Blades Automotive

Found Gary through the recommendation of a trusted friend and I couldn’t be happier with Blades Automotive. Their service is excellent, their prices fair, and most important, they are trustworthy — doing only necessary work. It is a long drive for me, but worth it.

I went in because my hood latch was stuck, something basic. It probably would have cost me $ 100+ had I taken it to the dealership. The mechanics, ALL OF THEM, at Blades Automotive were extremely helpful and even polite. It took about 30 minutes for them to get it fixed for me and they barely charged me anything at all. It has that homey-​small town mech. shop feel, which is great. I’d recommend them to anyone.

I cannot say enough wonderful things about Gary and Blades Automotive! Gary and his Team are trustworthy, honest, professional and friendly. The customer service they offer is top notch and the prices are very fair.

I trust Gary with my ’64 Ford Falcon. I was referred by a friend who has taken her cars there for years and the service I have received has never been short of top notch.
I was treated like family or a long-​time customer from my first visit and the prices have always been right.

Blades automotive is top notch! I’m lucky enough to have met Blade (Gary) though a mutual friend and he had only great things to say about him.
I run a limo company, Limo Kings, and I take my vehicles to Blade because he knows how important it is that my limos don’t break down and lose money for my business. Or even worse, give me a bad reputation on Unilocal for breaking down on a job.
I love the fact that I can drop off my limo for a basic oil change and Blade will tell me about other things that need to be done either «now» or in the near future. He’s not trying to up sell me stuff I don’t need. He’s an honorable, upfront kinda guy that tells it like it is. He’s good people!
And Harry! Harry does it all, but he really knows his AC systems. If your AC isn’t blowing cold, go see him. You might not like to hear what needs to be replaced, but he knows what he’s doing.

My car hit the 103,000 mark and needed belts, radiator, etc., etc. Gary and the guys did a great job. The repair is pricy but they replaced a bunch of parts, fixed this and that! Certainly less than a new car payment. I love my car and Gary really takes good care of his customers and their cars.

The best mechanic in San diego so far. Their prices aren’t low, but the service is outstanding. Gary is very knowledgeable and his crew always go a step further to please their customer.

I won’t take my cars anywhere else! Gary and his crew are fast, reliable, honest and my bill was at least 30% less than it would have been at the dealership.

Don’t even bother going to this place. I had to get my brakes replaced so I checked this place out. As a woman going alone to a car repair shop, I was on the lookout for people trying to overcharge me and try and do unnecessary repairs but this place even surprised me! I called in for a quote and over the phone the mechanic said that I MUST get new rotors with the brake replacement without even seeing my car. That’s right. this was over the phone and he said that regardless of the condition, I would have to get my rotors replaced when I got the new brake pads put in because «they can get too thin and be dangerous.» I had already called about a dozen other repair shops to get quotes and this was the only time I had heard something so ridiculous. He said that they do not even DO rotor resurfacing there because they always need to be replaced when the brakes are replaced. My car is in good shape and the rotors are fairly new so there is no way that they needed to be replaced… Even still, how would he have any idea what condition they were in, considering he had not even looked at them?! I’m pretty disgusted that he tried to take advantage of my assumed naivety by making me pay an extra $ 200 for some rotors that would have been just fine as they were. I can’t imagine what extras they would have tried to tack on to the bill had they actually had my car in their clutches. Steer clear of this place. There are many other repair shops out there that will be more honest and have more integrity so go ANYWHERE else but here!

Really great honest repair shop! I had the water pump in my Camaro go out and I had to have the air intake gasket replaced. They were quick and very fairly priced. Had my car back the next day. Would highly recommend this place to anyone!
I appreciate great service and the way I was respectfully treated.
A big thanks goes out to the owner… he is an extremely nice person who treated me like I was a long time customer.

these guys are great. Gary is super nice, honest, fast and super cool with pricing. Highly recommend them!
THANKS Gary!

I took my 9 year old Ford Focus in for it’s 90,000 check up. I was not very good at the routine maintenance so I expected the worst. Harry took care of me like I was family. He fixed everything that needed fixing and even saved the worn out serpentine belt to show me what I had been driving with. It cost less than I had expected and he promised me it would last another 90,000 miles. Every mechanic/​oil change tech who has seen the engine since has agreed. I’ve since sold the car and have a new one but I will drive down from Los Angeles to have Harry and Gary take care of this car too. These guys are great.

Believe all the good stuff here, its no joke. I stopped in one evening to inquire about a repair. The owner introduced himself and invited me to come back in the morning. I was skeptical because I’d had a pretty bad experience at Hai automotive before that time. The reviews I had read here on Unilocal helped me decide to go forward and give Blades a try.
When I pulled up, he came out of his office to greet me by name — Gary, you had me at Hello! They did the work as promised: on-​time, impeccably and under-​budget. How much more can someone ask for?
I have 3 vehicles, and they will all be going to Blades when they need a little work done. Give them a try …

Fantastic place. Best mechanics I’ve ever had the pleasure to deal with. They do quality work, are finished on time, and don’t overcharge. What more could you ask for? Oh, and they’re friendly, too.

These guys are the types of mechanics that you don’t want to tell others about because you always want to be able to get an appointment. Simply amazing! The friendliest guys you could ever meet.
Took my car in for a smog-​pass failure (a big deal), and they put me at ease, saved me some cash, and were super friendly. Even replaced a brake light without asking. I was looking at a $ 3000 triple catalytic converter repair and they solved it for pennies (ok, not pennies, but saved me a few months rent). Saved me a ton of cash and fixed my fiances Jeep. I was referred to them by some people I have worked with and I guess EVERYONE there uses them at my job. Straightforward and TRUE PROFESSIONALS. These are my mechanics from now on.
Thanks Gary and Gary!

Gary has been working on my car for the last 10 years. It looks like hell because of all the crappy drivers in SD but the engine purrs! I took it in recently to get it fixed because I had to take my mother to the hospital in Irvine and I wanted to make sure I didn’t breakdown. The car is running great and mom is too.

Don’t listen to the negative reviews about these guys. Ask for Gary, he’ll take care of you. Honest work at a good price. They have helped with many questions and problem shooting at no charged that has saved me a lot of money.

good service good prices friendly people

I will not take my car to this shop. A family member of mine brought their vehicle in for a intermittent idle problem: after taking it in not only did it cost them over 300 for the repairs, but the problem came back less then 24 hours but they also broke another part and quoted $ 600 ($ 575 in labor?) for a timing cover gasket. Which on this truck is NOT a 7 ½ hour job… she got a new qoute at a different shop for less then half the price.
As I am writing this a co-​worker of mine said she brought her car there and once again; shawdy work was done. Bolts were over tightened and cracked crucial parts that had to be replaced. Do yourself a favor and stay far away from these guys.

Gary Lundblade Sr., the owner of Blades Automotive, is like a therapist and a mechanic wrapped in one. He’s a good listener and an honest mechanic.
His work is excellent and he doesn’t overcharge.