Brake Stop Auto Repair

Fast and friendly. Scheduled an appt online the day before for a smog check. In and out in 20 mins before heading to work.

Fantastic! Fair, reasonable, great workmanship.
Nobody likes a mechanic they can’t trust. When I moved here from NY I was referred to Hillcrest Smog and Repair as my check engine light was on, and was not sure I’d pass smog. Hillcrest charged me $ 50 to see why my check engine light was on. Then sent me to L&T who ran a smog on my car because Hillcrest didn’t have the machinery for my year of a car (’98), and they weren’t able to verify if my after market headers were legal in CA. Turns out they weren’t. So then Hillcrest sent me to Brake Stop. [They could have looked at my car and just sent me to Brake stop to begin with, rather than having me end up with a diagnostic and two smog check bills… but I guess that’s how you share the industrial wealth, perhaps].
I went to Brake Stop 3 times. The first time for a brief convo. The second time for a smog check and for a full quote on removing my headers and replacing them with a new catalytic converter, new o2 sensors, etc. Overall almost a $ 1,200 estimate for a super old car — BUT a super old HONDA… Not having the funds for a new car, I got assurances that they could do the work. When I dropped it off, they said they’d call me right away if it looked like they were running into trouble. 2 days later, I hadn’t heard anything and was hoping they hadn’t forgotten about me. First thing this morning I called and they said my car was all repaired and almost ready to go, once they could smog it. And even though the rust made them have to replace a few extra pieces of things here and there, they re-​adjusted the price to stay within the original quote.
Although my little car lost it’s cute growl from the header removal, it’s purring like a kitten. I was worried about this type of major surgery, but these guys are up front and full of integrity. And I just found myself a new mechanic! I will be going back, and have every confidence that their work is guaranteed. :)

A little cheaper than expected (a lot cheaper than Honda Dealer). Great service! Ready for me when I arrived at scheduled appointment time. Done a little earlier than promised. No frills, just solid car repair. Exactly what I needed. I’ll be back.

Great service! After going to my dealership to get a diagnostic and quote on my breaks I came to the Brake Stop for a second opinion and they were very honest and kept my cost low. I’ll definitely come back again.

I saw these guys for a wobbly steering wheel in February, they turned the rotors on my front wheels, the problem was solved for a few months, it returned in June with brakes that had been increasingly squeaky since the service was provided, they then turned the rotors on my rear brakes and replaced all the pads, resolving the squeaking. I then had to move cross country. I thought my brake problems were resolved, but if a problem should arise, they have a one year «nationwide warranty,» on parts and service. This was a selling point on choosing them to service my brakes. Big mistake. I got across the country, my brakes are squeaking again. I go to the dealer to discover that I have «hot spots» on my rotors and that they cannot be turned as they are now too thin and I need all new rotors. If you call brake stop’s «warranty service» phone number, napa auto parts shrugs their shoulders because they cannot provide warranty service on parts of the car that they did not provide.
Long story short, the «nationwide service warranty» is a sham and they will not give you your money back even when it’s discovered that they took $ 600 of it to cause a problem that cost $ 700 to fix elsewhere.
Do yourself a favor and start elsewhere.

I never write reviews, but I’ve been so impressed with these guys I decided to let people know. Best auto service shop in San Diego. Have been coming here for all service since moving to SD. Richard always makes you feel welcome and that you are truly getting your money’s worth. Great discount for Active Duty. Always fast and great customer service.

This was my first time at Brake Stop Auto Repair and won’t be my last!
I just want to thank Richard and his team for the great work and effort they put in to getting the job done. They have great knowledge and know exactly what they’re doing. Richard provides excellent service and lived up to his promise when it came to constant communication with me while my car was in the shop.
They work on variety of cars, and their skill set and knowledge was very critical when specifically working on my car. I brought in a 2009 BMW M3 Coupe for a very sophisticated exhaust work, and they were able to provide exactly what I needed and displayed excellent craftsmanship. Overall, I highly recommend Brake Stop Auto Repair for services ranging from simple brake jobs to complex performance mods for higher end cars.

These guys are THE BEST IN TOWN! The reason I love them is because they’re honest, and always looking to do right by their customers by finding them the best deal possible. If you reciprocate their loyalty, you’ll even find yourself walking out the door with no bill for some things!

