R & L Performance Auto Service

I have been coming here for years. Luis is a great guy and very knowledgeable. This is a professional family owned business. I’ve had nothing but excellent experiences with this shop. I’d recommend it to everyone looking for a respectable fair mechanic shop who will do a great job on your car.

I own a 2013 Honda Civic and the check emissions light came on at 34k miles. Since I stopped going to my previous mechanic, I actually went to the dealer first to have them run a diagnostic on my car and fix the problem (They charged me $ 250 for a diagnostic and inspection because my car is salvaged). The dealer told me that my car had a blown fuse and that’s what caused the check emissions light to come on. My car was clear until the check emissions light came on after two days. I took it back in to the dealer and they were going to charge me AGAIN ($ 450) for a problem «they couldn’t find» so I stopped right there and said I would go somewhere else. Turns out, my dad has known of R&L for years and he told me to go take my car there. Dropped my car off and had it ready in one day… turns out there was an air leak at the air intake boot. The part replaced was $ 26, labor $ 26, and the diagnostic was $ 97. Funny that the dealer couldn’t find this problem. Could’ve saved myself a lot of money if I just went to R&L in the first place!

My husband has been taking all of our cars here for the last couple years. It was walking distance from his office and it had five stars on Unilocal.They are very reasonably priced and they do honest work. I had a leak on my Nissan Maxima and after cleaning the undercarriage, tightening all the screws and running the engine for half an hour they couldn’t locate a leak. Luis did not charge us for anything and he had our car the entire day. He said hopefully tightening everything fixed the issue. Other places automatically charge you just to look at the car.

This is an update to the previous complaint. Louise had repaired the wood finish & adjusted my brakes at no cost I’m very satisfied with the work and would go back to them and refer other people to them

This is the place I take my cars for maintenance. It’s a great place with trusted mechanics. It’s family owned and operated. Experienced auto experts who are honest with their quotes and thorough with their work. Luis (one of the owners/​mechanic), always makes sure the work is complete and you’re satisfied. They always look for the lowest price on the best parts. They tell me what my car needs and what it doesn’t. Honest, exact and thorough. I only wish other companies were this good!

I have been taking my cars to this place for 16yrs now and have always received excellent service. My late father was a mechanic and I know how difficult it is to find a good, honest shop that you can trust… and this is the place. It’s a family owned and operated business and they take a lot of pride in their work and their reputation. Not only do the repairs get done right but they do it at a very reasonable cost and it doesn’t take them several days to do it. If anyone on here says they had a problem with this place there is more to the story than they are telling you. Honestly you will not find a better auto repair shop than this one.

This repair shop is ultimately a great find! Let me start off by saying that Luis and Sarah and collectively their staff are very friendly, customer-​oriented and top notch team. I own an old, but definitely a reliable 1997 Nissan Quest. It holds a sentimental value and for what its worth, it needed repair. The Air Condition blower stopped working, and after careful analysis (after I realized I got ripped off by dealer Mossy Nissan just by diagnosis alone) they replaced the temperature control assembly. I bought the item part through eBay. Due to its vintage age, it’s no longer in the new item category. I brought the part to them and replaced the broken piece. The blower works like a champ. Back to its operational capability. My wife and I are truly satisfied with the work. The place is phenomenal and highly recommended. Thank you, I will definitely be a repeat customer to this repair shop!

Quick, efficient, and shockingly good! I’ve been to R&L’s every time my car has a problem or needs an oil change. They’re very friendly and honest, and basically a team that I’ve been able to trust. I’m always wary about finding a new mechanic to go to, so it’s been godsend finding them.

First time here was an excellent experience! Professional service with competitive prices…
Service was done for clutch and flywheel work that was completed next day. I will be returning here for all my automotive needs. Thank You R & L.

