Oceana Auto Hobby Shop

Reviews

Reviews are sorted by relevance, with the most helpful and insightful feedback listed first for easy reference.

  Joseph Staton
4 months ago
Great and knowledgeable staff. Competitive pricing for their stalls and have pretty much any tool you might need to perform repairs on your vehicle.

  J Garcia
a year ago
I've done major work on several vehicles here. Staff is very knowledgeable and supportive. Home away from home.

  Franklin Martinez
6 months ago
So being stationed in California for the past few years and Japan before that has given me a different view on how things are run here on these Virginia bases. I gave it two stars because the people here seem to be more about money making than anything else. In the west coast and beyond they left you be, unless you wanted or needed help, but from my experience here they were too busy to answer questions unless you wanted them to do it for you and they charged you after the fact whether you asked for help or not. Also they don't let you use the balancer and charge for it. They also charge you for mounting your own tires, per each one. Like I said they are more worried about making money than helping the sailor. It's the same as going to a civilian auto hobby shop, the difference is that they are more inclined to help you without the snarky comments.

  Andrew Smith
5 months ago
NOT A GOOD OR BAD REVIEWMay not be the best place to start if you have no automotive repair experience, bring a knowledgeable person with youbring your registration or proof of ownershipPrice per hour has risen significantly over the years. It use to be $3-$3.50 an hour currently $10.00.MWR services across the base use to pay for the auto hobby shop.It was great when you could come and learn and help others out because it was inexpensive.It would be difficult for an active duty member to have more tools then available here. Definitely a great resource.

  Jacob Hillhouse
8 months ago
Awesome shop. Was really helpful today when I ran into a mishap with my oil drain plug. It was put on too tight by an oil change place my wife took my truck to while I was on deployment.

  Anthony Perkins
11 months ago
This is a good place to do car maintenance. My gripe with them is that they should make it knows on the website that stop excepting cars at 3:30pm because they close at 4:30pm, a whole hour away. When I. Allen they didn t say that either. They should except oils chances because that only takes like 20 minutes maximum. It s not like I want to overhaul my engine, a simple oil change. It was 3:37 and he told me we stop exiting cars at 3:30 because we close at 4:30 , come on, 7 minutes? Anyways ..Service: Oil change

  akeem adekunle
3 years ago
Well equipped, shop attendants are readily available to help and out you through if you have problems working on your vehicle.

  Dnshift & Other things!
4 years ago
This is a great diy garage inside the base! Weather it's a hobby or just hang out at the lobby

  Stevan Ball
2 years ago
Excellent indoor hobby shop with friendly and helpful staff. As long as your humble and polite the staff is very helpful. (They probably will be either way.) The setup is really nice to. I've been to a few other hobby shops that weren't anywhere as near as organized and on top of it as these guys were.

  Zack C
a year ago
Called ahead and came in on a Saturday to see if they had open stalls. Reasonably priced and friendly staff. Came to change my front brakes on my car. Roughly $15 spent for my time there.

  De Vela Cargin
3 years ago
Had to install a new tail light, came with the part ready to work. They have spaces for work to be done using a lift and bay for those that do not need lifts around the back. Gave my registration and military ID, they had me take an inventory of the tool box they provided opened the bay and I was ready to work. I have a few issues getting the casing off the car, the man walking around checking on folks saw and assisted me without even asking. I got it off and installed the new one in no time. Seamless process with no issues. Cost me all of $8 and took less than a hour. Once I pulled my car out just needed to sweep and mop the space and was on my way. I don't work on my car often but if I need to this is the place I will come to.Services: General repairs & maintenance, Electrical

  Alejandro Diaz
a year ago
Outstanding service they will help you with anything just ask how to use the lyft how to change your brakes the people there are awesome highly recommend.

  john greybiehl
11 months ago
Great shop and the staff are really good at what they do! Best auto hobby shop I've been to hands down.Services: Steering & suspension repair, BrakesServices: Steering & suspension repair, Brakes

  Peter Schmitt
4 years ago
Wonderful place to go and work on your car/truck. Able to use car lifts and all the tools you would probably ever need.... some of the tools are a bit raggedy, but for the most part they all do there job. Still in my opinion one of the best places to go to work on your vehicle and learn to do things yourself. John is very helpful and long, Sue is amazing and very nice.

  Victoria Anderson
5 years ago
When here with a friend to change my oil it was nice and quick which is great and then if we had any issues we were able to ask them for help. We looked for the tools that we needed we were able to find them with ease and the nice thing is they limit the ramp to 1 hour for people that want to change their oil. This cuts down on the waiting time quite a bit

  David Sitone
5 years ago
The staff here is very helpful; you just need the guts to ask for help. I've used this facility a few times and have noticed the inexperienced people will either get very frustrated or try to research stuff on their phones rather than ask for help. It's pretty entertaining.But if you ask the staff who is getting paid to work there, they are more then happy to help.I recommend going g there, save some money, get your hands dirty and learn something.

  Jeremy Thomson
5 years ago
Great place. They usually have all the tools you need. The staff is friendly. Sue is always nice and helpful. The weekdays you can usually get a stall... prepare to get there early on the weekends. Great prices for hour lifts.

  Micheal Pierson
5 years ago
Get to use a lift to raise my SUV to work on it. Have access to many tools that I don't own. Get to have a full time mechanic guide me if I get in too deep. The price is really cheap compared to what is available out in town. The accomplishments and money saved is incredible.

