California Auto Center

Reviews

Reviews are sorted by relevance, with the most helpful and insightful feedback listed first for easy reference.

  francis chang
5 months ago
i went in for an oil change. they charged me extra just because its a luxury car, then i was told i needed cabin air filter and engine air filter but she could not give me difinte price. she said may be $70-80. Then i noticed the receipt says there is an oil leak and cover under hood is missing. When i asked what oil leak is that, no answer given. Then I asked what about the missing cover, she told me is loose. when i talked to another person, he asked the mechanic and found out its not my car.i took the car to another mechanic, there is no oil leak. they always tried to sell you things that is not needed.the woman cashier is not knowledgable. i will not go back there.

  Marcus Coy
2 months ago
Today, I sustained a $2000 repair at California Auto Center. I trusted Po, the owner implicitly. I m fortunate to have developed a trust bond with Po and his staff over the years. California Auto Center takes care of my vehicle and my business in a contientious and forward thinking way. Thank you Po and California Auto Center!

  Julie Taeko
3 years ago
An awesome, very flexible place to get your car fixed, and they have many good deals! Check their website! The staff is very kind and helpful. They let us tow our car here a little bit after they closed, which was very generous.

  Will
3 months ago
They told me on the phone that a front wheel aliment was all my car needed. When I got there told me I needed to give them more money for an all wheel alignment. Don t trust them at all.

  Steve Jones
7 months ago
The only drawback is limited parking but normally you can pull into the garage entrance and they will take it from there. Full service shop. I have used him for both body work and mechanical issues. Never had a problem and feels like I'm supporting a family owned business

  Luis Hernandez
5 years ago
Brought my two cars for alignment. One of them had a wear problem and the shop went above and beyond what they had to do, to make my car drive as best as possible.The guys here are very courteous and knowledgeable. They also do a great job of explaining the repair process.

  Edreese Gardizi
8 months ago
These people use fake offers of free services just to get business in the door. They offered me a free tire alignment then charged me for a bunch of things i didnt even need. Once I brought up the free alignment, they acted like they didnt even know what I was talking about. They lie and customer service is very poor. Take your car to someone who actually cares to run a decent business.

  Thet Wai
2 months ago
All of Chinese guy their attitude was very rude. The owner also , definitely never comeback. Really really disappointed.

  Lingling Ji
a year ago
They charged me $927 for only replacing vapor canister and purge valve! They charged full price of parts, instead of the ~40% discounted price you can find on any official dealer s website. I am fine with that, they want to make money from parts. But when you look at the labor fee: $589.03, how can they come up with this number? Their hourly rate is 100 per hour. Does that mean it took them 5.8903 hours? How accurate do they record their time? By hours? By minutes? Or by seconds? I quoted some other repair shops, and was told labor fee definitely would not reach more than $300 for such a small fix. So be careful when you try to use their service, do not be surprised by a big bite!

  Gloria Rios
10 months ago
Service was good, fairly timed. I would come back for next oil change. Wish it was where I didn t have to wait out my car for oil change. Overall, good!

  Nimrah Aslam
8 months ago
Unfortunately, I'll be having to leave a bad review. They give out free promises just to lore a customer out and then don't deliver. They also charge far higher than expected. I do not recommend this place.

  combed cotton
a year ago
I went to this shop after reading through the reviews. When i arrived, told the person infront that i scheduled for a front alignment. With a rude tone he asked me why, so told him that steering wheel is shaking at high speed. He then replied "it's wheel balancing, we don't do that!". I also mentioned that steering hard to turn sometimes. He replied, "so it's not the alignment, you need a mechanic for that!. I was not able to tell him that car is not going straight because he already had me fill out a paper with my information. Got my car in, and he said "1 hour!". After 20 minutes of waiting in the lobby, he called me and said my car is ready. That front right is little bit off so they corrected it. Again with no so good tone. I left the shop feeling not good because of the WORST customer service. Also the lobby's place is so dirty. Maybe i was just not lucky like everybody else. Waste of money. Lesson learned, if this is your first time, go to the shop and inquire first before buying any coupon. I'm so dissatisfied with this shop.Service: Wheel alignment

  Gabriel Granato
2 years ago
I had just moved to the Bay Area and I needed a pre-purchase inspection to buy an used car. I found California Auto Center in Yelp, and decided to do the service with them given their high ratings. Andrew received the car and did an honest and amazing job. At first, no issues were found. Later on the next day, the console displayed an airbag light. I took it back to Andrew and he fixed it with no extra charges.Service: General repairs & maintenance

  Tom Van
a year ago
Please beware that if you use Groupon, you must pay additional fees and taxes when you get the oil changes. This information was not disclosed anywhere. My additional fee and tax were around $12 on top of the Groupon cost

  Anton Ambrose
11 months ago
My 1st time giving a 5 star rating. Great garage with a very honest owner. I highly recommend this establishment.

