Fink’s Automotive

Joe is a honest mechanic. He saved me tons of money on a car that was falling apart by telling me to let it go and get a new car since it was my daily driver. He has done work on the new used can I purchased and it runs great. Fair prices.

Joe Fink is the man! Super polite, very accommodating, and ethical! He will never rip you off and always goes above and beyond.
I had him work and my car a few weeks ago and he did a great job and saved me money wherever he could. Now, I brought in my girlfriend’s car and he spent a day troubleshooting and it. He charged us nothing for that day and we are bringing the car back in a few days when the part comes in.
I highly recommend this trustworthy mechanic.

When choosing a shop to work on your car it’s pretty nerve racking to find a mechanic that you can trust with your car, and not just a car, but your transportation to work and getting food and daily chores. So like you I turned to Unilocal to me find a shop that I can in trust my Volvo Xc70 to and out of all the local shops I chose to drive the extra 20 mins because I liked what people were saying about Joe at Finks Automotive, I Called him and right away he said he could look at my car, I pulled in with a car that was running rough and stalling at the lights … I took Bart back to Hayward where I live and waited to hear what he would find.
I received a call from Joe and he found some codes that came up, he did a complete check on my car, he said I needed a new fuel filter and because it was so bad it damaged my fuel pump and recommend I change it before it stopped completely, I also mentioned maybe it needed to spark plugs and a tune up, he said he checked it and they were great I didn’t need to change them.
So I agreed to go ahead and do everything he suggested, he gave a great deal. when I picked up my car he showed me the old fuel pump and it looked shot, I had the pleasure of meeting his wife Bobbie who was nice as the day is long, Joe and Bobbie are as nice as people as they come. I drove away with a smooth running car. I am very happy and will be making Finks Automotive my shop.

It’s great to have a place that truly makes you feel safe and welcome and they truly care about your cars needs and want to keep you safe on the road, I am a happy camper and Recommend Joe for your cars needs.

Joe is a good man, great communicator, and even better mechanic. I came in with a busted clutch cable last month and he found the problem immediately and went straight to work. We had initially hoped that it would have been a quick fix with just a cable replacement but after further inspection we realized we needed a clutch replacement. Definitely not a cheap fix but Joe got me the best price available with the highest quality parts and the workmanship was top notch! He’s an honest man and KNOWS his cars. If you’re ever stranded in Alameda, bring you’re car to Fink’s Automotive.

Joe was amazing!!!
I went in to get my 100K tune up and not only did he get the job done under the original quoted price, he also brought to my attention how severally damaged my front tires were on the inside. Had he not brought this to my attention something really bad could have happened to me. Even the tire place I eventually went to mentioned that I was lucky that they didn’t blow out on the freeway.
Thank you Joe! Your honesty and workmanship has earned you a life long customer.

The absolute best — the honest no bull shirt kind of mechanic you thought didn’t exist!

I went to Fink’s after an unsuccessful trip to Car Care Service (Alameda). My car kept stalling when shifting gears. When I arrived at Fink’s and discussed the issue with Joe, he asked me a series of unexpected questions…
Joe: Does this tend to happen when the weather is cooler?
Me: Yes…
Joe: Do you have a lot of trees near your house?
Me: Yes…
Joe: Do you notice a lot of spiders around your property?
Me: Yeah! Actually, I’m constantly cleaning spider webs out of my side view mirrors!
Joe: I think I know what it is. (He went on to describe a theory involving my car’s temperature sensor that I could never recite accurately…)
Lo and behold, some dirt and creepy crawlers and whatnot had made it past the air filter and were throwing off the temperature sensor, which is precisely what Joe predicted!
After replacing the sensor, the issue stopped. In fact, my car drove noticeably better! Will definitely giro Fink’s from now on!

I’m surprised by the one negative review here. In general that is the exact opposite experience I’ve had at Fink’s automotive. All the work I’ve had done on my cars has been at a great price and I’ve only ever gotten the feeling that Joe is a complete professional. My experience with other mechanics hasn’t been bad but Fink’s Automotive has actually saved me thousands of dollars over the years.

Fast and Friendly Excellent Service!
When I arrived, Joe was very friendly and very down to earth. My truck was done earlier than expected. Joe, at Fink’s Automotive has been reasonable, reliable, honest, and dependable. «Very satisfied» I will be coming back and I will also recommend his shop to family and friends.

