Randall Bros Automotive

Twice I’ve been here to get my cars smogged and twice i’ve been very happy with their service. In and out in about 20 minutes. Very competitive prices for the smog check service.

My experience over the past 8 to 10 years of taking my family members’ cars to Randall brothers has been consistently positive. It’s also been very different than the experience of some of the other reviewers. I don’t know Mike on a personal level and don’t disagree with some of the comments regarding his personality, but I’ve found him to be very direct and honest over the years. I’d guess that I’ve had cars serviced here 15 to 20 times and have never felt that they were dishonest or incompetent. There have been several times that I’ve brought cars in for problems and been told that they found something very minor and repaired it. I don’t recall the specific issue, but we brought a car in a year or so ago and were charged something like $ 27 for whatever they found. They could have easily told me it was a $ 200-​$ 300 repair and I probably wouldn’t have questioned it. I like the place and continue to go there.

They are not honest. Be careful and get a second opinion.
The front desk has issues and the mechanics are not knowledgeable. They sure don’t stand behind the work.
It is too bad… I strongly suggest not taking your car there.

I have nothing but great things to say about this place. I needed my brakes checked on my Infinity because my check brakes light was on along with a few other warning lights. They had been on for a few months so I stopped by the shop last week expecting that my car required some pretty major repairs. I am a single woman and know very little about car mechanics. They informed me that my brakes were fine and even showed me. Then they popped open my hood added some brake fluid and to my delight all of the warning lights turned off. They sent me on my way for no cost. When it does come time for my car to be serviced, I will definately bring it to Randall Bros.

I’m a regular customer at Hertz, which shares the same front office, but I’ve seen the guy at the front counter a lot. He is the least friendly person I have ever met. Last month he told someone he didn’t have time to fix her car. He was so utterly devoid of personality or concern I was beginning to wonder if there was something more serious going on. He seems to resent any intrusion into what is going on in his office (playing minesweeper or solitaire? Maybe Minecraft?). The guys actually working in the garage are friendly and pleasant, which makes me wonder why they have this automaton taking their repair orders. They way he treats customers is about guaranteed to repel and offend anyone. It is almost bad enough to drive me away from Hertz.

The smog tech tampered with my car to get it to fail smog then proceeded to offer to fix it if I agreed to pay hourly. In short never going here again.

I like using Mike for convenience and appreciate his good work. He keeps my
work van in reliable shape so I don’t have
any major problems occurring unexpectedly.
It gives me added confidence.

I have just sold my car, and had a very positive experience with them.
I got appraisals from
and
beforehand, and Randall Bros gave me much better offer ($ 6,000, instead of $ 4,900 from AutoTrader or $ 5,000 from
, which initially quoted $ 3,000). Ken Nelson looked into the car and the papers much more thoroughly than the
guy, and all the things he mentioned were very similar with what the dealership services people were saying, so that I could trust him even before he gave the quote. I have no hesitation in recommending them!

I have been going to Randall Bros for years and highly recommend them. I appreciate their honesty and efforts to schedule me as soon as possible. The also charge very fairly and sometimes even do small adjustments without charge. The mechanic Saied has always done a great job when he’s worked on my car. He’s even gone out with me to test drive it when there was a strange noise in it. They’ve kept my car running well for years. I even buy my tires there because their prices are better than any where else. I think they’re great! It’s a good feeling to know you have a good mechanic who’s also honest to keep your car running well!

Called this morning for a smog check on a 1983 Olds. Got an appointment this afternoon, brought it in and they were ready. Price was stated up front and about what I expected. Pleasant yet business like reception. Left about 20 minutes later all set. Nice job. Also heard another person come in with an emergency break down and they were quickly taken care of.

We took our 13-​year old Honda to Randall Bros for a smog check. It turns out that I had met owner Mike Read at a Novato Historical Guild meeting at the Hamilton Field History Museum several years ago. Mike remembered the connection. For the next 20 minutes we had a most interesting chat about Novato history, along with color photos, while the test was completed. Excellent and fast service, good prices, plus entertainment while we waited. We have found a new home for our auto servicing needs and will be back!

I have been with Blake’s Autobody for 21 years, as a Manager of our Novato shop for over 7 I have used Mike many times. Plus I have sent many friends who are always happy. This is a great shop with great prices and Mike is way more funny than some of you think! My daughters car is at his shop today. I give Mike 5 stars because he has always made me look good when I send him bussiness.

I really don’t understand the negative comments about Mike. He may not be overly friendly, but I would have a huge problem with a car mechanic who’s overly friendly.
I went in yesterday to see if they can smog my car. They were too busy. I made an appointment for today. I went today, I stood in the doorway, and didn’t need to say a word.
20 minutes later it was done, I was out. Clear billing, paperwork done, yey! Not sure if I’m right or not, but I thought the price was lower than my last smog that was done somewhere else. I’ll be back!

