North Hollywood Discount Mufflers & Brakes

Older Hybrid Smog Check Issues? Go here. To make a long story short which includes an unfortunate tangent to a Toyota Dealership, Karen had the patience to resolve the problem which was the obd2 connector not reading the smog machine. The dealership wanted $ 2700 for the new connector. Karen researched what was wrong, went to the junk yard, got the replacement part, including individual wires with hair-​breath width, found a smog guy who actually can handle change in computerization in cars, and my car passed. It took time to figure it out, but that’s what intelligent talented people need to solve problems and save you money. Very very very fair prices as well, and well worth the wait. And, btw, I’ve been going to her for YEARS.

My family has used Karen Valenti at North Hollywood Discount for over fifteen years. She is honest and fair. She has worked on our Camrys, Prious, Mitsubishi and Lexus cars. You can rent a car while your car is being fixed for $ 15 per day. Excellent customer service. Karen explains what needs to be done& why in an understandable way. She also teaches a classes every month on the basic car maintenance (the five fluids, etc.). I’m having my son take it as he is a new driver!

I’ve been going to Karen for years, and she’s been honest with telling me what I do and do not need to fix at the current time. She’s always done a good job for a good price, and I’ve never felt that she’s tried to sabotage my car to get me to come in for more service. I like this place!

Karen is an outstanding mechanic, she knows cars inside out. Truly, the service does not get better than this. I live in south LA and I travel to the valley to see her, because I feel extremely comfortable with her and I know I have peace of mind when I leave there.

Deserves more than 5 stars.
Ive been going to Karen over the years. I dont live as close to NHD anymore and willing to make the drive just so she can take care of my care.
Karen at NHD is awesome. Recommended highly.

I’ve been going to Karen for years, and even though I moved to a different part of town I still drive all the way to North Hollywood when my car needs service.
I’ve gone in with both massive car problems and minor issues and no matter what the issue Karen has always been very straight forward with me regarding what the issue is, when she will be able to do the work, and what the expected costs are. She explains what needs to be done in a way that even a car-​repair-​illiterate like me can understand. When she makes a recommendation she explains why she recommends it, and often gives alternatives so I can make an informed decision whether to spend money or roll the dice and take my chances. I honestly believe Karen values customer satisfaction over squeezing every last dime out of her customers. I’ve sent many friends to Karen over the years and never had a single one report back anything other than their happiness with her service.

Just calling the shop made me want to go over there and deal with some rude lady.
Called to get a quote on getting Flowmaster exhaust installed and she tells you with an attitude that it’s illegal and she knows so cause she’s been in business for 20 years.
I don’t know how she managed that but if she did its time to get out.

My mom and I have been going to Karen for YEARS. I cannot recommend her enough. She is honest, fair and does impeccable work.

2014 and I recently bought a used car from Karen… Yes! She even sells great old cars… I could not be happier. Thanks Karen!

Karen is a FRAUD!!! She sabotaged my car! I took her class, then as I’m sure all her students do, took my car in for a simple oil change. She BROKE the thing that holds the oil. And she DESTROYED my breaks. I got new breaks from her, then 10 months later I needed new breaks AGAIN! I was so young when this happened so my parents were paying. They asked to speak to Karen on the phone, and Karen told them I am in too much traffic every day. That was a lie!
When I finally took my car to a different place to get an oil change, the mechanic told me «I don’t like to talk bad about other mechanics, but I think whoever did your oil change and breaks last was trying on purpose to do a bad job»
DON’T TAKE YOUR CAR HERE!
IF I COULD GIVE NEGATIVE STARS I WOULD!
THE PEOPLE WHO GAVE 5 STARS MUST BE RELATIVES OR WERE PAID TO GIVE A GOOD REVIEW.

I stopped working on my own cars when i was about 40. I had never gone to a mechanic, having done ALL repairs myself, including engine rebuilds. Karen is honest, knowledgeable and fair. I have some older Toyotas, and would NEVER consider taking a car to a Toyota dealer for repairs.

Karen is AWESOME! I took a class she offered today, and I can’t see how a few of her reviews could be so foul! In regard to pricing– most folks don’t walk into Islands Restaurant (or similar) and say «they are trying to rip me off, because their cheeseburger was $ 8 more than the cheeseburger at McD’s» but whatever. Karen is the epitome of «girl power» and she values her skill on how well she can teach others and she is wonderful, and probably even a little TOO humble and seemingly not appreciated ENOUGH! If you haven’t already, I HIGHLY recommend taking her class on the 3^rd sunday of the month. It is $ 40 very well spent. Thank You, Karen– and you have turned me into a HUGE fan!

I’ve been coming here since I moved to Los Angeles. Most reliable and honest auto repair shop in Los Angeles County. Karen is the best and never pressures me to buy something I don’t need like other repair shops. Look no further for your auto repair!

Do NOT take your car here. They are disreputable ande amateurish. Took our SUV there to get an emission leak fixed, five hundred dollar quote, supposed to be doe in two days. Three weeks and $ 1000 later we got our car back. Never called to okay the extra charge. Save yourself. go somewhere else.

