Reviews

I was in recently for brakes and an oil change. Usual stuff. A few days later, I seemed to have killed my battery. I called Henry, and he told me to charge it and see if that worked, if not I would probably need a new one, which I did. I picked one up at an auto parts store, not a big deal. Henry called me a couple of days later to follow up. I was completely impressed. I didn't imagine he remembered our 40 second conversation, much less take a note to call and follow up. Having a Range Rover which you can't get repaired just anywhere, I'm so grateful to have Lakeside around if I need them.

This is THE most honest car mechanic I have ever met! I have a 2010 Mini Cooper and recently my air conditioning went out as well as it seemed like my car was burning oil. I took it to one guy and he told me that I need a new air conditioning compressor as well as there were two oil leaks. He wanted to charge me $5,300!!!! So I took my car to lakeside, where the owner told me, let's get it up on the lift and see what's happening.
Literally called me the next day and said, he recharged the air conditioner with freeon changed out the filters and plugs, did an oil change and the car runs like a dream!!! All for $800! Nice to see someone is honest I'm the business, couldn't recommend them more!

When I was considering buying a used Jaguar, my mechanic suggested I switch to Henry, who he considered a specialist. I brought it to him, he evaluated the car (pre purchase) and said "if you don't buy it I would" and then refused to take any $. 10 yrs later, it died in need of a valve job I wasn't going to spring for as it's an 03. Long story short, I've grown quite fond of him as he was never less than honorable and all work done was excellent. If/when I ever had issues, they were taken care of immediately, and were a non issue. He was proactive to the point of telling me not to do things that he felt I could avoid for whatever length of time he suggested. He's the only one that ever worked on it and kept it running beautifully for the entire time I've owned it.

I've been taking cars to Lakeside International Auto for a few years now. I was taking my BMW to the dealer while it was under warranty. There was an issue that I kept complaining about but the dealer could never find it. When I described it to Henry he found it on the first try and permanently fixed the problem.

My wife loves her Land Rover with 110,000 miles on it (too bad I didn't know my wife when the car was new). We've brought it into Henry several times for several different problems. Each time, Henry finds and permanently fixes the problem. There was one time when her Land Rover would intermittently not start, but Henry couldn't reproduce the problem. He gave her his cell number and told her to call him when it is happening so he could drive out to diagnose the car. The problem happened a few weeks later in a parking lot down in the loop, and it was well after the shop was closed for the day. Henry actually left home and drove out to diagnose the car. Not only did he diagnose the problem of a bad starter on the spot, but he used an old-school mechanic's trick to get the car started so she could drive the car to his shop.

Henry is great, but he isn't cheap. He prefers to do the job right and will use original manufacturer parts where he can. At the same time, if he can get a rebuild kit and save the customer some money he will do that. He will not get parts off of the secondary market with questionable reliability and longevity. His labor rates are less than a dealer, but are higher than the bargain-basement mechanics out there, but you do get what you pay for.

Some people on Yelp have reacted negatively to Henry's personality. He is passionate about the quality of work he does and his shop's reputation. He doesn't believe in doing anything less than a great job. I've never experienced the customer service issues that others have mentioned. He has always shown me the parts of what he replaced, even when I don't ask to see them. One thing for sure is that I have never doubted the quality of the repairs or Henry's honesty. This is something I cannot say about other mechanics.

I kept taking my Jaguar to the dealership for work on the ac and kept complaining about the transmission - they could fix neither one. Henry fixed both. He is the only mechanic I have ever brought flowers to.

I've been dealing w/ Henry ever since I bought my '98 Range Rover 4.6 (used back in 2002). He's always been fair and honest, has cut me deals on things that took a LONG time (i.e. tracking down an electrical issue) and has saved me A LOT of money over the dealership. My father was a pit crew mechanic so I know and understand more than the average person when it comes to cars, and I've never found Henry to cut corners or try to pull a fast one. He's a pleasure to deal w/ and his mechanics are first rate. They regularly attend courses updating their knowledge and will ALWAYS save the parts they replaced and thoroughly explain all that was done. I have recommended Henry to friends and they've all been very satisfied. He's VERY picky and won't let it out of his shop unless it's perfect (which can be frustrating if waiting), but it's certainly worth the wait and the not-so-convenient location!

