Great experience! When calling to make appointment very knowledgeable and helpful to determine what I needed. The service from the mechanic was fantastic, he communicated what was needed, explained clearly with time frame and cost. Very happy with the service received. read more

Great service, and friendly staff. I was able to get an oil change, inspections, and a new tire for a reasonable price. Thanks!!

Worst experience ever; Tom called about a update on my car but instead of speaking to me with respected I was greeted with attitude and a lot of curse words... not sure why he felt the need to talk to a paying customer that way but I will not be doing business with a piece of shit like that! Shady fucks even ignored my phone calls for hours until they closed on a Friday and tried to charge me for storing fees from the weekend... what a fucking joke! read more

Called Tuesday morning about getting my emissions test, they had me in and out in about 15 minutes. I recognize that the inspector was available and everything kinda just lined up, so that may not be representative of every other day. Everyone was very pleasant. 10/10 would recommend. read more

Had a flat tire. Towed the car there. The service and quality of care is over the top. This place makes you feel like you are family. Perfect work, great pricing and excellent service. Thank you. read more

Such a great place to take your vehicle. Quick response and very reasonable prices. Professional , honest and friendly.

Our car was stolen from our apartment building, broken window and ripped ignition switch and steering column apart. Once we got our car back in our possession, we called Tom Bess Automotive and they said we could bring it right up. They started ordering parts as soon as it was brought in. Called us and told us the price and timeline on getting our car back to us. And they stuck to their pricing and timeline. It was an overall great experience with this shop. Everything seems to be working absolutely like it should. read more

Built two custom cages for two of my vehicles to protect my catalytic converters from thieves. Excellent work and theft proof! plus has worked on all our vehicles. Great guaranteed work at honest prices! read more

Tom Bess Automotive - Auto Repair Near Me - Saint Louis, Missouri

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I called Tom Bess Automotive and asked the price of a conventional oil change. I was transferred to Tom and he told me " If you have to ask for the price of an oil change, you are to cheap to get one here". I said ok and he hung up. Seems to be a strange business model. read more

Guess my bumper bumped someone else's bumper months back. One of the lights that lights up my back license plate was gone. I was worried about taking it to a dealer and having to pay 100 million dollars for the work, but also reluctant to take it someplace other than a dealer -- would they have the light? I put it off all summer but wanted it done by fall because it gets dark earlier. A friend recommended I take my car to Tom Bess automotive and I am so glad I did. 1. They fit me in the last day of the month when they were busy with emissions testing. 2. They ordered the part on a Friday and had it by the next Monday. 3. They charged me less than $5 for the labor since it was such an easy fix. 4. They were very nice. Thanks for taking such good care of my car! I now have a place to take my car when it is under the weather! read more

Good job inspecting my truck. Very courteous clean shop. The employees are all very very nice

I had Charger and Chrysler 300 that needed repairs and Emile and Tom were very helpful and made it easy for me to get what I needed done. You want good service this is the place is the BEST (Tom) read more

My daughter took her car here this morning because her catalytic converter had been partially stolen and she needed to get it fixed so she could drive back-and-forth to work. This horribly crooked shop tried charging her $743 to rewire the oxygen sensor that was cut as well as re-weld the partially cut off catalytic converter. This was a prime example of a unscrupulous business preying upon a young woman in her time of need. When we told them that we just wanted it re-welded and the wires to get hooked back up he told us that he could not hook the wires back up because they were all the same color and they couldn't figure out which ones to hook up as well is that he was going to charge 2 1/2 hours labor to do three small welds. What a horrible business. We decided to get another opinion and he charged her $20 to get her car back. Another horrible business we practice fleecing a young woman in her time of need. We ended up taking it to Bob's mufflers on Cherokee and they did a fantastic job for $240. They were able to re-wire the cut lines that were properly color-coded and caught Tom Bess in a lie. Just so sad that such a horrible business is preying upon the customers in their neighborhood in their time of need. Please do not support this rip off business. How disgusting. And the little weasel that works behind the counter with his nose sticking out under his mask Was such a little jerk. I cannot believe this place stays in business. Take your money elsewhere and please support Bobs mufflers in Cherokee. I will go out of my way to support this great place. read more

