My husband, Bob, has a 1992 Saab 900S, purchased new in 1992. I have a Saab Aero, purchased new in 2003. Moving to Santa Fe in 2015, we were concerned re who/where could we get servicing for our Saabs. Immediately, a local Saab owner directed us to Smart Motors. We have gone ONLY to Smart Motors ever since--for all of our cars' maintenance and servicing since 2015. In February 2026--just months ago, my car suddenly went out of control, with the right front tire and wheel suddenly falling off, as I turned left from Aqua Fria onto La Joya Street. I summoned AAA to get take my car to Smart Motors. Thanks to Jim Smart, within about 3-4nweeks, my 2003 Saab looked like a brand new car, and it has been driving smoothly and beautifully ever since Jim's repair. Even the body work was absolutely perfect. Truly looks like a brand new car. read more

Great guys in the back, but dealing with the lady at the front is IMPOSSIBLE. Negative, insulting and difficult. What's particularly strange is that the first experience I had with them was perfect--they mounted and balanced 4 tires (from Tire Rack) in May 2016. At that time, I dealt with Jim Smart, the owner. Great people. The second time I came in June to install another tire--different story. I'm sad to say that they're great guys in the back who are let down by a very difficult person in the front. read more

This is a fantastic Saab specialist. Jim and Patti are fantastic owners and Jim is super knowledgeable about Saab repair, it's all he does! I've been using them for more than ten years to keep my sweet little 2003 convertible Saab running like a top! I highly recommend them if you're driving a Saab read more

The absolute best place to take your Saab in new mexico! for years they have given me excellent service and I have never met anybody more knowledgeable on these types of cars. I find their work to be fair and honest and that is a rare thing when it comes to auto shops. When people make the comment that the lady at the front is rude, they don't take into consideration that she is just intelligent and possibly from back east originally (?! hence "smart motors". Come on guys, we all know that intelligent people from back east have a low tolerance for BS and dont you prefer somebody just talk to you straight? I do appreciate clarity and directness! Thank you Smart Motors for years of honest service and keeping my Saab in great shape! read more

My Saab had a recall on its air bag. The closest accredited shop I found was a shop in Santa Fe. After reading that the woman in the front was "rude" and after speaking on the phone to her, I proceeded with caution. I called 5 times to make sure everything was going as planned. She had warned me to call and cancel if I could not make it. Her tone was such that I knew the review was right. It was completely my fault that I saw the time wrong and killed time in a cafe nearby, and arrived an hour late. (The Mexican cafe's clock had not sprung forward". I had even driven by the shop first to make sure I had the right location. When I walked in at 3pm instead of 2pm, I was mortified. The man who helped me was not happy, which I understand. He even said "well you called us 16 times". Which was an exaggeration. He was trying to say that after bugging them so many times, I then arrived an hour late. Here's the thing. I was born in Austin where people are kind and friendly and forgiving. The Smart couple did not get the memo. I prefer to take my business where I am treated with concern. I found the atmosphere tense and have to concur with the other 2 reviews. If customer service does not matter, this is your place. If the way you are treated does not matter to you, this is your place. After I sincerely apologized for being an hour late, Mr. Smart did not once soften or look at me. It turned out that my car was finished in 30 minutes and I saw no one else waiting. All that their attitudes did was to to lose my business. .I would not dare to read his response, they are both so rude. There was one humorous thing and do we need to find what humor there is. When I got there I was so unnerved by the woman's voice on the phone (it's a tone thing) that I said "thank goodness that woman isn't here" and he replied "you mean my wife". We were just not a match. And as these things seem to go, I bet they are excellent mechanics. Or maybe manners and mechanical are more related than I think. read more

Unethical, rude, ripoff. I paid these people to give me a diagnostic and help me figure out what was wrong with my vehicle. I told them if they needed to they could remove my seat to see if it was the fuel pump. And for them to fix the hood cable. They removed the portion of my hood that keeps it closed and didn't replace it leaving a wire hanging out of the hood dangling down the front of the car. The woman in the front was unprofessional, rude, and frankly nasty. They didn't even put the plastic moulding or seats back after they opened it up. The carpet was pulled back and not replaced. Woman in front literally said my "car was a piece of crap". Still back to square one even after paying these people. No idea what's wrong with the car. And they gave me no idea what it could be either. Nor offered me any idea where else to go. They refused to do the work my car needed and said I should just tow it to a junk yard. I called up another mechanic and he verified I was correct in the first place and it was indeed the fuel pump. Which they said it would be hours of diagnostic work to figure out. I would never have taken my car to them if they weren't the only ones in the state available other than Jeff's Saab shop. Not to mention they said they called me multiple times, which is unverified. I even called the cell phone company to verify. read more

