John OConnor and his senior Mechanic Jim are the gray-haired older automobile mechanical experts that I was looking for to work on my 1961 Mercedes-Benz 190SL. As many folks know, the COVID-19 virus has motivated many older/senior auto mechanics to retire, causing a shortage of mechanics who really know what they are doing on older foreign and domestic automobiles. Both John and Jim, not only have gray hair, but are very knowledgeable and experienced with all aspects of these cars, specifically traditional carbureted engines, manual transmissions, drum brakes, etc. As importantly, they take the time to listen to their customers concerns and work closely with them. During the summer months of 2021, it has been a pleasure working with both of them to perform some much needed, complicated and time consuming work to keep my 60-year old roadster running properly and ensuring that it is also road safe. For those who have older, special interest automobiles, dont trust your car to younger, less-experienced auto mechanics who might be using a trial-and-error process working on your car to learn. Go to Shade Tree Garage and find out for yourself....

This is a great place! From the moment you walk in the door you are welcomed with a smile and the work that they do is fantastic. I would highly recommend.

Thank you, Marge, Megan and Jim!This was my first visit to Shade Tree Garage. I was treated with simple respect and friendliness. Additionally, clear open communication with regard to the problems with my BMW.To be talked to as a valued customer is becoming rare these days.100% thumbs up for Shade Tree and employees!

Its been Two Weeks Since I Had Brake Repair At The Shade Tree Garage .....My Brakes Dont Grind Or Squeek Any More ....Very Pleased With The Work That Was Done .For A Fair Price .. Its Clear ..From The Skilled Mechanics... To Knowledgable Staff In Front ( Meghan ) .. That The Owner ...Humbly Genuinely Cares About People ....And Runs A Good Business That Can Be Trusted....5 Stars

Great customer service. Allow customers to bring their own parts. Fair pricing. Has loaner vehicles. Will definitely be back.

Excellent service for my BMW 3 Series. Staff very professional and explained clearly the service needs and provided a written estimate for the work. Very neat shop and expansive work area. A good experience.

Brought back my ‘02 Toyota 4Runner. Still the best auto shop in northern NJ! Highly technical staff with years of experience, and first class customer service, always.

Very knowledgeable and well versed in the information you guys are talking about when letting me know about the issues with my cars that I bring in to the shop. None of the fluff that dealership try to get by in their descriptions. Very straight forward and to the point when handling our business, which I personally appreciate.

I trusted Shade Tree Garage to replace the rear brake hard lines in my E61 Wagon. Great communication, fair price and on schedule. Thank you Shade Tree!

Had a serious problem with my wife’s car, and Shade Tree came up with a solution that didn’t break the bank. Very impressed with their skill!

I had a few issues with my Jetta and thought I would give Shade Tree a try. They were quick, perfect and easy communication, and provided amazing value. My car is running like new. For all future needs, I will be coming here. Wonderful business, thank you so much.

I had a Pre Purchase Inspection done by John and the team. They got the car in fast, and gave me good information to guide my purchasing decision. Would highly recommend

Highly recommend: Very courteous professional staff. I took my Porsche 911 for a state emissions check. Called and got appointment booked the same day. 20 min wait then all done and car delivered to front. Sure it was a simple job, but the booking, drop-off, collection was flawless.

Great service on a C4S. Did brakes, windshield replacement, oil and filter.Highly recommend

Exceptional service and performance. I interact mostly with John and Marge and all of our communication has been extremely professional, knowledgeable, relevant and helpful to me....especially when I needed to gain a better understanding of the services needed on my car.

Will not do contactless inspection. Will lie about why. No concern for customer health safety requests. Shame on you. Take your business across town where they are happy to do the work in a safe manner for the customer.

About a month ago I posted a negative review on Shade Tree Garage I was not happy the way car was returned to us. John reached out to and he wanted to make it right and my son and I couldn’t be more satisfied and grateful. John was out on vacation so Jim the mechanic assured us that would fix it and he really did a great job he even fixed the low pressure sensor! I give 5 stars plus for Shade Tree Garage for standing by their work. Thanks Guys

Great shop! Trust-worthy and dependable. John takes the time to answer all questions and explain in depth, going above and beyond to give you peace of mind.

Not good. Felt taken advantage of.1. Threatened to charge me $400+ just for looking at the car (never was brought up until I was making a decision on the repair quote).2. Also, the final bill was $1k more than the quoted repair (original quote was worst case scenario they said).3. Next, they offered me a 5% cash discount, only to avoid honoring the full 5% once I brought the cash.The place is a mess. Stains all over the 1980s carpet. Smells like greed. Dealership would have been cheaper.Reach out to me and I will be happy to send you the proof of all this via emails.

