Hong’s Brake Muffler & Radiator

Phillip and his Pops are very helpful and honest. Quotes are reasonable and they don’t try to B.S. to up sale you. I highly recommend to come here for high quality work. I brought several cars and referred a few of my co-​workers. No complaints and their vehicles running great! I’ll continue to be a value customer as long they’re open for business. Screw the dealership over prices. Same quality work and more than half of the savings.

1^st time customer here at Hong’s. I didn’t know that this little gem existed until I looked it up on Unilocal.I needed to get my radiator replaced on my 2000 Toyota Camry, so I called several auto shops and dealerships to get some quotes from them for the replacement service. None of them could beat the quote I got from Hong’s.
I am greatly pleased with the price and service I received here. Hong seems like a really nice guy and is upfront on whether something actually needs to be changed or not. I will definitely recommend this place to all of my friends and will have no problems coming back here to have my car serviced in the future.

I took my wife car in for replace new radiator 2008 toyota camry last year, I got save $ 100 cheaper compared with other shops, I’m very pleased with Hong, definitely I come back for car services next time.

I was referred here by a friend, and at first, I’ll be honest, I was a little hesitant because I always feel body shops/​dealers are always trying to find something ELSE wrong to charge u an arm and a leg to replace… NOT Hong’s. I am so satisfied with the end result, I am so happy I went there for a 2^nd opinion after the dealer wanted to charge me 1600 $ in total for repairs, Hong’s was reasonably price, AND was honest, telling me that one part they thought had to be replaced, didn’t, so they did not charge me. they were upfront and honest! It was finished in no time. The car seems to be running better than it did before it started with all the problems! I would greatly recommend Hong’s to anybody that needs work done. They are extremely friendly as well! Thank you so much!

This gentleman is as fair and professional as they come, his son his as great as his father. It’s refreshing to know that I’m not being taken advantage of. Another mechanic gave an estimate of $ 400 and that was a discounted quote. Hong, perform the same work for a lot less. I recommend coming here before going anywhere else! I’m extremely happy of the service and kindness of this business.

Went to Hong’s because my steering wheel was shaking and there was screeching when I braked. After a free diagnostic, he concluded that the pads and rotors were in pretty good shape and the motion was not a big issue. He ended up charging me nothing. I think I have finally found an honest mechanic.

Several people in my family having been going to Hong for many years. We recently started ourselves. Where else can you find his prices, his honesty. A dealership told me I needed brakes. When I took it to Hong, I was informed he couldn’t do the job. When I asked why, he told me I did not need them. Now he could of done the job and I would’ve not been the wiser. That’s honesty that’s hard to find. This man needs no advertisement, coupons, billboards… word of mouth has built his buisness. Extremely honest, hard working, integrity, respect… like no other.
Update on ⁸⁄₂₀₁₅:
We still love Hong’s. I would honestly give them ten plus stars.
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To start off, this place is so convenient for me, considering I live directly behind his shop, a mere 100 yards away. The shop is located directly on El Cajon Blvd, so it should be pretty convenient for anyone else too. Hong has been so friendly and gracious to me many times.
First, my boyfriend got a flat tire (which he insisted on changing himself) and Hong allowed us to fill up the new tire for free, no questions asked.
Next, my license plate holder was only hanging on half-​way, just by a thread. Again, he fixed this minor issue promptly and told me I could pay him when I brought my car back to have my brake light fixed. Total honor system and I respect that.
When I finally brought my car back to have my light fixed, he did it on the spot and was so reasonable in his pricing. So friendly too! As long as I live in SD, I will always come back here!

My dad recommended me to Hong’s for my 1996 Honda Accord and I’m very happy with their service. I rarely trust mechanics and their pricing, but Hong’s pricing is very decent. The staff is very nice and respectful and they are really honest with their recommendations, which I really appreciated. Plus, they have the best rate for smog checks in San Diego! I will definitely go back.

My car was having a problem with the the heat inside the car. A friend mentioned Hong Radiator, read the reviews on Unilocal,and called him. I explained I wanted the heater core backflushed, due to the recomendation of a former Ford mechanic and some stuff I read online.
I took the car their and after 2 hours and $ 60 he said it was clean, drove the car away and their was no chamge.
I suspected something wasn’t right so I took it somewhere else. They did the flush, and not only did I see the evidence of it, but I had heat after it was done. Sam Lee ripped me off, maybe he figured I would take it back to him for a heater core, that’s not happening, I will never take my car back there.

Took my car in for a smog check after having some work done to it. Even though the system told them the battery was taken out and the car is not ready for a smog test because it needs to be driven for many miles be for the system could reset. They went ahead and did the smog check but when the result came back it said everything passed except the system wasn’t ready. They told me to go drive around and to come back and when I did they said sorry you have to pay again when clearly the front sign says retake is free. I don’t trust them and you shouldn’t either. Unless you want to be ripped off, take your business to another place.

