Contrary to the popular spirit of this board (and especially my ususally snarky posts ), I want to give mad ups and many thanks to Linnett's Gulf of 22nd and Spring Garden for taking care of our cars throughout the years. We just had another good experience with them, which prompted this post.

No frills and sans , Linnett's has always been fair, upstanding and forthright, all qualities one does not often hear in the context of discussion about an auto repair shop. We tried them nearly eight years and five cars ago for a basic inspection and have gone back for everything under the sun since. When our vehicles have been in need of repair covered by dealer warranty, Linnett's has said "you should take this to your dealer, it's covered under warranty," instead of screwing us as many other shops would. When we have gone in for major repairs, they cut us a break on small stuff we need done at the same time. Always, we get a timely call of "your car is done, your car is done" or "please call us, just want to go over a few things," which turns out to be a less unnerving conversation than one might presume.

We like Linnett's Gulf and we thank them. In this age of price gouging, crappy customer service and shoddy workmanship, it's nice to know that our mechanic is above such nonsense.

I found Linnett's a few years ago and have used them ever since for everything the car needed. I have never had a complaint. They have always been straight forward with me and told me exactly what the car needed and didn't try to put one over on me. I am not a car mechanic by any stretch of the imagination, but I do know a bit about cars. In the past, I've encountered the usual bias against women when it comes to knowing your car and have had to fight to get things done properly. At Linnett's they have always treated me with respect.

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I had a bad experience with them - I had a complicated problem with my BMW involving the fan switch, which was running continuously and draining my battery. I went to them in an emergency - I was leaving for vacation in less than a day and didn't have time to get to my regular mechanic. The listened carefully to my problem, noted all the symptoms, charged me $125 and didn't fix the problem at all. They just replaced the battery and sent me on my way. The next morning, naturally, I was stranded in DC with a dead brand new battery. I will never deal with them again.

I've had mixed experiences with them. Always cordial to be sure, but the last time i went there the brakes they had installed failed two days later and they insisted on charging for the "new" repairs.

Still, they're here in the 'hood.

Yea, that is a great garage. 2 thumbs up!

More respect to Linnett's. One time, when my car was dead at 23rd & Mount Vernon, they actually brought their charger to my car so I could drive it down the hill to their shop. Fair prices, good service, neighborly treatment.

Good experiences here as well and one of these times I will be able get the guy at the front counter to smile.

I have to say that they're not bad. I think they're expensive but honest.

One time I had to have my car towed there because it just wouldn't start one day (the engine turned but wouldn't catch). They called me a few days later to report that my car started fine and couldn't find anything wrong with it. They told me I could pick up my car and the car seemed fine. What I liked was that they didn't charge me for anything. They could have *found something wrong* and replaced a bunch of parts that didn't need it and I wouldn't have known the difference. So, I appreciate the honesty where most places would exploit females.

However a few months later the same thing happened and I took it there and they told me it was my fuel pump and it would cost $800.00 to repair. I thought that was too much and said forget it.

Something similar happened to me... my check engine light would come on constantly, and they'd charge me to read the code and then tell me it was just a faulty oxygen sensor, "ignore it!"

But then a few weeks later, right around Christmas time, the car died and I had it towed back to them. All of the sudden that "faulty oxygen sensor" became an $800 repair. Which I guess can happen, but I always felt a little uneasy about being told to drive around with the check engine light on until the car crapped out. It's not like I could get an easy second opinion at that point, either...

When I moved to Fishtown I switched mechanics, and my new guy reacted to that story with "You didn't have that repair done here, right? We don't steal people's Christmas savings very often." I hope he was just joking.

I know this is off topic but... Dang, I have the same problem with my car as well! The check engine light is ALWAYS ON. I've paid ($300 a few times) to have the o-sensor rings changed (or whatever they're called) but the light comes back on after driving it a few miles. And the car won't pass inspection if that light is on even though the car runs fine. So now I have to get a special waver from PA to allow my car to pass inspection. Thing is, the waver is only granted if it's shown that the mechanic spent a minimum of $150.00 to try and repair it. Now my state inspection costs me $150 when everyone else only pays $50. Did your mechanic find out what's wrong with your engine light??

I know I should buy a new car but I don't really see the point when I work from home and hardly ever use it. It's still cheaper than buying a new car.