Auto Repair for East Ferris Drivers
AutoNorth Auto Repair is a licensed auto repair shop at 1520 Cholette St in North Bay, about 20 km west of the Municipality of East Ferris, open Monday to Friday from 8:00am to 5:00pm. In East Ferris the drive in is a choice rather than a single route: Highway 94 north to Highway 17 and west, or Highway 94 west to Highway 11 and north, depending on whether the vehicle starts its day in Corbeil or in Astorville. At that distance servicing stops being a project and becomes an errand, which changes what is worth booking and when.
Last updated August 10, 2026
How Far Is AutoNorth From East Ferris?
About 20 km. The Municipality of East Ferris describes itself as sitting "only 20 kilometres east of the City of North Bay", and AutoNorth Auto Repair is at 1520 Cholette St in North Bay, open Monday to Friday from 8:00am to 5:00pm. The part worth knowing before booking is that there are two sensible ways to cover that distance, and which one is yours depends on which end of the municipality you are leaving from.
- Highway 94 is the road that connects both ends of the municipality. It runs 12.0 km from end to end, entirely inside Nipissing District, and along the way it passes Callander, Astorville, East Ferris and Corbeil. One highway, two very different exits.
- Corbeil sits at a turn in Highway 94, south of where the highway ends at Highway 17. From that side the natural run is north on 94 to Highway 17, then west toward North Bay.
- The other end of Highway 94 meets Highway 654 near Callander, adjacent to a Highway 11 interchange. From Astorville and the western half of the municipality, that is the way onto Highway 11 and north into the city.
- Both routes finish on the same road. Highway 11 and Highway 17 run concurrently for 4.1 km through North Bay before splitting at the Algonquin Avenue intersection, so whichever highway you joined in East Ferris, the last stretch is shared.
- East Ferris covers 151.94 km2 between Trout Lake and Lake Nosbonsing. The 2021 census counted 4,946 residents, up from 4,862 in 2016, spread across the villages of Astorville and Corbeil plus smaller clusters at Derland Road and along Lake Nosbonsing.
- The municipal office and fire station are in Corbeil, on Highway 94. Corbeil is on the La Vase River, and the municipality describes itself as a rural, residential community.
- Rail service through East Ferris ceased in 1996. Everything that moves in and out of the municipality now moves on a road, which is a decent argument for keeping the vehicle that does it in good order.
AutoNorth Auto Repair. 1520 Cholette St, North Bay, Ontario P1A 0A9. Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 5:00pm, closed weekends. Call (705) 472-6060 or text (705) 571-4391.
DirectionsDriving Directions From East Ferris to AutoNorth
AutoNorth Auto Repair is at 1520 Cholette St, North Bay, Ontario P1A 0A9. Tap the button and Google Maps opens the route from East Ferris on your phone, ready to navigate.
Parking is on the gravel lot out front. If the shop is closed when you arrive, the after-hours key drop is at the building and the work starts first thing in the morning.
Which Route Into North Bay Is Yours?
There is no single right answer, because Highway 94 has two terminals and East Ferris has two villages. The highway ends at Highway 17 near Corbeil at one end and at Highway 654 near Callander at the other, beside a Highway 11 interchange. Pick the end you are already closest to and the drive stops being a decision.
| Highway 94 north to Highway 17 vs Highway 94 west to Highway 11 | North on 94, then west on Highway 17 | West on 94, then north on Highway 11 |
|---|---|---|
| Where it suits you starting from | Corbeil, which sits at a turn in Highway 94 south of the highway's terminus at Highway 17 | Astorville and the western half of the municipality, toward Callander |
| Which highway you join | Highway 17, at the east end of Highway 94 near Corbeil | Highway 11, at the west end of Highway 94 where it meets Highway 654 near Callander, adjacent to an interchange |
| What the Highway 94 leg covers | The eastern end of a 12.0 km highway that stays inside Nipissing District | The western end of that same 12.0 km highway, past Astorville and on toward Callander |
| How it reaches North Bay | On Highway 17, which runs concurrently with Highway 11 for 4.1 km through the city | On Highway 11, which runs concurrently with Highway 17 for that same 4.1 km |
| Where the two routes become one | The Algonquin Avenue intersection, where the two highways split | The same Algonquin Avenue intersection, approached from the other side |
| When it makes more sense | When the vehicle starts the day in Corbeil, near the municipal office and fire station on Highway 94 | When the rest of the day already points down Highway 94 toward Callander and the Highway 11 side |
Distances and times are Google's job, not this page's. What matters for booking is simpler: say which village you are coming from when you call, and the appointment can be set for a time that fits the direction you are already travelling.
