After this 10 degree Artic Blast that we just had, I was worried about my coolant hoses freezing and bursting. I had replaced the obvious ones, yet little did I know there was a heater hose hidden under the manifold. I has just gotten off the freeway, turned on my street, and vapor started pouring out. Luckily I was less than 1/2 a block from my house. I parked it, and lifted the hood to cool things down. Later I tried to put coolant in, there was nothing in the system, and it started leaking antifreeze. It was the hidden heater hose that looked like it was the original one about 20+ years old. I was stuck. I considered having to call a tow truck $$$, getting a rental car $$$, and having to pay an expensive shop $$$$. Now that would be expensive!!!!! I looked on Craigslist and found KALIN'S MOBILE REPAIR and I was extremely impressed. I called him in the morning and left a message, he called me back a few hours later. Not only did he come to "my house", he really is a "very" qualified mechanic. He saw the problem right away, got his tools out, and fixed it. This was not your typical hose that is easy to access, this one was the one tucked in under the intake manifold. Most mechanics would have wasted my time and lots of my money, by taking off the air cleaner unit, than the carb unit, & so on - time is more money right! Not only did he expertly get the hose on in this very tight and very awkward place, he checked several other things to make sure they were working properly, and I was driving my truck again "within an hour". I have been to so many mechanic shops in the past, they want my vehicle all day. I have even driven by in the late afternoon to see my truck sitting in the same spot I parked it that morning, not fixed yet. But amazingly by 5:00 pm, it's fixed, And I pay $300/$400/$500+ for this!!!!!!! What he charged me was so-o-o reasonable, it was "less" than getting my truck towed to the nearest shop. I am DONE with the shop/by the book rates $$$$, and taking all day or days to get it fixed!!!!!!! I highly recommend calling Kalin's Mobile Repair, and I would & will call him again in a heartbeat - he is that good of a mechanic, and he does not waste your time, or your money !!!!!!!!!!!!!!. read more

I found Kalin through craigslist. I called and emailed several people trying to find out quotes for my wife's Volvo. I hit a bump the night before and something in the engine broke. The car sounded like a Harley was revving in the engine that was so loud, it hurt my ears. The car had no power and was guzzling gas. Out of all of the people I called/emailed, I heard back from Kalin first. Somebody else i talked to from Craigslist said I needed a new exhaust and catalytic converter, and it was going to run me between $1000 and $2500. Kalin called me back within an hour and came over to inspect my vehicle the following morning at 9am. He inspected my vehicle and determined the problem within s few minutes. It turned out that the car's exhaust manifold had broken at a weld under the engine. On this particular vehicle, it was unable to be repaired unless it was brought to a welder OR have the complete exhaust replaced. He took the time to call several people and even stop at another shop to get me an appointment with a welder that was local. He assured me that the vehicle was safe to drive to the shop nearby. He left my home sound 10:30am and got me an appointment at noon at the welder. He insisted that the guys he had sent me to were honest and fair in their pricing. We arrived at the shop and had the vehicle fixed in an hour. The referral we were given by Kalin charged us less than $75 and saved us hundreds and hundreds of dollars. I highly recommend Kalin's Mobile Auto to anyone who wants a great rate, and an honest and reliable mechanic. read more

We needed two tune-ups: one on a 2002 Kia Spectra, driven daily and one on a 2001 Chevrolet Cube Van, not driven for the past year. The cube van needed to pass the emission test to be relicensed. I checked "mobile mechanics" on Craigslist and ended up calling three: The first took four days to respond, the second never responded but Kalin answered his mobile phone right away. He stopped by the next day to check out the vehicles and give us a quote. Two days later, he arrived (about ten minutes early, too!) with the appropriate parts and took about about an hour for each tune-up. The following Friday, the cube van passed the emission test AND the gas cap test. The only weird thing was that a Renton police officer noticed us without current tabs not two blocks from home. After showing him our temporary "permission slip," he waved us on. I was also impressed with Kalin's attitude toward me, a "woman of a certain age" -- he explained what he did and what might be needed in the future without that patronizing attitude "some" mechanics have toward women, no matter what age. We'll call Kalin again -- we have a 1997 S-10 Blazer that will need a tune-up in the future. read more