I would highly NOT RECOMMEND this place… They are HUGE TRICKS!!! I took my bug in because it had stopped in the middle of the freeway… And they ended up charging me $ 200 because supposedly said that they found something wrong with it… A few weeks later I found out that I had ran out of gas even though my gas needle showed I still had gas… My bucks went to waste at this place… So disappointing.

Cheap and efficient service. I found this place on Unilocal decided to bring my car and have them replace the exhaust. This was 1 year ago and since then I brought 4 different cars here and they did great job on each of them. I would definitely bring them more business in the future.

You can find good mechanics and inexpensive mechanics. The tough part is finding both. I’ve been going to Hong for over 15 years now, and he is honest, hardworking, and repairs my car at half the price the Mercedes dealer charges for the same work.
All I do now is get an estimate at Mercedes Benz, buy the parts, and give them to Hong to put on. I highly recommend him.

I had been here years ago (loved it then), but had to use Unilocal to find it again.
The radiator on my ’96 Jeep Cherokee has been leaking both transmission fluid and coolant, so I knew it was time to replace it. After much research, I figured out which radiator I wanted and purchased it online. I had every intention to install it myself to save some money, but I just don’t have the time these days. Once I figured I’d better have a shop do it, I did the research on it.
For «S & G’s», I asked the dealer how much it would cost. Over $ 800, and that’s only if they don’t find «other problems». Pep Boys wanted around $ 500. And mind you, they were taking into account I had the radiator already! Both insisted on a special «power flush» and «system diagnostic», costing about $ 100…EACH.
Hence the search for «that radiator place I really liked back in ’02». It was Hong’s and after I told him what I wanted and what I had, he quoted me a price. It was incredibly low, so I asked if he could change out the thermostat, too, while he had the radiator out. I didn’t have the thermostat or replacement fluid, so Hong provided them. Total price: $ 130!!! And unlike other shops, it looks like he replaced all the rusted bolts, screws, and clamps and didn’t charge me any extra! And he was QUICK! The other shops said it would take all day. Hong had me out in a couple of hours at the most. I had breakfast at the Mickey-D’s next door and used their free wifi to keep me occupied.
I absolutely recommend Hong for all your automotive needs! You won’t be sorry! He’s very friendly and, for those of you who are worried about such things, he speaks very good English. I’ll be using his services whenever I don’t have the time or inclination to take on any future car repairs.

Stopped by Hong’s to get a Smog test done, dude was funny as hell! All-​in-​all I was in/​out in like 12 – 15 mins. which I thought was crazy fast. Would be 5 stars but I thought price was a little steep for just a smog ($ 45), but I was in a hurry, he was close to home & my regular place had an issue with his machine??? Guess I shoulda looked for a coupon or something, oh well guess you live & learn.

Mr Hong’s shop is where its at! I brought my BMW in to have the exhaust swapped out. without a doubt will be back in the future. you wont be disappointed!

I brought my 2007 Dodge Caliber to Hong’s have the cracked exhaust manifold replaced. They let me bring in my own parts, they told me the car would be done in 2 hours and even though there was an issue that made the job a bit more difficult, they still had the car done in two hours, and they charged me exactly what they quoted me. It should be almost time to get my brakes done and I will definitely take my car back to Hong’s.

Thanks again Unilocal!For helping me find an excellent local business.
I had been having brake problems for a while, and after a quote from the Volkswagen Dealership that was over $ 600.00, I put off having the work done (probably to my poor Jetta’s detriment). However, after reading reviews of Hong’s on Unilocal,I figured it couldn’t hurt to get a second opinion.
I dropped my car off right before closing on a Thursday, and the car was ready the next day at noon! Unheard of! Not only that, my total was $ 226.38. Quite a savings over the dealership!
Hong is also a sweet, sweet, guy, super-​professional, courteous, and honest! I’ve always had a mild distrust for mechanics in general, and Hong put my troubled mind at ease!
Oh, and he gives out free pens! Yay free stuff!!!

Wow… I really love this place. My father introduced me to this place because he’s friends with the owner & he knows that Hong’s is honest & does good work. My car has more than 100,000 miles on it and I needed to replace a few items. The Toyota dealership quoted me over $ 1500. Hong’s charged me half the price the dealer quoted me. The great thing was that all my parts were genuine Toytota parts. The owner can get the parts from the dealer a lot cheaper than what the dealer would charge me so he can pass the savings on to me. I brought my car in at 11am and it was done before 5pm. I would have had to leave my car at the dealer for at least 2 days for the same amount of work.
The thing I love the most was that they were very friendly and the waiting area was clean. If you have to wait, McDonald’s & Santana’s are next door.
All in all, if you want to get your car serviced at a place that is honest, friendly, clean, fast, & inexpensive — you should totally try Hong’s!