A friend of a friend referred me to this shop and told me she has had nothing but good experiences there. I had recently been ripped off by All Car Specialists, Inc. in San Gabriel and was very leery. The shop is owned by a woman who has been a mechanic for many years. It’s even painted pink! I walked in and explained the problem with my car. She and the mechanic that works on cars looked my car over and she explained what my car needed. She let me know that there is no such thing as a «timing belt adjustment» like the other shop had wanted to charge me $ 1000 for. She explained in detail what my car needed and what needed to be fixed and what didn’t. She assured me she would not overcharge me and apologized for the other shop that did. How kind was that? I made an appointment to return the next week to replace my leaky radiator. This was something I went to the other shop for and they could not find why my car was losing fluid. Morons.
When I came back the radiator had not been ordered, but she got right on it and assured me the car would be done in the amount of time she had quoted me and for the price I was quoted. Parts and labor for a 1996 Toyota Camry $ 366. That included a new radiator made for my car and not a random used one, coolant and labor. I was also able to rent a car from her for $ 15.
It did take a little longer for my car to be finished, but I didn’t mind as I used the extra time to meet up with a friend for lunch.
When I picked up my car, I was also told what she found wrong with my car while working on it and it wasn’t as bad as I was told by the other shop. She was honest and explained how I could keep my car running (I plan to get rid of this car in the next couple of years and told her that I didn’t want to fix what I didn’t absolutely have to). I am so happy to find an honest mechanic and a woman! Wow!
Bonus: The waiting area has tons of People magazines to read! The shop is also located near a donut shop, a subway and Yoshinoya in case you get hungry while waiting.

I’ve been taking my cars to Karen for years and I’ve always been happy with the service and prices. Her honesty is refreshing. Thank you!

This is a 5 star review for NoHo Discount brakes, AND Karen herself!
I’m a guy who knows nothing about cars, so I think it’s fitting that I go to a female mechanic who seems to know everything!
Karen is honest, straightforward, and out to save you money whenever possible. I’ve had brake services done here, as well as little problems checked out and she always has a solution and an affordable price tag to go with it. If you don’t need a service taken care of right away, there’s no pressure. She even referred me to a great body shop when I had an issue that she wasn’t able to take care of, and they were just as amazing as Karen was.
I will continue to go to Karen for all my automotive repair needs, oil changes, and get her recommendations on other service providers in town, too.

Wow, Karen is amazing! This all started when I bought a lemon from someone on Craigslist. I decided that the best course of action for me was to trade it in for a newer used car at a dealership. I found a place with a used honda civic and a friend of mine suggested Karen check it out to make sure it was good to go (my friend has been a loyal customer of hers for 7 years now). Karen told me that the civic had a ton of problems and was worth a third of its price. She didn’t charge me for the inspection and suggested I go back to the dealer and look at some other cars. She suggested models to look at and to make a very long story short… I brought a total of 3 cars to Karen to inspect before finally purchasing my new car and she did NOT charge me for any of them!
On top of that she went over the value of the cars versus the financing the dealership was offering and gave me advice on what I should do as well as what to say to the dealer. I just moved to LA a year ago and have no family here to help me, so I can not express enough how awesome it was to have her give me advice like a trusted friend. I now own a car that is in excellent shape, I got a good deal and will be a loyal customer for life.

I’ve been a loyal customer and this is the end of the road! The mechanics have done a bad job on my car too many times. Their work is sloppy and could’ve caused me an accident.
Karen was my last hope in trying to find a good honest mechanic in this town. She let me down and worst of all, her sloppy work put my life in danger.
She charged me $ 800 for a Timing Belt job. She convinced me to spend the money on replacing all the parts associated to replacing a timing belt. The day I went to pick up my car, I asked if they test drove the car to make sure everything is good. She told me she checked it all out herself.
I drive out of there and onto the highway everything is good until I exit and drive on the streets. I come to a stop light and my car is reviving high and jerking around at the stop. I get to the next stop same thing and it gets worst and more out of control. I stop in a parking lot and put the car in park. The car is now reviving up high as if it’s going at 90 miles per hour.
I called Karen and to find out that her mechanic had lodged a pin in the engine and now I’ve got to find it and pull it out. How the fuck am I suppose to find this needle in a hay stack?! After she tries to explain where its located and what I’m looking for. I find it. Karen apologizes and doesn’t offer anything else up.
So, I found another mechanic to look over Karen’s mess. He finds that she wasn’t using true Toyota parts like she claimed nor, were they even good parts. He said, they were random after market parts. He found that she cut corners in being thorough about the job. He quoted his final price to fix everything with all parts at $ 650.
I relayed all this back to her and called her out on her bullshit and she said the other mechanic is just trying to get my business. Well, the other guy will get my business and not North Hollywood Discount !
Unilocalers and fellow women beware of Karen Valenti’s bullshit and high price sloppy work. Don’t be fooled like I was. She is a shark, she’ll charge you a ton of money, and act like she’s doing you a favor. She’ll sell you on thinking you’re getting an education from a mechanic but, you’ll never see her acrylic, manicured nails ever go under the hood. Then she’ll make you wait for a couple of days before you’re car is ready and you’ll have to rent her beat up, shit — rental cars for another $ 15 a day. And, when you get your car back her lame-​ass mechanic fucked something up and you’re going to have to take it in again.
Don’t Believe the Hype!

My sister and I have been taking both of our cars there for the past several years and we couldn’t be happier with the quality of the work and the service. Everything positive that’s been said already here, is definitely true. I have appreciated how Karen has advised me on work that is necessary versus work that could be put off until the next time I bring it in. She helps me prioritize the work that needs to be done and doesn’t try to upsell. She will explain in layperson’s terms what needs to be done so I can understand the decisions better.
She has dropped me off/​picked me up from the Red Line when I needed to leave my car there, and she also rents used cars for the day for $ 15 or so. The customer service is reliably good.
After I discovered that Jiffy Lube had been ripping me off (charging me for air filters that they never inserted), I will take my car here, to Karen, even just for an oil change.
I recommend this place to my friends and definitely encourage you too.