Shade Tree Garage is a local auto repair shop that provides an excellent level of service. The staff is knowledgable, professional, and organized. They anticipate situations prior to occurrence so that clients can be prepared. We appreciate the use of a rental car when necessary and a ride to / from work if requested. Their pricing is competitive and they offer incentives for return service. We highly recommend their services to others.

Ive been bringing my cars here for years. Knowledgeable, dependable service ... even when Ive brought in my EV for some cosmetic work. Great, friendly staff ... highly recommended.

I never do this. I love the name of this shop. Made me feel like Mayberry, RFD. Me: Horn doesnt work & airbag light on. SHOP:$275 Diagnostic., Me: ok. Seemed like a lot. But..Im in Middlesex Country and this is Morris County. I was informed that shop needs to take off front fender and replace the horns. I asked like about how much is that, the response was like a about 1 or 2, I said ok. Expecting a total bill of about $500, I received an unexpected bill of $765 instead. Im kind of a shy person and was afraid to challenge price. All I can say as advise to anyone is: If you live in a modest neighborhood, dont shop on Park Avenue. BTW, mechanic did a good job.

My Volvo had a check engine light come on, so I had taken it to several garages and even the dealership before landing at Shade Tree.Shade Tree treated me like a person with car troubles, rather than an opportunity to generate revenue.When I took my car to Shade Tree, I was immeadiately greeted by the front desk Admin, Marge - who is an absolute sweetheart. She kept me notified every step of the way. Marge also never got annoyed when I’d call to check in, she was incredibly patient, understanding, helpful and knowledgeable - which was incredibly comforting.When it turned out my car was going to take longer than expected; Marge offered a loaner car at an incredibly affordable rate.I also had the opportunity to speak with the head mechanic Jimmy, who is as straight of a shooter as there is. Jimmy took the time to explain what was going on with my car, what needed to be fixed now, and what could wait. Which in this day, is rare.The cost was cheaper than the dealership and what other garages were charging. I was given notifications round the clock, and felt absolutely at peace with my car being there.It’s a good feeling to know I have a garage I can trust, and I can say that confidently about Shade Tree.

Friendly, professional atmosphere

Very good experience. Marge is great (thank you Marge) and very helpful. Jim (thank you also), the mechanic...I have to say I have never had a mechanic come out and go over in detail what the issues are and misc. stuff about the car. More to be done on my car so I am very hopeful it will be a fair price and the correct work that needs to be done.

Reliable/transparent shop that will get the job done! I will without a doubt bring my car back for any future servicing and would endorse to all family and friends in the locality!!

Shade Tree Garage offers the kind of service that you wish everyone offered. Honest and detailed work. I highly recommend them.

They were polite and took care of my care the moment I brought it in for serving. Thank you.

The hallmarks of Shade Tree Garage are personalized service and high-quality work done in a pristinely clean garage -- and at a fair market price. They are very thorough in their approach to my vehicles and are a pleasure to deal with. Highly recommend to all my friends who are still going to their dealerships.

Shade Tree provides quality work at a fair price. After the BMW dealer damaged one of our cars and refused to correct it, we starting going to Shade Tree. Friendly staff, quality work and a fair price. They corrected the problems caused by BMW and we now ONLY take our cars to Shade Tree. They provide excellent advice and pro-active options to keep our cars running problem free.

After a one month shakedown cruise once I took delivery of my 1969 Mustang Mach 1 Cobra Jet 428 from a classic car dealer in Maryland I came to Shade Tree to handle a number of mechanical and appearance issues I had discovered during this period. John and his team did a very thorough job in addressing all of my issues and the car came out of the shop a much better vehicle than it went in as. I was given regular updates on the status of the repairs/appearance items as well as what the costs would be so there was no surprises when I went to pick up the car. Shade Tree will definitely be the only place I bring this high value classic muscle car to any time I have servicing needs.

Shade tree handles all my high end German cars with flawless results Everytime. The owner John and his crew really knows their way around cars. They are not a high volume shop and I appreciate the fact that they value their quality of service over quantity. Definitely a rarity at this day and age.

Great service!

Outstanding communication from start to finish. Unlike anything Ive seen with other local auto repair facilities. Shade Tree provided a refreshingly honest evaluation of the condition of my VW Tiguan followed by practical recommendations for how to approach its mechanical needs.