When was the last time you brought a car to be fixed and the shop owner refused to charge you? We trust Henry with our 2006 MB CLK 350 and our 2007 Acura MDX. Just brought the CLK to him to check out a warning light for the passenger air bag. After Fletcher Jones gave us an estimate for $300 to do diagnostics -- not necessarily to fix the issue, mind you -- I took the car to Henry and he found that the wire harness to the seat sensor had worked its way loose, he fixed it by plugging it in, and refused to charge!! Awesome.

Having moved to the neighborhood a couple months ago I wasn't sure where I could take my Infinity G35 Coupe in for quality service maintenance.

I reviewed their website, and it seemed professional. I checked out the building on Google maps, and it looked like a hole in the wall as the other garages in the area do. But I was pleasantly surprised.

Henry and Willy were very professional and polite. I called in at noon on Monday to schedule my car to be dropped off, I left it with them that evening shortly before closing after getting a fair price in writing for the service and parts, and they were calling me up at noon the following day saying my car was ready to be picked up.

Not only did they do a great job on the workmanship and were a pleasure to deal with, but they also washed my car to perfection and buffed out 2 little paint spots my parking spot neighbor put in my door.... for free!!!

I will definitely be going back for my next service.

Brought my 2006 Land Rover to Lakeside at the recommendation of another shop for a suspension issue. They got me in quickly. Unfortunately, the problem was fairly serious - compounded by the fact that I had driven the car across country and ignored the FAULT WARNING for a few hundred miles - resulting in a $1200+ bill. (I suppose that's not terrible for a foreign car).

The staff mechanics were really nice, helpful, well-mannered, and seemed interested in explaining everything.

Henry was very good about calling to keep me updated. He had to order parts, but got them there quick so I could be on my way. I had one follow-up visit to install a sensor that had to be special-ordered, and again they got me in fast, and were done fast.

I think they even washed my car (I can't be sure, but it sure looked like it).

I would recommend the guys at Lakeside, and will go back when I need service for Big Red.

Henry is cool. One of those great mechanics who loves to stand around and talk about your car with you. I needed a bunch of work done on my Range Rover 4.0, and I was referred to Lakeside by the dudes at Ashland Tire & Auto. One thing is for certain: this guy knows these trucks. He owns one himself, which is always a heartening thing.

I had a pile of work to be done: four new brake pads, two new bellows for the air suspension, a complete overhaul of the A/C, some minor electrical problems, an oil change, and a partridge in a pair tree. Henry called every step of the way to explain what he found, tell me how much it was going to cost me, and how long it was going to take. For all of that, he had the car only two full business days, and only that long because he had to order one of the bellows. I'm not sure it could have gotten done any faster.

The total cost was pretty backbreaking, but not any more than it would have been anywhere else (maybe even less?), and it came with some helpful advice--like, don't waste anymore money on premium gas because the engine is designed to take regular, and don't bother trying to fix the little niggling problem with the power locks until one of them goes out completely (because a less honest mechanic would replace all four locks and charge you for them).

I've got perfect faith in this guy to keep my car on the road for as long as I want it, and I'm thrilled to have found a new mechanic.

In contrast to some of the reviewers, my experience with Henry and his shop has been totally positive.

The first time I went in with my rare 71 Volvo 1800E I thought my exhaust pipe was loose because of a loud noise. While I was waiting to get served I asked another customer who was on his way out with a BMW whether he was satisfied with this shop. He said they are great, cheaper than the dealer, and "You are in good hands." The, Henry had me open the hood and he put his hand next to the engine. He told me to do that, too, which I did, and I felt hot air. He told me I needed a new flange gasket and for about $30 and two hours later the car was fixed. Another job involved a bunch of things and I was finally given a bill that, too, was very reasonable, almost cheap.

I returned to have him install an A/C kit. It was a lot of work and some fabrication of parts was needed. But they did a great ("clean") job (per the service mgr. at Orloff Volvo) and the cost was way under previous estimates I got.

I would recommend him and his shop to others with German cars, Land Rovers, or Volvos.

My husband got a great deal on a late 90's Range Rover on eBay. Trouble was, shortly after we got it, we realized why the owners were happy to sell at such a low price.

