Valley Import Center

Again, superb work and service! 5-​STARS! My BWM X5 is 2003 so parts are old and starting to break. Had to fix CV Boots (Axle), Belts, Thrust Bushings (Alignment), AC Condensor Fan, Radiator, and other things. Saved at least a thousand $$$ over the dealer and hundreds over the next best local European car repair shop. Jeff was great in explaining all the work that was needed. Of course, I had second opinions and Jeff was spot on with the repairs! It’s hard to find an honest car repair shop with great service and fair pricing, but I found it with SR Valley Import Center — They are a rare find. If you go to the shop ask for Jeff. He’s great and does NOT try to lecture you on car repairs NOR sound like a salesman trying to sell you more servicing than you need. A couple of times, he actually tells me NOT to do the work (where as the other shops quoted me to have the work done).

They also have a service warranty that beats the dealers and other local shops.
On top of that, shuttle service was really convenient!
Will continue to bring my cars back to SR Valley Imports… Thanks Jeff!

Ok, I have been going to this fine establishment for 15+ years! Should have done this review years ago.
As I am not one to write long, drawn out reviews let me net this out:
— You can’t go wrong going to these guys. The service is top-​notch. A++
— Jeff, Mark, Rob, Sun and everyone else are trustworthy and they don’t try and «sell» you stuff you don’t need. It is just straight up honest service.
— If anything comes up while they are servicing your car, you will get a friendly phone call and they provide options for you.
— I have had several cars serviced by them over the years from trucks, SUV’s, small cars and even my 1968 Ford Mustang that has been in the family for years. They can handle basically anything.
Unfortunately, we are moving out of state and won’t be able to use these guys anymore. I am truly bummed and will miss them.
Now stop reading, call them, and get the auto service you deserve!

Who has an auto repair shop that tells you Not to do some work. well Valley does if not needed they will be honest and go over details. Great shoo my family has been servicing all our cars there over 12 years now.

After the rain, the leather wall or seats of my mercedes were NOT wet but only the floor carpet and I did not see any leak from the doors or windows. The service manager told me that it’s good that I had brought my car in on time; otherwise, the repair for a long-​term damage could be quite expensive, as he had seen some repairs costing as much as $ 7,000! Valley Import Center found a pool of rain water under the hood and fixed the cause of the problem for a very reasonable price (a little over 100 bucks). I really appreciate the always excellent and honest service provided by this place.

There is nothing like taking your car in and being informed of what is definitely needed now, and what will be needed in the near/​distant future. I have been bringing my vehicle here for two (2) years now and have always been pleased with the work performed. The customer service given by Mark is truly a blessing as he believes in explaining everything in layman terms, which is wonderful when dealing with someone who is not a mechanic. It is also nice to leave not feeling like you have been beat out of your last dollar.

Summary:
Recommended by Costco tire services in Livermore. Good price, good customer service. Will recommend and come back for other repairs.
Tip1: You have to get an appointment before coming in or call first to make sure as this shop is sometimes full.
Tip2: You have to make sure to get the people’s name that is handling your car or the service advisor so if you have issues you can always discuss with the same guy.
Tip3: Check their website first instead of the coupon that Costco emails you, their website coupon is better.
My wife brought her GL here after tire replacement. Costco recommended them with 15% coupon. Alignment was done in a breeze with the coupon applied. After I paid I checked their website and they have their own promo with $ 25 off of the service, should have gotten that instead of the 15% discount. Alignment was $ 100.
Wife is happy so I brought in my 650 for alignment too. It was fast but when my son picked up my car the top was not working. When I turned it over to them it was working. So I quickly call the service center and the owner or manager told me to bring my car back and will try to figure out what happened. Few hours after the car was fixed. The problem was due to a low voltage battery. They fully charged the battery and advised me on what to do next, for free. They questioned a bit that it was not their fault etc but accepted that fact that when i turned it over to them everything was functioning well.
Overall experience was good. I’m giving a 4-​star due to the fact that they never mentioned that they were running a better promo for first-​time customers in their website instead of using Costco discount.

After moving to San Ramon earlier this year we have been looking for a reliable and good auto shop and we were recommended to use the Valley Import Center by a neighbors son for my 2013 VW beetle as it was due a 50k mile service; was really glad I did, great service, great price, great people, this is now our auto shop of choice and we won’t go anywhere else.

THANK YOU Jeff!!! Brought my my car because it wasn’t passing smog — took it to 2 different places and they insisted I needed a new catalytic converter (1500 just for the part). The issue was not the converter — it needed to run through some cycles in order to get the sensors running. They saved me so much money!
If you’re looking for a trustworthy, reliable and fast shop — don’t delay this is your place.

I wanted to update my review. The owner Sun emailed me and apologized for the «misunderstanding». He tried to justify the cost of the service and offered us certificate for a free oil change and auto inspection. Although, I will not return as a costumer I wanted to thank Sun for his customer service. Upping my stars from 1 – 3.

I like to take my cars here for service. Thanks Jeff, Sung and other staff! So professional and do a quality job!

Valley Import has worked on several of our cars through the last 10 years. Their work is always exceptional, on time and they check every time for safety issues. I have valued their opinions when it came time to selling our cars as well.

I have been taking my car (BMW X5) here for the last few years; never had any problems. They are professional and efficient. Took in the car last week for a couple of major repairs, they did a couple of minor things without charging!
I would definitely recommend them.

