If my car broke down in front of Japanese Motor Works I would push it to the nearest Honda dealership to be repaired. Japanese Motor Works are incompetent and dishonest. They will tell you they have identified the problem with your car and how to solve it, yet after they have implemented their solution they will inform you it did not solve the problem but they will still charge you for it. You still need your car repaired so now you are trapped, next they will pacify you by assuring you this time they have definitely identified the problem and how to solve it, so you give them the go ahead and cross your fingers. A few days later you will receive another call informing you their new solution did not solve the problem either but they will still charge you for that too. They will drag this process out for weeks and squeeze you for 5 to 10 times the amount of their original quote. I am not the only person to have this experience with Japanese Motor Works, they are notorious for it, ask around and see for yourself. You would think they would notice the lack of repeat customers and see it as a sign they might not be doing good business. Charging people for something that does not work should be illegal. What a pathetic way to make a living. read more

My daughter is at UGA and her car broke down. I looked for the shop with the best reviews and found this one. After paying 395$ for diagnoses and repair the car broke down again with the same issue less than two months later. I had the car towed back to the shop and they refused to let the wrecker driver drop off the car. Now the car is at some random shop maybe I'll have better luck. read more

Very nice and knowledgeable people. Also, the pricing was very fair. Definitely recommend. You feel like you're at a family shop that's going to take care of you and not rip you off read more

Getting my car repaired is not one of my favorite duties. In fact, it's one of my least favorite things ever to list on my "Things to Do" list, and it would never be marked off were my dad's voice not ever-echoing in the back of my head. (Also, driving a car he gave me tends to make me realize I need to take care of it.) Have a car made in Japan? (Or maybe even one not made in Japan? Perhaps they service those, too--you'd have to ask them that, too.) Why not go to the extraordinarily TRUSTWORTHY, KNOWLEDGEABLE, and HONEST mechanics at Japanese Motorworks? They'll take a look at your car for free and let you know how things are working. Several months ago, I was going to sell a '96 Maxima and the owner of the shop told me all the things I could fix, how much they would cost, and what of those things I would NEED to fix before selling it. The scariest thing about going to get a car fixed is that you'll be swindled. At least that's my fear as a woman who doesn't know a whole lot about cars. What I do know a lot about is how NOT to get swindled--I wasn't born yesterday, and I know enough about my car to know that a squeal from a maladjusted new fan belt doesn't mean I need four new brakes. (Yep, another place tried to pull that one over on me.) At Japanese Motor Works, NPR plays in the lobby as you wait for your car. Leaf through some magazines as you await the mechanic's thorough, easy-to-understand report on what's going on with your car. I know at least seven different friends who don't go anywhere else to have their cars taken care of. So that's it. Go there. read more

Very disappointed with the service I received here. Miscommunication abounds. I made two fruitless visits there attempting in vain to get my car and key fob reprogrammed (my keys had been stolen). First, they said they could reprogram my key fob for $90. I got there, only to discover after waiting forty minutes that they had completely misunderstood me, thinking my fob had stopped working. I was a little frustrated because I had hoped to get this fixed soon for peace of mind. I had also just spent $250 on new locks for the car and $115 on new locks on the house. They then said they would do the fob for $140 by ordering a new fob. To smooth over the misunderstanding they promised only to charge me the $140 for the key and not for labor. So I agreed. It seemed like a very kind gesture on their part. All along I have known that I can reprogram my key fob 4x myself following directions in the manual. And that I could find a second key fob on ebay for about $20. I was still willing to let Japanese Motorworks do all of this for me for $140 just for peace of mind. At this point I cannot tell whether they are clueless, bad communicators, genuinely forgetful, fickle, or devious. When I arrive 3 days later the guy wants me to sign an agreement to pay an estimate upwards of $180. He promised me the whole thing would cost $140, then 3 days later decides to charge $180+, claiming that he agreed to do it for a half hour instead of an hour. He never said anything of the sort to me--he promised not to charge for labor, to make up for the first misunderstanding. I don't know what happened to make them change their minds or forget about this--perhaps they thought I would forget or not care? These are very friendly folks, but I don't have time to put up with so many misunderstandings. I'd rather drive an hour to the dealership. In the meantime I'll keep going to Auto Tech of Athens for service and repairs. They seem to understand me better and their prices are much more reasonable. read more

