Nelson Auto World

Reviews

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

  Alex Aquino
3 weeks ago
Activated via Zef Energy App. Got disconnected twice, had to replug. The car and charger reconnected on the third time without having to replug.78kwh at 9%soc. 128kwh at 28%, then 152kwh at 42%.Nice, clean well lit chargers in a neighborhood gas station. Thanks for having this :-)

  Derik Holte
2 months ago
Yeah, like some of the other reviews said, they kinda catastrophize every scuff mark. I needed an alternator, they insisted I needed 10 other things done. Paid them their $50 fee to present me with a sheet of scare tactics, and took it elsewhere. A year later, car's fine. All I needed was an alternator.

  Nick
2 months ago
Dan is extremely rude, he is obsessed with living on the customers who mistake him for Nelson s auto repair a separate company. He askes do you want it done cheap or expensive. Neither I want it done right. I strongly suggest anywhere else other than here. Lies and uncharges fake items as well.

  Brittany Wackowski
a month ago
I wanted to go ahead and write a review purely based on customer service, as I haven't reached the outcome of my Kia Boys-related claim or repairs. I just wanted to say that it is so rare to get good customer service these days, much less the fantastic customer service that I have received from Dan at University. He has been very thourough in explaining the whole process without talking down to me, as is frequently the case when I'm speaking with mechanics. After dealing with Kia, its so refreshing to feel like I'm taken care of. Just wanted to say how much I appreciate that, and how lucky I feel to have found this spot! Thanks Dan!Updated to reflect the outcome. Expected outcome exceeded expectations! I love this place! It s a family operation, and trust Dan with my vehicle. He s Minneapolis Auto Daddy. Will always return as long as I m living here.

  Chelb McMurray
4 months ago
I had a great experience with Nelson after my car was broken into and steering column dismantled. They were able to get me in right away, and were helpful and courteous at every point of the process. Thank you to Dan for answering all of my many questions!

  Brad Wester
a month ago
Family owned business that has been taking care of our vehicle fleet for many years! Dan and Jason treat our team like family. Thanks from Premium Waters!

  Sicinc2019 Companies
4 months ago
Brought in my truck for a transmission, was quoted for a ton of things we did not ask for and were told that because it's a family shop he made a judgement and we have to pay up front lol, yes we're of mixed race. According to them you have to pay 1st go anywhere else in the neighborhood. Como neighborhood stay away....

  Brooks Anderson
4 months ago
Tldr: Both my girlfriend and I have taken vehicles here. DON T. They re just trying to scam you.My girlfriend brought in her car because it was making grinding noises when she turned, and had a shake when accelerating. They charged her $50 for a safety inspection, in which they barely had it all of 5 minutes because they said they were too busy to do a complete test drive (yet somehow it still cost the same, go figure.) They then tried to convince her that in those 5min they had discovered that her brakes were dangerously failing, and told her that she d be putting herself at risk by leaving with her car. She left anyway to work on it herself - bought new calipers, drove her car to her grandfather s, and lifted it up to repair it just to find the breaks were in great condition and were clearly not in need of replacing, let alone dangerous. She brought it to her family s usual mechanic and he diagnosed the problem and fixed it for less than they were asking for unnecessary repairs.I also tried to get a quote on a single part replacement that I already had the part for but had decided it was too annoying to do without better tools and a jack. They refused to quote the service unless I paid for a full $50 inspection despite being clear that I only wanted help replacing that particular part. He even went so far to claim that other shops were the same way, and that no shop would give me an estimate over the phone which was a straight up lie. They were the fourth shop I had called in that sitting, and were the only ones to push an inspection or refuse to give a rough estimate the service!The head guy there in particular is extremely condescending and really seems to try to bully you into making decisions.And honestly, this isn t even all of it. That isn t to mention the ridiculous pricing on the quote for repairs - even just headlight bulbs were exorbitant. To me, it seems like this business is just trying to scam college students that don t know any better. If zero stars were an option, I would choose it.

  Caroline Hadacek
10 months ago
Quoted me nearly $500 to fix a flat tire, along with an unnecessary wheel alignment. Dan was very condescending and made a stressful situation much worse. Went to Tires Plus and had everything taken care of for $245 and half a week earlier than I was told at Nelson.

