OK I'm back again. Here now. Once again they are not honoring their price commitment that was made by phone when I made the appointment. Pricing started out at $92 when I walked in the door not noting the coupon discussion when I made the appointment. Then with the reduction, still higher than stated at $77+. It's only $5 but it's about honesty and integrity guys. Not cool! ​Charge what you state to get us in the door! read more

radiator for an 04 Lexus gs 300 cost 400$ it's a joke Merlin and you guys need to do better read more

Merlin Complete Auto Care - Look at the radiator price - Auto Repair Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

I came around 1pm to get an oil change and immediately the front desk tells me they are busy I asked him if it would be okay if I come back 3 hours later and he gave me attitude so I told him I'll come back tomorrow when they open at 8am Came around 8:04 and the mechanic opened the door for me around 8:15am When the front guy came he didn't even say sorry 3 people were getting their car fix including me And a guy walks in around 8:30am asking for a oil change and the front guy turns him down saying we can't do it today read more

Brought my car here yesterday and it's perfect! Very friendly and attentive staff, they communicate effectively and efficiently which I love. They changed my tires to my snow tires, fixed my brake light that was out, changed my oil and flushed the radiator. They provided an amazing service and were honest about what my car needed/didn't need which is hard to come by when you take your car somewhere! Thanks guys! read more

DO NOT GO HERE!!! I went in on August 31st for an oil change and had a mechanic come out telling me I needed new tires and this and that. First of all, I just bought tires less than a year ago, I do NOT need new tires. After telling him this he seemed pissed off. So four days later I have my low tire pressure light come on. So I measure each tire and see that one is half of what it should be. I make an appointment with Discount Tire and they say that there's a tiny pinhole in the side of my tire (the part that is universally deemed irreparable). The manager at Discount Tire literally tells me he's never seen something like this before, and that someone must've known what they were doing when they did this. So I ended up having to buy two new tires as an undergrad student who works only 10 hours a week and is putting herself though school. To me, it seems awfully coincidental how my tire magically got a pinhole in the side after some mechanic tries for 20 minutes to convince me I need new tires? Please, save yourself the time, money, and anger and do not give this shop your business. read more

Went to Merlin's to have my suspension looked at on my Mini. Owner tells me that it will cost $571 dollars to repair all front and back sway bar and stabilizer parts. Felt that was high so I decided to go back to Mini and see. Mini tells me it is only bushings that need to be replaced and it would cost a total of $231 !! Called owner of Merlin's (could not understand his name on phone) and he said that they never said to replace ALL the parts and other places have different prices, what do you want me to do. I asked why replace parts that are not faulty and he says nothing. Tells me to have a good day. Deceptive sales practices here. They scam you to replace parts that are not bad !! Stay away from this franchise !! read more

Horrible service! The manager Ace doesn't know anything. They keep changing prices. They kept changing the diagnosis about the car. they kept my car for about 2 weeks! !! NEVER GO HERE WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY! read more

Came in to get my brake pads replaced and an oil change, they printed out a quote that included tons of unnecessary work (trying to scam me because I'm a young women). I think the manager was working the front desk, he was super rude the entire time. Acted like the job would be quick but I ended up sitting here for three hours when mechanics were sitting around. Trash place, go somewhere else read more

Decent service. But.... ALWAYS get quotes from Steve and ONLY get work done while he is there. Ace WILL screw your out of serious money. He was going to charge me 1300 on shocks and struts while there was a special going on. Steve said they could do it for 960. read more

Louis, Ace, and the rest of the team is professional and courteous. This will be my go-to place for all my auto repairs. There was no overselling, I was told exactly what was needed. I sent my 18 year old son to that location, and he received the same friendly service with advice on keeping his car in safe driving condition. read more

What a liar. Went in to get my husband's back break pads replaced. They had just started making a noise over the weekend. The car is only 3 years old with 29k miles. Guy tried to convince me to replace the rotors as they were rusty. Let's just note that while the other part of the rotor might have been rusty the portion with the break pad had no rust as there was no caliper damage. The man admitted that nothing was wrong with the caliper and the rotor thickness was not a problem. Said the rust could cause continued noise, etc. 2 break pads a tire rotation and labor 190 still a rip off but better than the 350 he quoted for the unneeded repair. Breaks make no noise no pulling and no play in the break pedal. Shame on you. Will never return. Stay away. If I could give it zero stars I would. read more

