Kev’s Auto in Allamuchy
Curious to see if anyone on here has any experience with using this mechanic to service their vehicles. Any good or bad reviews would be welcomed.
Brian 
SportKevin is absolutely "tops" as far as mechanics go! Been using him over 30 years at various places he worked before getting his own place. Honest and reasonable; there aren't many like him left out there. Won't "gouge" you on parts or labor. Great guy!!
Woz52 I had called on Kevin for yrs as a supplier and from all I ever heard - he Is Top Notch!
- friendly, very reasonable, and does Great work!
CommonSense 
Ziggy 
mel 
Mike 
wal 
Andy C wal
He is located at 29 Old Allumuchy Road. Place used to be Allamuchy Garage run by the Howie's. As to Kevin, he is a family friend and as several have said he is a good mechanic, fair with prices and honest. You can;t beat that combination.
I will NEVER use him again after what he did to me and my car. .Great mechanic, yeah good one. Maybe for very simple stuff like brakes, oil change, tire rotation. He can't even put brake lines in without destroying another part of your car. Terrible.
pampurr I've had major work done on my jeep by Kevin and he fixed it like a pro. We go to him for everything from major work to tires and oil changes. We will only go to him.
John C Pampurr, would you please expand on that? What exactly did he break while putting in new brake lines on your car? I’m assuming your car is pretty old as brake lines typically last 10 or more years. Was it possible that whatever was broken by him was already on the brink of falling apart and simply touching it turned it to dust? It’s a serious question. I’ve never heard of this guy and am not defending him, I’m just honestly curious because changing out brake lines isn’t exactly a difficult job like rebuilding an engine or transmission.
I have a Hybrid now and would never take this car to him for any kind of service period. I doubt he even has experience to fix EV's.
Very few mechanics have experience fixing EVs. So that’s not really an argument for why we need to avoid this one.
I don’t need a floundering technician to play around with my car and make it worse than what I originally brought it in for.
To be fair you'll need to be calm and specific as to what happened, otherwise you seem a bit unclear and emotional
So I wanted to wait to see what people had to say before I wrote this. Kevin has been working on my cars the last couple years. Work only consisted of oil changes and one brake job. He did fine and I always had my vehicle back the next day. A couple months ago my truck would not start so I called Kevin. He said have it towed up to him and he would look at it and get it fixed. I had it towed and didn’t hear from him for a week. I called him and left a message and didn’t hear back so I figured he was busy. I waited another week and made numerous calls and still never heard back. I went up there and he just gave me the run around said he was looking for used parts for it to be cheaper and said he was having issues with his phone (really!). So I gave him more time and called multiple times during the week for any updates. No response no call back. I have an out of state number but when I called on my (908) work number he picked up shocker. He gave me more run around. After a couple more weeks he finally calls me to tell me he had to have my truck towed up to Callaremi GMC because he couldn’t complete the job. Kevin lied to my face multiple times one being when he had my truck towed up there. He didn’t know I called them and got all the answers. 8 weeks Kevin had my truck for a fuel pump replacement. I picked my truck up and as soon as I start it up an error shows up on my dash about my 4 wheel drive. Kevin had no idea why and blames Callaremi. Kevin won’t pick up my phone calls again shocker. Kevin is a liar and I would never do business with him again. If you need an oil change or brakes that’s probably all he’s capable of. Terrible guy and terrible customer service. Also I’ve known Kevin for multiple decades from when he worked back with Camps Auto.
Ouch. Sounds like a nightmare situation.
On a separate note, I don't think much of Callaremi ( Johnson Group) either. I had a simple warranty issue on my Caddy with an oil leak (At 18K) that they botched by breaking a sensor connector that was part of the service procedure for the oil leak repair. I rarely have others conduct any service on my vehicles so I inspected the repairs immediately after picking up my car. Luckily since I am a skilled and informed mechanic myself ( their words) I detailed the error and how the damage occurred as well as how to preform the subsequent repair required to rectify their damage. They had no option but to comply. The point is it was an amateur mistake that the tech tried to conceal. That is a no no in my book.
Greg People look for honest opinions, this was my experience.
Took my car to him for pretty basic repairs, which he did well. In fact, he made short work of it, which I appreciated. Seemed a bit rough around the edges, but essentially a decent guy.