  Augustine Vega
a year ago
This rating is purely based how ridiculously perfect their Pit Hound Coffee is and how perfect the $2 price mark is. Thanks for the great drugs and friendly vibes. PS I'm not a fan of cars and don't pay attention to that side of this place.

  Jack Walsh
3 years ago
Brought my car in a couple months back. Have done very small things like checking lights and fluid top offs in the past and haven't had much trouble. Serpentine belt broke, knew a bit of what was all going on, but wanted to get it checked out. When they told me everything that they wanted to fix with my car the total came to be $1,400 because of other things they found. There was no way I was paying that so I asked what it was to only get the belt replaced (wasn't able to drive it anymore so would've had to tow it to a different place). He said that my car was unsafe to drive unless they did a ball joint replacement as well which was true, but he tried tacking on a lot of other things that weren't issues. However, what I took issue with is that they tried acting like I didn't know anything and were very rude in general. When I told him that I typically have a mechanic at home look at it he said that I shouldn't trust him. Even though he has worked on cars and heavy machinery his entire life. All they do is take advantage of the local college student population. To be fair, very convenient location. Pricing is higher than average. Lastly, decent gas when I'm in a pinch but I never go there if I can help it. Only go here if you're not educated about cars and feel free paying a premium for them to fix your car and refuse to tell you about it at all. And if you're lucky to pull it out of him, expect car jargon that will probably go over your head just in order to make you feel incompetent and that they're doing a better job than they actually are. Only plus side, convenient location.Services: Steering & suspension repair, Engine repair

  Kristin T
a year ago
I passed through Minneapolis for a meeting downtown in the middle of a long road trip. A day or two before, my brakes started making noise and needed a semi-urgent repair. I knew I wouldn't be able to drive 1,000 miles home on those brakes and wait for the mechanic appointment I had already scheduled for some other things next week. But I also needed to start heading back east after the meeting.The staff was friendly and were able to finish the repair around the time I ended my meeting. Thank you for fitting me in on the same day I called.

  Kennedy Kasperek
2 years ago
Total scam. Beware. Intimidating and condescending staff interaction. This shop is set up to exploit young college students with little car knowledge into giving them way too much money for unnecessary service.I went in for an oil change, and usually there s a little sales pitch about other work they can do on your car. Instead I received a call from DAN who said my car was unsafe to drive because my tire tread was too low and the car stalled according to him.DAN threatened to cancel my service unless I paid him 100$ for a full inspection and bought tires from him.DAN was very condescending, obviously trying to make an extra buck, and did not apologize or help me out in any way when I refused to pay for extra service.Never coming back and neither should you. Not even worth the $40 oil change.

  Adelaide Zibrowski
a year ago
Perfect place for people who might not know a lot about cars and don t want to be taken advantage of. I went there for the 3 years that I lived nearby, and they were always great. They could get me in last minute and were always super fast. The people are willing to educate you on what s going on and they don t try to trick you into spending more money. If I still lived nearby, I would still be going here.

  Cheryl Fornoff
7 years ago
On the Friday before Labor Day weekend, I went to the U of M to visit my son. I stopped in Dinky Town on my way home and when I went to leave the car wouldn't start. I asked a few people on the street for auto service recommendations. A few people told me to try University Service, now I know why. It was after 1:30 when I called them. They sent a tow truck, diagnosed the problem, ordered the parts, and had my car repaired before 5 pm. The tow truck driver and the guys at the shop were all very honest, polite, and professional. They could have price gouged me, they could have put off doing the repair until after the holiday weekend but, they didn't. They did the work quickly and at a reasonable price. I truly felt like they treated me the way that they would want their family members or friends to be treated if they were in my situation. I would definitely recommend sending anyone here. Thank you again for such wonderful service! I hope you all had a well deserved break overy the holiday weekend!

