Hans Art Automotive

While the service was decent, I would not trust these guys to put their customers first. They advertise a discount with a AAA card. Last time I got my car serviced and paid nearly $ 70, they said the service didn’t justify the discount. Annoying, but fair enough. Went in again this past week and asked for the AAA discount on $ 170 service. The guy in the office said I needed to tell them upfront to get the discount. Why should it matter? He wouldn’t budge on offering the discount. Don’t trust this supposed AAA discount. It is completely bogus. I will take my business elsewhere next time.

While they did fine work on my car, I would not trust them to always put the customer first.
Here’s my rant: They contract out their towing to Lombardi Towing, which means that they take little responsibility for this aspect of the job. Though they certainly offer it up as a convenience. I was quoted a certain time for a pick up of my car and after an hour standing in the cold and at least three phone calls to Hans, my car was finally towed. When I asked for some sort of reimbursement on the cost of my tow, they were unsympathetic. Instead of eating the cost for my inconvenience, I was given a half-​hearted «sorry.»
It’s no wonder that when my car needed service again, it did not occur to me that I should consider Hans Art.

My 2003 Honda Element just rolled over 300,000 miles and the credit for this success goes to the terrific crew at Hans Art Automotive. They’ve performed 100% of the work on my car and have kept it in tip-​top shape from it’s first oil change to today’s milestone. I appreciate their care, advice and the high quality of their work. Hans said that we’d make it to 200M, now we are at 300M, I look forward to 400M!

I’ve been going to Hans Art for a few years now and have consistently impressed with the quality of work and their customer service. They spend as much time as necessary to diagnose and repair you car. A while back I had a strange rattling sound which stumped everyone and Hans kept the car until he finally found the source — such a random thing that I can’t even describe it here! But, I’ve been very very happy with all the work they’ve done on my little Pontiac Vibe!

Hans Art Automotive has been an essential part of my auto life in San Francisco. Honest, thorough, just the best. If you want to know what’s what with your car, this is the place to go. I’ve always driven older cars and they have helped with my «car payment» savings plan (I don’t have a car payment) for over 30 years. Yup. The ultimate in car safety and quality work.

Gracious and knowledgeable
I rolled into this garage 15 minutes before closing because my driver’s side window would not go up. The gasket was off and I wasn’t able to figure out how to fix it, and was worried that I wouldn’t be able to lock my car. Ernesto graciously agreed to fix it. All I did was take my dog for a walk about the neighborhood and it was done. He was so professional, courteous, and knew exactly what to do.
In addition, he advised me to replace the gasket and connected me with a mechanic in Alameda where I live. I am very grateful to have such a smooth experience. I got lucky! THANK YOU SO MUCH.

I had a very minor issue (two burned out fuses due to a short). It took them all about 5 minutes to isolate the issue, replaced the two fuses and I was back in business. Very friendly, explained what caused it and how to prevent it in the future. Great people.

I had been going to Hans Art for a couple of years before I gave my car to my parents in 2012. During my parents’ recent visit on Easter, I noticed the check engine light on their 2003 VW Beetle was lit. I gave Hans Art a call the very next morning, and explained that my parents weren’t in town for very long, and I didn’t feel comfortable with their driving back to LA in the car. They remembered me (from 2 years ago!) and agreed to take the car right away, even though they were booked.
Sophia, the office manager (?), provided excellent customer service. She clearly explained what was wrong with the car, provided me with status updates for the parts the car needed, and she went above and beyond the call of duty when VW sent them the wrong part – she managed to find the right part in South City after many phone calls. What was truly impressive was that she babysat my parents while they were waiting for their car. And then on top of that, she called me the next day to make sure they got home okay!
Hans Art is great, and Sophia, in particular, made me feel well taken care of. She was very honest about the situation, did her best to expedite getting their car fixed, and was overall very helpful. They are very fortunate to have her.

shame on them. Ernesto promised to refund part of the charges for attempting to repair the SRS button on my dash. the repair lasted 2 minutes and when I called a second time to inquire about my refund, Ernesto changed his story. and refused to send a refund, blaming it on the car, not his mechanic.
I AGREE STAY AWAY!