They took me as a walk-in when my headlight was out. Apparently I have unusual bulbs so they found a used one to put in while they new one came in. They really made sure I was taken care of and able to drive safely.

The tech who worked on my car was very professional. He took the time to explain things to me and I left knowing my car was safe to drive. Recommended!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the entire team at Shade Tree Garage!! I have been using Shade Tree for all of my SUVs 🚙 needs. First the professionalism from John and his knowledge of Automotive and breaks it down for me in simple terms because Im clueless. Then you meet Marge and Laura, friendly, knowledgeable and then the team in the back. Always a great job, above and beyond the extra care I so much appreciate!!!!! Thank you again!!

Marge and team are excellent- always clear explanations and quick turnaround as well as reminders when cars are due for a check-up.Thanks for taking care of us!

I bring all my vehicles to Shade Tree. John and team are very thorough on their inspections of the vehicles and they give you the straight scoop where you can make an educated decision on repairs needed. Shade Tree is fair, honest and you get the repairs done right, I will continue to take all my vehicles to John and team.

John and the Team at Shade Tree has been great. I have taken 3 cars to the them over the years. All I need to do it drop it off and I know the car will be serviced or repaired and ready to get back on the road.I keep some extra business cards from John in the car incase anyone i am talking to needs a great garage..

Pleasant people, great technicians, perfect execution on the extensive list of repairs for my BMW. For improvements, better selection of hard candies on the desk Marge! lol.

John and his crew do a fantastic job at Shade Tree Garage. I recently had my car worked on there, and the service was top of the line, they did it in a timely fashion, and the price was very reasonable. I would highly recommend Shade Tree Garage to anybody looking to get quality service on their car!

John came to my place of business, picked up the vehicle, he took care of all the maintenance and then returned the vehicle to me at the end of the day. He is very professional, knowledgeable and the vehicle delivery was very convenient for me. Overall top notch service.

As a bit of a tinkerer, I generally perform all automobile maintenance myself, but with a young child taking up my free time and a major service looming, I needed to seek out a professional. Luckily, I came across Troy at Shade Tree Garage. We discussed the various maintenance items needed that I had been putting off, and he had them each handled, without any pushy salesman tactics that you find at other shops. The work was all completed quickly, perfectly, and for a great price, and I cannot recommend them enough.

When I brought my 30+ year old BMW to STG, I knew it had a lot of issues. They were able to diagnose and resolve the all problems I had been concerned about. In addition, they found and corrected numerous problems I didnt know about which make the car much safer and better to drive. The people at STG are great and the service quality is top notch.

Great service. Staff are fantastic. Personal service.

Tried Shade Tree based on reviews - they were fast and great to deal with. Will definitely be back.

The Shade Tree staff is very helpful and courteous; theyll explain any problem you have questions with, and are AAA certified. Ive taken my car there many times, and usually get my car back the same day.Thank you for great service, Shade Tree!

I have had multiple vans worked on at Shade Tree Garage. They have always shown themselves to be a first class business. They recently did a free diagnostic inspection of my Chevy Venture van. They found it had so many things wrong with it that it didnt make sense for me to fix it. A good honest mechanic! They also just fixed my new work van and also inspected it. They even gave me a loaner car to use while mine was repaired. Honestly they really blow you away from the moment you call right up until you pickup your car. They always treat you and your car like you are special! At least thats how they always made me feel!

I brought new tires for my wifes car from Tirerack. They arrived on Friday and we were expecting a snow fall the next day. I called Shade Tree Garage to dynamically balance and mount the four tires that day. They were did so willingly and finished before their regular closing time. I will return to them for further work.

Took my leaking Subaru in to get checked out. I figured it was just a coolant leak. They identified right away that is was my transmission lines! The tech kindly took me into the garage and pointed out under the car exactly what was wrong. They ordered the OEM parts right away, gave me loaner and had it fixed by morning! Shade Tree is honest, fair priced and I would highly recommend them!