  Noah Gallagher
2 years ago
Good honest mechanics. My car is old and several things were breaking. Jason and his crew were able to diagnose the problems and give me my options without pressuring me into an upsale. Over three visits I have gotten my tires replaced and aligned, a tire rod replaced, radiator, water pump and thermostat all replaced, and an oil leak fixed. All of these repairs came in at around middle of the range for cost, and the work was done swiftly with only one visit taking more than one work day. Additionally they are honest, as when I brought my car in for a fourth visit they diagnosed the thermostat as faulty and replaced it under warranty and I walked out without paying a dime. Other shops would have tacked on mystery fees or only covered half the labor, but these guys did great.Services: Tires, Wheel alignment, Air conditioning, Oil change

  Zach Steffensen
2 years ago
Update: the boost circuit is reading high again meaning they improperly fixed my car and also refused to tell me how to fix it. This place is a joke - they are clueless. Save money and time just go anywhere elseDo not trust this place. I came here to get my boost pressure circuit fixed, and having already done some work myself I filled Dan in on what I knew about the situation. He totally dismissed my assessment, and more so was entirely condescending of the fact I would have the audacity to work on my own car. Not to mention he was reluctant to answer any of my questions about their operation. Just to find out the problem I specified was the exact issue they needed to fix. Then when I came in to pay for the repair, I simply asked where the problem was so that I could watch for issues in the future. Dan let me know that he couldn t tell me and after asking if he could find out made no effort to do so. So I walked into the parking lot to check for myself to find my air box was not reassembled completely and they broke its mounting tabs. Thanks for the heads up. I also noticed other portions of the wiring harness that were not secured correctly. This place completely lacks transparency, has rude and unhelpful management, and the technicians are not competent enough to reassemble the vehicles they work on correctly. I will never give this shop my service again and I warn all who lack knowledge of their own vehicle to come here. They are dishonest and untrustworthy. I can t believe I just spent $300 for them to tape up a wire and break my car.

  Chloe Lund
2 years ago
Went here last summer to assess some issues I was having with my wheel/brakes. I was called multiple times after I brought my car in and each time it was a different story/more problems/higher cost. I m not very knowledgeable of vehicles and felt I was really being taken advantage of and being scammed out of as much money as possible, ended up wasting $1,800 for my car to have the exact same problems going on, don t even know what they fixed.

  EmKay Anderson (Maria Karen Kettleson)
a year ago
My kids live near here as students at UofM. They are the closest repair place; so they ended up having them look at a problem. This repair shop tried to bully them into getting unnecessary work immediately and warned them not to drive back home because the car wasn t safe. Fortunately they came home, and the actually necessary repair was literally hundreds of dollars less than the unnecessary one quoted. And the car had been perfectly safe to drive!

  Coral Dirks
4 years ago
My go-to car repair shop. The prices are fair and, when looking for parts, the mechanics will always try to find the least expensive option. Great turn-around time. It seems like this place is busy but it seems like the Nelson's can get me in within the day most of the time. Most repair also happen within a couple days. Gas station attached. The owners know my husband and I (and our vehicles) by name. Conveniently located along a bus line, so it is easy to get to UMN or downtown while the car is in repair. Highly recommend!

  Meagan Varughese
11 years ago
I bought the Groupon for three oil changes for this place. When I went in for my first oil change and 30 point inspection, they found a lot wrong with my car. They wrote me up an estimate, and when I said that I'd be taking it back to my hometown to get fixed, they offered to call that shop and explain what they found! It meant a lot that they were willing to go out of their way, even sacrificing their business, to make sure the job was done right. I'm definitely going back.

  Ryne Nichols
3 years ago
Experience here was fine, but just that. The technician's are helpful enough. Would not recommend for tire changes as they took 3 days to change mine and figure out how to program the TPMS correctly. My desire to shop local in these times ended up costing me big time even though I knew going in that these smaller shops just can't compete with the big tire-centric services in town on price/efficiency and I was certainly proven right in that regard. If they offered lifetime rotation on the tires you purchased from them it would be a different story. They also did only a front wheel alignment on my AWD vehicle and told me that 4 wheel alignment is never needed which is a false statement. Other shops in town do lifetime 4 wheel alignment for the same price that they charge to do the front-only once. I would come back here for other repairs as they did a good job on my suspension fix and I like that they are a family-run business that I would like to support again, just never for tires.

  firefly55901
4 years ago
This place was going to try to charge me $350-$500 to literally pull out aftermarket led headlight wires and replace it with the original wires and bulbs. I knew this price was outrageous right away and got other opinions from elsewhere. I ended up paying $200 at another auto place. I feel like they assumed I probably knew nothing about my car .. and also took advantage of my situation being that I needed my headlights replaced that coming Friday night before making a long drive to Rochester. This place is a straight up scam and I wouldn t trust them with my car.