Very Simply a Five Star Experience. Professional, knowledgable, thorough, and direct with his diagnosis. He took the time to show and explain as he worked and answered all of my questions. Just a very nice guy that is obviously a natural born mechanic and extremely good. Fixed the immediate non-running problem, educated me about existing issues to look out for, saved my car from a tow, and my wallet some dough! I would tell a friend...or my wife or my mom.... look if your car is safely off the road and its not under factory warranty BEFORE using the road side assistance or AAA call Kalin first. It is your best option both economically and for your car for a first line of defense. I am so grateful to have a good mechanic I can trust again. The last time this car was looked at I had a "70 point inspection" done at a shop because I was leaking power steering fluid. After a couple hours of waiting room and a 70.00 charge I got in my car and it smelled like pot and a movie was playing on the dashboard LCD. When I pulled out, turning the wheel squeaked and they hadn't even filled the power steering fluid up (the reason I brought it in.) read more

First off, let me start by saying how on the ball Kalin is. I am very big procrastinator in most situations, for example it took me over two months to finally write this review. Kalin on the other hand received a call from me at 10:00 PM on a work night. He was polite enough to answer and give me his best diagnoses over the phone. Sure enough when he came out to fix my car (which was only one day later) his diagnoses was right. I had blown a head gasket. I checked around for pricing besides his and he was honestly 800-1000 dollars cheaper than anywhere else near me. Not only was he the best price, he was efficient and went above and beyond what other ASE certified mechanics would do. He replaced my timing belt and water pump at no additional labor cost. I have not had one problem with the truck since his work. I will definitely be using him if any other problems with my vehicles arise. He basically took the top half of my engine off and put it back on in two days. I didn't have to even move my truck. By far the best experience I have ever had with a mechanic. Thank you again for a good job! read more

My '94 Toyota Land Cruise cannot start up in the driveway. I tried to find mechanics to fix my car on Craigslist and I called a few different people. One of them told me they would come down in two days, but they never showed up. Then I called Kalins Auto and he answered my phone right away. I told him my problem and he showed up the next day. On the phone, I told him it was going to rain, but he said it was no problem and he didn't mind working in the rain. The next day, he came to my house a half hour earlier than the appointment. He checked my car and found the problem. He fixed the problem and started up the car. My car also had some idle problems whenever I stopped and he fixed that problem too in a short amount of time. Afterwards, he told me what was responsible for the problems and told me how to fix the problems again if they came up again. I am really happy with Kalins Auto service and I would recommend him. I know that if my car had any more future problems, I would call him again. read more

We have owned a 2003 Lexus SUV for 8 years. After the first few years, we start to have a problem that is if the car sit idle for a while, you have to jump start it. We've made many trips ( 4 or 5 times) to the Lexus dealer, the minimum we end up spend was about $700.00. It happened again 2 weeks ago, out of desperation and against my husband's will, I called Kalin off of Craigslist. Kalin sounded knowledgeable and professional over the phone, we actually got the same day service. He quickly identified the problem which was out of the alternator. He got it fixed within 2 hours for a total of under $400. Since then, the car was set idle for a week, we started driving again in the last few days, not only the problem was solved, the car drives much smooth than before. read more

I have recently use Kalin's auto service twice for my Audi A 6. I find Kalin to be reasonable in his quotes, accurate in his judgement and passionate in his work. He doesn't seem to be ripping his customers off like the most car dealers. He is hard working, communicated well. The biggest advantage is that he is a Mobile Mechanic guy so you get to have your car repaired without moving out of your home. I would recommend Kalin for most of the automobile jobs. He is also quick in doing his job . He did a great job in changing my car's alternator and front and rear brake pads. He is also very honest. If he is not getting the best quality parts for your car to keep the cost low, he will let you know. I was impressed by that. read more

First off, I LOVE having a mobile mechanic!!! I've saved a fortune on towing and fees added to cover the overhead of a shop. Second, this one rocks!!! The first time I used him I was getting quotes of $600 because my dismantled car alarm wouldn't let me start my car. Three other mechanics told me I had to do "xyz" blah blah blah.....Quotes between $400 and $600. Called Kalin, scheduled his arrival, he took a look, spent 45 minutes under the car and it cost me less than $100 bucks. This guy is HONEST! He just did a big job on our other car. Fast, efficient, honest and the car runs like new (we though we were going to have to sell it for parts). I'll never use anyone else. Bottom line. read more

I just had Kalin come out and give me a diagnosis for my Pontiac Grand Am. I'm like a lot of people. I don't know anything about cars and I have no clue who to trust. I was impressed with Kalins honesty and his knowledge. He found out what the problems was in minutes as well as gave me some needed advice. His quotes were reasonable. I'd previously went to other places and they charged an arm and a leg! This was an amazing experience and I'm glad that I now have a mechanic I can go to. If you're looking for a Mechanic that is trustworthy, honest, and who has great social skills, and who can fix your problem in a snap, don't hesitate to hire Kalin. I'll be recommending him to all my friends. read more

