United Car Care Center

Reviews

Reviews are sorted by relevance, with the most helpful and insightful feedback listed first for easy reference.

  D C
6 months ago
Restraining myself from giving a one star because the coolant replacement and serpentine belt job was fine. I might use them again for simple stuff but not an axle repair.My rear axle pinion seal failed, leaving me stuck on the I459 so I had AAA tow it to United since it was close by and they had a good reputation. They recommended a used axle rather than rebuilding it. They got a used axle that they admitted looked bad (rusty and water inside the case). But they claimed they inspected it and it was fine. It was not. Noisy and leaked. They proposed to swap it out with another used axle from the same supplier. Some deal (noisy and leaked). They charged me to replace seals on their 2nd junky axle when I complained. So I think I paid somewhere under $2000 for an axle that continued to make noise. I finally had enough and went to Jeff's transmissions in Bessemer. He got me a low-mileage used axle and installed it for less than United. It's been perfect.So my advice, don't use them if they want to replace your engine, transmission or axle with a used one. If there's an issue they will only give a half-hearted attempt to make it right.

  Sam Rich
10 months ago
This place is extraordinarily helpful. I brought my car in during a very busy time and they made me feel like a priority. Steve was very polite and easy to talk to. I saved a good portion of money through this company's genuine work and dedication to care for their customers. I highly recommend this place to anyone who needs any type of car work.Services: Tires, Brakes, Brake service & repair

  Chris Germain
8 months ago
I'm not typically a reviewer. I almost never leave google reviews but Steve and his crew at United Car Care are amazing. They worked so hard to get our Jeep fixed, were upfront about pricing and timeframe and did everything top notch. I won't take my vehicles anywhere else

  Clarence
10 months ago
I originally took my car to a different shop down the street. They diagnosed the issue, but said it was too large of a job for them to do and recommended United Car Care. United was able to do the job very quickly and at a fair price. Overall a great experience.

  Susan Johnson
3 years ago
Excellent service! It was recommended by AAA that I take my car to United Car Care Center in Vestavia. I had never been to this business establishment before; but was very pleased when I met Steve. The car was towed by AAA because I was informed that I needed a new alternator. After Steve and his team did the diagnostic check, I was notified that I did NOT need a new alternator. I was very pleased that they were honest with me and told me the truth. All I needed was a new battery! Steve went above and beyond to make sure I was a happy customer; and now I told him that I will become his customer in the future! . . . . I introduced my daughter to Steve when she called me from the side of the road, after a car part from the car in front of her flew under her car causing damage. AAA towed her car to Steve and I asked him to take care of my daughter s car. I wanted it to be safe for her to drive, being a single Mom. I knew I could trust Steve to treat us like family; and he did. Within 24 hours her car was ready. Steve is reliable, honest, and takes care of his customers!

  Josh Clark
8 months ago
Beautiful work. I d been trying to get my brakes and steering fixed for a year. One mechanic botched it, the dealership wanted to gouge me, and another garage misdiagnosed and said it was totaled. I brought it to UCC as a last resort, and Steve found the problem and had it totally fixed within a day. 650 for a job that I thought would run me 3 grand. Recommend to anyone and everyone

  Emma Fasking
a year ago
My parents have used this place back when it was Carl s and they always loved them which is why my mom recommended I take my car here.Last week the check engine light came on and I could hear a horrible noise when I pressed the accelerator. I got diagnosed with a faulty VCT(?) solenoid which is quite a pricey fix apparently. At least the Ford dealership wanted to charge me $1700 for it. But they also wanted to change the back one and do a tube up and no matter how much back and forth I wasn t leaving there without being charged less than $700, something I CANNOT swing, especially in this economy. I called up this place and Steve answered, he super kind and helpful even over the phone and said I could bring it on by. After telling him all I ve been dealing with and what I was diagnosed with he took my keys and told me he d call me back when they have a game plan. The next day he called me back to tell me they want to try flushing my system and giving me more oil (he explained why in more detail but I am the last person to understand anything with cars save for bow to change a tire and that blinker fluid isn t a thing lol). I gave him the go ahead and he went above and beyond! My car now runs just fine now and he recommended me to come back in 1000 miles just so he can make sure the fresh oil is pushing the gunk that I had let build up (hey I said cars aren t my forte). And he did it for just over $200. They worked with you. They re honest with you. And they forever will have my business. Thank y all so much!!Service: Oil change

  Chelsea Worthington
a year ago
I had a flat tire once and went here because it was close to my house and I have AAA. It was the best thing to happen out of that bad situation. This place is AWESOME! I had to put some hubcaps on my car the other day and I could just stop by and they will help no problem. I haven't gone anywhere else since my first visit there 4 years ago.

