Don’s Automotive

Brought in a Toyota to be worked on. After keeping my car for 13
days, they still couldn’t fix it. The mechanic had no answer when I asked for my original parts back & became hasty, rude & unprofessional on the phone. He even hung up on me. Wanted to take my money & have me pay to get my car out, but didn’t want to deal with me when I questioned the work done & requested my old parts.
I would’ve removed my car & taken it to a Toyota Dealer to be worked on after 3 days passed & Don’s Automotive couldn’t fix it, but it was a relative that brought my car in.
George talked down to me & was very rude after I asked for my old parts.
The entire experience to me, felt like a complete rip off. They STILL charged me for services when in fact they couldn’t produce my old parts or fix the car.
I was charged $ 80 for gas., etc. That should tell you, I got ripped off. The total cost that George said he was at on day 9, was $ 1,500 not including labor.
Ummm, I think you get get a rebuilt engine installed in 13 days & at the price.
What bothered me most, was that there’s only 2 mechanics on site, George went out of town & wasn’t contactable on day 9. My son had to rent a car & missed work & paid for a car that never even got fixed. It shouldn’t take 13 days to fix a car. You can’t leave a message because their phone just keeps ringing or you get a busy signal. Not professional.
I didn’t drop my car off, sign an estimated work order or authorize the work. It was my son’s relative that did. However; when I wanted to take my car & take it to the Toyota Dealer on day 9, George said I’d have to pay in order to get my car. I said to him that the person that brought my car in, the one that was given an estimate & signed a work order, is the one that has to pay the bill.
But, when it came to dealing with me on the phone, George hung up on me.
I feel we were completely ripped off. I saw American made cars in their garage & inquired if they even work on Toyotas or have the equipment to do so.
My son ended up paying $ 485 of his hard earned money to get our car back & take it to Toyota because Don’s Automotive couldn’t fix it after 13 days.
The fact that they wouldn’t give me my parts back & George hung up on me & charged $ 80 just for gas totaling $ 485 (not sure what the relative that brought my car in paid in addition to the $ 485 my son paid), tells me they’re not trustworthy.
Do not take your car here.

We took my daughter’s thirteen year old Honda Civic in because she was reporting some rattling in the engine and squeaking in the brakes. Thought we were in for a major car repair bill. Dropped the car off while they ran some diagnostics. Within an hour, they called me back and said that they had driven the car on city streets as well as the freeway but heard no sounds that caused concern. They could have easily come up with a list of things that needed to be repaired on a 13 year old car, but they said everything was fine. I expected to pay $ 75 or so for the diagnostic test, but when we went to pick up the car, they didn’t charge us anything! It is hard to find an honest mechanic and should I need one in the future, I know exactly where I will go. Thanks Don’s!

Have been taking all of the family’s cars there since it opened.
George has certainly carried on Don’s legacy by being honest and performing excellent work.
I have recommended Dons to many, many friends and all have been completely satisfied.
Having been a large dealer Service Mgr. in the past, I cannot be more positive in regards to Don’s Automotive!

Been coming here for years. First with Don and now with George, always honest, top notch service at a fair price. That’s why I keep coming back with not only my vehicles, but also all of my families too. Love having a mechanic I can trust!

George is the real deal, this guy is honest, straight forward and knows his trade.
on my most recent experience I needed help to finish a control arm job on my Honda Pilot, where for some reason I just couldn’t get the axle to engage.
I decided to have it towed to his shop to prevent any damage, when we got there, the shop had just closed, luckily George was still there, he came out to greet us, went as far explaining what the problem was, and made time to fix it there on the spot, not only that but he even refused to take any money for it, the guy is just that good!
I would recommend this shop to anyone.
sincerely
Louie

Got stranded at Redondo and Willow. Saw the positive Unilocal reviews and so I towed it over. He said he’d take a look at it and let me know.
Sweet.
Got a call saying everything was done. Just needed some spark plugs.
Awesome.
Got here to pay– $ 168
Wait a minute.
I’m no mechanic but that seemed a little high for some spark plugs.
We haggled a bit and then said he’d be happy to put the old spark plugs back in and just charge me $ 95.
Could have done without that since I was already at their mercy.
I’m glad they rescued me and my car but feel kind of taken advantage of with the price.
Was bummed too– I’ve been looking for a good mechanic in Long Beach.
Won’t be back.

