Affordable prices, trustworthy mechanic, quality work. Elpidio (he took over Keiji Auto Services) in Skokie is the best mechanic I have found, period. I have been bringing my Honda Civic and my BMW X3 to him for years and have never once had an issue with his work or his pricing. Not once. Most recently I needed a drive belt replacement. Called in the morning, car was done by the afternoon, at HALF the price the dealership quoted me. No upsells, no confusion, no feeling like you're getting taken advantage of. He is an honest, hardworking mechanic who knows exactly what he is doing, and frankly he should be charging more than he does. The only reason he doesn't have more reviews is because he is the last of a dying breed. He's focused on doing good work, not marketing himself. If you need a mechanic you can trust and never have to think twice about, save his number now. read more

Keiji Auto Service - Elpidio's business card - Auto Repair Near Me - Skokie, Illinois

Keiji is one of the kindest knowledgeable people I've met and I'm so very thankful for all the car care over the years. Thank you Keiji! -Solara read more

Great service, explain issues and resolves in a timely manner. Thank you for always resolving all my cars issues.

I got an oil change here for my 2018 Grand Cherokee and Ruben did an amazing job, he also checked my tires before I even asked him to and he found what was wrong with my back passenger side tire and was able to fix it, will be going back here in the future when my car needs work done. read more

I had service visit with a different auto repair service station for my 2011 Lexus RX 350 a few weeks ago. No brake problem was mentioned. Shortly after I heard a rhythmic, rubbing noise when breaking at low speed. I thought to get this investigated by Keiji auto service, having had service there several years ago. I come to find out that Keiji turned his business over to Elpidio and Ruben. Elpidio determined the brakes were in good working order, and he reassured me the sound I was hearing did not signify a significant problem. He refused payment for looking the car over, despite his time and effort. I appreciate his honesty, for I was ready to pay whatever was required to have the brakes in working order. read more

Keiji is simply the best. He does honest work. In addition to his honest work, while in the middle of paying for your service (i.e., waiting for the chip reader to authenticate), he may also show you his 1978 magazine cover in which he and his shop are featured. The magazine is in impeccable quality, especially considering that it's been around since 1978. He may share some of his thoughts on the world, which is aligned with how he approaches his work. He's not in it for ripping you off. If he likes you, he will bless you with a handwritten philosophical phrase or thought on a notepad themed after "The Great Wave of Kanagawa" block print art on your way out. read more

Keiji Auto Service - Handwritten note from keiji himself! - Auto Repair Near Me - Skokie, Illinois

We went to Keiji for years and had great experiences, so when he retired and sold his business to Ruben, we weren't sure what to expect. Thankfully, we have had similar good service and honest advice from Ruben. Prices are still great, and he has been timely and easy to work with. Recently we had our tires replaced and aligned at another shop on Evanston, and they wanted to upsell island on $800 of additional work on brakes, rotors, and the heat shield. We took it to Ruben and he explained that we still had another 4-5 months to go before needed to replace those parts, and fixed the heat shield for $25 instead of the $100 the other place wanted. Ruben also works on cars other than Toyota's! We'll keep going to Keiji's and glad it is in god hands. read more

Keiji, Thank you for your great services! You mentioned that your relatives from Hawaii was calling you for your retirement right before this winter, and so I expected this would happen soon. My car broke down this month after you left, and I was totally lost. It was hard to realize that I lost you as my go-to-person, but you deserve warm climate in Arizona or Hawaii. You evacuated from Illinois high taxes right on time. Thank you very much for your services. I wish you the best retirement with your family. read more

Had breaks pads replaced. Quality service and decent price. Delivered on time. Will definitely go back! Thanks Elpidio and Ruben!

