North Coast Alignment

I had been taking two of our cars to north coast alignment because they claimed to experts at foreign auto repair. then one vehicle developed an oil leak and they claimed it was the oil pan. On the other car the engine light became lit and they claimed it was the manifold runner valve. After hundreds of dollars the oil continued to leak and the engine light came back on. A discussion with the owner didn’t result in any satisfaction. He wanted to look at the leak and didn’t have anything to say about the engine light issue. I have taken both vehicles to other mechanics and found the oil leak was coming from the oil pump gasket and the engine light probably indicates carbon intermittently triggering the sensor. In both cases unnecessary repairs were performed that didn’t fix the problems indicating to me they don’t have the necessary experience to do quality work. I now wonder what other work they performed was unnecessary.

over the years I have used them a couple of times but find better communication and prices along the El Camino in Encinitas. if they find a cross threaded component, it is time to stop the work and call me and show me before they remove it.

Excellent service with a very friendly staff. Prices are within expectations for the neighborhood but cheaper options exist in north county. Convenient, would return as a customer.

Shawn and his crew at North Coast Alignment did an outstanding job lifting my truck. They worked with me on finding the right product and price to fit my budget. Never pushy and always focused on making sure I was going to be happy with the end result. If your looking to lift a truck or need a simple oil change, North Coast will treat you fair while doing great work.

Stand-​up shop. I took my pickup there after an impact. I didn’t have an appointment, but Shawn and Chloe fit me in even though it was toward the end of the day. My wait was less than 30 minutes before they were done. They tried their best to align the truck, but discovered that the frame had sustained damage. They set it as true as was possible, and even helped me out a little on the price due to the circumstance. I will definitely bring the truck back here after the frame is trued.
Legit shop.

Shawn over there is deserves some sort of praise. He is very honest and hard working. I took my car here a while ago and he was so helpful I just wanted to write a review about him and how his work doesn’t go unnoticed by the customers

I’ve got nothing but good things to say about the guys up at North Coast Alignment. I lifted my 2014 Toyota Tacoma with some Fox Factory 2.5 coil-​overs. I had them do an initial alignment after the parts we’re installed. They’re One of the largest Fox Dealers in San Diego, so they are incredibly knowledgeable about the product line, and more importantly they are very familiar with servicing vehicles that may have specs that fall outside the normal factory ranges (which generally happens as soon as you lift a vehicle). I also needed a new pair of rear shocks, the exact model I wanted wasn’t in stock … but they did have them available by the next day. I’m happy to give these guys the business, and I’ll always bring my vehicle back. One of the few companies out there I feel like I can trust.

This is the best and most reliable auto shop I“ve ever brought my car to be worked on. Shaun is always very professional and makes sure the car is done right and on time. N.C.A is very reasonable in price also. My mother has been coming here for years. It“s a 25 minute drive for me bu well worth the drive.

Great Service. Kind Staff. This review is well overdue, I went to them back in July of this year (2014). I went in for loud «road noise». My car sounded like an airplane or muscle car every time I drove above 10mph. The noise was not fixed but they did see other issues.
I was told I was in need of a lot of repairs which I agree were probably due since I’ve never had any major work done to my 2005 Ford Focus. The noise was better (but not gone) after the other repairs were completed. I cant say I am dissatisfied because of this. The noise has gotten louder so I do believe there is a true problem but I feel North Coast did their best to repair my car back to safe driving.
As far as the actual service, I was given free rides to work and a rental while they worked on my car. Everything was always explained and no hidden fees. To be honest, I really am happy with the service even if the main issue I came in for was not fully resolved.
Everything was explained well, I was able to take a walk through of the problem areas and shown specifically what they were going to fix before doing it. I have referred a few people to them and will continue to do so.

So, I was corrected by another opinion. While there was some leakage, it doesn’t warrant immediate repair. Per the Ford Dealership, «Just keep an eye on it when you get your oil changed, to make sure it’s not torn.
I would have preferred this response, versus recommending that both be replaced.

I have been a pretty lazy Unilocaler as of late, but I am committing myself to taking the time to call out businesses who provide great customer service — as well as the opposite, though hopefully those will be few and far between.
I needed a smog test for the first time in seven years (the trusty Scion has finally hit its middle age years) and wanted somewhere close to my office in Solana Beach. I thought about waiting until the weekend since I live in OB and prices for nearly every kind of service tend to be cheaper down south. However, I found a coupon online that made the cost similar to other, cheaper options ($ 53 total).
The customer service was great — friendly, direct, and very un-​shady. I wasn’t shocked that my car passed inspection, but I was definitely surprised by how fast the the whole process was. I will definitely return!

Moving to a new town means finding all new service spots. I came to North Coast Alignment for my smog test and have since brought my vehicle in for regular oil changes and check ups. Shawn is honest, fair and super nice, which made parting from my beloved mechanic of 15 years a little easier!

