Harvard Auto Repair

We all know the drill. Car problems are the worst. I’ve been here a few times now and finally assessed enough to write a review.
First off I’ve mainly gone to mom n pops bc let’s be real, the dealerships are way overpriced and the same shade factor that goes into car repairs are still there no matter the emblem or «registered» dealership.
I have a 2003 Toyota 4Runner that I love. It was overheating and so brought it in. They replaced the thermostat, and radiator cap and now it’s as good as new. The price seemed fair but most importantly I trusted them which is to say a lot.
I’ll continue to go back in the future.

This shop is super honest and their prices are on the lower end of the spectrum. They did a bunch of misc. work on my dad’s mitsubishi montero SUV for free and other repairs were super cheap compared to the big chains. Super kind owner and well trained mechanics. Highly recommended if you need reliable auto repair.

Come here if: you’re looking for quality and trustworthy auto repair that won’t break the bank
I found Harvard auto repair on Unilocal and brought my old SUV in for some fixings. The breaks were squealing, engine light had been on for a while and the car wouldn’t always start. Despite the one negative review out of seven, I decided to give them a try. The owner and his employees were courteous and professional. Not only did they fix the engine light and car not always starting, they also ran a full inspection on the car and gave me a prognosis. He didn’t pressure me to fix anything besides what I asked him to, he just told me that there’s a few things I need to be aware of and if something goes wrong in the future, it could be because there were several components that were heavily worn down. He mentioned the breaks and rotor discs were old and needed replacing (hence the squealing), but if I wanted to wait a little longer I could.
I was expecting to pay $ 300+ but it was less than $ 100 for everything! It was a few hours worth of work and other auto repair shops charge much more but he was honest, which I found a relief. Now he’ll be my go-​to auto repair shop when the inevitable happens.
Three weeks later, the car is still running smoothly without issues, so what Harvard Auto Repair shop fixed, it still remains fixed.
The couple of times I visited, the place had several cars in and out but he seemed to take in walk-​ins (like me) and service them immediately. Waiting times may vary, of course, depending on the work load but perhaps I got lucky or perhaps it’s not overly busy here.

you know when family brings you here, you trust them because it’s family. the auto shop is in a good location. i went in the a. m and it only took like 15 minutes for me to get my motor oil and air filter and cabin filter changed. i will be coming here more often so may update this review.

I’ve been going here for years, ever since I’ve been driving & have owned a car. The owner Mr. Choi is a standup guy & I can tell you that for a fact. All the employees are friendly as well. Prices are fair & they don’t try to up sell anything. Will never use another shop unless I absolutely have to.

Amazing service. Amazing owner. I was a bit worried after reading the one bad review and the fact that there weren’t that many reviews to begin with, but this place is bumpin. I was here on a weekday for at least 4 hours and there were customers constantly flowing in and out. I think the owner doesn’t care much about Unilocal because he already has so many people coming. Honestly to me that was the best proof that he knows what he’s doing and that he gives good deals. He not only fixed my car that wasn’t starting but also stapled up my cracked rim and polished my side scratches for free. I found out later cause he didn’t even mention it! Highly recommended.

choi is great guy honest and honest.
been servicing all my family cars (5 cars) for many years and price is always ½ of dealers and the quality is like dealer.
never pressure to change or spent money like dealers.

Wouldn’t take my car anywhere else. Honestly. I trust them to care for my car. They haven’t let me down yet!