I would trust Keiji with my life. Honestly. Kind, respectful, trustworthy and KNOWLEDGEABLE. So skilled and experienced. Very reasonable prices. I've been bringing my Toyota to him for 15 years. (Yes, he has kept my 94 Corolla running BEAUTIFULLY for 15 years.) God bless him! read more

Sad to hear Keiji finally sold the place. I was hoping his son would take over. Time to find my new Keiji after going to him for 15 years. read more

30 plus years ago Keiji worked in Evanston on our cars when we lived there. We and Keiji have both moved a number of times since then and we ended up in Northbrook. This past Monday we called him about a problem with our Toyota and he told us to bring it in at 1:00 p.m. Within 15 minutes he had diagnosed our problem and fixed it at a cost of $25.00. Yes - Twenty Five Dollars! The Northbrook Toyota dealer we bought the car from somehow managed to find a couple of hundred dollars of work to do in connection with a routine oil change! As long as our car can make the trip we will be taking it to Keiji. read more

It's the third time I've had my car serviced there and it's been great again. The owner of the auto service is an extremely pleasant gentleman who does superb work on your car. Totally recommend the place. read more

Keiji has nothing but 5-star reviews on Yelp, and it's truly reflective of his kind character and meticulous expertise. After an oil change place recommended over $1000 of repairs, I took my 98 Camry here. He told me that many of those repairs were unnecessary and ended up charging me only $35 to fix the power steering leak. And he offered me a cup of tea while I was waiting, which made me feel like I was visiting and chatting with an old friend, even though I had just met him. He assured me that he doesn't plan on retiring for several more years, so I'm thankful that I can keep going to him! read more

I haven't been to Keiji for a few years since moving further South in the City, but I've constantly recommended him to others. No one I know has ever had anything less than a superior experience with him and his service. He was instrumental in keeping my wife's 1991 Toyota Celica going for well over 200k miles, and all while charging a more than fair price. Terrific man who cares for his customers and treats the cars as if they were all his own. read more

My husband and I have been taking our Toyota's to Keiji for over two decades. He has moved several times over the year's from his original location in Glenview Il. We have moved with him! Yes Keiji and his son are THAT good. Would never willingly let anybody else service our Toyota. Honest and considered a family friend. Could never recommend more highly. The work done is of the highest quality! read more

I have had the pleasure of knowing the owner almost my entire life. Keiji is an honest mechanic & a great man. I have referred dozens of Toyota/Lexus clients over the past 30 years and I have never heard a single complaint. The work here is rock solid as many others have already said. The only way to get a better price is to do it yourself. I would honestly say they under charge in most cases. They fix what you need and never try to oversell. This is a no frills shop. You won't be dazzled by the waiting area or be treated to Starbucks in the lobby, but if you are looking for a highly qualified mechanic that won't steal your lunch money, there is no other place to go. read more

Best service possible for Toyota, especially older models. Fair, trust worthy, and affordable.

Keiji is so good that I will probably buy a Toyota or Lexus as my future cars knowing that I have him in my back pocket to service those cars. An honest mechanic who doesn't recommend unnecessary procedures, Keiji will get a visit from me every 3 months or 3000 miles. read more

Keiji is the real deal. High Integrity and knows what he's doing. Our Experience: 05 Toyota Sequoia: North Side Toyota told us our 05 Sequoia was undriveable and dangerous needing over 5500 in repairs. Suspect, we found Keiji through a friend. Kieji inspected all of stated items and found that we needed rear brakes, an oil change and he oiled the fan belt. -- all for about 200 and he was done in a day. 06 Lexus GS For our GS that is still under lexus warranty- the dealer told our brakes had maybe 30 miles on them and quoted 450 to replace and "reshape the rotors" Suspect, we took it to Keiji - his assessment was about 3000 -6000 miles - and he said our rotors were perfect - he would just replace pads with genuine oem parts. Honesty, and great work. Go with Keiji if you have a japanese car. read more

I wanted to try Keiji's Auto service because of the wonderful reviews I saw on Yelp and Angie's list. We have recently moved back to Skokie and didn't hav a local auto mechanic. Thru Angie's List I found out the Keiji had worked for Toyota company in Japan and works on Toyota's in his shop. We have a 2004 Corolla that had the Check Engine light come on and we also had a 2006 Toyota RAV4 that had the Maintenance light come on also. So fearing the worst I called Keiji and we brought both cars to him. Well he used the auto diagnostic machine on the Corolla first and opened and tightened the gas cap.. that was the problem. So we told him that the Maintenance light was on the RAV4 and he asked if we wanted the light off and we said yes and he got it to go off and told us that the light comes on automatically every 5000K miles. Then he wouldn't charge us anything, only took about 10 min. total. We gave him a tip anyway. Spoke to him for a few minutes. I am Japanese American and he reminded me of my Dad and my Uncles, especially my Uncle Ben who was a truck mechanic. My Dad and his brothers grew up in Northern CA and Keiji had lived in the same area at one time. He was great, saved us a lot of money and we have a new mechanic for our cars that we can TRUST. read more