I just relocated here with my 2004 9-3 Linear, and went to Smart Motors on the advice of a new neighbor. I'm puzzled by every aspect of the 1-star review, I have to say. As I showed up for my app't. I was greeted by a very conversational receptionist (who happened to have also lived in my former state). I had brought the car in due to hesitation and a "funny noise" in the front end. When I showed up at the end of the day, the car was ready and the owner provided me a very satisfactory explanation of all work performed (aside, I'm an engineer, and I thrive on detail). The owner is very clearly a long time Saab super-enthusiast, and we chatted on a bit about differences in original Saab parts and after-market reproductions. I will definitely be patronizing this shop for my future repair and maintenance needs. read more

It is impossible to find enough words to thank SMART Motors in Santa Fe. We were driving across the U.S. in our just purchased 2005 Saab Linear Sports Sedan with a large load on bars on top. With a manual transmission and the speed control on we drove over some steep Colorado mountains. It was a dumb move because instead of down shifting on the uphills we depended on the turbo boost. That was too much after an hour at high altitudes on hot day with very thin air (less oxygen available for combustion). It required the overworked turbo to boost too much. Though we did not realize it until coming into Santa Fe, our naive goof was costing us some turbo Bypass valve issues in the form od a damaged diaphragm and for that the engine check light came on. We were on our way to California on a Thursday two days before the July 4th holiday. Damn we would be lucky to find qualified repairs to keep us going. A Google map search led us to Jim SMART of SMART Motors. We arrived at 4 pm and yet Jim came right out to hear our story and advise us to see him the next day at 11 AM. We did and he did. A very minor repair to a hose and he sent us on our way, though he made it clear when we go to California we needed to replace the Turbo Air Bypass Valve. So far the story is good and Jim was perfect, but wait! We have owned 18 Saabs starting in 1978 and we are mechanically inclined to do minor repairs. For that reason we had been members of the very guru-like Saab Club and its many online web sites that replaced it today. From experience we can tell you to take your Saab to a specialist in primarily that brand. Even better, go to one of the Saab famous gurus if you are near one. Most of our Saabs, including this current one, came from and were maintained by Larry Gesch of Country Imports near Milwaukee Wisconsin. Of course our history together is over 4 decades so that is recommendation enough. The Saab we were driving we had just bought from Larry 5 days before. Clearly he sold us a great Saab and our problem was one I induced. It was scary to be far from our expert yet here was his equal at SMART Motors What are the chances, Jim SMART knew and had met Larry and was the same type of guru. Jim isn't just a Saab guru, he is a decades long Saab enthusiast who goes to the National Saab conventions and so on. In other words, if you want to be with the top expert in Santa Fe see Jim - If we are lucky we will find the guru of Los Angeles and have the same great fortune we had in Santa Fe. Finally thanks also to Patty at SMART Motors for her rapid answers to our follow up questions. PS: The owners manual says do not drive in mountains with the speed control! read more

This is by far the worst shop I have ever dealt with. I'm serious, I never leave reviews but this was a ridiculous experience I had with these people. They are evil, another person said this in one of the reviews and he is absolutely spot on. I have owned quite a few Saabs and Volvos and have dealt with many specialty shops. This guy is a hack. He is the most disrespectful shop owner I've ever talked to. His wife who runs the counter is extremely rude and unprofessional. I towed in my 9-5 for a coolant leak, it had also been overheating even with coolant in it. Mice had gotten into it over the winter but I cleaned pretty much all of that stuff out before towing it. She called and said he bypassed the leak and to come get the car out of their parking lot, he didn't want to work on it because mice got in it. He charged me $100 for a used battery. I got a ride - I live an hour away - and drove it out of the lot. Car cranked very very slow - battery was not good at all. Car overheated in a few miles of pulling it out of his shop. Was on highway, put it in neutral and shut motor off to coast to stop. Battery died almost immediately and my lights turned off going about 60 on highway at NIGHT. I am serious. Thank god no other car were right by me. I have no electrical issue, alternator is fine. He will not take responsibility for any of this. Got a 3rd ride down there and changed thermostat on side of highway, put in NEW battery I bought, cranks and runs great now. Thanks to myself. These people are unethical in their work, ripped me off and left me stranded. Took no responsibility whatsoever. PLEASE do not go through this yourself. read more