Salamis Service Station

The SCAM artists !!! \r The WORST repair shop in NYC.\r The shop was recommended by AAA in emergency, they are running typical NYC scam where they held your car hostage and then add unnecessary repairs and charge triple for it!!!\r Under any condition come to this place - save yourself some money!!! more

I HIGHLY recommend this shop. It is great to know that if my car gets damaged, I have partners who I know I can trust, and will deliver an excellent product at a great price. If I have any issue with my car, I will bring it Salamis. Example: I have a BMW and damaged the side skirt 4 years ago. A mechanic replaced it with the wrong one, and three autobody shops + BMW wanted to charge me just to try to FIND OUT what the right part was! Noone could actually identify what the new part was. I drove with this slight imperfection for 3 years. A year ago, I step into Salamis, and they identify the right part in 10 minutes: it was BMW ""M-Style"" side skirt- not M, not original! Subsequently, they have fixed all of my dents, dings and repairs seamlessly. Great to know there are autobodies that you can trust. more

My car was hit in the rear on that freak snow day this past Halloween. Tony's Tow Truck came and got me and brought the car to Salamis in Long Island City, NY. They walked me thru the whole process since this was the first claim with auto insurance I have ever made in 22 years of driving. We called GEICO, told them what happen, and all 3 parties went thru it all together. I got the police report and faxed it to Salamis and GEICO and the process started. Salamis even helped me with my temporary car rental while I waited for my car to be repaired. These guys were on top of their game. GEICO was a little slow at first but once the inspector came out it was then off to the races and I had my car back within a week. When I picked it up on a Saturday late afternoon, I couldn't beleive my eyes. It looked brand new like the day I bought it. Not only was the repair of excellent quality, these guys even detailed the entire car from head to toe inside and out to make it shine when I got it back. more

after calling aaa and waiting almost 2 hours for someone to show up who seemed to be interested only in towing my car, i called infinity service because my car wouldn't start. they sent someone from tony's towing (salamis auto service). the truck was too high to fit in the lincoln center garage, so they called the owner, sal, who drove in from queens to deal with the problem. he figured out that the problem was that the alarm system had malfunctioned and unscrewed the battery and reset it and voila-everything worked. refused to take any $$ for it and could not have been more helpful or more accomodating. find it hard to believe that service this good really exists. thanks. more

I can't speak for anyone else, but I locked my keys in my car (electronic locks) and was on Randall's Island. I figured it would take hours to get help, but AAA contacted Tony's Towing/Salamis and they were there within 35 minutes. With the correct tools and know-how, it took about 60 seconds to open the door. The guy who came was polite and very nice, so not only do I have NO complaints, I was VERY pleased with Tony's. more

The worst place in Queens for car repair. DO NOT USE!!!! They cheat you openly. I complained to AAA and Consumer Affairs, and I will bring them to court. 0 stars (or negative stars if they were allowed). more

I could not started my car and called AAA. Tony's Towing Service was near and came in a short time. I was brought to an repair shop with a AAA sign, called Salamis Service Station. It ended up with a repair fee of $600. I don't know if I had a good job done, but to my dismay, the shop tried to replace my battery, which I just bought brand new a week ago. more

This is a solid place- best shop I found in NYC. What can I say, they did the job they said they would, charged decent prices, and did it quickly. I've got an old car- at one point I was taking a road trip but the muffler was rubbing on the body. I stopped by, they threw it up on the lift, fixed the problem in 5 mins then told me it was on the house, and good luck on the road trip. That's the kind of service I like... more

Worst repair service. Car wouldn't start so the owner insisted it was both the battery (which was less than a year old) and the alternator. Then he quoted a price for the parts that was incredible gouging--4 times the price anywhere else. When I mentioned I wanted to take it out because others charged less he immediately said he'd meet their price. This seemed fine, but when I got the car back they had lost a hose, and ended up taking my car back, keeping it for two weeks, then giving it back filthy. Felt like a huge con from the start. more