I have been patronized Don’s for many years… Their service standard is A+. They will explain the problem and fix it, few in the service industry do. Recently I took my nephew’s 1999 Honda LX in, it was not drivable. Jorge and his crew diagnosed the problem and fixed it and the cost was very reasonable for what they had to do.

I never thought I would feel obliged to rate an auto shop, however, the peace of mind that these guys offer is non-​comparable. Sometimes I need more done and sometimes I need less. I trust whatever they recommend.

I’ve been taking my family’s fleet of vehicles to Don’s for years with good luck. Fair prices — the do good work and do what they say they’re going to do when they say they’re going to do it.
While they do up sell they don’t push too hard …

On the recommendation of our neighbors, Dons Automotive recently took care of my wife’s VW that had a engine check light come on. They did a diagnostic on the engine and solved the problem. The repair bill was very fair. One thing I always look for at a repair facility is how well the shop area is kept. Dons shops area is neat and well organized another plus. My wife has been ripped off by several other well known auto repair shops. can I say the one at Cherry and Bixby Rd. not to name the place, but you know the «TIRE PLACE».
Anyway we will be going back to Dons Automotive for all our feature care repair needs, tune-​ups and oil changes.
Thanks Don’s Automotive, for taking care of the wife!!!

I love Don’s. Of course, like anyone, I hate spending money when my car breaks down. It seems like I’m throwing away money even though I know I need to do it. So, I went to Don’s on recommendation of a co-​worker. They are very honest and fairly priced and do excellent and efficient work. I’m usually a good judge of character and I immediately felt I could trust them and that is a lot to say for a mechanic. I had to get a new fuel pump, relay and fuel tank and George called around and got the best prices on parts (he even found a used fuel tank so I wouldn’t have to pay for a new one) and gave me a really fair price. They fixed my car in a couple days and two weeks later, it is fixed well and running smoother than ever! Yeah for George and all you guys over there! You are my new mechanic for life!

What started out as a joyous afternoon of house hunting almost turned into an utter and complete disaster. I have been considering a move to the Long Beach area and had just left the listing address of an incredibly deceitful «3 bedroom Spanish Charmer» in a neighborhood I shall now refer to as «Dogville» (due to the Pit Bulls running freely in the street). It was then that the horrid ticking sound first occurred: tick-​tick, tick-​tick, tick-​tick, tick-​tick. As I am no stranger to road hazards I knew immediately that my tire had been breached by a foreign object.
I waited for my car to pull in one direction so that I would know which tire was flat… but nothing happened. The annoying ticking persisted. I found a gas station somewhere on the periphery of Signal Hill and then caught a glimpse of a bolt the size of a baby’s fist embedded in my front right tire. DAMN! The house of cards that were my plans for the day were becoming increasingly unstable. With gas stations no longer what they were, the staff at a nearby Chevron station were useless. With no Unilocal Tire Centers in sight it appeared only a matter of moments before my Saturday afternoon deflated before my eyes.
Of course I can put a spare on, that’s not the point. I was dressed for anything but roadside maintenance. No extra shirt, no hand towels and no way around the fact that I was expected to be so fresh and so clean for a dinner reservation just a short while later. All I could do was curse «Dogville». Then like a rainbow on my horizon a Good Samaritan witnessing my predicament offered a way out. It seems she knew of an automotive center just a few minutes away. Not only did she provide the name and address of the establishment, she called ahead to make sure they could take care of my tire. It was 3:25pm and Don’s Automotive closed at 4. I was nervous about making it in time but somewhat optimistic that my poor tire would hold out just long enough. Before I could properly thank her, my Good Samaritan was off.
I arrived at a slightly hidden industrial strip ten short minutes later. At 3:35pm I was face to face with Don himself. Don is no nonsense. «What’s the problem» was his greeting. His well kept shop was working in fifth gear when I pointed to my pathetic excuse for a tire. «Wow, I’m surprised it’s still inflated» were his words. I asked if he could patch it and he looked at me slightly annoyed and replied «NO». «That damn bolt is too huge for a patch, we’ll have to plug it.» I finally exhaled and fought off the tear of joy trapped somewhere in the upper regions of my eyeball. At 3:45pm I was told my car was ready…“That’ll be 20 bucks”. As always, I requested a receipt. My request produced a slightly demeaning glance from no-​nonsense Don, but he quickly fulfilled my humble bookkeeping need. I thanked Don profusely for saving my day and he shrugged it off as it to say «what did you expect?»
I can’t vouch for anything but the no-​nonsense approach my humble tire received but this is one place I would return to in a heartbeat.