ARA Of Madison

Critical: Professionalism, Quality, Value
Took my car in to get the control arms replaced, got absolutely finessed, was quoted 1200 then got charged 2500 just for control arms and they took my old parts which some were brand new, these guys are crooks, terrible service, terrible work, highly don’t recommend.
Service: Steering / Suspension

Positive: Professionalism, Quality, Value
We take our vintage car to be serviced with Casey yearly and his knowledge of older cars is outstanding. Highly recommend this business!
Services: Tune-ups, Electrical

I read an earlier review about sending out an unsafe car and dismissed it, but now they just did the same thing to my son. Brought in overheating car, found cracked radiator, quoted $600, but not very forthcoming when asked if there were possibly some additional underlying causes. I decided to scrap the car. Provided no advice on scrap options. I arranged for junkyard to pick up at 4pm. Son showed up to pay minimum $66 charge for easy diagnosis and to empty out personal property, but they would not let him keep it on their lot for another 1.5 hours and made him drive it home. Overheated a mile

Positive: Professionalism, Punctuality, Quality, Value
In about 24 hours ARA techs fixed a not shifting to reverse problem on my outboard motor and was ready for pickup that is FAST. Technician identified sleeve on lower unit and was able to machine a new one in house so I didn't even have to wait for parts to get in. You get what you pay for, these guys know what they are doing.
Service: Engine repair

Owner didn't remember talking to me, I walked in and was charged $42 for an oil change for which I provided MY OWN OIL AND FILTER- came in at 8am exactly as requested, since guy needed to be at a dr apt. At 12.30... an hour and a half go by, no phone call, nothing. I walk back, NOBODY HAD EVEN STARTED MY OIL CHANGE.
Never going back. Stay away.

Positive: Professionalism, Punctuality, Quality, Value
We've been taking our old BMW to ARA for years and they've kept it on the road, even with 200k+ miles! Everyone on the team there is extremely knowledgable and Casey is a good communicator. ARA is reasonable on price, and considerate of budgetary concerns, but the work they do is very professional.

We've taken our 2005 Jeep Cherokee there for repairs. First time was over a year ago, for door locking problem. They charged us over $1000 for that visit ($546.25 of labor), and their parts and labor DID NOT fix the problem. We gave them another visit just recently, for transmission fluid change, and were charged $800 ($446.25 for labor), their invoice does not indicate how many hours on each service. Also the estimate was $450, and no call for approval to go over the estimate. This place is definitely not the place for anyone to take their vehicle.
We took the jeep to someone else, and come to

Last week I was returning to Madison and my Check Engine light came on, then the engine started running rough like it was running out of gas. I knew that was not the case so I called Casey, the owner of ARA Auto. He said "Bring it in and I'll have Shaun put it on the scanner." I've known Shaun since 1989 when I lived across the street from his old shop, SRS Auto on the corner of Hamilton and Webster Streets in Madison. He's been fixing my cars since then. When I got to ARA a couple hours later, Casey had Shaun looking at my 2001 BMW 330ci within an hour. He quickly

The quality of staff and the work delivered has made ARA my go-to mechanic for all my vehicles. I brought my Land Rover in after it was mishandled by another garage and they not only fixed it, but stayed in constant communication with me throughout the process to talk through their findings, any suggestions they had for fixes, and ensuring I knew the progress being made. I'd recommend anyone who wants a trust-worthy thorough mechanic to go to ARA.

Website offers services not actually offered. Individual who answered the phone was gruff and seemed to take personal offense when I attempted to clarify the error. Glad I called ahead! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I frequently take my classic car over to ARA. They always provide top notch work at reasonable prices. If it's got a carburetor this is probably the best place in town to bring it (they work on boats too). That's not to say they don't work on newer cars because they do. It's a challenge to find a good shop like this that can work on vehicles from the 60s and 70s, so I'm glad I found ARA. On a few occasions they've even found issues for me that other shops either missed or didn't care to mention.

To clarify to all reading this, the car was NOT picked up on Friday, but on Sat @12:00. The car had much maintenance done to it as well as having recall items replaced by GM after our purchase of the vehicle last fall. My son has had this vehicle seen by 2 other mechanics since our visit at ARA and were informed the car has been maintained, the battery and starter/alternator are in good shape. Casey made our son pay a penny to look at the wheel that squeaked after the wheel bearing was replaced. Finally, my son never test drove the vehicle after they adjusted the wheel bearing. "The mechanic

Jon Pfeiffer
September 10 at 8:16pm · Madison, WI ·
My car has served me well for over 50,000 miles. It was the first and only car I looked at. Yesterday it hit 150,000 miles. I knew exactly what car I wanted before I looked at and test drove it in 2010 when I got it with the help of a PASS Plan. I want to thank a few people now for their help back then. Stephanie Drum of Employment Resources Incorporated believed in me and saw that I had a viable business, Jon Pfeiffer Photography. She put together and helped me complete my PASS Plan between 2008 and 2010. Lexy Frautschy, then a manager at

This is a great place to get quality work done on your vehicle. It doesn't matter if it is a boat, domestic car, truck, or import. Anything can be worked on and ready for you soon. I do believe they even have storage. It is conveniently located on East Washington Ave. too.

ARA is sort of a hidden gem of a automotive and marine repair shop that I have passed many times and wondered what exactly they do here. You see food carts parked at one end of the lot and cars of all vintages parked at odd angles in front of three bays. At one time years ago there was a small breakfast and lunch restaurant where the office is now. I needed some work done on a ten year old, 50HP two stroke Mercury outboard and a friend recommend ARA. I have had it in to the local marine dealer that specializes in Mercury and after three return visits the problem still wasn't fixed. It starts

I am very happy with the quality of brake work done on my car last month. They were down to metal-on-metal, This place is conveniently close to my work, and I was able to drop my car off in the morning and pick it up again by early afternoon. The price was steep, but I believe you get what you pay for. I'm about to have them replace my water pump, so I'm hoping the quality work continues!

This guy is a crook. When I took my vehicle to my regular mechanic he was so pissed he wanted to know who ripped me off!!