I love taking my car to these people because they know how to listen to women. They have women on staff, as customer service representatives and mechanics, and speaking to them is not a struggle. I can communicate with them more easily - the way it should be - and it makes for a less stressful experience. In other words, I dont need a man there with me to translate everything or mansplain. Speaking with the staff at Shade Tree is unlike the experiences I had with male mechanics and customer service representatives at brand dealership repair shops, where in their eyes being a woman is the reason for your mechanical issues. I simply paid the extra expense to have a specialist do the same work at Shade Tree to avoid being treated that way by the brand repair shops. I also dont have to schedule days in advance or take a number, which is what I had to do at the large Toyota dealership down the road. I never go more than a day without my car.Weve been taking our car to them for years, and its usually same day service; just drop the car off, and theyll notify you of the progress same day. They are always polite and not rough around the edges (or tired looking) like most small business mechanics. They continue the conversation while you wait in the office, even asking how your family is doing, and you can actually gain a friendship with the people who are fixing your car. Theyre also not single-mindedly focused on sales and profit. Their small size is an advantage. When I brought my Toyota to the local Toyota dealerships repair shop, I was another customer on a conveyor belt, where I had to enter my information into a computer to schedule a repair two weeks in advance. If I need same day service, I get it with Shade Tree. They also tell you costs and problems in advance because they know how to communicate.These people have a soul, and I like giving my business to this garage because some of the money goes back into the community: they sponsor sports teams (they sponsored my soccer team almost two decades ago), and they are always involved in the town parades. They also hold free community education programs, such as state standard child safety seat installment or introduction to mechanical parts for women, among others.I have only ever been treated with politeness and professionalism by the staff, but they are easy going and friendly enough. When I ask to have them explain something they are doing, they take the time to show me in the garage. If you bring enough service to them you get coupons in the mail for money off of future work, and sometimes they will give loyal customers free oil changes. The layout of the office allows a lot of light and is spacious; the office is also separate from the garage, which is in the rear, so you dont have to walk through the garage to get to the office.These are good people who stand by their work, and ultimately I know I am getting very satisfactory work from them. I never had to bring a car back to them for the same problem twice. They conduct themselves with the same quality of service you would see in a large brand-name dealership, but they are your neighborly approachable repair shop.

Very easy to deal with, will be going back for my next Audi service!

They are outstanding experts in repair and maintenance and I will be back and recommend them to friends and relatives!!!

Shade Tree garage is the best! They are easy to deal with and reasonably priced. They have repaired and maintained many cars for me over the years.

If you want to have someone whos honest work on your car, you must go to Shade Tree Garage. They know what they are doing. I thought I had a major problem with the brake system of my parents Subaru so I brought it to Shade Tree. They quickly found the problem (it was minor) and corrected it. Thank you Shade Tree.

I have been using Shade Tree for several years, until they screwed me by checking a used car I wanted to purchase. Charged me $150 and told me it was fine. I had rust through with in 6 months and a plethora of issues. They never checked and offered me a $150 refund! Too late!

I brought in my 1956 Ford for a tune up and was really impressed by the entire process. Great customer service, reasonable price and results above expectations.

Everyone is very nice and helpful great Service

Brought my 2001 Porsche 911 in for service at the recommendation of a friend.The car was running rough with an engine light on.After now driving the car for a several days i can honestly say it runs like a new car..I would certainly recommend this company to anyone with a high end car/

I had a slightly urgent coil replacement to be done on my Bimmer and Marge was able to set me up for the week itself. Their service was excellent and their tech, Jim, who worked on my car, patiently answered all my queries and came back later when I had to quiz him on something else.Place looks a bit dated - they have been after all in this place for 20+ years - but quite comfortable and surprisingly large. I had a peek at their work area and was stunned to see that the back was almost like an airport hangar with that many bays.Very comfortable setting since they had a seperate table and chair to work; lucky I had got my work laptop done and I can honestly say that I had more work done during the hour and half I was there that I would have at my office between 8.30 and 9.15. Free wifi, and delicious coffee.A bit pricey I felt, but the service and the warranty + if I am right they can also arrange a loaner car (not sure if thats free) is well worth it. Highly recommend!

Great service.

They gave me the best quote for my repair compared to other shops in the area that I called. I highly trust them with my car!!!

Took my Audi in because the tire light went off....they put air in them, reset the computer, checked one of my rims and did not charge me. Great customer care!

Horrible, they wanted to charge $335 for just checking out the car and then $1000 to fix it. Their rates are more expensive than the original dealer and their parts are 100% overpriced. Got the car fixed for $300. Never again.

Quick, honest, thorough service! Shade Tree does it right the first time!

Have had my BMWs, AMGs, Toyotas & our Audi serviced here. Much better value than taking the car to the dealer, especially for the BMW & AMG. Honest and trustworthy service, love the fact they have a night drop service.

First time customer, staff experienced and professional. prices fair, will return

Quality independent mechanic in the area.

Kind staff. However it took an hour and a half for an oil change. Way too long for me. So will not be coming here again.

Good service！

Kind of expensive