Ming's Auto Repair — Attraction in Boston

Ming has been servicing my cars for six years. I have taken my Audi to him for that long and he has always been punctual, honest and incredibly efficient. He uses top shelf oils and materials, but will make an effort to use cheaper materials, asking you what budget you have and providing different estimates for different wallets. He has never pushed for services the car didn't need. He has never pushed for a more expensive part, when a cheaper one was available, unlike pretty much all mechanics I've had in the past.

Every time Ming services your car, he has it detailed before returning it to you at no additional cost. That seems like nothing, but it goes a long way to making you feel that you are getting back a new car. I love driving my car away from his shop, it always feels great.

Ming has also been servicing my Jeep Cherokee XJ for two years now. I bought the car used as a back up car and for the snow, and it has had a number of problems peculiar to its model, including a recurring engine light, a non-functioning AC and rust, all of which are common in New England and with this particular model. Ming has made my Jeep run like a dream! He has extended its life, made it run tight and checked from time to time by email to know how it's running. That is not your average mechanic!

He has accommodated my schedule on multiple occasions, rushed to return my car if I needed it, and provided a ride home when no one was available to drive me back.

I am not a person who trusts people easily, but I am grateful to have met Ming and I can say without a doubt that I trust him as a professional and as a person.

The last service involved oil change, muffler swap (with a special muffler I acquired online), check for availability of fog light wiring, reload and fix AC, check error codes in engine light and return a diagnosis.

Ming swapped the muffler and used the pipe the car already had in order not to charge me for extra muffler pipe (expensive). He welded the new muffler in and adapted it to the car, with custom brackets.

He changed the oil and checked engine light codes, which returned a gas evap problem and a couple of other more cryptic issues. Ming fixed the first problem with a new gas cap and addressed the other problems by checking cylinders and ensuring the engine was not misfiring. He then test drove the car for a number of days to make sure that the problems did not resurface.

The AC was found to be leaking freon (the gas that allows it to make cool air). Instead of charging me for an expensive UV check and then for more expensive AC parts replacements, Ming reloaded the freon in the AC with a dye, which will allow for easy spotting of the leak at the next service. This way, I have a functioning AC for the rest of the summer and the guarantee that the leak will be sealed at little cost to me, the next time I bring it in for an oil change.

Lastly, I asked Ming to check if the car had fog light wiring ready to be used to install a couple of OEM fog lamps I bought on ebay. He checked and told me that the wiring was not present and that therefore he wouldn't install the lights. Another mechanic would have rigged up a wire and relay and charged me for the time, but Ming is honest and he reported the truth so I was able to make a decision.

The car was returned to me in great shape, detailed and running like new. As usual, a pleasure to drive.

Later in the week, Ming emailed me to ask how the car was running and if the engine light problem had returned. That is the sort of care and feedback that you will get at this great shop. I recommend him...

came here a year ago, wrote this review on yelp but forgot to write an review on google but First time and last time customer here. TLDR, the shop will squeeze you for every last drop of money you can give and feels predatory towards people who don't know what should be done. If youre someone who is cost conscious and don't want to feel preyed on just because you lack the technical knowhows of cars, I suggest you stay away. Came into the shop with a check engine light and a p0171 error code on my acura rdx. Shop kept pushing for a diagnostic and I went with it putting my trust in their hands. They found that the problem turns out to be a busted air vent to which they charged 146$ for labor and 104$ for part to fix(these parts goes for around 20$ on autozone). After that fix was done, a new flashing check engine light comes on with error code p0304. Shop tells me that its most likely an ignition coil issue and quotes me a whopping 610$ to fix that (292$ on labor, 250$ on part, and 50$ on supplies) and it was at this point that I suspected that this shop is a complete rip off for customers who are cost conscious. I called around the area and multiple shops says that they charge way less than the quote Mings gave me. (other shops around charged 200) Also I realized that you would do need to move a part of the engine to get to the ducts for the first initial fix. Shop claims its an act of god, but I think its pretty rational to think that maybe while working on the ducts, the technician inadvertently did something to set off this new alarm because the two systems are so close to each other. No accountability whatsoever. I mean it would have made a lot more sense and honest of them if they had just said "maybe it was a matter of time before any mechanic opened this up and set it off, we were just unlucky it was us who opened it." Im just thinking why would I pay close to 300 for labor if they cant even guarantee that they wont break another part of my car. Given their track record, its not like they can justify their high cost. And for full transparency, Cory did say that the car felt like it was "driving in mud" when I first dropped off the car with just the p0107 error code, but from my experience my car hasn't really changed in performance since I got my car long before the error code showed up. Also to their credit they are completely upfront with their costs. Just make sure you ask for a detailed invoice at the end breaking down the final costs because they were originally going to charge me over 500$ (could've been an honest mistake but im wondering how many of these honest mistakes arent caught if the customers don't...

I have been a loyal customer of Ming’s since I moved to Boston in 2012 and appreciate his service and skill. My latest experience was disappointing and stressful - the mechanical work likely is very sound, however the communication from the shop To ask for consent and provide an estimate was scattered and excessive. When given and estimate on repairs and asked to confirm the work, the estimate was incomplete and appeared to be roughly 300. There was a frantic email regarding a change in part that had to be replaced and calibrated with no additional info on cost or update to the original estimate. This email was not seen (and therefore not confirmed to continue with the work) yet the shop moved forward without updates on cost. When I picked up the car, with the work already completed, the actual cost came to 726. I was blindsided, shocked, and embarrassed having been estimated less than half that cost and not seeing any update between my consent and the work being completed and was not prepared to make that payment. When we brought this to the shops attention, the worker became awkward and wanted to resolve the issue without his boss knowing. The worker did lower the cost…allegedly paying cash out his own pocket…, but repeatedly asked me not to tell the boss about it….that it was “between us”. I have trusted Ming for over a decade but this whole exchange left me feeling cheated, taken advantage of, and stuck in an incredibly uncomfortable and unprofessional situation. I was allowed to pay half at pick up and the rest when I was next paid, but the stress , frustration, and discomfort on top of the entirely unexpected cost, makes me feel as if I can’t return to this shop.

Had the shop confirmed the excessive increase in cost (from the ~300 expected when we first spoke to the 726 final cost) and waited for my response on next steps, I would not have had them make that repair. The car was working without that specific repair and I had made it clear that keeping the cost low was important for me at this time.

Ming’s work has always been sound, but the experience working with this shop, after 10 years of being a customer, makes it so I am unable to return...