This place doesn’t deserve a star.
Dong Choi, the owner of this auto repair is a fraud and lies about his shit. He’d rather go hiking than to give a shit about this business. Straight up liar and has no class. I came in June (when the weather is hot as f*&K!) to fix my AC and walked out with a $ 600 bill AND get this… MY AC DOES NOT WORK! I knew it was my compressor that was out bc all the other auto repair shops told me it was my compressor but I didn’t fix it due to a financial hold. Now it’s summer and freaking hot as hell so I decide to fix my AC. My bf’s mother got a recommendation from another auto shop about Harvard Auto Repair so she told me to go here.
When I got there, I told Dong Choi that my AC is out and that I needed it to be fixed no matter what. I asked him how much it would be to change out the compressor and I was thinking about $ 500, but instead he told me that it wasn’t the compressor but the radiator that was the problem bc my car had gotten into a previous accident. He told me that the radiator was the problem why my AC didn’t work. He charged me $ 400 for a new radiator and got my AC to work like he said he would. Two weeks later, my AC is OUT!
I go back to him and Dong Choi is out on a hiking trip and he was going to be back mid-​July. I told his employee that my AC is out and reminded him that I came 2 weeks ago and he recognized my car. I told him my AC was out and asked him how could that be possible, if I fixed it? He checked it and told me that there is a crack in my compressor and that the AC gas was leaking through the crack. I knew it was the compressor bc another repair shop told me that the compressor is out bc it could have a crack bc of the previous accident. I was appalled bc Dong Choi told me it was the radiator. So his employee told me he sealed the crack and added more gas. He mentioned to me that if the AC goes out again, he suggested that I get a new compressor when Dong comes back. I was PISSED!
I came back mid-​July when Dong was there. I told him that I came during the time he wasn’t there and that his employee told me it was my compressor. He told me it wasn’t and that he installed a faulty radiator. How convenient that I happened to get a faulty one. He told me I had a «year warranty» on it. I came back for the car and the AC worked. Ok, so this man made my AC work again… yay! he’s great… YEAH RIGHT!
So my A/​C lasted for a month and I took my car to Vegas for my bday. I could feel that my AC wasn’t as cold so my bf and I decided to leave LA at 3am to beat the desert heat. Thank God we did bc if we left later, we would’ve been F*CKED! 115 degree heat!!!
On our way back home from Vegas, it was the hottest day out of the week and had heat warnings issued. 115 degrees! Our A/​C was barely cold… Our AC was mostly out by the time we hit Baker. Trust me, we bought a bag of ice from the gas station and shoved it in our cooler. We went through HELL in the desert heat for 3 hours until we hit LA. No one could fathom this experience unless you belong in my club of broken AC in the car while driving in the summer desert.
I came back to Dong Choi again and he greeted me with this ugly sour face. He thought he could get away with it but I came back. NOW THIS TIME, he told me that it was my AC hose and that I needed to get a new AC hose! I told him it was the COMPRESSOR but he kept saying it was the AC HOSE! So I decided to let him have it again since he’s the car expert. He told me that it is the AC hose and that he had to clean out my engine AND he was going to CHARGE ME for the cleaning fee and AC hose. Okay so I let this asshole have it. What do you know… 5 hours later, I come back and this asshole tells me that he can’t do anything and he did the best he can. AND he will charge me $ 300 for not fixing my AC! He decided to give me a «discount» by not charging me a cleaning fee but made me pay for a new AC Hose. Does that make any sense? And in the end, after all that bullshit– he told me that I need to change out my compressor and it was going to cost me $ 500+. F*&^^&!@! ASSHOLE!!! AND ON TOP OF THAT, THIS ASSHO WAS SMOKING CIGARETTES IN MY CAR AND LEFT HIS CIGARETTE BUTT ON THE FLOOR OF MY PASSENGER SEAT!!! RUDE FUK!
Don’t EVER come to this place! OLD, SHORT, BALDING NAPOLEON COMPLEX IDIOT WHO RUNS THIS PLACE TRYING TO SWINDLE PPL SO HE CAN GO ON HIS HIKING TRIPS! WARNING! DO NOT GO TO THIS PLACE!!!
IN KOREAN, YOU CALL PPL LIKE HIM ‘SA GEE GOONS’ WHICH MEANS CON ARTISTS. IN LA, ESP IN THE KOREAN COMMUNITY, YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL OF SA GEE GOONS BC THEY’RE SPREAD OUT LIKE WILDFIRE IN KTOWN! MAKES ME SICK TO MY STOMACH.
KARMA KNOWS WHERE YOU LIVE, WHERE YOU WORK, WHERE YOU ARE 24 – 7 SO BEWARE!!! I HOPE THIS BUSINESS GETS SHUT DOWN. PPL LIKE HIM SHOULD NOT BE RUNNING BUSINESSES, ESP. SHODDY ONES LIKE HIS.

Just a nail in the tire, but…
1. Quick
2. Clean
3. Price competitive
I was in and out in 20 min, patching 2 tires.