  Kenneth Chen
2 years ago
TL; DR Yet another dishonest shop. Stay away, you've been warned! File a complaint with DCA BAR California if you are also a victim.Here are the details.I am an ASE certified Master Technician who had been working at three different dealership's service department. For those who don't know what ASE Master Tech is, you only need to know that in each dealership's service department, there is usually only one person per shop who passed all 8 certifications to get the Master Tech certification (think of it as head of technicians), and it generally takes about 25 to 30 years to get there. I left the industry because it does not pay honest technicians enough, but that's a story for another day.I had a recent injury and am unable to lift anything heavy and my car needs an oil change. So I bought a Groupon for 2 conventional oil changes for California Auto Center in Millbrae, CA and made an appointment.My car engine takes 5W-20 viscosity motor oil per manufacturer's specifications. The only other viscosity this engine could take per manufacturer is 0W-20, which came out years after the engine was designed and cost more than 5W-20 with no additional benefits to the engine. No other viscosity fits my engine.After my oil change was done, I noticed that my invoice says they put 5W-30 conventional motor oil in my car. To my horror, I asked the service advisor, and he confirmed that 5W-30 was put into my car. I pointed out that my car actually takes 5W-20, and here comes the dishonest part:1) The service advisor claims that the Groupon deal that I purchased is only for 5W-30 conventional oil, which is not true. The Groupon deal only states conventional oil with no restrictions on viscosity.2) I insisted that my car only takes 5W-20 engine oil, then the service advisor said that 5W-20 only comes with fully synthetic, which is also not true. Go to Walmart or your favorite engine oil store, and you will see a great selection of brands of 5W-20 conventional oil.At the point, I realized this is a typical bait-and-switch scheme that almost all car shops do. Giving you oil changes or any service items that they lose money on, but then upsell you other stuff like "upgrading to full synthetic", etc. I know that they put the wrong viscosity and refuse to admit it.I was beyond arguing with them knowing that this is yet another dishonest shop that I have seen too many over the years in my automotive service career. Wasting my time and energy at this shop is just not an ideal way to spend an afternoon that would very likely end up nowhere. Luckily for me, I could wait until my injury recovers and change it back to the correct 5W-20 engine oil. I have 2 cars, and I could just drive my other car until then.For those of you reading this far, there is still hope for the majority of drivers who do not know everything there is to know about their cars and feel HELPLESS when dishonest shops like this become part of their lives. The Bureau of Automotive Repairs (BAR) of California has a complaint department that you could fill out a form online (google DCA BAR complaint).DCA is the government entity that issues and renews Automotive Repair shops and smog check / repair licenses in California, and they are more powerful than you think. I've heard of stories where they send undercover agents to shops to catch illegal behavior. There is also a point system for technicians who conduct questionable behavior. A shop is required to hire technicians that average point is a certain level for certain activities.My point here is, if something unfair happens to you, don't just stand there and argue. They are most likely just laugh at you calling you a Karen behind your back. Get the BAR involved, and maybe share your story in these review website so everyone would know about it and gradually push all these dishonest shops out of business.Oh and of course, buy an all electric car next time you are in the market, so you can avoid oil changes, belts, spark plugs, check engine lights, etc. This will greatly reduce your need to visit a shop.Service: Oil change

  George
8 months ago
Worst experience when it comes to dealing with this mechanic, don t waist your time here. Go to the chevron down the street from there, they are more professional and understanding.

  Umar Hasan
8 months ago
This place is a rip off. Prime example or bait and switch promised a free alignment to get me in the door then started charge for everything under the hood.

  TedK Changusa
4 years ago
I have 3 cars they all have been serviced at California Auto Center. This is usually the first place I go to when I have car problems because they are trustworthy in terms of their expertise, pricing and time to do the service. Andrew is a fine mechanics and a good businessman.

  William
2 years ago
Heads up: Happily went in with their coupon for a 58 dollar oil change. With "extras" and fees ended up paying 93 dollars!! They were courteous at least.

  Krishna M
11 months ago
Got tires mounted, balanced and an alignment done. Great work. Good price.

  JaySun&Sand Sun & sand NORCAL
2 years ago
They expert in foreign cars. Aligned my very rare BMW that had front wheels towed out for some reason. They did all that in 45 mins & honored my coupon! Excellent!!Service: Wheel alignmentService: Wheel alignment

  Alisha Ranjit
3 years ago
The groupon got me Synthetic Oil change Coupon under $40. They also helped me verify what's wrong in my car besides Oil chage and basic PM. But, they could be a little humble/polite to customer intead of being hostile.

  John Navas
4 years ago
Efficient and excellent: Periodic tire check found some evidence of uneven wear from misalignment. Took advantage of Groupon deal to get alignment checked and corrected as needed, and indeed, I did need alignment. I highly recommend California Auto Center (even without a Groupon deal).

  Tim Chen
a year ago
I had my car grill mesh installed here and they did a fantastic job. Highly recommended!! Thank you very much Po!

  Sean FitzGerald
2 years ago
Oil change and tire rotation on 2011 Prius. Excellent, honest service at a fair price and done quickly. Highly recommend.Service: Oil changeService: Oil change

  Carl B
4 years ago
Nice place! First time coming with my 2006 Mazda Miata for an alignment. It's right off the main road EL Camino in Millbrae.Friendly staff, clean lobby and bathroom.

  Denise Dang
7 years ago
I love these guys! Very honest and reliable. They noticed my brake light was out and helped me install it for free since I had a spare bulb. Oil change was cheap.

  Julia Griesbach
4 years ago
Great service! They are honest people who don t try to up sell you. I ve been going here for years and they ve been fantastic. Fast, fair prices, and friendly!

  Fabian Trottner
3 years ago
Exceptional service. I had a pre purchase inspection done, and got over 25 mins of detailed advice after they inspected the car for 45 mins 100% recommended.