  Renee Courtland
8 months ago
The rare gem of honest mechanics. They came highly recommended and did not disappoint. Absolutely where I am taking my cars from now on.

  Bella Brio
3 years ago
Wasted a whole day & didnt even look at our car! We had car trouble driving through town & called AAA for a tow. United showed up & Joe recommended we take it to their shop & they would call first thing in the morning. Living 4 hours away how do you know who is a good mechanic.Several hours after they opened & still no call from them...we called them. They said they had moved it & "thought" it would need a new transmission but they would examine it & call us back with a diagnosis as well as quotes. After all day waiting we finally called & they still hadn't hooked it up to the computer or gotten to what actually was wrong with it. They just stated " it's probably the transmission and probably not worth doing anything with." So we had it towed to Cadillac. We live 4 hours away & their lack of professionalism caused us to miss an extra day of work, while nervously sitting around waiting for nothing. They must have to fix some cars to stay in business or maybe they stay in business just by towing. Their certifications seem to mean nothing...Would not recommend.

  Sean P
a year ago
I ve been coming here with my family for over 20 years. It used to be Carl s Car Clinic. The same people still run it. They are knowledgeable and honest and are willing to talk your issues out. I have issues taking my vehicles anywhere else.

  Elizabeth Wells England
7 months ago
I had a slow leak in my tire, and for no charge they patched it and tool of my spare and put my tire back on, and I literally just waited for five minutes!

  Jennifer Jarvis
8 years ago
Not your typical car care place. When I went, the staff was extremely helpful, friendly and seemed to be very honest. I don't know a lot about cars and they were quick to tell me what things weren't needed and when I should schedule those types of maintenance (as compared to another car place that stated I needed a bunch of things right away). Their prices were fair - if not better than their competitors in some areas.I would definitely recommend and I'm happy to be a loyal customer of theirs.

  Katie McKim
2 years ago
My battery died on me this past weekend. I am a AAA member so I called them, and Tommy from United Towing came out to help. I did not have to wait long at all and Tommy was able to change out my battery on the spot! He was extremely nice, personable and hard working. Thank you Tommy!Service: BatteryService: Battery

  bruce b
7 years ago
Absolutely the best experiences I have had in auto repair service. Helpful service writers, reasonable prices and quality work. I have never had them try to upsell or pressure me to have extra work done, in fact quite the opposite. Steve tells me what the priorities are, and then the options. This is my mechanic now. In fact, I almost didn't want to leave a review cause I did not want to get too popular, but figured I owed it to them for being so awesome.

  Richard Carnwath
5 months ago
These guys are honest and always ready to go the extra mile for you! i highly recommend.

  Jason Tate
4 years ago
Overall I'm very pleased with United. I'm not from Birmingham, or Alabama, dont know any mechanics. I broke down on a quick "there n back" trip after hours. Called AAA and they recommended United. So I went with it. Steve called me 1st thing in the morning, had me walk him through what happened, the symptoms and his guys got started. While nobody wants to spend money on car repairs, they were fair, honest, and did a good job. The technician that worked on my car (2012 challenger RT) took time to visit with me, and make some recommendations for the future. It was all in all a good experience. One thing I'll say, is dont let the exterior of the shop fool you..."dont judge a book by its cover" applies for sure.

  Deidre W.
11 years ago
Budget Rental messed up my reservation, and when I arrived at Carl's to pick up my truck, they didn't have one for me. The staff at Carl's went above and beyond to remedy my situation, even though it was 100% Budget's fault. Mr. Martinez was especially helpful. He spoke with the Budget customer service reps at length and secured me a larger truck for the same price. He spent a good two hours with me working this out, and certainly went above and beyond to make sure I had a good experience.Highly recommended!

  James Pegues
a year ago
Have used this repair center for years. They have always been fair and I have never had an issue with unneeded or unwanted work being done. Dropped my truck off yesterday morning for brakes, tires and tune-up and had it back at the end of the day.

  Amanda Fuhrer
6 years ago
United Car Care Center was a true lifesaver for our family. Our car quit at 12:30 AM on a rainy Friday night on the ramp going up the interstate. It was just me and 3 of my kids. Mike from their garage picked us up in less than an hour, made sure we were safe at our hotel and delivered our van to their garage. We were unsure how long we would be stuck in Birmingham for repairs, but United Car Care had us back on the road by 11:00 AM on a Saturday. The guys went above and beyond our expectations to deliver us out of a really tough situation. Thank you for everything!

  Jennifer Skates
a year ago
I had a flat and called AAA. They sent United and I couldn't be happier. Keith went above and beyond to help me and got me to a tire place that was able to fix my flat and get me back on the road asap!Service: TiresService: Tires

  Frankly Fabulous by Macey Franklin
6 years ago
Couldn't have been more pleased with our service and experience. I had to have my car looked at and was quoted at the dealership. After calling around to several other car repair places I felt most confident in the service that United car care could give us through just a single phone call.They were able to schedule us as soon as we wanted. I dropped off my car and had it completed in the same day. Being a woman places like this usually tend to feel like they are taking advantage of your lack of knowledge. BUT, not here! We know where we will be returning for any car service needed.