On Saturday evening my car stalled out and I had to call AAA, they sent a tow truck from Tony's Towing over and he gave me a jump. It seemed very iffy that it would hold the charge, so I drove it a bit and he followed me over to Salamis (where Tony's Towing is based.) The man at the station was very nice, took my key and I left the car there for an estimate. He told me someone would give me a call when the estimate was complete. On Monday, I got a call from someone else and he said that it was a problem with the alternator and quoted me $500. I knew this was a gouged price and I told him to hold off on the repair while I weighed my options. I called an hour later to tell them I'd decided I didn't want the repair done. I planned on junking the car. He informed me that there had been a mix up, and they'd already performed the service. There were two cars similar to mine, and they did the service on the wrong car. I told him again that I did not want the service and he said that he would undo the repair, but that if he did that, he would charge me nearly the equivalent to the repair cost in storage and diagnostic fees. Basically, there was no way for me to get around giving them a large sum of money. At this point, the car had only been at the shop for less than 2 days, but they were charging me for 3 days (counting Saturday and Monday as full days.) The man, who was the owner, called me several times after that, getting in arguments with me. Finally, I ended up picking up the car, just to get it over with. They forced me to pay in cash, and when I got the car back, it looked as if someone had spit chewing tobacco on the windshield. So, there you have it. more

I read the mostly good reivews on here and other sites such as yelp and google so I thought I would give them a go. Big mistake. I was waaaay overcharged for a realtively simple mechanical repair job. I mean I was charged double compared to other shops that I quoted with afterwards (just to make sure considering the high price that Salamis charged me). They were a bit too pushy pushy on the quote with no room for negotiation or price break. They even mentioned that they gave aaa discount which seemed like total nonsense since the final price was double what I should have paid. My mistake for going there and being suckered in, please do not make the same mistake as I did and take your car for repairs someplace else. more

I was extremely happy with the work done on my camry at Salamis. They paid as much attention to me and my 10 year old car as they would to a brand new bmw. They explained to me the work that needed to be done in layman's terms, and they made sure i was completely on board before they started. This is my only car, so i had trouble getting a ride to and from the shop after i took it. They volunteered to drive me home and to pick me up the next day when the work was done. They didnt have any tow trucks available to pick me up the next day, but the owner's son was nice enough to pick me up in his own car. He said he did that for customers on a daily basis, which really surprised me (in a good way!! ) I greatly recommend this service station if you want to be treated like a human being and not a bill. Pros: friendliness, clarity of what work is done more

We broke down in Queens on our 1 day trip to the city. AAA towed us to this garage (we didn't know where else to go or if there were other garages opened). They told us it wasn't the battery, but something else. All in all, I watched the men work at my car for 30 minutes tops and then got charged for 2 hours worth of labor! I tried to dispute this, but no luck. I am a grandmother and they knew that they could take advantage. They also knew I was out-of-state and basically had no options. I paid and left the city. I urge you to wait, call AA and ask for other garages around town. Also, if you have a phone with internet, check reviews for the garage. If I would have, I wouldn't have gone to this garage...nor will I ever go again. BE WARE of overcharging! Cons: Overchargers! more

I got stuck three days ago with my car and i got the phone number for this repair shop on line. I called them to see if they can help me with my car and they did. They sent me a tow truck to pick up my car called tonys towing. The truck took my car to the repair shop(salamis repair center) and left it there for it to be looked at in the morning. They called me the next day with what the problem was. I called them back a while later and gave them the ok to fix it. when the car was finished they called me to let me know and even picked me up from my house. I got my car it runs great and they didnt even charge me for the tow truck that brought me into the shop. good work and fast.................. Pros: fast repairs and prices are competative more

i got stuck with my car a few weeks ago and i called AAA. They sent out Tonys Towing Service to help me. The driver tried to start my car but could not. the driver then asked me if i had a mechanic of my own to go to, i dindt, Then he offered to take me to the AAA authorized center (salamis service center) i said ok. After we got to the center they checked my car for the problem and told me my fuel pump was not working. They gave me the price and it seemed ok, but i also called my father back home, my father works for a ford dealership in service, just to get an idea of what it should cost, just to make sure i was not being taken for a ride. He told me that the price was reasonable. i then gave the ok to fix my car. They even offered to take me home so i woudn't wait around for hours. After it was finished the next day, they called me and offered to pick me up and take me there, GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE. They explained in detail about my warranty on the bill and explained in detail what was repaired. GREAT PLACE FOR AUTO SERVICE KEEP UP THE PROFESSIONALISM................... Pros: great service, reasonable prices, respectfull people more