I have a Toyota FJ Cruiser and I wouldnt trust anyone else to work on it. Seriously, you might find a better deal but you won't get the quality of work and detail. They have given cheaper estimates the few times I have checked around but I would have used them anyway. They are fair, honest, always finish the work on time. I like that as a female, they dont try to push repairs I don't need and they take the time to explain the repairs that I do. They have a lot of satisfied customers. I guess you cant please everyone but they have always made this girl happy! read more

When I first had work done at this shop they said my wife's rav4 would need new brake pads and fluid flush soon. I made a follow apt and dropped the car off at 8:30am on a Friday. I ended up calling at 4pm (they close at 5:30) bc they never called me, they said they'd call back in 15mins. At 4:50 I called them back, they said they hadn't even started on the vehicle!! I guess they were going to call me at 5:30 when they close to tell me they were keeping my car over the weekend??seriously? I told them I was going to pick up the vehicle without the service done. I got there at 5:25 and they tell me it's $53 for the inspection and they actually did flush the brakes and it's $112 . So they charged me $53 for something they had already inspected. So $193 later I'm never going to Japanese Motor Works again. I don't know what else to say they're pretty much just your stereotypical crooked, shifty, over priced repair shop. read more

As long as Japanese Motor Works is in business, I'll continue to buy and drive Asian cars. Whether going in for a routine maintenance appointment or diagnosis of a problem, I receive top notch service every time. The folks at JMW make sure you know what's going on and what it's going to cost. No surprises when the bill comes! read more

Roof flew off and not willing to take responsibility! I paid $100 for wrong diagnoses and a flying roof! Because my car feels underpowered, I took the car for Peter Haughton for a checkup. I received a detailed list of what went wrong -- seems good for customer service, correct? But no, other mechanics have proven the diagnoses were wrong. What's worst, after he forgot to unlock the car on time, he had to repair the roof. The roof flew off highway I-85 and I spent another $200 fixing it. When I called, the employer was unwilling to do anything about it, not even the $100 refund. Beware!!! read more

Best auto repair services ever got during my three years of stay in Athens. The response was perfect and price was competitive. Friendly environment and free pick up and drop off... would recommend most for all people driving Japanese cars read more

I took my car here when the "Service Engine Soon" light came on. Actually, before coming here I stopped at AutoZone because they will run a diagnositic check your car's electrical system, which tells them the code that is setting off the "Service Engine Soon" light - AutoZone does this for free. Anyhow, I brought the results from the AutoZone test into Japanese Motor Works and after looking at it and then showing it to a technician, the salesman at the front explained to me that they needed to run a comprehensive test that would help diagnose the cause of the "Service Engine Soon" light. I was confused because I thought that that was exactly what the report from AutoZone already said, but the salesman assured me that their test would be more comprehensive, but it came with a $95 price tag. I had read some of the reviews on yelp for this business so I agreed. The results of the test gave them the exact same code that the AutoZone test gave, yet AutoZone's was $95 cheaper, leaving me to wonder just how different the two tests were. Then, I was told that what I needed was to have my EGR system cleaned because that's what was causing the "Service Engine Soon" light to show up. The salesman told me the fee for the EGR System clean would be $515! I took my car and decided to take it somewhere else that had gotten good reviews for a second opinion. The mechanic at the second place I visited looked at my EGR valves and other components of the system and said that there was no way it was the reason for the "Service Engine Light" coming on. I'm upset that I was bamboozled out of the $95, but at least I didn't fork over $515. read more

I brought my Izusu there to have my water pump changed and they did that for me. What they did not do while putting the car back together was properly secure the coolant hose that they had to move in order to do the work. Instead, they left it resting on the fan belt pulley. I did not know this until a day later when I was on my way back from Alabama on the interstate when the pulley finally cut through the hose at high speed, causing all of the coolant to rapidly explode out of the engine. This led to a blown head gasket which they had a hard time diagnosing and when they finally figured out the problem they were unwilling to accept any responsibility for it. They left me with a blown head gasket and offered only to fix it for me for $1,900.00. They were not honest or thorough businessmen in my opinion and I would urge anyone to bring their Japanese cars elsewhere to avoid an experience like mine. read more

Very professional and clean shop with great people to go with it. They sent updates via email with pictures to show me what was being replaced. They were very detailed and communicative throughout the whole process. read more

Peter is an artist and has done a magnificent job mechanically getting my 1992 Toyota truck up to snuff in preparation to driving the AlCan Highway to Alaska this fall. This guy found things essential to the task that I didn't even know needed fixing...and he did it for a VERY reasonable cost. I wouldn't think of taking my Japanese vehicles anywhere else. I've been using him for almost 30 years now and he has NEVER disappointed me. Tom Cassity Athens read more

