John’s Auto Center

Brought my car in because it wasn’t starting and they were able to fix it in a day thanks to the owner, Nathan!

These guys are great! Fixed my truck and I did go back for a minor fix and they said that it was such a minor job that they didn’t even charge me for it.

great service!

Crooks! Lied to me and said my head gasket needed to be replaced. I had my uncle check it before I decided to get it done and to get a second opinion. He has decent knowledge of auto mechanics. I find out its perfectly fine, just needs to be tightened. If you are a woman, bring a guy with you so you won’t be taken advantage of.

These guys are honest, and seem to really care about and respect their customers. They don’t try to sell you a bunch of work you don’t need. I highly recommend them.
I had to purchase a car, but was under a lot of stress, and made a huge mistake. Total clunker. When I realized this, I figured I’d just have to take it to the nearest garage and deal with the lectures and condescension I was sure would be forthcoming. I was only staying on the peninsula for a couple of weeks, and I’d never owned a car in California before (I’ve been here almost nine years but am moving back to Michigan in this car). So I looked online to find a shop, found this one (which was the closest to where I was staying), checked Unilocal,and saw mostly 5-​star reviews. Worth a shot.
They ended up having my car for a week, there was so much wrong with it. Rich was the first person I was dealing with, but then he had some days off, and Nathan took over the job.
Both men — Rich especially — were empathetic, respectful, and helpful. They really took care of me during a very difficult time of my life. They worked with me, even leaving off labor charges for some things. It was still a pretty big bill, since there was so much wrong, but it could’ve been bigger. The whole time, I knew they weren’t viewing me and my car as some kind of cash cow, as some mechanics do. For example, one rear wheel cylinder was bad. I’ve had that happen on a car before, and the mechanic in that case tried to sell me a whole bunch more brake work, over $ 600 worth (I declined and changed the thing myself for $ 15 — this was in the mid-​90s). Here, Rich just told me the one wheel cylinder needed to be replaced, and, on my approval, replaced it. Also, in the end, the car still had a couple slight problems, neither of which were safety issues. Instead of trying to push me into more repairs, Nathan was honest about the fact that they were very low-​priority issues that just didn’t need to be dealt with right now.
Not only that, but they helped me with related things — like directions to the nearest DMV, and directions to the shop one time when I was driving in from the East Bay in a rental and got really, really lost.
These guys didn’t talk down to me, or pile on while I was already feeling really stupid and kicking myself for the purchase I’d made. They were on board when I decided to go forward with the repairs. They were understanding of my whole situation, and really worked with me, within my time and budget constraints.
Too bad I can’t take them with me to Detroit! I’m sure the car will need more work after its cross-​country trek.

Got done what I couldn’t do myself. Even came with illustration of what was replaced or fixed!
Ask for Rich!

Quite simply, these guys are not paying attention.
A elderly friend of mine has been taking her cars here for years. She depends on them and they know it. They are supposed to rotate her tires regularly and I found one partially bald tire on her car, two weeks after they serviced it. This probably indicates the tires are not being rotated, and definitely indicates there is an alignment problem.
The car died on her in the middle of the street due to a charging problem. John’s couldn’t find the problem, but replaced the battery and sent her on her way, saying they would «monitor» the problem. The battery probably did need replacment, but was not the cause of the problem. A faulty alternator would have eventually killed the new battery, and stranded her again.
Another shop had to work hard to find the problem, but did find it, knowing that no answer was not acceptable for a problem that left a 85 year old lady stuck in the middle of the street! (a PITA if it happened to me, TERRIFYING for her!)
The strange thing is, she pays without question, and John’s wasn’t taking advantage of her. In fact, they should have sold her new tires, an alignment and an alternator, but didn’t.
So the good news is… they were not ripping her off. Unfortunately, they were not taking care of her car either.
I took my truck to John’s years ago and was not impressed (can’t recall why).
Taylormade diagnosed the problem and will be her new mechanic.

I have gone here for multiple vehicles I own. I never feel ripped off. They do good work and always get the job done in a timely manner. It’s hard to find good mechanics these days. Highly recommended. I always deal with Rich… very honest guy.

I really love this place… I’ve been going here for a few years now, as well as Masters Auto Body, and everyone has always been as accommodating as possible. More importantly, they’ve always been great about telling me, «This has to be fixed now» or «You can wait a month or so, but if this starts happening, bring it in!» I never feel ripped off, cheated, lied to, taken advantage of, or disrespected. I really can’t stand people in general, as I’m a very impatient person and people rarely just get to the point, but I actually look forward to talking to the people here. I trust them to give me honest assessments and to fix my car quickly, efficiently, without sacrificing professionalism or quality. I’m willing to go so far as to say that it is my belief that anyone who believes they’re getting «ripped off», is making that judgment based on what they’re non-​mechanic friends and internet forum posters are *saying* it should cost, rather than any real estimate from an *actual* service provider… That’s like giving a four-​star restaurant a one-​star review because your mother-​in-​law thinks her latkes are tastier…
Just sayin’…