Couple of months later I needed him to look at a different issue. I have an older car and it is starting to cause frequent problems. I'm generally a DIY'er, but there are some things that I either don't have the tools, knowledge or both for.
I drove to his place and parked in his lot. He was in the garage tooling around but didn't look particularly busy. I stood beside my car waiting because I don't like to interrupt mechanics, he noticed me, but made no acknowledgment. So, after a few more minutes I approached him, and I could tell he was in a foul mood.
I said hello and reminded him that he had recently done some work for me, work that I was very happy with. But he was curt, asked me what I wanted, and told me that he didn't have time to spare, as he was very busy.
He then launched into a tirade about matters strictly personal to him, which I won't disclose here. I realized that for the foreseeable future there would be no dealing with him, so I just decided to have my car serviced elsewhere.
Bottom line for me?
Good and fair mechanic, but you'll have to put up with some moodiness, or worse. If you have no tolerance for varying levels of rudeness, he's not going to work for you. But if you want your car fixed without being ripped off, he's the guy for the job.
only one truth I’m fortunate to have late model, low mileage cars at the moment but when I did have older, higher mileage cars, I brought them to valley auto on main st. I can’t speak to their level of expertise on EVs and the like but I can tell you they replaced an input shaft on my 2007 Saab about 9 years ago. Well, a year went by and I called him because it seemed like I was having the same problem. He tells me over the phone that they fixed it only 11 months ago and he has a 1 years parts and labor warranty. Long story short(er) he fixed it again for $0. I had no idea about his warranty or exactly how long ago he fixed it the first time so, kudos to his honestly.
Brian,
I also know him personally from Camp's Auto Body. I was totally disgusted with his attitude and his lack of service.
He had my car for a month. Said he was sourcing the brakelines in Califorinia via internet. I am like WTF is this guy doing? Can't he source out brake lines closer than Cali? Never again.
I wish people would think before posting such vitriolic stuff on this site. Mechanics are people too.
First day on the internet ole'timer? LOL. I agree however. With fictitious screen names many folks throw stuff out they would never do under their real name or certainly in person.
I wanted to replace the timing built in my Subaru Outback, and made the mistake of going to Kevin. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. Kevin The 'mechanic' assured me that he was using top-quality parts and that he had done this multiple times. ~5 months later my engine sounded like a diesel lawnmower - when I took it to an emergency mechanic, they pulled out a visibly frayed timing belt and said that it was "hours away from slipping" and destroying the engine. When I called Kevin for an explanation, he refused to help me and refused to provide a refund (as guaranteed in the warranty.)
There's a reason alot of people don't go to him.
Stacy @Greg
Not sure who you are referring to, but if you are lumping me in there then you are way out of bounds.
I gave my HONEST opinion based on MY experience, an opinion that included both the good and the bad.
In the real world that's how it goes.
Vitriolic definition...filled with bitter criticism or malice.
If you or ole' timer think that my comments qualify for that label, then I'd say your perspectives need some adjusting.
Also, don't just assume that people wouldn't say these things if they were using their real names, at least in my case. I have no trouble confronting people to their face if I think it warrants it, but in my case it didnt reach that level, and because I recognized he had a personal issue he was dealing with.
I let it go, in other words.
I wasn't directing my comments to any particular post in this thread. I was just making a general statement about how most forums and sites that allow anonymous posting will often garner a response that most would not voice in person or with their true identity.
I too try to let things go but the older I get the less I seem to be willing or able to keep my opinions to myself. LOL.
Kevin does amazing work and you can’t take that away from him. He is a one man business so you have to expect that you will wait for your car or you will just have to go somewhere else. As for me I will always wait for Kevin to fix my cars. New or old I have NEVER has a issue with his work. If your dealing with a older car most people should know when you fix one problem you usually face another.
Just out of curiosity isn’t everyone entitled to have a bad day? The man runs his owns business, answers phones, and does his own ordering of parts. Cut him a break he is one trying to make a living just like the rest of us.
People sometimes things are better left unsaid. Don’t bash the man’s business that he built years making a name for himself. He is one of the most loyal mechanics left. You want to go somewhere where you will pay labor rates through the roof and get shotty work then go and pay but you will always go back to your roots (Kevin) to fix it!
There are more good comments here then negative so don’t let the bad eggs ruin this man’s reputation.