Servicing a Vehicle That Is Basically Next Door
Twenty kilometres changes what kind of appointment makes sense. Work that would be a whole production from four hours away is an ordinary errand from East Ferris, which means the sensible plan is small, regular visits rather than one enormous annual reckoning.
- Seasonal changeovers are the obvious one. Winter tire compound stays flexible below roughly 7 degrees Celsius, and all-season compounds stiffen around the same point, so the swap is a temperature decision rather than a snowfall decision. Winter tires booked ahead of the rush beat winter tires booked during it.
- The off-season set does not have to come home with you. Close to 200 customer tire sets are racked at the Cholette St shop between seasons. Seasonal tire storage means the set you are not using is already at the shop when the changeover comes round, which removes a trip in each direction.
- There are 21 tire brands stocked at the shop. Mounting, balancing, puncture repair and changeovers all happen in the same building, so a tire decision does not turn into an ordering exercise and a second appointment.
- Oil changes are the cheapest scheduled visit there is. Every one includes a 120-point visual inspection, which is the mechanism that catches the small thing while it is still small. An oil change is worth booking on the kilometres, not on whether the dash has said anything.
- Short trips and long trips wear a vehicle differently. Whatever mix yours does, the answer is the same: the inspection that comes with routine service is what turns a guess into a list, and brake work found early is a smaller job than brake work found late.
- Nothing on that list needs a whole day. That is the point of servicing a shop 20 km away as routine rather than as an event.
How Much Is a Service Visit From East Ferris?
AutoNorth quotes the price before the work is done. An oil change is quoted before you book for gas and diesel, with a new filter, a 120-point visual inspection and a wash, and everything beyond that is quoted before it is done.
- Oil changes are quoted before you book. Gas and diesel, new filter, 120-point visual inspection and a wash. Diesel and larger-capacity engines hold more oil, so give the year, make and model when booking and the number comes back before the drive rather than after it.
- Diagnosis is priced separately from the repair. You are told what it costs to find the fault. What the fault costs to fix is a second number, quoted once there is something real to quote. Check engine diagnostics works this way for everyone.
- Approval happens from wherever you are. The digital inspection report arrives by both text and email, with photos and video of your own vehicle, grouped by priority. You approve or decline each item from a phone or a computer without calling. From Corbeil or Astorville that is the difference between a repair and an afternoon.
- Third-party financing is available through AT Clarke Enterprises. A repair that lands at the wrong moment does not have to be all or nothing, and asking about it costs nothing.
- Warranty work is not automatically a dealership trip. AutoNorth is an approved repair facility for Canada General and Global Warranty, so a covered repair can be handled at the shop 20 km away. Extended warranty repairs are worth asking about before assuming otherwise.
- The estimate is the conversation, not the invoice. Nothing goes ahead without approval, which is the whole reason the report gets sent before the work starts.
Call (705) 472-6060 or text (705) 571-4391 with what the vehicle is doing and roughly how many kilometres are on it. A price before the drive is the normal way round.
One Drive Instead of Two
Even at 20 km, the second trip is the one that ruins the day. There are three ways to avoid it, and all three are arranged at the time of booking rather than sorted out in the doorway on the morning.
- The after-hours key drop turns two trips into one. Leave the vehicle the night before, on your way back from whatever else was in the city, and the work starts first thing in the morning rather than whenever the vehicle arrives.
- There is a customer shuttle, including rides home. Mention it when booking so it can be arranged in advance. A ride home is worth more from Corbeil or Astorville than it is from three streets away.
- Parking is the gravel lot out front. There is room to leave a vehicle, which is what makes the overnight drop practical rather than theoretical.
- Two-way text messaging runs through the shop's system. AutoNorth runs AutoLeap, which handles both the inspection reports and the texting, so a question can be answered without either side sitting on hold.
- The report reaches you twice. Photos and video of your own vehicle, by text and by email, grouped by priority. Nothing about approving a repair requires you to be standing in the shop.
- Say which village you are coming from. It is the single most useful thing to volunteer when booking, because it tells the shop which end of Highway 94 you are on and what time of day the drive actually suits you.
Why This Shop, 20 km Down Highway 94?
Because of decisions made about how the place runs, not because of anything on the sign. AutoNorth Auto Repair opened on Cholette St in September 2025 and is rated 5.0 across 24 Google reviews. The things underneath that rating are all structural.
- Technicians are paid straight time, not flat rate. Nobody in the building earns more by rushing a vehicle through or by finding extra work on it. Most of what people dislike about this trade traces back to a pay structure, and this is not that one.
- Every visit produces evidence. Photos and video of your own vehicle, sent by text and email, grouped by priority, approved or declined from your phone. A recommendation you can look at is a different thing from a recommendation you have to take on faith.