Tom Bess is a family owned and operated shop in the heart of South City. The location has been a stalwart in the ever changing South Hampton area. The prices have always been fair and the work reasonable. We have taken our vehicles to TBA for everything from major repair to the $20 oil change and never have been upset. This place is not a large chain and they do work for the real people of the neighborhood. Understand, their work is completed in-house and on-site. I have read some other reviews of the shop and have to think there must have been another problem from the one star review. The people at the shop are good to my family and helpful with the neighborhood. Any business I can keep in the neighborhood, will stay in the neighborhood. read more

Tom Bess Automotive - Great neighborhood shop. Friendly and fast work. - Auto Repair Near Me - Saint Louis, Missouri

Did my two emissions tests for a good price and the work as expected. One was very quick and the other took almost an hour longer than promised. They seem relatively disorganized during busy times. I may or may not go back. read more

Tom Bess has been working on all of my vehicles for over 20 years,I will never go anywhere else, their service and prices can't be bet. awesome shop. read more

I called ahead for an oil change and general maintenance, and they were able to take me same day and return the car within an hour, which is obviously great. Upon arrival, it was hard to get someone to actually help me at the front desk, despite the many workers in front smoking cigarettes. When they asked if I wanted to add a safety emissions test, I asked how much that cost. The answer was "I have no idea". Upon picking up the car, we noticed we were charged for a brake light. We asked the person who checked us out what that was for, and she said she had no idea, because she just got there. That was it. No additional explanation was offered. I usually get my car serviced at Toyota, so maybe I misunderstood what was included in a maintenance service, but I was surprised to hear tires were not rotated and overview of car was quite minimal. read more

Would not recommend this place for women, older cars/trucks, those who don't know about their vehicles & really anyone else also!! Took my 77 Ford truck in recently, normally I do my own work & I've half rebuilt my engine already. I got relocated for work recently & once I knew the truck had to make it 500 miles I took it to Tom Bess automotive based on someone's recommendation. They broke my hood spring and latch, did not reattach my alternator bolt & called me with a ridiculous quote for things I did not even want work done on & seemed afraid or unwilling to do any work. They also quoted me for front brake hoses, and they look just fine to me. Today I called to make the owner aware of my experience. Didn't want anything from him, and certainly did not want them to attempt to fix anything they broke . What did surprise me though is that the owner never apologized or even seem surprised, and never offered to refund my $20 rack fee. I would think an apology would be common courtesy. read more

Tom Bess Automotive - Auto Repair Near Me - Saint Louis, Missouri

I have never written a review before but after I came across some other people's reviews Of Tom Bess Automotive I was in shock. I have been using them for at least 12 years & have NEVER had a problem EVER!!! Just a great neighborhood shop & I'm glad to have them right down the road! So my 1st review & I give the highest grade of 5 stars!! Thanks Tom Bess Automotive for the great service to me & my family over all these years!! read more

I bring my car is here anytime we need work, they are very reputable and very good at the work they do. They do a lot of major companies including Barnes and gateway high school to repair their vehicles. Tom Bess and his family have always been very supportive and very good people. Mechanics are usually very good and friendly. Of course everybody has bad days and good days but overall my experience with them has been very positive and very good. I recommend these people to everybody who needs car work done all my friends I send them to Tom . Tom is a great guy. Their oil changes of always been very good and at less then 20 dollars they beat the competition hands down read more

I had been going to Tom Bess to get oil changes. They were usually quick to get it done, but sometimes it took a few minutes for someone to greet me at the desk. One day I went to get my tires rotated, and right after I drove off I heard a clunking noise from the back of my car. I got out and saw that my driver's side rear wheel was tilted. The lug nuts were barely on. I thought as long as the wheel doesn't come off and I can make it back to them it's just an honest mistake. Thankfully I made it back, but when I showed them it was loose the manager just yelled at the newby to come fix it. No one apologized. That's what rubbed me the wrong way. read more

Love this place. Tom and Lulu (RIP) have always helped me out and their work is impeccable. His daughter has opened her own shop on Hampton by Bishop Dubourg. read more

You know, I'm a regular customer here and it's surprising to me that no one remembers me and the lead mechanic with the clipboard is very rude and speaks to me in a way that is belittling. I asked simple questions and he was very snarky with me, as he usually is, and the woman who is usually at the desk is very 50/50. She's nice sometimes but you can tell that she brings her attitude to work. Not going there anymore. read more