Car FACTS Quick scroll through this post- not pointing fingers but here is my thoughts-
I am a car / bike / anything with an engine enthusiast.
I have been playing with things from a lawn mower powered mini-bike to go cart to dirt bike to actual motorcycle to quad / jetski / car / truck / you name it.
I have my own lift in my own home garage- currently own numerous cars, numerous motorcycles...and that is NOW- don't ask about total in my life.
I also work in a job that fixes things- unrelated to cars/bikes- but similar in lots of different units and causes / solutions.
Lets just say- I would NOT want to be a mechanic- not just 20-25-30 years ago but ESPECIALLY today-
Average consumer still thinks in 1990 (at best) mind set- and doesn't have ANY idea what complexity exists on modern stuff. They want 'not a dealer' price- but complain about cost and time.
If those people had to try to do the same business themselves- they would fail immediately.
Josh I replied to this with two words, the best! I have recommended him to many coworkers that all enjoy his work, honesty, and pricing. He always gives me multiple options OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer parts or NAPA/Rock Auto. OEM parts can easily be double the price. The past three years car parts and many items have been hard to find. Kev always let's you know up front if there might be a delay. I have seen him on many occasions make road/house calls to get people out of trouble. He is a one man show and he will close his shop to help people out. Who else would ever do that!!!
@ Fishmaker01. No it had nothing to do with parts. Kevin is untrustworthy in the fact that he doesn’t return phone calls, gives no updates to what he’s doing or what is going on with your vehicle. He had my truck for 8 weeks and only called me to tell me he towed my truck to get it fixed by someone else. I was never told parts were delayed or were back ordered. I was told nothing because he never answered or returned my phone calls. I even left a note on one of his drop slips for dropping vehicles off and still never got a call back.
Babbit Come On already. He had my car for a month, and put a hole in my gas tank. When asked about the fumes in my car he said do not fill the tank up. That was the fix?!
If you call that trustworthy and DEPENDABLE your crazy. He does not stand by his work. In retrospect he needs to find a job with a legit business not a one man band.
Totally agree with Josh. Working on cars isn’t like it used to be.
So cool you have your own lift. That’s what keeps me from doing my own oil changes on my wife’s BMW. As I’ve gotten older my days of jacking up cars and crawling under them to remove 27 screws to take down the lower plastics parts is over.
Steve I don't bother doing oil changes on anything other than lawn care equipment and cycles when I had them . For what it costs for 5 quarts of oil and a filter these days going to Valvoline in P'burg or the place next to the car wash in Budd Lake it isn't a whole lot more . About 31 bucks with a coupon . I prefer Valvoline as they will also check all your lights , blinkers , and wipers - what the inspection station used to check and doesn't anymore . They also gave me a tip on my(sometimes) sticking hood latch .
Drive in , drive out , and they will also put the service on your Carfax/Autocheck report - something not every mechanic or even car dealer will do . Clinton Toyota kept my Tacoma for 6 months to replace the frame under a recall and simply listed it as vehicle serviced . Yeah a 17 thousand dollar service not to mention Toyota Corp's cost of supplying me with an Enterprise rental truck for that period at no cost to me . Still can't believe they paid for all that , brand loyalty is obviously important to them . But I'll probably kick the bucket before that truck does .
97XBAM My wife had her car in for an oil change one time- and when I went to the driveway the next day- I noticed a large square dent in the rocker panel- yes, they lifted the car in the wrong spot..and didn't tell her.
Another time her car came back with the belly pan dragging.
My sister had a drain plug stripped- leaking oil until the low level alarm went off. When she brought it back- they tapped the pan threads and put in a larger bolt. Instead of a new oil pan as they should have. (aluminum).
And that is just oil change horror stories..I have countless others from friends & family from mechanical work.
You said...
"There are more good comments here then negative so don’t let the bad eggs ruin this man’s reputation".
I can only speak for myself of course, but I seriously doubt most people get their kicks from leaving critical comments or reviews about someone or their business.
Since when does giving an account of your personal experience qualify as being unfair or too harsh? Obviously, not everyone's experience will be the same, hence the reason for reviews and evaluations. Yes, everybody has their own way of expressing their opinions, but that just goes with the territory.
