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Ackerman's Servicing Volvo & Subaru

2220 San Pablo Ave
Berkeley, CA 94702 510-549-9330
Checkbook's Top Rating
Quality NO
Price NO**

Prices for Ackerman's Servicing Volvo & Subaru

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Hourly labor rate for major mechanical repairs
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Consumer Ratings for Ackerman's Servicing Volvo & Subaru — 16 Ratings

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Percent of customers who rated service "superior" for: | = average for all auto repair shops
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Complaints for Ackerman's Servicing Volvo & Subaru

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Current BBB report

Makes serviced:

  • Subaru
  • Volvo

Consumer Comments for Ackerman's Servicing Volvo & Subaru

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Consumer from El Cerrito, CA
Feb 27, 2022
In the general Berkeley, CA area postal patrons are accustomed to periodically receive an enlarged post card with the smiling face of Ackerman standing in the doorway of his shop that services Volvo's and Subaru autos. A web search identified comments by previous customers on the quality of the work and overall friendliness of Ackerman and his staff. Having one of the older Volvo's and two years of missed servicing due to the virus and a medical disability I was intrigued by the first time visit discount offered. The location of his shop, in my opinion, is in an area along San Pablo Avenue that I would be somewhat uncomfortable wandering around on foot. The traffic can be quite heavy during commute hours and you need to be southbound and aware of the entrance that suddenly appears in the obscurity created by overhead trees and dense vehicle parking along the curb. Conversely, leaving the site appeared tricky with the oncoming traffic to be merged within again obscured by parked vehicles. I did a late afternoon drop-in to check Ackerman's out. The younger guy at the front desk obviously knew his business and was quite pleasant to talk to. He generated an estimated work order for my Volvo that was thorough. The office is quite functional with a small waiting room area with two chairs and a huge colorful fish bowl for distraction. I asked about scheduling an appointment where I could wait until the servicing was completed. He arranged a satisfactory early morning time about a week out. My partner and I both observed the waiting room chairs may be a little uncomfortable on the derrière during a longish wait for someone with such a walking disability as mine. On the appointed day I planned an advance of 45 minutes to arrive at the 0800 hour opening. Much to my surprise San Pablo Avenue traffic was very light and I had no difficulty locating the entrance and parking where I could observe the front door. About 15 minutes prior 0800 hours the first employee arrived followed by Mr. Ackerman five minutes later. I brought along a foam seat cushion that was very useful. Ackerman was also very pleasant and efficient to deal with. We talked about my old Volvo's needs. He is quite observational, and among this we discussed the fish container and it contents. He also stated that the job would take about 90 minutes and so it was. I was curious about a drive test that was supposed to help diagnose possible Volvo problems I was not aware of. I had recorded the odometer reading while I waited for the door to open and then checked the odometer when the Volvo was returned to me; it was about a four mile test. At the end I had the piper to pay and received both detailed oral and written comment about the Volvo and its future needs. The tires were worn down a bit much, battery was near its end, actually about 7 years old, and brake system should be flushed out; I had talked about some brake awkwardness. Good advice but I did wonder why I wasn't asked about doing a flush now since I was easily and conveniently available. Possibly it was the backlog of already scheduled work. They did have quite a few cars queued for service. That was likely the only question I did not ask. The overall bill was not unreasonable, similar to recent costs a couple of people I queried experienced for similar work on their cars. Leaving the parking area I had no trouble at all entering San Pablo Avenue; traffic continued light. The experience was pleasant, I was able to make progress reading my pocket book, had an interesting time experiencing the conversations and absorbing the exchanges between Mr. Ackerman and his customers and staff. I will be scheduling an renewal visit and, for sure, a return here on the one year anniversary.
Consumer from Albany, CA
Oct 20, 2020
Charged 50% more than the dealer for the same job. When I pointed that out, I was met with silence.

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