Advantage Automotive

Brought my 2003 Toyota Corolla in because The AC was blowing hot air. Larry told me to bring it in and he would do an AC service for $ 100 and then let me know if he found any leaks that needed to be repaired. He did find a leak, repaired it within the one hour timeframe he said it would take to do the AC service, and then charged me less than $ 100 including the leak repair! This was my second time bringing my car in for AC service (first time was years ago) and both times I have found Larry to be very honest and his pricing to be extremely reasonable. I will definitely be going back when my car needs service again!

Larry is great!
My dealer service agent told me that my car had multiple items that needed service and they handed me an estimate for almost $ 1000. I thought I’ll get a second (and honest) opinion from Larry whom I have known for many years and gotten our our cars serviced.
Larry took my car in and about half a day later called me to inform that none of the service requests that the dealer had made were correct. They had overblown the intensity and the readings just to make a quick buck!!! I was pretty amazed … but what do you expect from a dealer?
Strongly recommend Larry! Great job buddy, as always!

Larry was great !!!
He waited outside his normal business hours to get my car battery replaced.

my car needed an ac repair and I’m glad I found these guys on Unilocal — one of the most painless and straightforward auto repair experiences I’ve had. Called around to several shops before finding Advantage Auto. This shop was reasonably priced and also offered the most professional, clear, and thorough assessment over the phone. The location is a little difficult to find, but well worth it.

Today, I went driving with a friend and noticed a scraping sound coming from the bottom of my car while we were on the highway. We got off the nearest exit and started looking for auto shops. On a whim, I chose to go to this shop instead of any of the other shops on the block.
The service was great. Larry was finishing up his work on another car when I walked in, so I got my car diagnosed almost immediately. As soon as he got my car on the lift, he told me that my splash shield was loose and that he was going to screw it back into place. He was pretty humorous about it, too.
He also mentioned that I was missing about $ 400 worth of splash shields, which I was unaware of. He explained that since we don’t get snow or too much rain, it wasn’t necessary to get to splash shields, but I’m definitely keeping that in mind for whenever I want to go to Lake Tahoe in the winter.
I got in and out of his shop in about 20 minutes with amazing service for free! All around great guy. I would definitely come back!

I’ve been here a few times and have had work done, but this time around I went by myself (My dad usually helps me when it comes to cars) I feel like they took advantage of my lack of knowledge. I got $ 350 in repairs done, but they told me my car wouldn’t pass smog and that they estimated the repairs at $ 500. So glad I decided to get my car smog checked first before coming back and getting the repairs because it passed! They had me worried for weeks about having to shell out more money! I want to believe everyone here is honest and nice, but after the results from my last visit I don’t think I’ll be coming back.

I continue to be happy with advantage. The owner listens to you and takes the time to explain issues when he finds them.

Called for a quote over the phone to get my power steering belt replace for $ 115. Went ahead and made an appointment the next day. 9am came in waited about 15 min and was told they could not fix the issue because another issue occurred my ac compressor was frozen. She told me it would cost $ 1700 to replace everything. $ 1700 for to replace an ac compressor? Then I was charged $ 30 just because he inspected it which I saw him do all he did was just look at engine bay for less than a minute without my consent or acknowledging me about the inspection fee. I just went to another mechanic shop they did a free inspection and quoted me $ 450 for everything. Other words be aware might be scammed of this place.

I’m overdue in writing a review of Larry and Advantage Automotive. He’s always done a great job on my vehicle, on our Company Vehicle and on my mom’s Vehicle. She is a senior citizen and it means a lot to have a mechanic you can trust. Thank you, Larry

Long story short, Larry could hear my truck coming from down the block and before I could even get out of my truck he was already walking out to greet me and make an assesment. We flipped the hood, ge diagnosed the problem on the spot and explained to me clearly what the issue was. The immediate vibe I got from larry was honesty and rady to help regardless of the issue.
I’ve walked into a lot of places and I’ve never felt more comfortable, felt like a regular on my first vist.
Truck is fixed, runs and sounds great. I’ll most definitely be back.

Had a poor running older Ford truck needing repair. The truck had never had a major issue till now in 14 years. Larry works on big trucks which is not common among auto repair shops. Larry and his crew found the problem that day and I had the truck back that afternoon. I also needed a ride back to my home when I dropped off the truck, which was good customer service in my book.

Silly as it may sound, serendipity played a role is our discovery of this auto shop. Finding a good automotive shop and trustworthy mechanic is something I don’t look forward to doing. For the past few years we relied on a friend to take care of our needs. When he moved, I was a little concerned about being overcharged, pushed into additional repairs, etc. However, after my radiator broke on one fateful commute on 580E on the Dublin grade, my AAA could take me within 5 miles to a shop. They took me to Advantage Automotive. Thankfully, they did a quick and friendly fix on the radiator and we’ve been able trust them with all of our auto repairs since.
Just this morning my husband took our creaking car there to have it looked at. On the spot, they quickly assessed the problem and fixed in minutes. Because it was so simple, it was free of charge. We are bringing our other car there this week for a look at the air conditioning and I can feel fully relaxed about being able to trust them. Look no more to fear what you might hear from a mechanic or automotive specialist. This business truly cares and takes pride in doing good work. My five Unilocal stars are shining bright for this place!