After taking it to a couple of shops in the West Loop and Wicker Park area, supposedly good with imports. One of them kept diagnosing a different problem, "fixed" it, and then we'd have something else go wrong shortly after we got the truck back. It was a nightmare. It added such a yucky dimension to my marriage...the truck was this nagging, frustrating issue that we kept having to throw money at. There were so many trips to the shop and no one seemed to be able to identify the exact source of the problems, much less fix them.

Finally, as a last effort before ditching the truck, I looked for recommendations on Yelp. Thankfully, we found Henry and Lakeside International.

On our first visit, Henry immediately assessed the problem and explained why all the attempted fixes in the past just didn't work. We left the car with him, fingers crossed...when we went to pick it up, it drove great. Not like new (the car has over 100k miles) but WAY better than any time before. He completely fixed the problems that the other shops were saying were unfixable, or could only be fixed by replacing the engine and transmission.

I highly recommend Henry for your import auto needs. You can tell he totally loves and knows cars, and I get the feeling he'd be honest with you if he didn' t know the answer to an issue. I totally credit him with saving our truck (and making my marriage a little less stressful)!

Look Henry and his team are extremely deep technically to work on Range Rovers. I agree the price points are tough to stomach, but he is far better than the "trainees" at the dealership. If you are looking to have quality work done on your Rover go to Lakeside. I have been all over the city for the last 8 years with my car and have been screwed over enough with people that say they know how to work on these cars and really dont. Henry knows what he is doing and will fix it right and guarantee his work

If you need work on your mercedes, bmw, audi, this place has excellent expertise. Henry, the owner, has many years of experience working on these cars and will be able to diagnose your problems and come up with a solution. I have used this shop for probably 15 years now and when I have a complicated problem I always go to Lakeside Automotive.

I have been going to Lakeside international for the past 6 years since I moved to Chicago. I found the shop from a friend of mine who has been getting her Porsche serviced there for years.

Long story short, I have felt very taken care of at this shop and I have recommended several of my friends and coworkers to have their cars serviced here as well. I have Henry's crew work on 2004 BMW M3 for all of my routine maintenance and also a few minor repairs. I often have sat in the shop with Henry waiting for my work to be done and have heard him save several callers hundreds of dollars.

This is the kind of shop that looks out for the best of the car owner and is not out to make a quick buck and rip you off. They understand that if they do good service on your car, you will likely be coming back year after year because its hard to trust people in this city with our foreign cars. Give this place a shot and trust Henry when you talk to him on the phone. He likes to look at a car before he can tell you what is wrong with it just based on what your other mechanic told you. So just take the car in to see him. You won't be disappointed!

Henry and his team are by far the most honorable mechanics I've met. I've had a Land Rover and Range Rover repaired here. They are quick efficient and priced accordingly. They even go the extra mile and wash/clean your car prior to pickup. I would highly recommend if you have a Land Rover Mercedes BMW or Porsche.

On one occasion Henry was even kind enough to drive me home and take the car to be serviced. A true gem in the neighborhood!

Lakeside International Auto
Company Email: broadwaylake@yahoo.com Website: www.lakesideinternational.com Description: LAKESIDE INTERNATIONAL offers a full range of services, including routine maintenance, performance enhancement, factory-certified paint service and body repair. Services: European Auto Repair, Audi repair, Mercedes Benz repair, Landrover repair, Volkswagen repair Payment Types: Cash, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Business Hours: Monday-Friday: 08:00 AM - 06:00 PM. Saturday-Sunday: Closed

Company Email: broadwaylake@yahoo.comWebsite:www.lakesideinternational.comDescription: LAKESIDE INTERNATIONAL offers a full range of services, including routine maintenance, performance enhancement, factory-certified paint service and body ...

Lakeside International Auto
Company Email: broadwaylake@yahoo.com Website: www.lakesideinternational.com Description: LAKESIDE INTERNATIONAL offers a full range of services, including routine maintenance, performance enhancement, factory-certified paint service and body repair. Services: European Auto Repair, Audi repair, Mercedes Benz repair, Landrover repair, Volkswagen repair Payment Types: Cash, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Business Hours: Monday-Friday: 08:00 AM - 06:00 PM. Saturday-Sunday: Closed