I have had two experiences with these guys. The first was I had taken our family Sequoia here before a long road trip from California to Louisiana. I told them «let me know what it needs before I load my family into this thing and drive for 4500 miles». When I got a call back they said «you could use an oil change and in another 10K miles some new back brakes.» So they basically had a blank check and could have tacked on a bunch of work that didn’t need to be done. But they didn’t because thats not how these guys work.
Second was I took my mother in Forrester there to get a rough idle worked out. I can’t confirm it but I think they worked on it far longer than they charged me for. They got it worked out and charged me what we both thought was a very fair price.
They are really accommodating and always seem to get the job done in an honest way.

Been going here for years. Always accommodating, always upfront about price of repairs and, above else, never felt like I was getting the run around. A definite recommendation for auto repair.

Jeff got me in on a short notice and that was appreciated. Stuck to the estimate with no hassles and no complaints. Already have a few friend that use Valley Import and I have and will continue to recommend them.

We have been having our cars repaired at San Ramon Valley Import Center for almost 10 years. We have a BMW 530i and a Buick Park Avenue. Valley Import Center has never failed to correctly diagnose and repair — for a very reasonable price — every problem our cars have had. The folks at Valley Import are extremely knowledgeable and customer focused and they have never failed to fix even the most perplexing of our car problems.
Recently, our Buick developed an engine leak that cost a significant amount of money to repair. Jeff (our go-​to guy at Valley Import) helped us understand the problem and decide whether or not to make the needed repairs (we didn’t). We’ve never been pressured and it has become obvious that Valley Import’s business approach is to develop long term customer relationships rather than turn a short term profit. They have earned our trust and respect. This shop is run with integrity as well as expertise.

I would agree with another reviewer that this used to be our go-​to auto repair shop for over a decade. It is local, provides transportation from the shop to your home or work, I liked (still like) the mechanics, and the prices were comparable to the dealership. I referred anyone who asked me to come here.
However, after our latest experience, we can’t go back. It’s because on two separate occasions, we ended up paying more than we originally to pay due to scope creep. It may not bother you, but it bothers me … because it’s about trust.
How does it happen? Incrementally. You bring your car in for a $ 133 diagnosis (plug the car into the computer and decode the check-​engine warning), and end up paying $ 318 for the diagnosis AND the labor involved in pulling apart the engine to illustrate the issue (140% increase in estimated costs). Why did they do it? I suspect that, once the engine is pulled apart, it would be easier to convince me to have them (rather than the dealership) repair the vehicle. I was grumpy about it, but I paid it — chalking it up to an issue of miscommunication.
Fast forward a week, and we end up having Valley Import repair the vehicle. This time, I clarify that pre-​authorization is required BEFORE any additional work (beyond what is described in the estimate) is undertaken. Things proceed smoothly until my spouse — who has been communicating with them about the technical aspects of the repair — gets a request about the need for additional work. Scope creep again. And it would have been okay … if it weren’t for the fact that the service was already performed by the time the call was made.
The follow-​up conversation with the service consultant was a tremendous disappointment … a complete failure to acknowledge the issue and the blame was somehow attributed to a miscommunication with my spouse. The audacity.
I would have given them a 1-​Start rating, but I do want to acknowledge we haven’t had an issue with the mechanical work. Therefore, to be fair, they get 2 Stars. It still may be a place for you if convenience and responsiveness is important. We just can’t go there because we have to be able to trust them to represent all of our interests (including our financial interests), not just their mechanical work or efficiency.

Went to get my Oil Change, Filter Replaced plus Alignment for my SLK. Jeff was awesome! He gave me a new customer discount, plus an additional 10% off, and I paid way less then what I’ve been normally charged at Import Doctors. But then when I pull out, all of a sudden my window doesn’t want to roll up. So I went back to Jeff and he fixed it for free. It seems it was just a coincidence that my window started having problems as well. I noticed my Coolant light was showing and Jeff fixed the issue without a problem (Something that Import Doctors had supposedly fixed). The pick-​up and drop-​off service was awesome too. Very nice driver/​mechanic!
It’s hard to find a shop that’s honest and doesn’t try to sell you what you don’t need. Jeff and his team are the exact opposite of others out there that give good mechanics/​shops a bad name. I would highly recommend this shop. 100% Quality Work, Very Honest and best priced!

I’ve been coming to Valley Import Center for years and years. One thing I have learned is you get what you pay for. When it comes to my vehicles, I want to make sure the work is done properly and I’ll be safe out on the road. That’s why I appreciate the extra time they take at Valley Import Center to check out my car and make sure nothing is wrong with it. Sure, it takes a little extra time to perform that check. So it’s realistic that the prices for normal maintenance might be little higher. For me it’s simple, you get a little more for your money. And I don’t skimp on my safety.
Making an appointment is easy. I always do it online. I usually get a reply within a few hours confirming my appointment. They make getting your car serviced as painless as possible.
Will I be back? Heck yeah.

This used to be our favorite place to have our cars serviced and repaired. Then Ian Cook sold the business to his son Jeff and then Jeff sold to another owner and things just continued to go down hill for us.
We starting going to Valley Import Center to have a better experience than at the dealer — and for a time under Ian Cook’s ownership we received just that. Then things changed. To be specific, we experienced, higher prices over time, items not fixed right the first time, some up selling as you find at a dealer, and items not caught during normal service (such as a battery that died three days after having service.) It got so bad that we took our not so happy Nissan Maxima to the dealer for service and received better service at the same or lower prices.
We now have our Honda Van serviced at the Honda dealer, our 2006 BMW serviced at the BMW dealer and our other cars serviced at Jeff’s Performance Auto in Dublin, which I highly recommend.