Our ’94 Chev Silverado suddenly died. Went to three other shops paying close to $ 3,000 & it still kept dying! Once on the freeway @ 65 mph. It was even taken to a truck repair specialist.
Decided to take it to Randall Bros to fix it enough to donate it. They apologized that the repairs would be about $ 1600. Not only did they get it running smoothly; it is still running five years later!
Mike has taken excellent care of our vehicles ever since. Latest repair on the truck $ 106. They even do an outstanding job on our 2006 Civic.
Highly recommend whether your car is vintage or current.

Sonnen told me a repair would cost $ 1400– something was supposedly wrong with my electrical. Smelled fishy to me and a friend told me to go here. Dragged my ass to NOVATO. Turns out it was a loose connection or something and problem was fixed gratis. No issues since. Definitely worth the drive.

I’m with the group who like this place. I’ve been going here for several years, with three different cars. Reliable work, reasonable prices. But the main reason for the rating is that, as others have said, Mike will not take advantage of your ignorance. Case in point — my subaru was leaking oil from the engine and transmission, and the auto transmission was not shifting normally. A little online research was depressing: either a major repair or a new tranny seemed indicated. Mike said, maybe the fluid is dirty and low because of the leak. So, drain the fluid, replace a gasket, new fluid, and it’s fine. Maybe a hundred bucks. That’s why I go back. Granted, Mike is a little introverted when you first meet him, but today he actually made a joke. About the $ 1000 cat converter I turned out not to need. Thanks, Mike.

Horrible place to go! I took my car there for an estimate and they did the work without my authorization! Totally over priced and the guy is totally weird! As your talking to this guy he gives u a look of nothingness!!! Wow! Will never go back!!!

I went in to this place to get an estimate on some repair work that I needed done at the recommendation of a friend. The guy at the front counter acted as if he didn’t want to be there or talk to me and stared at me as if I were crazy. i just didn’t like his vibe and I won’t be asking them any questions ever again.

I am, at the moment, out of a job. So when someone offers me a free oil change – you better believe I’m gonna take it.
My choices for getting the oil changed in town are Pennzoil 10 Minute Oil Change (Cheap but dicey, known for stripping the oil filter mount and then, of course, denying it, and not really cheap at all when you think about the cost to repair the filter mount – jerks!), or another higher end guy in town who specializes in «foreign» cars (Aren’t Volvos Fords now?). «Foreign guy» charges around 100 $ for a workover but includes some extra little perks. Whoa. That’s all well and good as long as you’re making bank but uh… for the unemployeds of the world, that’s rather steep. Randall Bros.’ price for changing the oil on my Volvo V70 station wagon was 55 $, but like I said there was no charge because I had a «Welcome to the Neighborhood» coupon.
Randall Bros. had time on a Friday afternoon at 4 to squeeze me into their schedule on a drop in basis – nice! Volvos are a pain in the posterior to work on because of the protective plate they have on the undercarriage – it has to be unbolted and rebolted so it takes longer than the average car. Randall Bros. was reasonably quick – about 40 minutes which gave me enough time to cruise my old ‘hood.
Bummer that none of my neighbor lady friends were home at 4:15 Friday afternoon (at least my friends have jobs) to catch me up on the lastest gossip in the Annals of Atherton Ranch. But I was lucky enough to bump into my favorite neighborhood DILF (Oh, yes. It means exactly what you think it means.) and enjoy a brief chat. :Sigh: I do so miss the old ‘hood. When I got back to Randall Bros. I still had a few minutes to sift through People mag and petrify my brain before my car was ready.
Speedy, efficient, reasonably priced – I have zero complaints. I reserve the final star rating until I’ve been there more often. I DO think I owe them a chance to actually make some money off me – it only seems fair. So yes, I’ll be back and so will the Huzby in his orange gansta-​mobile. Then he can cruise the old ‘hood and chat up some of his MILFgal pals. Hey. Fair’s fair.

My family took ALL of our cars here. We appreciated their honesty.
Unfortunately, all you have to do is be dishonest once to make me walk away. I had my car taken their and they told me the a lot of the engine was going to need to be fixed ($ 2800 worth). Well my car was probably only worth 3K as it was my commuter. Im not sure if they wanted me to junk it so they could keep it or what. But I didnt want to junk it, so I ended up selling it to a friend of a friend that was a mechanic for only $ 1200 thinking they could take the time to fix it at their own pace/​$. That mechanic who then inspected it and said he just needed to replace the timing belt. He turned around and sold it for 3K.
Thanks a lot Randall…