Very honest shop… they are very clear about which repairs on your car are mandatory and which are elective. Hans Art seems to have special expertise in repairing foreign and, in particular, German vehicles. They even go out of their way to locate parts that are equivalent to but less expensive than the dealer brand parts. Because I had to be out of town for a conference all week through Friday evening, the owner even made a special Saturday visit to his shop to deliver my vehicle so that I wouldn’t be without a car. My only regret is that I didn’t start using Hans Art Automotive at the time the warranty on my 1997 M-​B E320 expired, instead of relying on the dealer repair department. I would have saved a lot of $$$$ over the years.

Best auto service. Sofia is very courteous, attentive an helpful. Maintenance to my Mercedes always tops! Thanks for a great job!

I’ve worked in an auto repair shop, been a customer of Hans Art over 10 years, and my partner is also a long-​time satisfied customer.
Conscientious, friendly, intelligent service. You will get the most out of what they have to offer if you let them conduct their multifaceted safety inspection proactively. This helps rule out problems that are sometimes hard to be clear about — here comes the pun — further down the road.
Last but not least, they only recommend parts and service they consider truly necessary or useful.
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One star off because their office computer system could be more modern-​techno in 3 ways (that could augment and support their patient and personalized customer service):
(1) Streamlining so that specifics discussed about work for next visit shows up on the paperwork when you arrive.
(2) Have prompts for any follow-​up warranty servicing, so they know not to charge you a second time on warranty work, and so that follow-​up road testing takes into account that they may have just put in new parts.
(3) Have a little box to check in their system by whichever phone number a customer indicates is the best one to call when the car is ready or there’s an information update.

STAY AWAY! I went there because my long time mechanic passed away and his wife sent a letter out referring his business to Hans Art Automotive. Well I have never has such a terrible experience in my entire life of owning cars (45 years). First of all they did not fix the problem I came in with. Instead they charged me almost 200 $ for a diagnostic that I didn’t agree to or understand. I thought they were trying to find the cause of my problem. It was basically a long list of things that needed to be done that had nothing to do with what I was bringing my car in for. It came to several thousand dollars of work. And all of it, according to the lady in front, was important and needed to be done! (I later got 2 other opinions and found out that not only were their fees nearly double what others charged, but the work WASN’T urgent)
At the time I simply didn’t have the money so I refocused them on fixing my starter which was the problem I brought the car in for. They said it was going to take 1 day, then called me at the end of that day because they couldn’t get the part, said it will take one more day or more, they were waiting for a part. On the afternoon of the 3^rd day they had my car, I went to pick it up, they said that the part had come, but they didn’t need it, that they were able to fix the problem by cleaning the old part (starter motor). They charged me a few hundred dollars to take it out and clean it, do a few other small things I agreed to. It worked for a while. (2 months later had to replace my starter elsewhere.)
Finally, while I was there picking up my car, there was a very upset customer in the office. She was trying to pick up her car but they has lost her keys. The lady who works the office is practically a con artist. Be careful, better yet DON’T GO there.
Decide for yourself. I found Don’s Auto and now I am very happy.

These folks are great — trustworthy, thorough, and very accommodating. We’ve been going to them for a couple of years now and have been very happy with their work. We have two vehicles — one 23 years old, the other 13 years old. So they need tender loving care. Ernesto provides excellent customer service as does Sophia.

I still LOVE these guys. There’s no better place to build a car care relationship. I have a 2004 BMW. Everything they’ve advised and recommended has been reasonable and helped in keeping my car running «like new». I still get random comments about how good my car looks and runs — and much is attributable to Hans Art Automotive.
There is not a time when I’m there that other customers don’t say the same thing. We always comment to each other that we’re so lucky to have found Hans Art! The other customers I’ve met — who seem equally pleased with their car care seem to be heavily weighted in BMW, Subaru, Toyota owners. Check with Hans Art directly for other make/​model expertise… you can trust what they tell you!