Keiji is a cool guy. You can be sure he won't overcharge you or over prescribe a repair work you really don't need. He specializes in Japanese imports, so if you have one (Toyota in particular) he's worth a try. read more

This is the place to go if you have a Toyota for sure. Keiji knows what hes doing and wont rip you off.

Keijisan and his son are the only mechanics I will let touch my 1999 Toyota Solara and 2001 Lexus ES300. We found them while living in Evanston. Now, we live in Lake Geneva, WI and it's still worth the trip. I always do a lot of cost research on the internet for expected repair costs before I finally bring my cars in for services. Somehow he manages to surprise me every time with charges far below expectations. Keijisan replaced our timing belt two years ago on the Solara and charged us half of what we were quoted by other shops around the North Shore. If you own a Toyota, Scion or Lexus, Keiji Auto is your only choice. Going somewhere else is, in a word, RISKY. read more

Brought in my son's 2004 Camry with 185,000 miles for an inspection to make sure it was safe/roadworthy. Keiji did a thorough review, changed a few bulbs, fixed rack and pinion leak, greased brake calipers/slides that were sticking, checked all the belts/fluids/plugs, etc. Said the struts were old but still working and everything else was ok. Didn't try to get me get me to fix or replace anything even though there is clearly a lot that could be done on a car of that age. Clearly an honest mechanic who gives you advice as if it were his own car. Also an interesting guy to chat with. Highly recommend. read more

Keiji is the best. That's the only place I now go to when I need to get my Corolla and my wife's Sienna serviced. Not sure what even to add to all the glowing reviews below. At the risk of sounding cliche, all I can say is that it's car repair service "the way it should be." read more

Keiji is absolutely honest, only does what is needed and understands older cars. It is the ONLY place I go for

The best mechanics I've ever met! I know for sure he is great with Toyota and Lexus because that's what I drive. Super honest and enjoyable. read more

My family & I have been taking our Toyotas to Keiji since 1984 when my grandmother bought her first Toyota. Keiji's excellent work, honesty, and expertise has been a driving factor in deciding to buy Toyotas for years now. When I bought my current car, a 2001 Echo, I did so knowing that Keiji would easily fix anything wrong with it without ripping me off. He will only fix what needs fixing--no "should do" repairs here; if your brakes can go another 3k miles, he'll fix them then instead of recommending you pay for extra work now. Keiji is the most honest mechanic/business man I've ever met and as long as he's around, I will keep taking my Toyota there. read more

In trying to sell my 1998 Toyota Corolla, a potential buyer informed me that my car had a broken motor mount. Not wanting to sell my vehicle with a known defect, I took my car to Keiji Auto based on the reviews on this site. I whole heartily concur with what's been reported. I dropped my car off and Mr. Keiji told me that he would call me when the car was ready. A few hours later he phoned, and told me that my car was fine. There was no broken engine mount and that I should come and pick up the car. When I arrived to retrieve the car he had the hood open and was cleaning the terminals on my battery. He said that the engine was performing as it should. When I asked how much I owed him he told me $20. Needless to say I was totally surprised that the charge was so low, PLUS the fact that he took it upon himself to clean my battery terminals. I know this is how it should be, but honesty and car repair usually don't go hand in hand. Keiji Auto Service IS THE BEST! read more

Keiji is one-in-a-million! He has kept my Toyota autos in great shape since 1995 -- 16 years. I've stayed with Toyota because of Keiji. He is honest, reliable and kind. I trust him and his expertise completely. It's such a great feeling to know that my car is being cared for by a trusted, skilled mechanic who possesses the highest levels of knowledge and integrity. Mary Anne R. Morton Grove, IL read more