  Brandy Rogers
7 years ago
I can't say enough about Steve and the guys at United Car Care Center. They're trustworthy, fast, dependable and do excellent work! I've been taking my vehicles here for several years and have never had a complaint.

  Trip Cobb
6 years ago
This place is absolutely horrible with "fixing" problems with your automobile. AAA has brought my car there two different times and the first time after waiting 3 days over the time period they said my car would be fixed, they said that they had indeed "fixed" my power steering problem and as I was literally driving out of their parking lot my hood burst open and started spewing power steering fluid everywhere.They apologized and seemed dumbfounded and then had to go back into the shop and they had fixed it before the end of the day and when I called back they said, "oh yeah you can come get it, it's been done for awhile but we also close in twenty minutes." So, they didn't even care to reach out to me when my car had been "refixed" and further inconvenienced me being without a car for one more day.The next time my oil light had somehow malfunctioned and even though I wasn't near the time for my oil change it had run out of oil and had damaged my engine. Now, a brand new engine was around $7,000 but they told me not to get one that they had found an engine with just $30,000 miles on it for much cheaper and that it was a great engine. I paid almost $5,500 with labor and installation and the engine. It's been not even a year and not even 10,000 miles and I brought my car into Subaru for a check up and the Subaru dealership said the engine was in horrible shape and burning oil. When I asked how that was possible they said the engine had to have been in horrible shape when I got it put in to be in the shape it was in currently (i.e. someone had ran the used engine into the ground before it had been removed I guess from it's original car and whomever was selling that engine was trying to get as most money out of it as possible). So, here I am now putting a brand new engine into my 2011 car because of this situation.In the end, this place is not trustworthy and nor do they care to reach out to you when their services are finished. I would never bring another vehicle here and I would recommend that you also not do so.

  Linda Lowery
4 years ago
Bought 4 new tires and they were mounted balanced and had it aligned as I waited took about 1 1/2 hours.. Steve was awesome to deal with.. very courteous and very professional..will definently be getting my business..

  Mark Cleveland
3 years ago
Took my 2011 King Ranch for some service prior to vacation. Once again stellar service from these Guys. No bogus discoveries & needed fixes.Truck drove great even at +175k miles. Steve continues to earn my Trust & Business. I refer them to anyone who asks.

  Maxx Somers
5 years ago
We were passing through town on our way to Gulf Shores on a Friday afternoon when our car suddenly went nuts...the local dealer didn t seem to care that we were out of town and in a bind, so I hit up Yelp, and really got lucky. Steve at United was immediately receptive and knowledgeable when I described the warning lights (all of them?!) and told him the code we got at Autozone (where we went when the dealer said they couldn t see us for days). Steve assured me that Jody could squeeze us in in the morning to diagnose the problem. We called AAA and United Towing was there within 30 minutes (!!!). When I arrived first thing in the morning, Jody already had the car hooked up to determine the problem. He confirmed that it was a legitimate error code and gave us the bad news that they can t do internal transmission work on my make of car. He advised me to go back to the dealer (who could do the work), gave me a printout of the codes, and didn t even charge, despite my insistence I pay. WOW. I was impressed by their knowledge from the time Steve picked up the phone, but the honesty and integrity towards someone who was unlikely to be a repeat customer were what impressed me most. I wish I could find a shop like this in my hometown.

  Ann Albert
5 years ago
My tow service recommend I take my Audi and I was so happy that I listened. Steve was professional, really went above and beyond to help me. I had a warranty issue with my previous car service and Steve handled it and got me what I needed without any hassle and my car runs great.

  sherilane1972
6 years ago
Very unhappy with this service. AAA came to look at my battery the guy happened to be the manager of the shop. I end up taking it there. They tell me it's the starter and when I call to see if it's ready. They tell me oh it's not the starter it's the EMC and they can't fix it. I have my car towed back to my house. They now have the window down and left a panel off the inside of my car. Very unprofessional. Don't waste your time taking your car there!

  Chris K
5 years ago
Had a shifter cable replaced ($250, good price) and spark plugs and wires replaced ($400, could've easily been half at a pep boys, but i prefer mom n pop- especially when half a mile from my place) and they took my corvette on a 12 mile test drive/joyride, either before or after scratching the red leather seats with a grease stencil as shown. I came back after noticing it and told him to make it right or find someone that could and the other picture is the aftermath of that. Next time I'd pay to have it towed to a pep boys or Christian Brothers.