Not very informed. I took my Daughter's 2002 Jetta in with a leaking exhaust. Tracey the service manager quoted $1200 (with a 50% discount on parts) to change out the catalytic converter. Said it was very labor intensive and hard to reach. Took the car to Velasquez Muffler on Roosevelt in West Chicago and got it fixed for $130 in 20 mins. They changed the pipe connecting the manifold to the catalytic converter. Tracey even argued with me that I didn't know what I was talking about when I suggested changing out the pipe only. She said the welder couldn't fit in there. There was no welding done by Velasquez, one flange and one clamp, less than 40 mins including the time to inspect and estimate. read more

Got my tires changed last week- thankfully before this crazy snow hit us. They were really patient with all my questions and got a discount because I went with Continental tires! (Thank you!) Only downside was it took longer than expected because they were busy and appeared to be short staffed that day. But other than that, no complaints on my end. read more

They put new front & rear brakes on my car in June. In September I was getting some significant noises related to the brakes. Turns out that I'm not even sure it should have been covered but they fixed it and honored the warranty no questions asked. read more

My elderly (83) father took his 1996 Buick car there for a bad starter issue. They quoted him 370 for the mechanical repair! Wow. RIP OFF TOTALLY! Here is the breakdown: They charged 200 for the part- auto zone sell it for 65 bucks!!! Wow.!!!! They Charged 155 labor- 1.5 hrs- it is held on by 2 bolts! Wow. Probably took em 30 min max to do entire job! He said they make money on the parts!!!! Just how much????? 130 profit on the parts????? BS! Manager keep saying "my dad agreed to the price! "But my dads mind is fading quickly, and has no real concept now! This shop on randall rd in elgin near the fox theater completely took advantage of the elderly / my father!!!! Do not take your car to them for anything!!!! They will rip you off!!! He said there was nothing he could do so I felt extremely compelled to create an account and write this review to warn others of the pricing rip off they are doing!!!! There are other shop out there to go to!!! read more

Very honest shop and good prices. Ace and Steve are good at explaining what needs to be repaired and are always willing to help us out above and beyond other shops. read more

Wow DONT go here. I had an appointment at 4pm today. I arrived early. They tell me they close at 6 and will not be able to get to my vehicle today. Apparently an alignment takes over 2 hours and even though I made this appointment last week they don't want my money. Worst Customer Service ever read more

Changed out my Honda Civic muffler quickly today (02/07/18). Charged me $300 for Walker brand muffler. OK, Could have purchased it on Ebay for $100, but too cold to do this work myself. Gave me a ride back to my home and picked me up when job was done. Had them previously do my tie roads and brakes for my Passat with Ebay parts. Did a good job as far as I can tell. read more

Talk about the gang that can't shoot straight! I had a new muffler put on my ancient car 2 years ago. When I got it home, it had silky fibers coming out of one of the tailpipes. I asked Ace, the owner/manager what to do and he said pull them out because I didn't need them. Hmmmm. Last week, I took the car in again because it was making horrible noises. Got a new exhaust pipe and decided, unfortunately, to let them work on my brakes. Bottom line, sounded like the car was dragging something with each mile driven. Took it back in & they cut a heat shield off the catalytic converter, saying I didn't need it. Sure seem to be a lot of superfluous parts on my car (?). This has to be a scam; cars don't come with extraneous parts. read more

Lowest price, quick turnaround but the quality reflects that. Had them replace a timing belt and water pump 18 months ago. 2 days ago check engine light came on and car dropped into limp mode. Had to take to closest facility for safety (Pep Boys). Turns out timing belt is crumbling, water pump is leaking and that's damaging sensors. All a result of a poorly installed tensioner. So I had to replace everything again for $1,000+. Not the first problem I've had with the work here, but certainly the biggest. Never going back. read more

I brought my 2003 Honda CR-V in to get a rear stabilizer bar link replace. Spoke to the owner Ace and he gave me a very fair price, so I decided to have both of the links replaced. Ace also hooked me up with a Merlins Advantage membership which I can use for future services. Very happy with the overall experience. read more