I had many issues with my '01 Infiniti i30's fuel system and transmission. The guys at JMW were able to fix a sensor in my transmission that made it PERFECT again! I had a misunderstanding with a mechanic over my fuel system and the OWNER called me and spent about half an hour explaining the issue to me. INCREDIBLE! Everyone there is extremely nice and I really feel that they operate with the best interest of their customer in mind. Recommend to anyone! read more

i have 2 toyota cars and 2 toyota trucks been going there for 2 years they do good work at a fair price i drive 50 miles one way and i love the dog read more

Great service and trustworthy. Hard to find at a mechanic. I've even called the local dealership and the words "yeah of those guys are suggesting it you need it" came out of his mouth. My only complaint is about Jake...the guy's got a weird forehead. read more

Peter Haughton is intuitive (an uncanny diagnostician), highly skilled, and honest. I admire his enthusiasm. JMW's staff is delightful, including the office dogs. I'm grateful for the fine work which brought my car to 256K and will take my new car to JMW in the future. Japanese Motor Works is a remarkable business, an Athens gem. Five stars! read more

I have been using Japanese Motor Works exclusively for years. Through 2 wives and 5 cars they have been the go to source for keeping my vehicles running. I keep em until the wheels fall off so I follow their advice. read more

They did a great job with my 02 Honda Civic when it essentially stopped working a few months ago. It's an older car and needed a lot of work but it's a Honda so I had faith that with a little TLC it would be back up and running in no time. These guys did a great job fixing it up and gave me very detailed accounts of everything that was wrong so I could pay closer attention in the future. I'm clearly not a car person but they were able to help me understand everything that was going on and get my baby running again in less than a week. They also did a great job communicating with my dad and calming his anxieties about me handling my car troubles on my own. Needless to say where I'll be going whenever I have issues with my Accord or Civic. read more

I was extremely pleased with the customer service at Japanese Motor Works! I am in my 20s and I am always worried about being taken advantage of when bring my car into a shop for a repair. Japanese Motor Works made me feel very comfortable. I asked them a lot of questions and they were very patient with me. I spoke with them several times on the phone and again- very patient and kind! They communicated clearly, honestly, and kindly. They even went as far as taking pictures of my car and e-mailing them to me to explain further what I needed to have done. I felt like they had my best interest in mind and were more like friends fixing my car. I will defiantly be bringing my car back to them and I would recommend them to anyone looking for an honest and caring place to go. Thanks you Japanese Motor Works!! Y'all rock! read more

Great service and wonderful interactions! Every trip to JMW in the last 17 years has been top notch! So grateful to have you here in Athens!

My whole family takes their cars here. I have always have professional, affordable and honest work done. I truly trust the guys here which means a lot to me. I would highly recommend. read more

Extremely attentive and engaging. They turned back the clock on my 2006 4Runner. Its running as good as new. These are my guys now.

I had the most wonderful experience with these guys! They listened to the problems I was having with the car and responded directly to each of those concerns. There were no surprises and all of the employees were more than willing to explain things and just talk to you. The invoice was EASY to understand (unlike some shops where you have no clue what you just paid for). And the best part? Its like I have a whole new car! I would suggest these guys to anyone and everyone! I've never been so impressed! read more

I thought i needed brake work but JMW checked things out and said everything was fine. Unlike most other repair shops where they'll find something wrong, whether there is or not. I always trust JMW to be honest and straightforward. No unnecessary work and only the highest quality when there is something needed. read more

Everyone from Cherry and Peter to Jake and Andy and the dogs were very gracious and straight up. I chose this shop partially because Peter is friendly toward people like me who will do a LOT of work on their own cars but occasionally have a few things that we either don't have the time or the manpower to do in the front yard. I came to them to have a hybrid battery pack replaced in my 2007 Toyota Prius after 300,000 miles. I found I would have only saved $200 by breaking my back doing that job myself, it was money well spent. I also asked them to check the brakes and replace the CVT fluid. I was informed there was no need to replace my front brake pads because they were only at 50% wear after all that milage! I do know that regenerative braking is the reason Prius brakes wear so slowly but I would not have questioned a pad replacement at 300,000 miles. This and the awesome work they did with the battery replacement show how honest and exemplary these guys are. A lot of mechanics will happily sell you tons of of stuff you don't really need, I am very grateful these guys are the exception rather than the rule. Whether you are an experienced "shade tree mechanic" like I am, or need someone else to replace your tail light bulbs, I highly recommend Japanese Motor Works. read more