Repair shop Asheville NC

Long time subscriber and forum reader, just not much on having an online presence.  However, I  need help for my daughter and this group is amazingly helpful.  She just started college 6 hours away and called tonight with a no start condition.  AAA called, starts with jump pack but dies as soon as the pack is removed so the guy says maybe the alternator.  Thankfully she was on campus and isn't stranded.  It's a '15 Mazda 3s with 65k on it.

Can anyone suggest a trustworthy shop in Asheville NC to have it towed to before I just pick the Mazda dealer?

Thanks in advance.

He is a miata specialist but works on everything, Daniel Semon at Mountain Automotive Promotions LLC (828) 284-2875  is who I trust.  He is the AutoX chair for Highland Sports Car Club iirc.  He is in Burnsville.  Some of the other locals might have more recommendations that are in town.  Has competed in the 20XX challenge before as well. Worked on my NA when i had it.

In reply to MrChaos :

Thanks for the quick response.  I had to find Burnsville on Google maps.  I guess we were near there when we went to Mt. Mitchell.  Not sure if she can manage getting to service that far out but I'll put it on the list.

I don't have direct experience with this area but I have a suggestion on how to find help.

Call the local NAPA or Carquest or whatever the more reputable auto parts store in the area is.  Ask to talk to their Commercial sales or customer service folks (The folks who sell parts daily to the repair shops).  Ask them if THEIR daughter was broken down in town, which of their repair shop customers would THEY take the car to.   These guys have a good bead on who's doing good work, and who to avoid.

They might not want to let you talk to their commercial sales folks if you're not a shop.  That's ok...just talk to the store manager.  

i think most of us in the area dont live in Asheville proper. We live outside of town.  I am west of town and all my recommended shops are 4+ weeks out just to have the car seen.

Now Fields Mazda(the local mazda dealer) isnt bad but its still a dealership and I have never had service done there.

When you say on Campus i am going to assume UNCA unless you mean Warren Wilson.

Easy Street Auto and Tire Service at 889 Riverside Dr, Asheville, NC 28804 is near campus and has decent reviews

Elk Mountain Motors\ Mike's Auto at 108 Elkwood Ave, Asheville, NC 28804 also gets good reviews and is near campus 

MrChaos said:

He is a miata specialist but works on everything, Daniel Semon at Mountain Automotive Promotions LLC (828) 284-2875  is who I trust.  He is the AutoX chair for Highland Sports Car Club iirc.  He is in Burnsville.  Some of the other locals might have more recommendations that are in town.  Has competed in the 20XX challenge before as well. Worked on my NA when i had it.

I use A&J Auto out in Fruitland (828) 685-8300, but its just as far as Daniel, just south instead of north.  I would call Daniel. He has lots of contacts in town so he may do it himself or recommend someone else.

Photo of Daniel autocrossing!

ClemSparks:  Hadn't thought of that.  

Mr. Chaos:  She is at UNCA.  I know the area is pretty spread out.  The reviews I read for Fields look like typical dealer stuff with sales complaints and maybe some upselling on service.  I'll check the others in my searching this morning.  Along the lines of Clem's suggestion, I got a parts store recommendation for Jimmy's Auto just north of campus.

trucke:  I may try that as well or I may just try the dealer and pay the premium to get things moving.

The annoying thing is I went through that car before taking her out there and, other than things like mounting tires, I haven't paid to have a car fixed in at least 10 years so I've got to get over both of those.  I guess things happen.  She was a  trooper though crawling through the backseat to get the jumper cables out of the hatch (apparently there's no way to open it externally when the battery is dead) and trying to get her roommates' car positioned to get the cables to reach even though they couldn't make it work before giving up and trying AAA.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

Quick update.  I talked to Daniel and although he didn't have any suggestions for shops in Asheville, he did offer to stop by and take a look at it on his way home.  I guess he lives near Fletcher.  We're going to try and set that up for today and then go from there.  I didn't have any real names to put with the references but he did appreciate the GRM support.

Haven't used them personally but try the Organic Mechanic in west Asheville- they have a good reputation from what I gather. Can't remember the name of the shop I used to use 20 yrs ago when I lived there sorry and just looked on Google maps and can't find it (probably a brewery now). 

Daniel looked at it yesterday afternoon and was able to get it jumped and running.  Just said it looked like the battery was really flat.  Had it tested at Advance and it checked okay, just needing to charge so she drove around for a while and will try it again today.  Hopefully something was just left on that killed it.

She did say that Daniel was wearing "one of those Motorsports shirts like yours".

This group is amazing! I didn't know of a shop in Asheville but now I know where the best one in town is

In reply to TRoglodyte :

I agree. I've been a reader for years and active on the forum for a couple years. This is a super group of people. I've seen countless calls for help that are always met with good info from knowledgeable people. 

How great is this group!?!

Hello Jpf! I have a couple of tips that I can offer you until you contact the dealership, so if your problem is still relevant, then I will be happy to help you. Your daughter can look in the directory of the city for good car service stations or shops where car parts are sold. You can also look at different car services and people's reviews on Google maps. This is a proven method, one of which I use most often. Also, a friend of mine recently advised me to use the service autoleap.com which has all the information about various auto repair shops and auto parts stores. I haven't had time to take his advice yet, but maybe it will help you. I hope that you will succeed, good luck!