  Josh Lee
6 years ago
Easy to work with knowledgeable staff who are very helpful at lending a hand fixing or troubleshooting things. Great prices and a number of different lift styles to choose from. AND free tool rental. The world needs more shops like this one.

  Jackson Schrimsher
4 years ago
Just needed to do a quick oil change and some shifter bushings and the staff on hand was rude and insisted I had to put my name on the wait list when they had two empty lifts, one of which is just for oil changes and told me I couldn t use it to just do my oil change. Won t be using this MWR facility anymore. Never had any issues prior to this but definitely filing a complaint at the MWR office.

  Edgardo Abreu
7 years ago
This place makes changing my oil and rotating my tires a breeze. No more crawling around on the ground now that I can put the car on a lift and walk underneath it. They have all the tools you need and is extremely affordable.

  Alex O
4 years ago
Good shop to work on your vehicle. Staff on hand are very helpful. You get exactly what you need out of the shop. Get there early during busy/warmer season to secure a station.

  Kyng Dre
3 years ago
Customer service is trash.. left and took the drive to the one in Norfolk and for whatever reason they need your vehicle registration instead of a safety card. Plus the one in Norfolk is bigger in my opinion and way better assistance and service.

  Bob Drennan
4 years ago
Learned to work on cars there and would spend whole weekends doing full motor rebuilds. Reg there 1994-2010 when I retired. I miss this place. Cause of this place I'm a mgr at a dealership now. Stopped in and they still remember and greet me.

  Fatboy P
a year ago
Always a good time there! Been to Langely, Norfolk, and Ft Eustis auto shops and Oceana is by far the best!

  Kirk Harris
4 years ago
Excellent customer service, easy to use equipment and prices are beyond reasonable. Expert advisers are amazing and offer the best advise for your specific issue. Great place for beginers or the seasoned mechanically inclined.

  Seth Turner
3 years ago
I called and asked if they loan out jacks, the guy rudely said no what are you talking about in an extremely rude way and tone. I asked how does this work I never done this before. He wouldn t answer my question and rudely kept ignoring me and repeating the same thing over and over. This guy definitely took my kindness as weakness and talked to me like a dog. I finally asked why are you being so rude sir, with no answer to my question his reply was answer my question first. It s hard for me to deal with people like that. I won t be going there. He had a Asian accent, idk if anyone else has had the displeasure of dealing with him.

  Daniel m
2 years ago
Today(29AUG21) I arrived here at 3:35 and walked in like normal. I asked if there were any bays available (before looking around) and I was told no. I looked around and counted 4 bays open. Then the man behind the desk said we aren't taking anyone past 3:30.Funny thing is, on the MWR website, it says they don't accept anyone after an hour prior to closing.I usually don't get quality help from that crew anyway.

  Kwame Harris
5 years ago
LOVE THIS PLACE!!!! BEST BEST BEST BEST BEST!!!!I really can't say enough about this place because it's like any automotive DIY'ers dream!!! Example: Every year here in VA I get my truck inspected and every year the dealership finds something wrong somewhere that cost's an ARM, LEG, 1ST CHILD AND PARENT TO FIX! Every freakin' year!!! I'm not kidding.Last year they looked at the mileage I put on my truck and was surprised that it was only 500 miles more than the year before. 'This is because I have two vehicles and I don't drive the truck much.' But it didn't stop them from finding $2000 worth of something wrong on the vehicle!!! THAT'S MORE THAN THE BLUE BOOK VALUE OF THE TRUCK!!!!I bought the things that were 'said' to be wrong for about $60 and brought it to the hobby shop. Using Youtube " Because the internet signal is great in the place" and asking the professionals at the Hobby Shop about this or that, I fixed my truck, took it back to the dealership for re-inspection and like magic ... IT PASSED!!!!For anyone in the military, this is truly one of the blessings of serving. The staff knows what they are doing, the tools are excellent and the experience is truly worth my 24 years of service.Thank you to the Oceana Base and the Hobby Lobby team for making my experience with you guys one of the very best.5-10-2018 UpdateSure to form, went there today and Carl, Carl #2 and Susan were as great as could be. If this place is ever closed or subjected to downsizing/reduction, it will be a true travesty for military members because it will open up a hole, where they can be easily exploited and have absolutely no recourse. There are too many places in town that overcharge for the simplest tasks when it comes to automobiles.I changed the upper control arms on my truck today, which took me about 2 hours. This would have cost me $1300 from the people in town. The parts only cost $65.78. As I said before, last year I changed the lower control items and it would have cost me $2000 from the dealership. Even Carl said, "the upper are easier than the lower to change" and they were!I then went further and did some body work on my truck. This took me 3 additional hours. A $2500 job at the paint shop behind the base.Total cost of doing the work myself and using the Hobby shop today approximately $95, five hours of my time and a sense of accomplishment that I did the work myself.As they say at the Hobby Shop:(NO ONE WILL TAKE CARE OF "YOUR" VEHICLE BETTER THAN YOU!!!)Over the 10 years I've been here in VA, this place has easily saved me over $20000. I'm sure many other people can say the same.Keep up the good work!!!Kwame' Harris

  Christopher Ozimek
2 years ago
Great place to save money and do your own maintenance. Very helpful staff and cheap hourly rental rates for a lift..Large selection of tools for your use.