Im so glad that I stopped by Keiji Auto Service.Extremely knowledgeable and very freindly. Does great work and shows and tells you what needs to be done. Affordable,fair and trustworthy. read more

A friend recommended Keiji. He really knows his Toyotas. Made an effective $90 repair when someone else was recommending an unnecessary $400 repair. But recently, Keiji's prices seem to be on a big upswing, so make sure you know the out the door prices on a tire rotation or oil change before you leave your car. He charged us $90 to change the oil and inspect the air filter (which he said was clean). Whoa! read more

Kind and honest in the face of Evanston swindlers.....My story is that I took my '92 old old Toyota Camry first to Doc Able. These guys are horrible. I found their flyer in the coupon book -- $50 for oil and full summer check up. They said it would cost $1500 to do a rack and pin unit replacement, brake pad replacement, replace my belts, and valve cover gasket replacement and kind of rushedly told me they could take care of it and have my car back at 4:00PM. I then came to my senses and realized I had to get a 2nd opinion. One shop said $900 for the same set of procedures and finally, Keiji Auto--the kind and honest repairman (run by and older Japanese gentleman who is a Toyota specialist in Skokie) replaced my steering fluid and told me my car was fine and while I could do all of these things they are not necessary. I should get my brake pads replaced in 2000 miles. Now that is honesty. read more

Have to add my two cents. I called Keiji after reading the other review here, and he said he could look at it the next day. I brought in my 1984 Toyota Camry, a much beloved, but very ancient and rusty old work horse, mostly held together with bumper stickers. A few hours later Keiji called me to give his assessment. He gave me a rundown of all of the small problems that could be fixed, which would amount to about $1,000. However, he said that none of those were vital. Instead, after a thorough inspection, he had fixed the oil leak, patched up the hole by the exhaust pipe, bent the windshield wipers back into place, and topped up the various fluids. He also showed me the gap by the timing belt where some prior mechanic had forgotten to put back the gasket. And you know how much he charged me for all of this? For the inspection, parts, taxes, etc? $65. Let's just say I'm one happy customer. read more

Keiji *is* honest and amazing service incarnate. I found out about him via a couple of other online review sites. Was the praise I read hyperbolic? Not a bit. I agree wholesale with the reviwer who reflects that you will feel GOOD about paying for service. You may have to experience it to believe it. read more

Following a CarMax purchase and the positive recommendations on the site, we just had our used Sienna 2008 inspected by Keiji. The price was very reasonable ($80) for a 2 hour long in-depth checkup. So far, we're quite satisfied: Keiji was quickly available and completed the inspection swiftly. His explanations were brief (everything was ok) and we'll go back for periodic checkups to see if the quality of the work holds up. read more

First let me say, I've taken my Toyota Avalon to Keiji several times, and always had a very good experience. Until this morning! My "check engine" light is on, so I take the car in and Keiji's guy comes outside to read the code. He can't get the code scanner to work, for some reason -- okay, that sort of thing happens (btw, I had no trouble reading the code with my own $10 obd2 scanner at home, so obviously something was wrong with his machine). When I ask the guy, what does he suggest I do, his response is: "Get a new car" (exact quote). Of course, I thought he was joking, but no -- he repeated that response, plus a surly "take it to the dealer," after which he just walked away. When I went inside again to talk to Keiji, his own response to me was, "Well, what do you want *me* to do?" (also an exact quote). A few more words back and forth along those lines, and I left. Now, maybe Keiji and his guy were just having a really bad morning, I don't know. Regardless, I'm obviously done taking my car to a mechanic who (a) isn't able to scan a diagnostic code, and (b) when that happens, responds so dismissively and rudely. read more

If you got a Toyota, Keiji is the one to take it to! He used to work for the Toyota guys in Japan! I've been there numerous times with no nonsense service. VERY REASONABLE and done when he says it'll be done. Recommended him to friends and THEY love him. You will, too! read more

I stumbled across a great review of Keiji (say Cagey) auto service when I was looking for a mechanic that was reliable. His prices are quite reasonable and his work is excellent. The only drawback is that he works on Toyotas only. But if you have a Toyota, Keiji is the place to go. read more