I went in for a muffler pipe break and quickly realized it was much more than I thought. I checked the Internet and found the average repair costs were $ 1000. — $ 1500. Dory repaired the problem for $ 250. I am more than happy with the fix and the costs. PS — I used to be a race mechanic. This is a GOOD fix!

These guys are great I was having major issues with my steering. They figured out the issues repaired the damage and my car is running great

Received a fair quote and lower than most of their competitors. Richard was extremely professional and friendly! They even threw in an oil change without any change to what they quoted me.
Will be taking my business there exclusively!

I always feel a little uneasy treading the waters of any business dealing with my car, ’cause I’m going to be real… it’s a bucket! It would be so easy to tell me something’s wrong with my car and I’d believe it. Anyway, went in for a routine smog check and everyone was so kind and professional, offered me water and had a nice conversation. 5 stars well earned. Thanks for a great experience!

Friendly staff! I was in and out in 20 minutes for my smog check! If you need a smog or brakes I definitely recommend these guys. Located Right behind Kettner Exchange.

Took my car in about two months ago to get my rear drum brakes repaired. I told them that I was going to be driving across the country with my sedan full of stuff (very heavy) and that braking safely obviously was a concern. Staff was friendly and service was quick-​ish. They showed me the shiny new brake drums and assured me everything was fine.
On the drive out of the state I noticed braking wasn’t as responsive as it should have been, but attributed it to the weight of the vehicle. After some time, I took my vehicle into a shop in Louisiana. They called back a short time after I left to inform me that my rear drum brakes were; full of brake fluid and brake dust (making a form of gunk) from rear wheel cylinders leaking; had uneven wear on the shoes (only a small middle portion was in contact with the drum); and the shoes themselves were drastically uneven in terms of size. To this news I was shocked and distrustful of the shop I took it to in Louisiana who invited me to come in and have them show me first hand. They recommended I save the parts and request a receipt from Brake Stop (I had parted with my copy some time ago). Needless to say I will follow up with Brake Stop about this.
What gets me the most is that I explicitly told them I would be driving my vehicle for long distance under unusual weight, and this is the service they decided was acceptable. There are plenty of automotive repair shops in SD. This is not the one you’re looking for.

These guys are professionals and will save you money where they can. They are also very quick! They earned these 5 fives.
Bravo guys!

Richard helped me out after I received the terrible news of failing my biennial smog test due to the catalytic converter. Not a cheap job but the FlexPay option helped with financing the cost. He also discounted the smog test/​certification and threw in a free oil change.

I would suggest you come here for the oil change only.
I trusted them with changing out my belts and the day after, it started making weird noises. I came back and asked them to tighten it and they said it was tightened to the maximum level and that it was my alternator that was causing the squeeling. I sent my boyfriend to talk to them and they said the same thing and they said that it was my alternator and that my alternator is defective. I went to my usual mechanic and my mechanic said that these guys didn’t know what they were talking about and that my belt needed to be tightened and it wasn’t the alternator. My mechanic tightened my belt for me for free and told me to never go back to this place again. I won’t because after my mechanic tightened my belt, I never heard the noise again and it’s been months since the incident.
One good thing came out of this annoying incident and it is that this incident converted my boyfriend to use my mechanic on his car too.
3 stars for an A-​OK oil change but 0 stars for anything else.

I needed a brake job done on Friday morning. A fairly major job. Pads, Rotors, Fluid Flush.
No problem. I brought it in at 10:00 AM, and was driving out at 1:00 PM, driving better than ever before… Maybe I don’t need ball joints after all? Convoy Auto Repair wanted to do that job for $ 980.00+.
Good thing I waited.
But, I digress.
Nice, clean shop, clean restroom, friendly, knowledgeable people working there that aren’t trying to Bulls**t you into spending more money.
They did my brakes for a fair price, and quoted me a great price on a transmission job.
I recommend this business.

Run! If you have anything close to a German or specialized car. this is not the place for you. Mechanic doesn’t know what’s he’s doing $ 1300 down the drain and the manager still wants me to dump more $ into fixing the problem, which it seems that they’re not equipped to do. I took my car to Save Auto in Kearney Mesa and saved a buttload.

I needed a simple STAR smog test for my car and wanted somewhere close to Little Italy. A quick Google search brought me here. I was in and out on a Monday afternoon in about 20 minutes for a fair price.
Good guys to have up the street.