My 2005 Nissan Armada needed AC work; it was just blowing warm air. I walked-​in yesterday and Luis, a very nice person, explained how he is going to diagnose the issue. As promised, around noon-​time, an employee called me about the problem and ask for authorization to repair, which I gladly gave. They promised that the repair (replacement of leaking condenser) should be done by 5:30 PM. They delivered!
In addition, I knew I needed an oil change but did not ask for it. However, when I arrived to pick-​up the car I was told to consider having the oil change done because it looked pretty bad. Understandably so; the last oil change was from 6 months ago. Luis even recommended the most affordable and the best type of oil to use for the car. Even though I normally and unnecessarily use full synthetic oil, he recommended otherwise.
THIS SHOP APPEARS TO DO A GREAT WORK WITHOUT PUTTING A HUGE WHOLE IN YOUR WALLET!
I found a shop that I will go back to for future repairs.

One of THEEEE BEST mechanics in San Diego! I highly recommend this place. My brakes we’re squeaking due to the last shop I took it to. R&L inspected my brakes, described the issue, and fixed it within a couple of hours. I truly appreciate their great service. Thank youuuu!

I LOVEEEEE this place. My entire family goes to them. It’s a family owned shop and they are extremely honest. I LOVE it. Their prices are very reasonable. If they can’t do some thing they will tell you why and will not only give you options but refer you to some one who may be able to help. Sara and Luis are super sweet. Excellent customer service. I always refer friends and family to the shop.

Best place ever to go to, only problem… they need to expand as they have many customers. They are reasonably priced and willing to go over and beyond to assure proper customer service. And if they can’t do it they recommend you to someone who can. We’ve been going to them for years and have never been disappointed.

I have nothing but great things to say about R&L Performance Auto. I’ve taken my car here to get my brakes replaced plus wheel alignment performed by Bob Jeffers and have walked away a satisfied customer. Bob is a great mechanic with a friendly and caring personality. If you need any brake or suspension work done, Bob is the man!
Recently, my CEL kept turning on and off on my 2004 Honda Accord coupe due to a bad repair experience I had with Fuller Honda (see my review on Fuller Honda). I took my car to R&L to get it diagnosed and fixed. Luis did a great job diagnosing and fixing the problem by cleaning the intake manifold to get rid of the gunk that had accumulated from driving my car 178K miles.
Bob & Luis are very honest and knowledgeable mechanics. They have excellent customer service skills! I highly recommend R&L if you are looking for good mechanics to satisfy your automotive needs.
In addition, if you need a smog certification, next door is a smog certification center and they also do great work. R&L and the smog center is a family-​owned business that has been around since 1978.
You don’t last 35 years in the automotive repair business unless you do good work. Tell Luis and Bob that Sal sent you. :)

I needed a battery replacement because my AC Delco battery I bought 2 years ago was done. I couldn’t get it to charge up with a jump start.
My battery had a 5 year warranty, but unfortunately the shop that I originally bought it from, closed down. I looked at the AC Delco website and found that R&L was an official dealer. I called them up and asked the female who answered if I can exchange my warrantied battery there because the original store I bought if from closed down.
The female politely asked for the model number and asked if I had the receipt. I told her the number and she told me to come on down. I drove to the shop which is located on Palomar St near Bay Blvd.
I walked in with the battery and she greeted me and asked if I had just called her. I told her that was me. She typed in the original date of purchase and AC Delco said I missed the free battery exchange by a few months. I had to pay a prorated price of 50 dollars.
The male mechanic there politely grabbed the replacement battery and thanked me for coming by. I didn’t get any attitude that i was being an inconvenience to them. They all seemed to have positive attitudes with smiles. When I was in there they even greeted a repeat customer with a big welcome back. I was impressed by this independent shop. I think if when I have future mechanical problems, I will give R&L a visit.

