Palmer Tire and Auto Repair

Provides great service. I have been multiple times and half the time he will send me on my way for free if there isn’t an issue or if service isn’t necessary yet. I greatly appreciate this, given the many times I’ve been charged by other mechanics just for running a diagnostic. He is very knowledgeable and takes the time to explain exactly what is wrong, what the codes mean, and always gives you a competitive price. Simply the best mechanic I’ve ever known.

I have been driving my 92 toyota pick up since 92 I take good care of it and so did Palmer! It seems whacky there because they are and they’re on a sometimes busy street with no place to shuffle cars… but they’re real mechanics without a bunch of high tech this and that to diagnose the problem. The asian man runs around giving orders to the other mechanics «tighten that nut» «bang on that!» «twist this» and they do and it works! They try to get you in and out with out having to leave your can… of course there are some repairs you have to leave it. My most recent visit he didn’t charge me a penny! We agreed I would bring the car back earlier in the day for the more in-​depth work he suggested. I have taken that truck to a few other places in the last 5 years and in the past Longo was great post purchase for years.
None of the other mechanics could figure out this electrical problem that required me to carry a jump start box with me and jump it every single time I turned off the car… and carry it back and forth to my electrical source in my garage… it was years of a pain in the… opening the hood connecting then adjusting the cables because it didn’t work the first pass… second pass… sometimes calling AAA… we finally came to the conclusion together what the problem was…25 $ later it was fixed! I have spent so much money for electrical diagnostic and never was it fixed! It is a dream to get my truck turn the key and drive away!
These guys are great! AND They need a reality show! its crazy over there! a gal wanted to top off her oil… she had to throw some $$ at him and run out to her car!
My truck and I are so happy!

After putting this off for too long, I just had all my tires replaced by Palmer Tire and Auto. I’m quite pleased! Called at 8:00 am, brought my car in at 9:00am got a call at 2:00pm that my car was ready, picked my vehicle up at 3:00. Done. No fuss no muss. — excellent service. Talk to Jeff Sum, super friendly and honest. He will recommend the best tires for your budget. He is really knowledgable about all the brands and my tires came with a 70,000 mile warranty and free rotation. Stoked for my brand new tires. Thanks Palmer Tire and Auto!

Jeff rules! He has helped me out many times! I drive and old Volvo and have had to get a fair amount of work done, every time Jeff was able to resolve the problem where other mechanics were stumped. Not only that the first time I went to his shop one mechanic shop dishonestly told me it would be $ 600 repair, I then went to Jeff instead and it turned out to be only a $ 50 par!!! Dude is HONEST! And the most recent repair he fixed my wiring and idle problem for free! Such a hero and kind person. Bless him.

So I don’t know anything about cars, but my friends always think they do. They tell me my breaks soon need a fixin… my car is super dangerous with the not really stopping thing and has been for a while but I manage (not a good idea). I guess all I needed was the break master cylinder. Much better than I ever hoped. That’s one of many examples. He even works with my schedule after hours! He is always there. In those stressful situations, he somehow finds a way to make me laugh which is almost impossible at those moments.

Love the owner– he’s friendly and quirky. I’ve come in here several times, and he’s always honest, quick, and fair with pricing as well. If he wasn’t able to fix the problem, he referred me to other spots that have treated me great.

Called the day before for an appointment for an oil change. Was told to come at 9am and my name was taken down. Showed up a little before 9am after a 26 hour work shift, expecting timely service. No one knew who I was and I was told that there were 2 – 3 cars ahead of me and the wait would be at least 40mins.
No, thank you. Poor customer service. Not coming back.

If I could give Jeff, and his amazing team who are all hilarious (is there such a thing as great carside manner?), 10 stars, I would. I cannot express how fantastic it is to find a truly honest and knowledgable auto repair shop. They are quick, they NEVER misdiagnose, they NEVER overdiagnose, and they charge you with a fairness that I’ve never seen with a mechanic before. He shows you the price that he gets the parts for, and describes all the labor they need to do. As a loyal customer, Jeff knows me and my car (a junker that I’ve kept running for years) by now, and half the time he doesn’t even charge me (not saying you’ll get the same service, but if you’re loyal, you might).
So, yeah, 10 stars.

I’ve been bringing my car for service here for about 17 years now. I never have to worry about being overcharged or swindled by Jeff. He is as honest and hard-​working as they come. We’ve referred friends to him because of this. I’ve gone to other mechanics out of sheer convenience, as Jeff’s place is a bit of a drive for me, but never again! Jeff is worth the drive!

Took me for a drop-​in smog check and oil change on my
Prius and had it ready in an hour! Quick, easy, great customer service. Best of all — very affordable! $ 75 for both my smog renewal and the oil change. That’s what I usually pay at Vavoline for a change. Overall great experience.

Gotta get in early and call in earlier. It’s chaos here due to high demand and very little real estate. That said, I couldn’t be happier with the service, communication, and price — once I was able to get the owner’s attention for 5 minutes. Don’t be put off by the first impression; it’s a fair and honest shop.

Jeff is amazing. I’ve had two major car repairs with him. He did same-​day repairs and a great job.
The most important thing about him is that he is honest. At my visit today he laid out my rotors and showed me all the rust on them. Although I already knew he was telling me the truth when he said they needed replaced, it was nice of him to debrief me on my car repair. He will always try to tell you what really needs fixed and what can wait.
Jeff is insanely busy though. To all the other Unilocalers, PLEASE don’t go on Saturday. Some of us can’t get off work for weekday repairs! On Saturday with Jeff if you are not there waiting at 8am you will likely be asked to come back another day because it is so very very busy.
Finally, this is a repair shop. Don’t expect frills; just expect good work.