- Dealership-level training in an independent shop. Ryan Christadler is a Toyota-certified Master Technician with hybrid certification, trained at Centennial College, working at an independent shop's overhead.
- It is a licensed MTO Motor Vehicle Inspection Station. Ontario Vehicle Safety Certificates are issued at Cholette St, which matters whenever a vehicle changes hands or comes back onto the road. Safety inspections are done in the same building as everything else.
- Commercial work is part of the day, not a favour. AutoNorth is a certified Holman service shop and works on government and municipal fleets. Fleet servicing tends to sharpen a shop's scheduling, which is quietly good news for everyone else booking into it.
- All makes and models, gas, diesel and hybrid. One building covers maintenance, mechanical repair, tires, safety certificates and commercial work, so a single drive down Highway 94 does not turn into three.
- The 120-point visual inspection comes with the oil change. Not as an upsell, as the thing that makes the cheap visit worth making.
Services East Ferris Drivers Ask About
Highway kilometres, seasonal tire swaps and Ontario's certificate rules account for most of this list. All of it happens at 1520 Cholette St, on all makes and models, gas, diesel and hybrid.
Oil Changes
Gas and diesel, with a new filter, a 120-point visual inspection and a wash.
Read moreTire Shop
21 brands stocked, with mounting, balancing, puncture repair and changeovers.
Read moreTire Storage
The off-season set racked at the shop instead of taking up the garage.
Read moreSafety Inspections
Ontario Vehicle Safety Certificates from a licensed MTO inspection station.
Read moreBrake Repair
Pads, rotors, calipers and lines, with photos of what was found.
Read moreCheck Engine Diagnostics
A quoted price to find the fault, then a separate quote to fix it.
Read moreEverything else is on the full services list, and the contact page has the map, the hours and the booking form.
East Ferris: Common Questions
How far is AutoNorth from East Ferris?
About 20 km. The Municipality of East Ferris describes itself as sitting only 20 kilometres east of the City of North Bay, and AutoNorth Auto Repair is at 1520 Cholette St. Highway 94 runs 12.0 km through the municipality, entirely inside Nipissing District, passing Callander, Astorville, East Ferris and Corbeil, and it is the road that puts you on either Highway 17 or Highway 11 depending on which end you take.
From Corbeil, should I take Highway 17 or Highway 11?
Corbeil sits at a turn in Highway 94 south of where that highway ends at Highway 17, so Highway 94 north to Highway 17 and then west is the straightforward run from that village. From Astorville and the western half of the municipality, the other end of Highway 94 is the one that makes sense: it meets Highway 654 near Callander adjacent to a Highway 11 interchange, and Highway 11 heads north into the city. Either way the last stretch is shared, because Highway 11 and Highway 17 run concurrently for 4.1 km through North Bay before splitting at Algonquin Avenue.
Can a North Bay shop issue a safety certificate for a vehicle registered in East Ferris?
Yes. An Ontario Vehicle Safety Certificate is issued by a station licensed by the Ministry of Transportation, and that licence is provincial rather than municipal. AutoNorth is a licensed MTO Motor Vehicle Inspection Station, so a vehicle registered anywhere in Ontario, including anywhere in East Ferris, can be inspected and certified at 1520 Cholette St.
Can I leave the vehicle the night before instead of driving in twice?
Yes. There is an after-hours key drop at the Cholette St shop, and parking is the gravel lot out front, so the vehicle can be left on the way home from whatever else brought you into the city. Work starts first thing in the morning rather than whenever the vehicle arrives. There is also a customer shuttle, including rides home, if you would rather come in during the day. Mention either one when booking so it can be arranged in advance.
What will I be told about the price before I book?
The price for your vehicle, before you drive in. An oil change covers gas and diesel with a new filter, a 120-point visual inspection and a wash, and is quoted for your vehicle before you book. Diesel engines hold considerably more oil, so the number depends on what you drive. Call the shop with your year, make and model and AutoNorth will tell you the price for your vehicle before you book, not after the hood is up. Everything past the oil change is quoted before the work happens.
When should winter tires go on, and where do the summer ones go?
Temperature decides it, not snowfall. Winter tire compound stays flexible below roughly 7 degrees Celsius, and all-season compounds stiffen around that same point, so the changeover is worth booking as the temperature trends down rather than waiting for weather. As for the set coming off, close to 200 customer tire sets are racked at the shop between seasons, so the off-season set can stay at Cholette St and be waiting there at the next changeover instead of riding back down Highway 94 with you.
Book From Corbeil or Astorville in One Drive
Call or text AutoNorth with what the vehicle is doing and which village you are coming from. Ask about the shuttle or the after-hours key drop when you book, and 20 km becomes one trip instead of two.