A few days ago i got stuck with my car while driving and i called AAA. They sent Tonys Towing to service me.The driver arrived saw my car he tried to give me my car a jump tothe battery. The car started then he saw the battry light was on the dashboard and told me that it was a sign of the car not charging.Tthe driver offered to take me to the AAA authorized service center (salamis Service Center) i said ok being it was late at night and it AAA authorized. The next day they i they picked me up from my house in astoria, i wanted to be there when they looked at my car.They put a machine on it to test it. Then they told me my charging system was down, they gave me a price for the repair. Being that i just moved to the neigborhood about 8 months ago i ask a few friends if they ever herd of this place being that they were AAA members as well. One of them said yes and that he had gotten good service from them before. I went ahead and gave the ok to fix my car. They then had someone drive me back home becase it was going to take a few hours to fix. After a few hours they called me to tell me my car was finished and if i would like ride ride back to the center. i picked up my car and it has been fine ever since ....... good place to get your car serviced or repaired Pros: good service and price more

I had to call AAA a while back to get my car towed. When they finally called me to come get my car TWO WEEKS later The labor alone was over $500. They even had the nerve to charge me storage on the vehicle. I do know a thing or two about cars and even some of the local garages near their business told me I had paid ""WAY TOO MUCH"" DO NOT USE THESE CROOKS!!! Cons: Bunch of crooks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! more

wow! my car died this morning in front of my house. called AAA and within 20 minutes a tow truck was there. towed me to their place. had an alternator problem. these guys took me home so i didn't' have to wait around! they called me an hour later told me my battery wasn't charging. explained it in detail but i dont know much about cars so i can't really explain it. told me the prices, didn't seem to bad. car was ready within 2 hours of getting to the garage. they even came and picked me up. no other garage i've ever been to ever did that! the guy at the front desk was so nice, sat there joking around with me and making me feel so comfortable being there. highly recommended! the only complaint i have is that the soda machine was out of soda! i'm bringing my car back there to get all the dings and dents out. excellent place. Pros: explain everything to you more

I got stranded a few years ago and called AAA. Took my car over to Salamis Service Center and was shocked at the size of this garage. I was driving along and drove over a massive pothole. My two left side tires literally exploded. Upon reaching the garage, I had an estimate in minutes. The guys at the garage even offered me a ride home. I was so grateful, especially since it was freezing outside and did not look foward to taking the train home. I received a phone call from them the same day. They explained to me that my tires had been replaced but the pothole damaged my suspension. They gave me a price quote, and being the skeptical new yorker that i am, I called another garage to compare prices. I was happy to see that not only was i NOT being over charged, but i was being charged less. Not only was my car ready in no time, but they even picked me up from my house, returned all my parts, put my car on the lift, showed me all the repairs that were done, and gave me a NATIONWIDE guarantee for parts and labor through AAA. I was so happy with this place that I have been a loyal customer ever since and have recommended this place to anyone I know that needs any repairs done to their car. Pros: nice people, quick service, they take you home AND pick you up more

This is the worst garage in New York! I have never had such a horrible experience with a company before. The entire organization is completely unprofessional. My car broke down and I contacted AAA. Tony's towed my car to Salamis. After a couple of hours, I called them and they told me what was wrong and gave me an estimate of $650. Of course a few hours later they called and said there was another problem. I asked how much that would cost and they said $750. They kept my car overnight and my wife stopped by the garage the following evening to pick up the car. She was met by the rudest and most unstable counter woman ever. There was an additional charge on the bill that I received and the estimate was outrageous. My wife agreed to pay for the work that I agreed to have done but would not pay for the unnecessary work that was added that I did not agree to have done. The woman went ballistic and yelled and screamed at my wife for not wanting to pay. My wife called me and I listed to this crazy woman rant over the phone. The mechanics in the garage belittled my wife as well and she was forced to leave the car and walk almost 2 miles home in the cold weather and at night here in Queens. I went to the garage the next day and spoke with the managers. I refused to pay the additional work that I did not agree to and by law I did not have to. The work did not need to be done and they just did it to run up the bill more. Since the law was in my favor, they had to let me go without paying the additional charge. My bill was still over $800, far above the estimate that was given. After the ordeal, I researched the garage online. A website that has other customer complaints came up proving that there are other customers out there that had the same experience as I did. So whatever you do, do not go here. Cons: the garage is full of cons more