Rich and Nathan at John’s Automotive are my Life-​Saviors! This past Sunday night on my way back home from dinner my car started acting up strange and very dangerously — accelerating on its own without my foot on the gas. When I pulled over, it was very difficult to brake the car to a stop, then once parked, the engine was racing and revving up high. The next day I took my car to a Honda Dealership in Milpitas, which was a natural reaction due to the fact my car is a Honda, and especially a Hybrid. I expected they would be able to figure out the issue, especially if it is electronic. After clearly explaining the symptoms to Honda, they said they will do a diagnosis for $ 147. After the first day, I received a call from Honda saying they could not figure out the issue after road-​testing for over 20 miles and hooking my car up to their computer. This concerned me because this was a safety issue that happened to me and I did not want to take my car back until they found the issue. I requested to speak to their Supervisor, whose name is Art, and after much back and forth, he ended up saying to pick up my car or it will be towed! At this point I was not only shocked but angry. I decided to get through to his Boss Armando, the Operations Manager. After speaking to Armando he reacted more reasonably and stated he will keep the car overnight and have his Journeyman Mechanic inspect the car on Tuesday. Tuesday late morning I received a call from Art stating they found the issue. I was so relieved and happy until they told me it was my Transmission, and it needs to be replaced for $ 4,300! I asked if they witnessed the same symptoms I described? Art responded with «No» but there was jerking which their advanced mechanic concluded to be the transmission. I was stunned to say the least, and hearing this come from Art who did not believe me the first day and was very unprofessional, I began to question and wonder if this diagnosis was true. I decided to get a second opinion. Since I live in LA and only travel to the Bay Area about once a month, I was not familiar with any other Mechanic, but fortunately I have a great Friend in the Bay Area who works in the Automotive Industry who referred me to Rich at John’s Automotive. So I went there the next day on Wednesday, first thing in the morning. I met with Rich and described the symptoms exactly the same way I did with Honda. I also let him know Honda just did a diagnosis and that they stated it is the Transmission. Initially he felt the same way I did and wondered if it really was a Transmission issue especially since I am still able to drive the car, but since it is a Hybrid there can be some electronics in the Transmission going haywire. After less than a couple hours, I was told they found the issue and it was not the Transmission! It was an accelerator pin that had slipped out forcing my car to accelerate. Rich and Nathan found this not by road-​testing or hooking up my car to the computer, but the old fashion way of actually taking apart the car and doing some real investigative work! What could have cost me $ 4,300 for a wrong diagnosis only cost me $ 178, for the right repair plus a new air filter :)
What took Honda 2-​days for a wrong diagnosis, and I believe simply laziness and bad leadership! Took John’s Automotive less than 2 hours, which allowed me to drive home safely for Thanksgiving! Rich and Nathan at John’s Automotive have earned my loyalty and even though I live in LA, I will have my car serviced in South San Francisco from now on!

This place is a joke! I’ve had my bmw 745li for over 2.5 years and I understand all maintenance on this car is expensive and that’s fine but for a simple oil change nathan the owner wanted to charge me $ 150 labor $ 49 and oil the rest are you kidding me for a little mom n pop shop that’s ridiculous. I’ve never once paid over $ 100 for a synthetic oil change in 2.5 years I’ve had it Smh definitely not going to start now!
Definitely NOT the place to go to if you need an. oil fix rip off city for sure don’t try and fool me because I’m a girl HA! Better luck next time
That’s why you guys are so empty !

I was buying a used Lexus ES350 at the Serramonte dealership, but wanted the car checked out by an outside mechanic. Since I live in SJ, I didn’t know anyone in the S. SF area.
After looking at Unilocal and calling around, I spoke to Kevin at John’s Auto Center. He was incredibly nice and accommodating AND even had his team inspect the car after I arrived 30 minutes then planned. This was 4 PM on the Friday before the Christmas weekend. No one was annoyed and everyone was happy to help me. He also charged only $ 65 which I thought was super cheap. I have no hesitation and highly recommend John’s Auto Center.

On the week my partner & I arrived to the bay area not even a week later our Jeep was already having serious mechanical issues. The first of several actually.
The engine flywheel had cracked which needed replacing, the crankshaft and camshaft sensors also malfunctioned, and at some point the alternator also died. The truck also needed the usual wear-​and tear replacements such as the brakes and engine cooling system maintenance.
Steve and the crew are the best. These guys were not only very professional and very thorough, they are honest and guarantee their work.
I HIGHLY recommend them.

Honest, friendly, great work and up front about everything. Steve is great. He works with you and explains everything. I highly recommend these guys.

I have to say these guys made me feel like I was family and they stand by their work. I had my starter messed up and had to tow my car to a mechanic. Thanks to Unilocal we were able to find a place to tow my vehicle. After they solved our problem with our starter they sought out another problem and we still paid less than what our friend had for his starter alone. My used car does not stall out anymore when I come to a stop or red light plus the problem with the starter is all good. If you got problems with your whip, bring it over to John’s he’ll give you a great price, great work, and great service.

John’s Auto Center stands by their work. It’s a comfort to know that reputable, honest businesses still do the right thing. We have been bringing our autos to John’s for a number of years and when a costly repair was needed and we had a problem with the repair a short time later, John’s came through and rectified the situation to our satisfaction. Thanks to Steve for his excellent service.

I’m a big fan of Master’s Autobody in DC. This is their mechanical shop, and I just took my BMW here for the first time about a week ago.
The work was great — fast accurate diagnosis of what coulda been several things. Much appreciated.
What was amazing is how I got there. My electric system failed while on the freeway on a Sunday morning. We called Eric to let him know we were going to bring the car in. Eric made time on Sunday to coordinate the diagnosis and drop-​off. The car was repaired the next day. As I said, the basics of the repair service were terrific. I just don’t have the words to say how much I appreciated having someone take my phone call on Sunday — TRULY above and beyond.