Really like this place. I’ve been taking my vehicles to North Coast for the past 4 years and I’ve always been pleased with their service. They are a little more expensive than your standard mechanic shops, but the quality of their service is top notch and they have always been upfront and honest when anything needs to be replaced. Bottom line is that I want someone that I can trust working on my vehicle so that I know I can trust my vehicle to keep me safe on the road. North Coast Alignment is my go to shop for top quality work that I know I can trust.

the best service in solana beach, highly recommended…
i got

I went in for an alignment on my CR-​V, and got a call 15 minutes in that I needed to install a camber kit. 33 minutes later, they called back to let me know that the car was done. Total was $ 399.95. The labor for the wheel alignment was $ 98.95, and the labor for camber kit installation was $ 112. My car was there for under an hour. When I asked about the high labor charge, the answer was that the hour labor rate is $ 112, and that two people were working on the camber kit for 30 mins. I called around and got quotes for almost half the price. To be fair, they were courteous and I believe that they did an adequate job, but I don’t think that it justifies their prices. You can find good work for much cheaper. We won’t be bringing any of our cars back here.

This review is not based on my experience of actually having them work on my car but it was just from my call to get a quote for wheel alignment of 2011 Prius. I don’t know if their actual work is good or bad. Based on the price and reviews on Unilocal I did not get a positive feeling about this place so I did not give them my business.
As this place is right next to my work and is walkable I called them up to check if they can give me appointment for aligning the wheels of my Wife’s 2011 Prius and ask for a quote. A courteous women answered my call immediately and told me they can get to my car on Tuesday (I called up on Friday) and that the price for Prius wheel alignment is 95 or 98 bucks.
I got the wheel alignment done on the Prius (its a 2 front-​wheel drive) for 49 bucks at a place in Kearny Mesa (check my account for its review)!!
This place is a rip off!

Terrible service, I will NOT be returning in the future. I went in for a basic alignment on my car and they added an extra $ 50 fee last minute because my car was a BMW but couldn’t provide a reasonable explanation of what makes a BMW harder to align then any other car. Then they tell me my car needs body work for the alignment to be fixed and refer me to a shop and tell me that if I get the work done at that particular shop they will realign my car for free. Meanwhile they leave my steering wheel alignment even worse off then before! After getting the pricey body work done at the shop they referred me to I arrive to get the car realigned and Sean (the guy that made the deal with me to get the car realigned) tries to make me pay a second time for a job they messed up. He lied and said he never told me he would realign the car for free even though I specifically remember him saying so and confirming that with me when he handed me their business card. I refused to pay again for an overpriced service that was never completed properly especially after he voided our previous agreement. Excellent con-​artist for the unsuspecting customer, dishonest business and terrible customer service as Sean showed no desire to help with my concerns or to fix the problem. I’ve never written a review before but I wanted to warn any one of this shop before they make the mistake I did.
EDIT: After reading my review I was contacted by the actual owner of this business and I must say I experienced great customer service when dealing with Mike himself. He totally understood my side of the situation and quickly found a way to rectify the issue. My prior experience definitely left a bad taste in my mouth but after talking with the owner Mike I wouldn’t be opposed to working with him in the future.

Highly recommend working with Sean at North Coast Alignment. Excellent customer service & excellent repair work! Thanks you guys !! I was referred to North Coast Alignment from a friend, who only had wonderful things to say and now I have learned first hand that an honest mechanic does exist.
I was a bit stressed out when my vehicle needed repair work, but I was completely rest assured when Sean took care of EVERYTHING for me. Communication was clear, the cost was less then anticipated, and a rental car was even arranged for me. If I could give them more than 5 stars, I would.

North Coast Alignment offered me a «free» estimate. However I paid for it verbally when I decided their prices were too high and I wanted to take my car somewhere else. I ended up getting more work done for less then half the price I was quoted at North Coast Alignment. What do you expect in Solana Beach? If you drive 20 minutes east you will pay half as much. I really didn’t care for the service.

Maybe it’s opinion — maybe they err on the side of caution… BUT — I took my Toyota here for brakes knowing they were in bad shape. Total was going to be $ 1200 including a «mandatory brake line flush because I had a Toyota Limited» and was told the rotors could not be saved.
Called 2 Toyota dealers for rough quotes. They said there is no such thing as a «mandatory brake flush» and were surprised the rotors could not be saved.
Then went to Firestone for a free evaluation. They said rotors could be saved — no flush needed — and charged me $ 390 for complete brake job with ceramic pads.
I feel like I was exploited because I knew the brakes were over-​due and I live in Solana Beach and drive a «Limited» 4-​runner.
Sean was a super-​nice guy and the service was really good — but $ 1200 quote for a $ 390 brake job is hard to get over.