These guys are crooks. Just came from there. My heater was blowing cold air. They diagnosed it as the blender door needs replaced. 7 hours/$700 labor to get to it under the dash. The part cost $450. Hmm...Really? I did a quick google search, first entry was the Toyota website selling a brand new blender door for my 2007 Toyota Corolla for $120. Ha! I called another shop in town to get a price estimate and they priced the job, parts and labor, at $600. Exactly half of what Tom Bess wanted to charge me. Hilarious how dumb this shop is thinking they can get away with this crap in the age of google and also the age of google reviews. Funny side story, when I went in to pay the $100 diagnostic fee and pick my car up the mechanic said that they pretty much had the dash ripped all the way to the part that needed replaced. Strange. I had only left the car there one hour before they diagnosed it and called me, and one and a half hours total before I picked it up. Shouldn't it have taken 3 and a half hours to do that? At 38 years old I can't recall a more dishonest shop than this one and I've been to dozens of them. Until they clean up their dirty act, steer clear. UPDATE 2015: A month or so after i wrote this review I actually went in to take a look at the problem myself as a total car repair neophyte. Took me less than five minutes to pop the glove box off and get to the blender door which was directly behind it. No ripping apart the dash at all. Lol. And while I don't buy the part to fix it properly, I was able to push the door all the way open which allows my heater to work at full blast. Works good enough for me on my tight budget, funny they didn't inform me of this option when quoting me their original outrageous price. Bill Oberg St. Louis, MO read more

If you are going for an oil change, great. If you want quality work done on major repairs and a solid warranty, forget about it. They overcharge on parts big time, and their labor is 120 dollars per hour. You may as well go to Firestone or Dobbs. They can offer you a warranty you can count on. I came to Tom Bess after being referred by my fiancee. Another mechanic told me I needed a total break system overhaul, and I wanted a second opinion. Long story short, I ended up having to pay for the same service twice because they messed over it the first time. When I contacted the BBB, they furnished all these documents to them that were never given to me concerning the status of my brake system. People come to places like Tom Bess for honesty and transparency. Do not expect it from them. read more

Don't trust them. They lie, cheat and steal. I used to live directly across the street from them so i took my car there b/c i was having some problems with my car starting sometimes. they kept the car overnight saying they were hooking it up for diagnostic testing. when i called them the next day, Tom Bess himself told me he was on his way to pick up the part that i needed and it was $54. So i gave the get ok to fix my car. A couple hours later i get a call saying that it was actually the wrong part and the correct part was $165! What??? My hands were tied b/c they already had the part taken out and I needed to get to work. and they were going to charge me the diagnostic fee if I did not get the replacement part. (around $150). So angrily i told them to put the new part in. when i went to pick up my car, i asked them if i could have the part that they replaced and they told me it was a core part and that they couldn't give it to me! The part they replaced is a clutch pedal switch which i'm finding on line to be anywhere between 20-50 dollars. So my final bill with the part and labor ended up being $340! needless to say, i not happy! read more

Told me I had a radiator leak when I took my KIA in for diagnostic for the starter and battery. I knew the battery was weak and the starter wasn't bad. They told me they were both bad and then showed me a drop of water on the radiator. I know enough about cars that this is not the way a radiator leak looks. I paid their $35 fee for trying to rip me off and left. Total rip off joint. Stay away. read more

Got an oil change from them I didn't wait for it I dropped it off. When I came back to pay I asked for my keys. They told me the keys were in the truck which was parked on the street. I ask how long my truck had been done and she told me a few hours. So they left my car unattended with the keys in it in the streets of St. Louis. When I got home I saw that I was leaking oil and my engine was smoking. They didn't tighten the filter on all the way. Called to ask them for a refund and got told that they didn't do it and won't give me my money back. Crooks read more

Efficient, honest, and friendly, there's not much else you can ask from a mechanic. Very lucky I found a shop within walking distance.

Fast service reasonable pricing and a convenient ride to work while car being fixed I have used them twice and both times repairs were cheaper than quoted elsewhere read more

Great people. Wouldn't use anyone else. Very fast and clean. Family owned, owner is there if you need to talk to him.

My husband called for a quote and was given a price. I called the next day to schedule my drop off (satisfied with the ORIGINAL quote) and was immediately given to Tom, who started asking me questions about my car and the part that needed replacing. After giving him answers to his questions, he gave me a quote - HIGHER than the original! I said, "Oh, yesterday you gave my husband X price." Tom's grumpy reply was, "Fine, I'll do it for that then. Why are you even wasting my time, I'm very busy here." To that unexpected and incredibly rude comment, I replied, "Actually, I was calling to set up my appointment; but never mind, I'm going to take my car somewhere else." read more