  Darbs
3 years ago
My car wasn t starting so I got it towed here, the closest place to my house. According to them, I needed a new starter and they said it would cost 700. Completely ridiculous. Starters cost between 80-200. I called Gorshe auto service just down the road from them and they estimated 225 if I bought the starter myself. I took my car to a family friends garage and they cleaned off my battery and now my car works just fine. They also looked at my starter and said it also looks good. Do not go here, they re only goal is to make money off of people with no car knowledge.

  robert carlson
4 years ago
1 star is not low enough. Spent over 4000.00 various repairs over 3 years and I only drive my car 6500 miles a year, yet everything they replace goes out within a year. Blower motor May of 2018, went out March 2019, locking system went out June 2018, problems again May 2019. I am afraid to drive my car. I went in for the locking problem in May again paying for the problem less than a year later. Had an oil change done and the filter became loose and oil sprayed the sides on my car, they locked my radio while working on my car,its still locked. Instead of explaining what work they did on my car they shuffled me to the cashier, took my money, then came back to get my paperwork, which I still don't have.Have emailed 3 times to try and get an answer to what work they have done on my car and the response I get is " you need to find someone you trust to work on your car" I am confused because I trusted them, now with these on going problems that I spent 4000 for repair keep reoccurring, and since I am complaining they want nothing to do with me, NO inviting me back to correct the problems or issues. I spent 500 on a bike from FREE WHEEL and they bend over backwards for me when I have a problem. I spent over 4000, closer to 5000 actually and I get treatment like they have customers lining up paying 4000-5000 to work on their cars. There are a lot more places to go for service

  Colton Anderson
a year ago
By far the worst experience I ve ever had at an auto shop. Not only were the prices unfair, but the people working there were clueless and rude to me. They said I needed all these things done, so I brought it to another place, and they told me Ny vehicle was completely fine. Never going here again. I d give it 0 stars if I could.Service: Oil changeService: Oil change

  Mateo Fischer
6 years ago
You ever have the suspicion that you were being taken advantage of? Well that was a bunch of times with me here. Granted I was taking an older car in, but almost every/every other time I took my car in for regular maintenance, the mechanic found something that needed to be replaced for over hundreds of dollars. The first couple times I went with it because of the age of the car, but one time my car started hemorrhaging coolant the day *after* getting hundreds of dollars of work done. So I took it back in, and wouldn't you know it, there was work that was needed to be done that would bring my bill from the two days to over $1,000. The reason I give two stars is it wasn't my impression that everyone there tried to pull fast ones with the work that needed to be done, but I'm 85% sure that I was fear-mongered into non-vital repairs, especially after showing that I would do them the first time.

  Anthony Smith
6 years ago
I literally drive 30 miles for these guys to work on my vehicles!For one who hates auto repair shops because I feel they take advantage of anyone who walks in the door. These guys are actually honest and take care of their patrons. The negative posts I've seen are probably from people who don't know how much it costs to maintain a car and treat their cars like garbage.Highly Recommended !

  Anas Al Badi
2 years ago
WORST EXPERIENCE EVER, DO NOT COME!THE GUY PRETENDS TO KNOW EVERYTHING AND IS THERE TO LECTURE YOU ABOUT REAL WORLD.I came in to check brake prices but the person I was talking to, couldn't believe I understand something in cars and instead wanted me to go somewhere else to fix my car. The words he ways using "you people" and "go down street and you'll find someone like you".He was not respectful at all and did not want to provide any details.update: I believe the person name was Dan, worst customer service ever!

  Lauren Nelson
6 years ago
I love bringing my car to university service. The customer service is awesome and they really take time answering all my questions and believe me I have a lot of them! It s comforting to know I can trust them! Also they are a family owned business which awesome! Two brothers and a father Work there together which makes it feel like family!