I feel completely comfortable taking my car to Larry. He is honest and does an excellent job. My first experience was almost 4 years ago with my ’98 Honda Civic. I brought it in for a check up and oil change as it wasn’t running very well. When he called he seemed genuinely disappointed to tell me that my transmission was on its way out. I don’t understand much about cars or what sort of options are out there. Larry told me my options, but told me that spending the money for a new transmission for my particular car was not practical. After all was said and done he didn’t charge me for the labor because he felt the bad news of my car’s transmission was enough to handle for one day. I value Larry’s honesty and professionalism. I have since purchased a new car and have been taking it to Advantage Automotive for the last 3 years even though I no longer live in Dublin.

Back to Advantage for an oil change, $ 20 if you bring your own oil and filter which isn’t bad, although not amazing. However, the owner Larry said my belts were squeaking and offered to adjust them for free so they would not wear out as fast. I’ll repeat, free, which he didn’t have to do. I even asked at the end, do I owe you anything and he said no.
To top it off, my car lived in places with snow and salt for a while so it took a bit to get one belt off because of a frozen bolt. It was harder to do the good deed than he though. So far so good with Advantage!

I am writing the review 2^nd time, the service is really great and very very honest.
This time it is a 2008 BMW 528i, Larry and team have fixed my transmission leak issue @ cost of $ 473.47. The dealer has quoted $ 860 and other shops in the neighborhood about $ 650. I have decided Larry due to trust and confidence in his service.
Note: He has given me a $ 150 discount to match his original estimate.
Thank you again Larry appreciate your help.

The reviews don’t lie! Awesome service from Advantage.
I dropped my car off after hours, stressed from spending a good couple hours on the side of the freeway. The next day at around 1pm, I received an update on my car and found out that the repairs were going to be finished by the end of the working day! Phew! Speedy and efficient job, not to mention they fixed some other small problems my car had needed, along with offering to change my oil. The price was fair, especially for the amount of time it took to repair everything.
This shop is a favorite of many of my family members and I’ll definitely be back (hopefully not /​too/​soon… yikes!) when the time comes.

Larry’s shop and his staff are awesome! I’ve had battery trouble with an older car for a long time and had a make-​shift way of keeping the battery going. I finally talked to Larry about it as he just loves to find the source of problems in cars! Well, he did find the problem, fixed it and now… no more battery trouble with my older car! And, he didn’t charge me a lot for the work done nor was I out of car service for an extended amount of time!
Larry is very knowledgable, trustworthy and honest about his work. His shop is clean which is another great thing! Clean shop equals care and respect for your car, in my opinion!
Great place to take your car for any and all automotive needs!

Did I mention I love Larry and his staff??? I feel so bad I don’t know the darling gal in the front’s name but she is so sweet and helpful and a joy to sit and chat with while waiting. She made me feel so included in what was happening and I felt a very warm reception from her and Larry. Just a really good place to bring your car. Reassuring to find mechanics who really take time and pride in what they do. It feels like your uncle working on your car while you are there. Like you belong there.
Again, I was fit in that day right when I arrived. Again, I had a nice conversation and the time flew by. The price didn’t knock me over and everything was EXACTLY as they said it would be at the beginning. These people know what they are doing and they make sure to help out as efficiently as possible. Always doing the extra for me and my husband.
Thank you!!!

This place was a find! Larry, the owner, was recommended by my buddies auto body shop, 360 Auto Body, located a couple shops over. First of all, Larry is a very honest guy. No BS and he gives you the most competitive price. A lot less than stealerships!
When my girlfriend moved to Dublin, she received a «Welcome to Dublin» free oil change voucher from Larry’s shop. She thought it was too good to be true and indeed he honored it. Her car is a Prius which requires full synthetic oil and he didn’t hesitate to do the service.
My dad also brought his minivan to Larry to fix his brakes. He couldn’t be any happier. Larry even showed my dad the bad rotors. Most mechanics don’t do that anymore.
If you live in the Dublin/​San Ramon area, definitely check out Advantage Automotive!

Advantage Auto stands for Awesome and A++!
My Honda was broken into and needed a window replaced, and Larry was kind from the start. He gave me a great quote on the phone for the service, and even referred me to a window dealer who could get me a better price for the part. I’ve never heard of such honesty! I was so impressed that I decided to give Larry my business for the window, in addition to other maintenance that I had been putting off. I was SO glad I did. Larry was extremely helpful and went above and beyond in service. He took the time to answer all of my questions (and I had lots). He was nice enough to carry my two heavy child car seats across a parking lot too! Although a part took longer to arrive than expected, Larry stayed late to make sure that everything was fixed that day, as he promised.
Highly recommended, and I will definitely come back for future work on my cars!