This place is a freaking joke! Some manager quoted my sons car of almost $1200 for brakes, rotors, ball joints, etc; Brought it to Kevin's auto in St. Charles (HIGHLY RECOMMEND) and it needed one small part that was almost $200.00. I used to bring my Kia there years ago and no matter what they always found "something" wrong and i was going back month after month for other stuff. The manager that used to be there named Ace (i think) - biggest scam artist i ever met. Save your time and money and look for Kevin's auto in St.Charles. read more

Horrible experience. I went for an oil change. The mechanic said he was struggling with the hood, I went to help him open it. Within a couple minutes the owner came out and said that he didn't want to deal with this, because he wasn't going to work for free and he was sure I wasn't going to pay for 100dollars an hour while they opened it. The only reason I can think of that caused him to be rude is that he was worried that he could be liable if his mechanic had done something to it. After leaving without an oil change I was able to open the hood myself. I do not recommend this place!!! read more

if I could give no stars I would. I was quoted over the phone $300 for brakes. when I came in it took over an hour to give me an estimate price. they priced me $1500 for brakes alone!! I told them I had to leave and would come back and pick the keys up and the car. when I arrived for the car, the guys inside were standing at the window laughing and bickering because I had to jump my car. worst customer service I've ever had. I don't recommend this place to my worst enemy!!! read more

Thank you Merlins for GREAT customer service and a wonderful job on my car. They fixed my car quickly and were very honest. Best price around! Highly recommended read more

Yes, the reviews are correct, horrendous and incompetent service. The owner, Ace, will woo you w/ manufacturer's rebates and a discount or price match to make you think he is doing you a favor and create "trust". That's his game. We paid for a COMPLETE diagnosis and estimate of all possible issues with our vehicle to decide if it was worth fixing. We had $3200 of work done w/ a guarantee (Timing chain, alternator, brakes, battery) that any issues related to these fixes would be corrected, adjusted free of charge until the issues that were paid for were completely fixed. Hmm, day after we picked up the vehicle the service light came on. Error code gave about 10 possibilities all related to transmission. Asked what was going on, how was that not diagnosed. Told, Gee, the light wasn't on 2 days ago when we fixed it. Argued, brought it to another mechanic, who informed us of an entire list of issues caused by incompetence and/ or carelessness of technicians working on the vehicle (almost the entire engine was pulled apart) and still more issues that were completely overlooked by them. He was so taken aback that he filed a formal complaint to the BBB on our behalf and signed it w/ his own name. Then he called Ace himself, God bless him. He also told us we should get an atty. This was 2 days ago. If that doesn't sum up what a crooked, incompetent owner this guy is, then good luck to ya. He should be put out of business. Luckily, the reviews look like he's on his way. Can't wait to see his reply to this post. Can't argue with the facts. read more

This place is terrible they are all about up charging it took them from 9:30am to 5;00pm to do my brakes after telling me that it would take a couple of hours read more

Do not waste your time, poor workmanship. Repair/labor guarantee only lasts the 30 days they give you . Nothing but problems!

I went for an oil change an hour before closing. They had only 2 cars up, and staff sitting around. I indicated i needed an oil change. They looked at the clock and said sorry, they couldnt take me. Will not go back. read more

Had my 2006 Ford E2 50 van towed to merlins had to have a serpentine belt replaced charge me double what anybody else would have but I had no choice as the belt was busted. While there I asked them to check my front in and front brakes while changing the belt they told me I needed an alternator front brake pads and rotors calipers and possibly will bearings with an estimate of over $1600 when I picked up my van I laughed at it I couldn't understand the estimate it was so confusing. I then took my vehicle to a certified technician and a member of the better business bureau credited. I told him what I expected to have done and he gave me a price less than half of what merlin muffler did. Still expecting a large amount of money coming out of my wallet I call to find out if my vehicle was ready he said yes your vehicle is ready there's nothing wrong with the alternator there's nothing wrong with the brakes there's nothing wrong with the rotors the calipers or the bearings come get your vehicle no charge. This garage is crooked I wouldn't trust them to put air in my bicycle tires. I wished as a community we could put people like this out of business. I can't imagine how many good honest folks have been ripped off by these people. Something very bad should happen to them read more