly, you never feel like an invoice number...every interaction has a personal touch. more

two words: honest and reliable. Jimmy goes out of his way to accommodate his customers. Save your time and effort look no further more

I am prompted to write this brief review because I feel the need to dispel the negative implications of Bob S.'s experience with Jimmy and Hios Auto Repair. There's no doubt in my mind that what he went through was the exception, and not the rule, to the way Jimmy takes care of business. My friend Big Sam, known as Sammy to Jimmy, and I have been availing ourselves of Jimmy's services for over twenty (20) years. We both characterize his work and the work of the staff he has assembled as exemplary and beyond reproach. Repairs have been diagnosed, remedies discussed and prices more than fair. Over the years we have recommended Hios Auto Repair and Jimmy in particular to family and friends. I even sent my mother-in-law to him when she had a problem with her Volvo, and while it crossed my mind to hope he would send her off without brake pads, she still speaks in glowing terms about the quality of service she received. This is not to say everything is perfect in the Hios world. On my last visit to get all four brakes done on my car, I noticed that Jimmy has turned the office into a rain forest. Trying to see Rose, always a pleasure, was difficult and my entreaties to get rid of the plants fell on deaf ears. In addition Jimmy has been trying to sell Sam and me his boat for over two decades, a proposition we have succeeded in always turning down, but he has changed his tactics on us and I noticed his inclusion of a crew with the sale. Apparently Jimmy is trying to make staff changes in a novel way. It's kind of refreshing to do business with an honest guy, and I can recomment Hios Auto Repair without reservation. My guess is that Jimmy doesn't need the work, but you'd be doing yourself and your car a favor by taking your business to him. Just try to overlook the jokes. Eric Palmer, New York City more

Add this shop to the list of places that will ruin your car. I had some work done there. Rear brakes - no problem. Starter motor replaced. Failed 11 months later and replaced for free. Again no problem. Very happy and satisfied. I had a water pump replaced in Dec '05. The mechanic stole my temperature probe out of my dashboard. I complained and Jim replaced it. OK. I paid $570 for this fiasco. They replaced both belts and tensioner. They did not call me to ask me about these. They also charged me for new anti freeze and a radiator cap. The car still has the old cap. I didn't complain because I figured the belts were old anyway. Not sure why I needed a new tensioner, though. I trusted them. In Jan '06, they did my front brakes. They left the lug nuts loose on the left front wheel !! The car had a little shimmy but it was really bad now. Took the car to Riverside Tires for a wheel balance and rotation. The lug nuts were hand tight. I was able to unscrew them myself by hand with the car jacked up. I then complained to Hios. I told them to fire the mechanic who worked on my car. Two weeks ago, I was checking my fluids. My new radiator is filled with rust. The cap is coated with rust. I then drained the system. The antifreeze was not green. It was red. I have worked on cars all my life and have changed a few water pumps in my time. I have never seen anything like this. I cannot believe the amount of corrosion that occurred in 5 months. I have taken very good care of this car. The coolant has always been a nice green color. I believe these idiots put Dexcool in my system without flushing it out. This is incompatible with the old green antifreeze, because it breaks down the rust inhibitors. How much damage they have done to my car I really don't know at this point. It's all apart in my driveway. I have to replace all the hoses. I will do the work myself. They should be thankful I am not taking their sorry asses to court. Bob S. Bergenfield, NJ more

excellent mechanic and very honest. he will figure out what's wrong and is reasonable with his prices. the problem is that the word is out; eveyone around knows he is honest reliable and busy busy. repairs can take longer than a day because everyone around uses him. if you got some patience you can rest assured he will only fix what's broken and will charge you a fair price more