Thorough and friendly mechanics had a look at my older dodge caravan and were honest about safety issues and repairs needed to pass NYS inspection. Elena was excellent with her customer service and made me feel welcome as a new customer. You're in good hands with the folks at Shade Tree Auto, they came highly recommended locally and my experience did not disappoint! Especially having an older vehicle that I want to keep safe and on the road, highly recommend John to check out your vehicle! read more

Well, a happy ending to my 2007 volvo S80 saga , i ended up taking it to Hunts Auto in ithaca, they were up to the task, and got it running good and they didnt even mind the oil leak ,after all they are a real garage ,they were also courteous and professional read more

I was in a bind while visiting Ithaca over the holidays with a bad oil leak on an aging vehicle. My parents have used Shade Tree for years with good results, and sure enough they fixed the leak the same day and got me back on the road without throwing off our travel schedule. A month later and the repair is still good. It's a slightly funky place but I think they are honest and straight forward. They'll tell you what MUST be fixed, and what should be fixed but isn't critical. That's always tricky with old cars especially. read more

I have been taking my old Volvo to Shadetree exclusively since 2007. It has almost 300k miles on it now and still runs great. My wife bought multiple cars from them and takes her cars there for service too. She loves them because they are conservative about fixing what needs to be fixed now and they tell her what to expect for later. Like John P. says, it can be tricky with old cars. They have alot of experience with Volvos and with Subarus, too, and they have a guy on staff there who is particularly good at diagnosing electrical issues, which is pretty rare at most auto repair shops. It's a family-run shop, they are good-hearted folk, and they've always been more than fair with us. read more

These folks know their business , do what is necessary, and give you options for the non-essentials. I have used them over the years for Audi, Subaru, and Honda repairs. Highly recommended. read more

Absolutely horrible, way overpriced -- Don't go there!!! When I came back from vacation my brakes were completely rusted up on my car and I just happened to see this shop and went in. BIGGEST mistake in my life!!! They charged me more than $1500 to repair my brakes on a car worth only about $2000 with the new set of brakes. They told me my car is in great shape and can be used for a long time. The day I drove it back, I found that it is extremely noisy, so I brought it back and found that there is a big hole on my exhaust pipe. I try not to think that they made this hole, although it is a bit too coincidental! But, anyway, their whole attitude changed as soon as I brought my car back, treating me with absolutely no respect and often leaving me waiting for long periods of time. PLEASE DON'T GO THERE!!!! read more

My experience was what I call CAR-mageddon. I needed to have a big job done and I consistently asked them to tell me what they were doing before working on my car and they went ahead and did the work without notifying me. They made a huge mistake and then charged to have it fixed there. I spent almost of all my savings on this work just to be able to get my car to the point where I can drive it out of their garage. It was truly awful. And they don't use a computer to keep track of information so every time I called, I had to tell them my phone number, name, type of car and all of that while they wrote it down by hand. I don't think that everyone needs to use the newest technology but their system seemed really unorganized. I am writing this to simply warn people about what happened to me. read more

This was the worst car experience I have ever had. I wish I was warned before I lost my savings to Shade Tree Auto. Please be careful!

Complete rip off. They did not fix my car. They changed the exshaust and battery but the car still not starting most of the time. I took it to someone in Lansing NY and he found that the alarm system is sending false signals that not allowing the car to start. Stay away and do yourself a favour. read more

This shop performed work WITHOUT being authorized to do so. We brought our vehicle in and specifically asked for a quote/estimate - after a lengthy phone call describing all that was wrong with it, the conversation ended with "I'll call you Monday with numbers". Monday I got a call and learned that $770 in parts and labor had already been done. Then Tuesday they called and said there was another $1200 job that needed to be done before it could be driven. We paid the $770 (after being threatened with small claims court) & drove our vehicle away. Shade Tree = SHADY! A horrible experience with a complete fraud - who says "estimates don't mean anything" when we tried to make the point that he got himself this deep without our permission. Who does this two weeks before Christmas? Shade Tree. read more

If you care about your car at all, Do Not take it here!!!!!! I have never written a review for anything before but I wish someone would have warned me about them before I spent literally most of my savings on poorly done repairs by them. I needed a new engine and they got the wrong one, charged me extra and then the head gasket broke 2 days later and even though I had a warrantee they charged me to fix their mistakes knowing I had no choice. Then I called every day for a week asking them for updates and begging them to call me before they did any more work and they just wet ahead and did it anyway leaving me with a bill close to $6000. No joke. My new mechanic has pointed out how lazy they were and I am still fixing problems caused by Shadetree. Luckily I was not hurt all the times my car broke down and I has to bring it back to them. So I just want to give a warning to people who really depend on their car and don't have thousands to spend on shoddy repairs. Please be careful!! read more

My car suddenly stopped starting. I took it to Shade Tree Auto and met with John. He said that the ignition must to be changed. I asked him to call me to authorize any more services because I know that some mechanics might change things that would cost a lot. His wife which is the person responsible for billing and all administrative work called my at the end of the day and informed me that the car is ready. I went there and found that they changed the ignition and the exhaust and the charge is $800 and my car does not worth less than a $1000. I did not authorize the change of the exhaust. I asked John why he changed the exhaust without my authorization. He replied that he does not have enough time to call every customer and ask for authorization! He said that he does what he sees to be right. Anyway I paid the 800 and took the car. Next morning, I experienced the same old problem, my car was not starting. I went back to John to ask him if he can take the exhaust and the ignition off but he said that he would charge me the labour to remove these parts that he installed before. Anyway, the conclusion is that Shade Tree Auto will do the work that is most profitable to them not the work that will fix the car! read more