I'm the first person to take everything into account when it comes to leaving a review on anything or anyone. I'm not in this to destroy anybody, I don't think most people are, and I certainly know what it's like to "have a bad day" (or worse) while at work, which everyone is entitled to. I certainly know that I wouldn't want to be judged by that day alone.
As with any business, privately owned or otherwise, there are patterns that develop, for better or worse, and then there is everything in between. That's what reviews are for, or word of mouth. It's our job to distinguish between the real and the false information, and to always take everything with a grain of salt.
Whenever someone asks me for my opinion on something, I never provide that opinion in absolute terms, because that opinion is based on MY EXPERIENCE exclusively. It wouldn't be fair to say something like, "don't ever go there", or "don't ever eat there", solely based on my own (subjective) experience.
You simply cannot expect that everyone is going to have the same experience that you did, regarding anything. That's why, conversely, if you have had nothing but good experiences with something, it's not fair to be critical of people who haven't, as you need to allow for that possibility. You can't attack people (bad eggs?) for the experience they had, and you didn't.
Each and every one of us is responsible for our own reputations, be it in business or life in general. Generally, if that reputation is good, it cannot be damaged by random criticism. If that reputation is not good, then it probably can't be sugar coated.
Bottom line...to each his own.
Many people praise Kev's work. He may be a good overall mechanic, but he couldn't properly diagnose a problem (electrical) in my car. Diagnostic he, presumably used, is "proper" and in accord with manuf. repair manual, but it didn't solve my problem, leading to wasting money for unnecessary parts and repairs.
How do I know? I repeated the diagnostic tests myself, which suggested to "replace a computer", but.... replacing computer didn't solve the problem.
How was the problem fixed? With the help of ordinary DIY auto mechanics, who helped me with their valuable advices and proper tests. The problem was in damaged/deteriorated wiring.
This doesn't mean, that Kev is a bad mechanic, it only means that in this particular situation, he did diagnostic "by the book", but it wasn't correct approach and didn't lead to fixing the problem.
Pyc Josh,
You're right about complexity of today's cars.
The auto mechanics supposed to be knowledgeable about these (mostly electrical/electronic) fields, too.
Most 'consumers" do think 'in their 90's", but they pay today's prices....
We may end up with auto mechanic specialists, like doctors - pediatrics (new cars), orthopedics (wheels, tires), cardio vascular (fuel, ignition), neurosurgeons (wiring etc), psychiatrists (software IT)...
"He may be a good overall mechanic, but he couldn't properly diagnose a problem (electrical) in my car. Diagnostic he, presumably used, is "proper" and in accord with manuf. repair manual, but it didn't solve my problem, leading to wasting money for unnecessary parts and repairs."
Odd ball stuff happens.
I work in a field fixing customers problems with a wide variety of issues- and if the problem isn't fixed- I don't charge for the repair / parts / shipping / labor.
Unfortunately doctors, lawyers, and yes mechanics still get paid for 'we tried' which is a crock of s in the way I was brought up.
My wife had a car with an issue- we had to towed to a shop- they said they didn't say anything wrong so wanted permission for the tech to drive it home and back to work so they could replicate the issue. Ok fine. Well- they had the car for 2 weeks commuting / joyriding- told us there was nothing wrong- and charged us $800.
That's not how I live my life.
Don't want someone tailgating you? Don't tailgate others.
Don't want someone cutting you off? Don't do to others.
Don't want someone speeding past your house? Same answer.
Etc - etc....
Josh, they charged you $800 in diagnostics for you letting their mechanic save miles on his car for two weeks? Sheesh, that should have either been a wash since they couldn’t figure it out or MAYBE one hour of labor billed. Sorry that happened to you. At least you know never to use that particular service shop again.
Josh,
That'll be great, if you'll post the name of that shop, that screwed you up for $800.
They, probably, knew, that, if you'll abject their charge, they will hold your car "hostage" and demand more money for "storage". Also, they suspect, that you don't have enough time and courage, and knowledge to sue them in small claims court or don't have funds to retain (hire) a lawyer to go after the shop.
But,,,, but, if you have many trusted friends or relatives they could chip in and hire a lawyer. When (if) that happens, the news will spread, letting other "criminal" shops be more "accurate and polite" and, god forbids, honest!
Your last four lines about "treat others as you'd want to be treated" only applies to the like-minded people. Others will ignore your "wishes" and do just the opposite.
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