I hate to write negative Unilocal reviews, but I feel like the 100% 5-​star rating is not a fair representation of my experience with Fink’s Automotive. I took my car to Joe on 2 occasions. The first time, I knew I needed new brakes and belts. The shop is very convenient to my work, and with all of the favorable Unilocal reviews, I decided to get the work done at Finks. At that visit, Joe saw a few other parts that needed fixing, which I was unsure about due to the cost (about $ 700 total)… however, I haven’t been great about maintaining my vehicle, so I thought what the heck — let’s just deal with all of the problems in one fell swoop. Joe gave me some small discounts here and there to ease the pain of the bill, so I left more or less happy with the service.
About 3 days after leaving the shop, I heard an awful knocking noise coming from my front right tire every time I turned hard left. My boyfriend looked under my car and saw that the plastic cover had popped off on that side. I suspected that maybe the recent repairs had something to do with the cover, but I didn’t outright accuse Joe of it when I brought it back in. Joe took a look, replaced a few bolts, and charged me $ 50. $ 50! I know that’s what the sign states in the shop for minimum service charge, but I really didn’t expect a 5 minute job to cost $ 50… especially a problem that coincidentally occurred so shortly after the first repair. The real kicker was that Joe then told me that he took a look at my struts and thought they needed replacing… a $ 600 job (minimum). Interestingly, he hadn’t noted this during my previous visit, nor had the mechanics at the Toyota dealership when I took it in for an airbag recall (where they did a 30-​point inspection). I felt like I must have had the word «SUCKER» on my forehead. I told him I’d think about it.
Fast forward to today, about 4 months later, when I took my car to another mechanic, one trusted by my boyfriend, because the check engine light came on. I asked the new guy to take a look at my struts because of what Joe recommended. The new guy reported that they were perfectly fine, and that some mechanics will recommend replacing struts or flushing your engine as a way to make lots of money because it’s so difficult for the average person to be able to know whether that work is necessary. For what it’s worth, the new guy only charged me $ 40 total for an oil change and labor associated with the computer diagnostic and examining the struts.
Anyway, I’m not saying that Joe’s a bad mechanic. He was always very professional and had my car ready by the end of the workday. However, I feel that in this particular situation, I felt like I was taken advantage of due to my ignorance about cars. And that’s never a good feeling.

Small shop. Great communication with Joe. Treated me well and felt that my car would be taken well care of. Went in on a Tuesday made an appointment for early Thursday. Dropped it off before 9am and he was able to do a safety inspection and replaced my leaking water pump before 3pm. Thanks for the great customer service Finks Automotive.

Honest, trust worthy and skilled shop.
Finks saved me over $ 2k after a dealership over quoted me for some «needed» repairs on my Volvo.
Joe checked it out, told me what needed to be done, the price was fair and I was on the road in a couple days. (Dealership said it would be at least a week in a half)
I can’t recommend Finks enough!
I live in concord and this shop is worth the trip!

I could go into a long review of how he’s a great mechanic that runs a great, honest shop that does top-​notch work but I think this says everything:
Joe does great work and he stands behind it. The proof is in the pudding and the pudding is the high amount of people that swear by this shop.

Friendly, professional, knowledgeable! So glad I followed the advice of the other Unilocal reviewers and brought my car to Joe to have my brakes worked on. Done in one day!

I made the mistake of going to this OTHER shop in Alameda — who had my car for 2 days, who I had to explain countless times what the issue was & who in the end gave me a GUESS to what MIGHT be wrong with my car. I decided I wasted enough time & took my car elsewhere.
I brought my car into Fink’s Automotive at 8:30 AM. He calls me back within the hour & confidently told me what was wrong & how much it would cost to repair it. Since I decided to go with the repairs, the $ 100 inspection fee was waived!
Joe knew right away what was wrong with my car & fixed it in less than 5 hours. He is honest, easy-​going & experienced.
Will definitely be going back here for any future repairs!

Hello All,
I would just like to start off by saying, Joe is a great guy. He has always been very kind and hard working. I brought my car to him a couple of times.
The first time I was having trouble with my breathalyzer company because they had screwed up all my wiring, which he fixed. He also contacted the company and explained how the wires were not in the correct place. Even though it took him a little while to fix everything, he still gave me a very reasonable price.
The second time I took my car to Joe I needed a safety inspection because I was moving from Alameda, CA to Colorado. He checked everything and told me all I needed was to change my belts and an oil change. He did all this at a great price and I was on my way to Colorado. I got here safely and everything was still going fine with my car, other than a set of new brakes which I needed after the drive.
I took my car to a mechanic here and even after called Joe to confirm everything seemed correct and he assured me it was possible I did need a new brake change and new left bearing.
I just wanted to thank Joe for all the help he has given me and to say he was a great mechanic and Im grateful for all he has done for my car, and the fair prices he gave me, the honesty both times I went to him. I would recommend him to any of my friends or family.

The e-​brake alarm was broken on my truck and constantly dinged whenever the vehicle was in motion. In less than five minutes Joe had it fixed! Finks rules!

Joe is awesome! Every time my boyfriend and I have brought our toyota truck to him with problems he’s been very honest (and a great communicator), very kind and very reasonable! The work is done fast too! I highly recommend Finks Automotive to anyone that is having car issues. We will not be going to anyone else in Alameda (or in the bay area for that matter) while we reside here. It is really hard to find an honest mechanic, but totally Joe is! :) Thank you for being here, and our little white truck thanks you too!

I went to Napa Auto Parts to see if they turned rotors and they took me through the back door to this shop and was able to get a rotor turned for $ 15. Looks like a great shop and seems like he knows what hes doing. I live in Danville and will take my cars to him next time I need work after reading his reviews!

Been going to Joe for the last 10 years and was happy he opened up a shop. He has serviced everything from my Saab 900 to my Ford Taurus to my Saturn, and always does a quality job. I’ve referred friends to him too, and they have always been very pleased. This guy is talented. Best mechanic in the East Bay, hands down.