Wells Automotive Service

I had a great experience. Arthur came out to put in a nee battery and went above and beyond to make sure everything was all set to go. He was kind and thoughtful and a pleasure to deal with -paying attention to detail and explaining things to me, he made my car repair experience painless! Such a nice guy! 10 Star review for him and for Wells!

Frank, the owner of Wells Automotive, may be the most honest mechanic in Chicago. Every encounter I've had with him and his crew has exceeded my expectations. He's talked me out of unnecessary repairs and has gone out of his way to save me money. There aren't enough business owners like Frank. I wouldn't take my car anywhere else.

A scam, NO WHERE ON THEIR POLICY DOES IT STATE THAT THEY CHARGE A $25 ADMIN FEE, THEY CHARGE FOR GAS, THEY CHARGE FOR NO KEYS! WE ATTEMPTED TO PICKUP VEHICLE AT 11:25PM AFTER IT BEING TOWED AT 10:55pm We were told wait till morning or pay a fee of after hours and only cash! Seemed very skeptical! Then when we arrive in the morning were told it’s an extra $110 for two days of storage, a $60 fee for no keys after police handed keys to us at hospital! COMPLETE SCAME THAT THEY DO BECAUSE THEYRE CONTRACTED WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT! When we mentioned disputing the charges not listed in policy they expressed only cash now or they would not give up vehicle, attempted to pay online and the lady stated that’s not correct that payment won’t give us realize of vehicle!

I would actually like to give Zero stars; that’s what they really deserve. I had an extremely frustrating and costly experience with Wells Automotive. After my daughter was involved in an accident (with uninsured drunk driver), her vehicle was towed here by police. My daughter attempted to make the payment for towing and fees but they did not accept the payment or allow her to take pictures or remover her personal belongings citing insurance/liability reasons. One more thing that let’s me know they are definitely trying to fleece insurance companies, and/or victims, is that her car was towed there by their own tow company on a Sunday even though they knew they weren’t open on Sundays and they still had the audacity to charge her for Sunday 😳 They never told her that she would be charged anything even though they knew she had liability insurance and the at fault driver had no insurance. They also told me that they have contract with the police so they cannot be waive the $300 tow fee. So pretty much the police is receiving kickbacks from this company to send them “clients”. DISGUSTING! No wonder so many good hardworking people are moving out of Chicago! (Me included. I moved out 10 years ago!) More to the story: They would not allow AAA to retrieve the car, claiming the driver needed to provide ID and workers’ compensation documentation. When AAA tow truck driver declined to provide this on site, Wells Automotive used that as justification to continue holding the car and charging daily storage fees. The vehicle had a flat tire and could have been repaired or removed, but no reasonable alternatives were offered. This felt less like a safety issue and more like an attempt to force additional charges. Communication was poor, policies were unclear, and the situation added unnecessary financial stress after an already traumatic event. I would strongly caution anyone dealing with this tow yard and possibly auto repair services. They actually told my daughter they would not even look at her car to see if it could be fixed because according to them “the airbags were deployed in the accident so the car is considered a totaled”. They didn’t even check it so how do they know. Also, when I asked if they would be willing to send me photos of the car they said they can’t but they can see what was written in their system. This is what the person I spoke with on the phone said: “it says the airbags were deployed and when that happens insurance companies consider the car totaled”. Umm either they are trying to keep the car and get paid money on top of the money they will receive for selling the car for parts, or they think insurance is going to pay them??!!

I had an extremely frustrating and costly experience with Wells Automotive. After my daughter was involved in an accident with an uninsured drunk driver on the expressway, her vehicle was towed here by police. My daughter attempted to pay towing and storage fees, but the company did not accept and would not allow her to take pictures of her vehicle or remove personal items claiming insurance/liability issues. More like trying to fleece insurance companies! But since she only has liability insurance and driver who was at fault doesn’t have car I insurance, they try to fleece the victim of the car accident! They would not allow AAA to retrieve the car, claiming the driver needed to provide ID and workers’ compensation documentation. When AAA declined to provide this on site, Wells Automotive used that as justification to continue holding the car and charging daily storage fees. The vehicle had a flat tire and could have been repaired or removed, but no reasonable alternatives were offered. This felt less like a safety issue and more like an attempt to force additional charges. Communication was poor, policies were unclear and the situation added unnecessary financial stress after an already traumatic event. I would strongly caution anyone dealing with this tow yard.

Absolutely terrible towing service and awful customer support. Wasted over an hour of my time waiting for a towing service, and sent me a text that my request was cancelled. When I called to ask about it, the customer service agent kept saying they tried to call me when they got there and I wasn’t responding to my calls. When I told the customer service agent I was waiting next to my car the entire time and I didn’t receive any calls or see a tow truck, he changed his story and said it was because of the positioning of the vehicle and that I needed to call a different towing service. He was arguing with me on the phone over something they made up and then backtracked as soon as I called him out on it. It’s Chicago, every street has alleyways. When I tell the original dispatcher the details of my parking situation before you guys even send anyone out and let you guys know my car is parked outside in an alley, don’t waste almost two hours of my time just to tell me your trucks can’t fit in alleys. And especially don’t tell me it’s because I didn’t pick up my phone and try to pin the blame on the customer. Absolutely pathetic

Had them replace a tire. Wheel alignment and balance was also completed. The work was fine and they suggested future items for my almost 20 year old Honda. That was nice at least. But when I called to settle the bill and ask a question about labor charges, the guy was a total jerk. Totally unnecessary to act like a man child with a customer trying to get some clarification.

Lewis was quick, funny, and so personable. I will never call a tow from anyone else. It was late and he got us to a tire shop that was still open. Such a great tow truck operator! Thank you, Lewis!!!

Progressive insurance dispatched Wells Automotive when I requested a jump. I planned to go right away to get a new battery after the jump. Wells gave me the choice to either get the jump or they could replace the battery right there in my garage. Gave me quote and admitted it was a bit pricy and I would likely pay less if I went somewhere else. I chose to pay for the battery and service and felt it was absolutely worth it for the convenience. It was a bit more than I expected to pay but I was thrilled to have the whole thing settled in less than an hour.

I understand that Wildcat Roadside Towing Corporation also runs out of this location. It is supposedly a roadside service, but would only wanted to push battery sales instead of addressing the issue I was trying to resolve. However, they were quick to respond so they earned some credit.