The alternator on my old VW suddenly died while I was shopping in Seattle. Since I live in Snohomish, a tow would have been very expensive.So I looked up mobile mechanics on Yelp and Craigslist, found Kalin's Auto, called, stated the symptoms of my problem along with vehicle info. 15 minutes later, Kalin called me to set up an appointment and he arrived even before the arranged time. (He told me that doesn't always happen but he tries as folks stranded like myself are in immediate need.) He was expert, fast, efficient, courteous and very, very reasonably priced. This is unusual in my experience with VW repair. So I especially recommend Kalin"s Auto if you have need of a mobile mechanic. read more

#1- Kalin is a great person #2- Kalin is an excellent mechanic #3- Kalin is a professional #4- Kalin is extremely fair #5- his response time was superb #6- he takes time to listen to his customer #7- Kalin will solve the problem My experience with this gentalmen was comforting. He absolutely fixed my truck. I am highly recommending him to my family, friends and business associates. I have found my auto mechanic. I will only request his services. This review is from a machinist and home auto mechanic. I fix my own vehicles. And when I felt I needed an expert opinion, I am glad I found Kalin's Auto..!! If you have a vehicle problem call Kalin read more

Kalin is the best! We had an idea what was wrong with our car, but Kalin came to our house, diagnosed the problem and explained that it would actually be cheaper if we completed the work ourselves since my son is mechanically oriented! He offered to do the job and gave a quote for it, but also recommended a source for the needed part and said to call him if we needed any assistance with replacement -- he would be happy to "walk us through it". Mechanics who know little, talk big, and charge even bigger are everywhere. Kalin was prompt, knowledgable, and honest. It just doesn't get any better than this! If you need help, call Kalin! read more

KALINS AUTO did a great job replacing my timing belt, serpentine belt, water pump, tension sprockets, spark plugs, spark plug wires, cap and rotor all in under 3 hours. When my timing belt broke 4 years ago I had it towed to what I thought was a friend of mines shop and he took 3 days to replace just the timing belt and water pump. Not only was I out of a vehicle for 3 days I paid over 980.00 for the repair. KALINS AUTO came to my work and took care of the problem fast and without the overhead of a shop, charged me $300.00 and some cents LESS! Plus, he comes out to your place of work or home. read more

I would normally take my vehicle into Big Business auto shops for brake replacements. $700-$800 was what I would usually pay for ALL brake pads & rotors. I was alway suggested on placing everything, but that was never the case. Looked for a better money saving, quality deal & came across Kalin's Auto. What took 4 hours to work on my car at other repair shops, took Kalin only an hour to knock out the front wheel's brake pads & rotors !!!! He was totally honest and gave me sound advice about the vehicle I was driving. I will truly acquire his services again. Thanks Kalin !!! read more

KALINS AUTO IS THE IS THE BEST,I called the other guy that I found on a graigslist then he showed up on the next day,I explained him whats happened with my truck.Finally he wants me to buy some parts,I spent $60.00 on parts and $75.00 for the diagnosis charged,but nothing happened to my truck.Then I called KALINS AUTO he showed up on the next day,he told me it's a computer,so I ordered the computer from the NAPA and I got a big discount from his account,so now my truck was back in service BE CAREFUL OF THE BACKYARD MECHANIC. KALIN IS MY MECHANIC AND HE IS THE BEST read more

The water pump blew out on my Jeep Cherokee so I called Kalin. He came out the next day, diagnosed the problem right away, went out and bought me a brand new water pump at a discounted price and installed it, all within 2 hours. I was able to save on towing costs and watched a movie on the comfort of my couch while my car was being taken care of. He charged me a very reasonable rate, explained what was happening with my car and answered any and all questions I had. I highly recommend Kalin and won't hesitate to call him the next time I need a repair. read more

Kalin did an amazing job on my truck recently. The streering wheel had stopped working (nearly fallen off) while I had a huge trailor hitched to the rig, so I called Kalin. He came out and in 30 seconds diagnosed the issue and said "Here's what I can do". By 5:00 pm, he had a replacement in and had me running. He is a rare find and rare talent with excellent communication skills and great knowledge. I would highly recommend him to anyone looking for great repair. I will do all my work with him from now on. Truck guy, Kirkland, WA. read more

I live in Portland and was up in Seattle for the weekend when my brakes went out. I had to be back home for work and couldnt find anyone to help until the following week. I came across Kalins site and he came out , diagnosed the problem, was able to locate the part, and after doing a lot of driving, came back and had the brakes fixed in no time. He was easy to work with, much less expensive than a shop, and did a great job. He saved me a lot of hassle, time, and money. read more