I can’t say enough about these guys. Got a rec good ol’ fashion way (recommended from a friend) decided to try them out and I have been back 3 times now. I guess they are officially my go to spot now. They are honest, fast and always reliable. It is really convenient for me also because they are right near the 16^th street bart so it is simple to get to work if I want to drop my car off for the day.
My last visit I was nervous as all hell to see what all the crazy noises were… turns out, broken power steering hose and leaves were stuck in my vent (plus i needed an oil change)…dropped it off at 8am on the dot. they called me around 1030 with the diagnosis and by 4pm everything was fixed and good to go.
They never pressure you or make you feel uncomfortable about being «taken advantage of» and that is what is important to me.

Terrible!!! Completely disappointed. The «work» they did only led to other troubles the very minute I left the garage, they ignored my phone call asking to be seen the next day. And they were not willing to acknowledge any of their mistakes. Very condescending and rude as well. And they overcharged for parts. Go ANYWHERE else in the city. Anywhere! Total nightmare. Spoke to a friend who also had the same experience here. It’s a shame.

Thank you to Hans Art for fixing my car on a short notice. My C240 stalled in SF while I was visiting the city. To make a long story short, the car was fixed within 4 hours and I could continue with my trip. However, I give it a 2 rating for the following reasons and hopefully that will make the service better:
— I left voicemail on ½/​12 (holiday) that my car is parked in front of the gate and asking to let me know when they will open. Obviously during the public holiday nobody called me back. That’s ok, I can understand that. However, nobody called the next day either. When asked, the owner simply said we were busy.
— Reading the code is so easy on MB — just plug it in. They charged me 70 bucks for that and did not apply it towards towards total cost. Most BWM/​MB do that.
— MB MSRP dealer price for the sensor is $ 147. Hans charged me $ 217 + 280 for labor. At a small shop like that — it’s a rip off
— they pumped my wheels at 32 psi without even checking guidance on fuel door 28front/​32rear
— the worst thing — Hans would not negotiate and in a situation when your call stalls one has no option. I hate it in business. It’s a win/​lose
Thanks for the promptness, etc but at the end of the day I paid for it.

I would highy recommend Hans Auto. I called on Friday because my engine light had just gone on again and I decided I didn’t want to drive to LA on Tuesday afternoon like that-​just in case it really was something. Hans told me to come by on Monday. Liked that:)

Yes, they are perhaps a little priceier than other shops in the area, but based on my single visit there, it will be money well spent. I have a 5 year old car with 85 000 miles on it, and after my recent $ 2600 investment I will continue to check in with Hans Art, and should I want to continue driving it another 20 000 miles I think that I totally could with ease. The car drives great. (It’s not like I took bad care of it before, I have always taken it in for regular maintenace.) My previous mechanic tried to save me money, which is a good thing and I liked, but what I really want my mechanic to do is take care of my car, and I think I have found the right place to do that.

You’ve gotta love mechanics that do everything they can to make sure you DON’T spend too much on repairs. Their cautious attention to cost and detail was a welcome relief.
After my engine light came on, I took my SUV to the Toyota dealership. After a (free) diagnostics check, they told me I had lower compression in one cylinder, and for $ 2,500−4,000 they would tear apart my engine to see if it required a valve job, ring job, or both – they weren’t sure which.
At Hans Art, they drove my car, did diagnostics, and said the simple issue of low compression in a cylinder doesn’t mean you have to fix an engine – the car is still very much drivable. Instead, they postulated that the problem was a bad fuel injector, and asked for $ 700 to start the work. Turns out they were right. Did they recommend replacing all of the fuel injectors? Not necessarily. But as they often go bad close to each other, they recommended that I would save money on doing them all at once to avoid the cost of taking off the manifolds again. But they stressed that I should only do the extra work if I wanted to keep my (older) car for another 50k miles.
The total? At the low end of the original Toyota estimate. But at Toyota, I would have been out the same amount, and they still wouldn’t have fixed the problem!
Nice job – truly professional. And a really good office staff. Kudos, and thanks!