Shade Tree Garage — Local services in Morristown

I love taking my car to these people because they know how to listen to women. They have women on staff, as customer service representatives and mechanics, and speaking to them is not a struggle. I can communicate with them more easily - the way it should be - and it makes for a less stressful experience. In other words, I don't need a man there with me to translate everything or 'mansplain'. Speaking with the staff at Shade Tree is unlike the experiences I had with male mechanics and customer service representatives at brand dealership repair shops, where in their eyes being a woman is the reason for your mechanical issues. I simply paid the extra expense to have a specialist do the same work at Shade Tree to avoid being treated that way by the brand repair shops. I also don't have to schedule days in advance or take a number, which is what I had to do at the large Toyota dealership down the road. I never go more than a day without my car.

We've been taking our car to them for years, and it's usually same day service; just drop the car off, and they'll notify you of the progress same day. They are always polite and not rough around the edges (or tired looking) like most small business mechanics. They continue the conversation while you wait in the office, even asking how your family is doing, and you can actually gain a friendship with the people who are fixing your car. They're also not single-mindedly focused on sales and profit. Their small size is an advantage. When I brought my Toyota to the local Toyota dealership's repair shop, I was another customer on a conveyor belt, where I had to enter my information into a computer to schedule a repair two weeks in advance. If I need same day service, I get it with Shade Tree. They also tell you costs and problems in advance because they know how to communicate.

These people have a soul, and I like giving my business to this garage because some of the money goes back into the community: they sponsor sports teams (they sponsored my soccer team almost two decades ago), and they are always involved in the town parades. They also hold free community education programs, such as state standard child safety seat installment or introduction to mechanical parts for women, among others.

I have only ever been treated with politeness and professionalism by the staff, but they are easy going and friendly enough. When I ask to have them explain something they are doing, they take the time to show me in the garage. If you bring enough service to them you get coupons in the mail for money off of future work, and sometimes they will give loyal customers free oil changes. The layout of the office allows a lot of light and is spacious; the office is also separate from the garage, which is in the rear, so you don't have to walk through the garage to get to the office.

These are good people who stand by their work, and ultimately I know I am getting very satisfactory work from them. I never had to bring a car back to them for the same problem twice. They conduct themselves with the same quality of service you would see in a large brand-name dealership, but they are your neighborly approachable...

(Editing after I saw the response)

Yes, I was a regular to the shop for my Engine related trouble until my visit in Feb 2021. The Engine related work from the guys here is usually very good and worth the money paid for it, my 2 stars go to that. The reason for low rating(not adding any more stars) for me is due the the treatment I received upon picking up the car, after the repair work was done I was told that car drives "beautifully" at the time of pickup and thats what I expected as it was major issue and pretty big bill. When I took the car out on the highway I immediately noticed that it was driving/shaking horribly at any speeds above 50mph. I brought the car back and the services tech(I spoke to management before and not the service tech) informed me that yes "it drives horribly above 40Mph". He already knew this and had informed the management team, probably due to bent in the wheels (which was not the issue when I brought the car in for Engine repair work- not noted at all on the initial report as well). The management guys got extremely defensive and conversation started getting quite hot, and I didn't feel like engaging in that, so just walked away frustrated. My only point was why would you let me drive off after spending $3k and not tell me about additional expense of $400. Anyway, I got the work done outside. I wrote an email about this in detail to the Management later since I didn't really want to put up a rating and give out bad reviews. I got a response from them asking for phone number for a call, which I provided but never got the call back, which is when I put up the rating. Anyway, this was over 2 years ago...

My Volvo had a check engine light come on, so I had taken it to several garages and even the dealership before landing at Shade Tree.

Shade Tree treated me like a person with car troubles, rather than an opportunity to generate revenue.

When I took my car to Shade Tree, I was immeadiately greeted by the front desk Admin, Marge - who is an absolute sweetheart. She kept me notified every step of the way. Marge also never got annoyed when I’d call to check in, she was incredibly patient, understanding, helpful and knowledgeable - which was incredibly comforting.

When it turned out my car was going to take longer than expected; Marge offered a loaner car at an incredibly affordable rate.

I also had the opportunity to speak with the head mechanic Jimmy, who is as straight of a shooter as there is. Jimmy took the time to explain what was going on with my car, what needed to be fixed now, and what could wait. Which in this day, is rare.

The cost was cheaper than the dealership and what other garages were charging. I was given notifications round the clock, and felt absolutely at peace with my car being there.

It’s a good feeling to know I have a garage I can trust, and I can say that confidently...