I discovered this place because I needed a smog cert. and they were lower priced. When I needed some work to fix a failed smog cert, I gave next door a try (next door is a repair shop). This is a family owned business. Dad works part time doing smogs and sons/​daughter runs repair shop. This family is honest and understanding. They don’t charge the going rate for specialist/​dealer rates for labor. The charge a very reasonable $ 65-​$ 70/​hour for labor. One time Luis offered to shuttle me back home because my wife could not come with me to drop off my car. Where can you find service like this nowadays! They can do smog, alignments, etc! No brand specific vehicle. Turn around time is efficient since they have a descent sized team of mechanics. Been going here for years and probably won’t leave unless my son opens a repair shop.

While I hate having to get my car fixed, I LOVE knowing that there is a place (R&L) where I can completely trust the work, the price, and the professionalism! Thanks Guys!

I moved out here about 1 ½ years ago, and was a need of a good auto shop that I could trust. After incurring some pretty major damage to my car, I shopped around for estimates and was continually given I felt outrageous prices.
Finally I called up a buddy who grew up in San Diego and recommended this place, (a place he said his aunt has been going to for decades). You can tell right away that Luis is a honest guy, very friendly, and will go into detail with what is wrong with your car.
This place is not only quick, but trustworthy and cheaper than any place I’ve tried to get estimates. Oh and they do an excellent job. I’m glad I found Luis and R & L and will continue to bring my car back here, either for a routine oil change, or for more extensive work.

Great auto mechanic. Luis has worked on my family’s cars for years and I’ve found him to be very honest and very inexpensive. I’ve referred a few people to him over the years and they’ve consistently performed well on my friend’s cars. On the rare occassion where I’ve had to take a car back to him for repeat issues even a month after he performed the work he fixed everything for free.
I don’t recommend these guys for specialty cars (he tried a little work on my BMW but wasn’t equipped with the special tools it needs), but does awesome work on domestic, japanese cars, etc.

Okay, so here’s the thing… You know you need work done on your car but unless you know someone who knows someone you will just have to take your chances at some chain auto repair place and pray tha you don’t have to use every penny in your bank account to get it out. Once you get in there and they start talking shop, in the back of your mind you wonder…“Are they for real? Or are they just trying to jack me because they know I don’t know shite about cars?”
And forget it if you’re a woman… you might feel intimidated and totally vulnerable but dammit, you gotta get your car fixed right? When I was at R & L’s the other day it occurred to me that I had never written a review for them but as good as their service is and as friendly and decent as they are I knew they had to have a string of compliments… not so, I’m the first one!!!
Maybe most folks who go there just want to get their cars fixed and don’t give a hoot about leaving reviews but here you go… They are in South Chula Vista right off Palomar Ave on the West Side. You hang a right at the light and it is immediately to your left. Yes, it’s a divey looking joint to be sure… and yes, it’s totally old school Mexican style with junky looking old cars parked all over the place but man oh man… are they some good mechanics.
The place is owned by two brothers but in truth I have only dealt with Luis, I think his brother prefers the back end of the business. They have an assortment of very sweet, very quiet sisters who work at the front desk and it’s a total family business.
Luis is the front man and what a hell of a guy… early 30’s, genuinely friendly, reliable and educated about all things that are cars. I have NEVER gotten anything but excellent customer service from them and even my poor hubby who thinks everyone is out to rip you off was happy with them!
Example 1: Took in the old Explorer because of some funky, annoying scary, whinning broken sound by the third row seat. Turns out to be a broken fan and Luis tells me «If no one sits back there, you may want to rethink replacing it because it’s a $ 300 piece… no thanks Bro, appreciate the heads up!
Example 2: Took in my Ford Focus at the last minute desperate because my signal light was out… talked to Luis, he said, «no worries» and fixed in within 20 minutes.
Example 3: Again took the aging Explorer in for a 100K overhaul/​checkup and although Luis quoted me a certain price for the whole shebang but it ended being a couple hundred dollars less because he found out that a couple of things didn’t need to changed.
If you want patronize a family run business where you can become a regular, really trust the mechanics and know that you will always get the straight truth and a decent price… give your business to these gentlemen… and if you’re a girl… never hesitate to drop by. they treat everyone wonderfully… give em a shot!