THE BEST
best service best prices best vibe
Jeff is your advocate, a mechanic you can trust, Palmer has always been great.
Jeff KNOWS what he’s doing and so do his guys, and the prices are FAIR. ten stars!!!

Jeff is great! I came in here absolutely clueless as to what was wrong with my car — and he checked it out pretty fast — and brought me to my car and pointed out and detailed to me everything that needed to be done.
I was on a time crunch and he made it a point to get 2 of his guys working on my car asap so that it would be done in time for me to make the trek all the way to Palm Springs straight from his shop.

He was so nice and really tried to work with me; and sympathized with my limited budget — asking «what CAN you spend?“he gave me my «cheap option» and the normal option. I ended up going with the normal option bc it was only maybe $ 50 more — and in the end .it’ll be better for my car
I’ll deff. be coming here again! for tire rotations in the next 4k miles!
Thanks Jeff! My car now runs as smoothly as a babies’ bottom

It’s not very often you find a business with so many DETAILED comments and positive feedback on Unilocal like Palmer Tire. It seems like everyone has something great to say about this place.
Palmer Tire can best be described with a few words: Honest, Cheap, and No Frills.
First off, there are many businesses that offer excellent customer service and perhaps a nice lounge while you wait for your car. The catch with places like that is you usually end up paying a premium for those amenities and customer service.
So I arrive at Palmer Tire at 8am to get the nail in my tire taken out. There were already a couple others in line ahead of me. I came here based on all the great reviews I read on Unilocal.As I begin to chat up the others in line, they all begin telling me about their awesome past experiences with Jeff. Minutes later it would be my turn.
Jeff pulled out the nail (while the wheel still attached to the car), and we weren’t sure whether the nail had penetrated deep enough to cause an air leak. After experimenting for 10 minutes by pouring water over the tire, Jeff decided to play it safe and inserted a plug in the hole to repair it. When he was done, I asked him how much I owed him. His response: «Nothing.» «Nothing?» «Don’t worry about it, I didn’t have to take the wheel off the car.» — What a classy move.
I expect a few things when I come to any kind of auto shop: honesty & very competitive pricing. I don’t need the mechanic to kiss my ass, and I don’t need a nice lounge. If you feel the same way, then Palmer is the place for you!

Here’s the LowDown on Palmer Tire:
I had a slow leak in the right rear tire on my Volvo, so i decided to try Palmer Tire for a
fix. I did not have an appointment, so I just drove over there. I could see right away that this is a very busy shop. All of the bays were full except one, which I pulled up to. I was greeted by Jeff within 2 minutes– I can see how some other Unilocalers may think this guy is rude. He’s NOT rude. He’s just very busy working in his shop. He agreed to patch my tire and pulled my car onto the lift right away. Within 25 minutes my car was finished. Jeff pointed out the source of the tire leak, which was a nail the size of my finger! I had no idea it was there. They sealed it up tight.
OUTCOME: my tire leak was patched up perfectly
I then asked Jeff to take a look at my tire tread and advise if I need new tires or not. THIS IS THE PART WHERE THE OTHER GUYS TRY TO SELL ME.
Jeff carefully checked the tread on all four tires and told me they’re fine– no need to replace.
Wow. Honesty… what a concept.
My suggestion is to SET YOUR EXPECTATION right for this type of tire shop. They are a very busy shop that is a bit short on space… so you probably won’t get showered with customer service, an air-​conditioned waiting lounge with hot coffee etc…
WHAT YOU GET IS FAST, HONEST, INEXPENSIVE WORK.
I’m so glad I went there. WILL go back.

I just left from here…
They just lost hundreds of dollars…
I wanted to put new tires to my car and they told me they don’t have time and that they don’t have enough employees.

Jeff is the best!!!
I know people are often concerned with honesty when it comes to mechanics, and that’s what I like about this place.
Jeff tells it like it is. He’s blunt, honest, and funny.
He has helped me with a dying Jetta for the past year or so and always gives me the best price he can and even re-​fixed something that went sour again within a short amount of time after being fixed for free! (Cars fault, not Jeff’s)
He and his crew always work as quick as possible to get things done.
It does sometimes take a while because of the high customer count but any wait you experience will be worth it.
A small tip–
They open at 8am but sometimes don’t get there until a few minutes after– I personally don’t mind this because I know to expect it and the quality of the people and their work is worth it.
So glad I found Palmer Auto Repair!

Went to Palmer Tire and Auto a little while back to get two new front tires for my Audi. First of all Jeff was very friendly and accessible. He was able to get and install my tires for a fair price (not the cheapest) without any hassle.
Would recommend, and as a bonus if you have to wait instead of waiting in the waiting room you can go across the street to the Arroyo Library instead.

Jeff has been managing this shop since 1989. He knows his stuff, and he has a sense of humor too!
My car requires synthetic oil, and the electronic oil light needs to be reset after each oil change. Most places don’t bother resetting my oil light because it’s too complicated. BUT, diligent Jeff printed out instructions from the online Toyota manual in order to reset my oil change light for me. What a man. Most people would not put in the effort to do this. But Jeff did. And it makes all the difference.
Will be back for my next oil change!