Radiator Depot

Great family business that you can trust. He will not only tell you the problem, he will show you the problem. Can was done in a hour.

I called the #1 rated Honda repair shop in the area looking to get my a/​c evac’d & recharged. They referred me here saying, «Call Radiator Depot for that, they’re the best and can beat my price.»
I think it says something when a popular, successful business doesn’t hesitate to refer to «competition» with high praise.
I ended up having to repair my condenser/​fan unit altogether but everything was outlined and explained with great detail and patience so I spent more than expected, but willingly and confidently. Old parts were brought out to me to confirm why the repair s made.
Everything jived nicely and the repair was done in half the estimated time. I would have paid more for the same attention to detail. Highly recommended

Great place. They had great service, very reasonable price, and worked very quickly. Definitely recommended for any radiator needs!

Very happy, I gave this place a chance, and Im glad I did, good pricing, no waiting, I was out of there in less than an hour with a new radiator and spent less than half what others quoted, Paul was super nice too, I will definitely come back in the future!

After writing an exhaustive and clear message about my complaints, I am told that Radiator Depot is code compliant. I am glad for them. However, that doesn’t really address my issues. Hot air is blowing into the cabin of my car coming from the engine area. But since I «don’t know what I am talking about,» I’ll just pay someone else to look at it. I guess I should have paid a little more elsewhere. Due to the lack of customer service, I am now downgrading this place to two stars. Never mind the «warranty.»

Great work! Very experienced! Been taking my/​family vehicles here for 15 years. The owner is an older guy and steady worker. He has a really skilled assistant. They definitely know their stuff because you don’t see them trying to «poke around». Assessment and diagnosis is honest and cost is upfront.

The Best place best price me isieron aorrarme buena feria 100% recomendado depues de buscar varios lugares este fie el mejor lugar grasias radiator depot

Great place for radiator! I have been going here for over 20 years. Paul, the owner, is a radiator genius. I trust this place more than the dealer fixing my radiator. He fixed my Range Rover Sport radiator valve. It busted and leaking all over. Took him 10 – 15 mins to fix and didn’t charge for the service. Crazy right? Most places charge a fee just to diagnosed the problem. Don’t expect free service from this place. But you can expect expert knowledge to keep your radiator back in good working order. Nice and friendly guy also. Highly recommend this place for your radiator needs.

AVOID AVOID AVOID. If you want to do yourself the best thing this year, avoid bring your car to this place. I saw the good reviews when i was in the area and i needed a coolant, this is a fairly simple procedure that can be done at any mechanic. I called this place and asked if they can take my car in for a coolant flush, I just figured ill pay the $ 60 he asked for to flush as opposed to making my garage dirty.
When i walked in, i saw an older Asian man that seemed very nice behind the counter. I asked him which type of coolant he had, and he offered one option of coolant (This is OK with me, but it should have been a hint of whats to come) .
I pulled my car to the back and i was expecting to have him put in on the lift, well, he did not. Still OK so far. What shocked me was he kept the car in place and just drained the coolant, he just unhooked the hose and let the hot coolant spray all over the engine and go down to the ground. Yes, to the Ground. No pan, NOTHING. I mean i am not an environmentalist, but eve i know this stuff is topic when it gets to the ocean. Still, till now, i was somehow OK.
As he ran the water through the engine, the water was just going straight to the ground, i was disgusted by this. Once he claimed that he was ready to fill my radiator with new coolant and water, i asked where the DISTILLED water is, he said that he used regular water. If you like to know what regular water does to engine coolant, just search «Distilled water in radiator vs regular water», basically, its the worst thing you can do to a car.
This is when i realized that i am dealing with people that don’t care about anything but getting the quick $. The methods they use will actually harm your car. As i drove home, i smelled coolant in the car, i stopped the car on the right side of the road and opened the hood, as i expected, the coolant he let spray all over the engine was steaming and leaving white stains everywhere.
I just like to say that i was referred to this place by BC Advance Auto Repair in Santa Ana, i never had service in BC, but if this is who they referred their customers to, then that should say something about BC.
Stay AWAY

I have come here 3 times over the past 5 years and they have done a fantastic job on my 1991 Lexus LS400. The first 2 times dealt with an air conditioner issue, the third the water pump, radiator reservoir and radiator.
During the water pump install I had Paul’s crew install a new timing belt, serpentine belt and anything else that had to do with the inside engine, water pump area, wear and tear. Actually Paul recommended this and he was correct in doing this. I could have done this work myself but it would have been a very big job. I knew Paul was honest about what he recommended because I know auto repair.
Paul showed me all of the parts he changed out and it was the perfect amount of work. Not too little and not too much but just right. My 23 year old car in 2014 runs smoother and quieter.
Paul and his crew did an excellent job at a great price. He’ll use only the highest quality parts and guarantees all of his work. This is a great place to get all of your air conditioning, heating system and general engine repaired. Paul, the owner, is super honest and will not do any unnecessary repairs. A place you can trust to get the job done right at a great price. I highly recommend the Radiator Depot & A/​C Specialist.

My story, I arrived to work and smoke started coming out from underneath my hood. On my lunch break I called a few shops around my area few quoted 300 some said we will call you back and never did finally, my friend said hey go to radiator depot… I called was quoted ¹⁄₃ less than the other places. Called AAA they towed my car there around 1 pm. Got out of work at 4 went in thought that my car was probably not done. When I arrived my car was parked in the parking lot ready to go Paul explained what was installed very friendly guy. I left there a very satisfied customer asked if they did any other repairs, Paul said said air condition for your call will go back and highly recommend this place.

I don’t ever write reviews but I have to write one for this place because I had such a good experience here. Car stuff is stressful and as a young female I’m always weary that I’m going to get fooled into paying more for bad service. But listen, I first took my ’05 Toyota highlander to the dealer and they quoted me $ 650 parts and labor, plus a full day’s work for the repair. This place charged me less than one-​third the dealer price AND finished the job in less than one hour. If you need a new radiator don’t waste your money at the dealer and get pushed around by a**hole salesmen. Get cheap, fast, excellent service at this place.

I have been going to this shop for years, but finally decided to write a review. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been here since I’ve been coming for so long but off the top of my mind; he has fixed a cracked radiator for me on an old Honda Civic, recharged my empty AC on a old Nissan Maxima and recently did a coolant flush on a Honda Element for 40% cheaper than Jiffy Lube! I have found this place to be honest and SUPER reasonable in price. It is definitely my go to place for anything to do with radiators or AC. His fast work and fair prices keep me coming back.

My radiator finally took a dump on me. 2007 Infiniti M45 Sport w/​approx. 108k miles. Came here through a friend reference. I went to several other shops and was quoted in the $ 450-​$ 600 range for a new radiator, install/​labor, pressure test, coolant, and to fix the ac/​condenser fan mounts. Paul, the owner, quoted me $ 330 out the door! On top of that, my old radiator cracked and spilled lots of coolant all over my engine compartment, so you can see specs of green smudge and drops everywhere. The mechanic steam cleaned and pressure washed the engine bay as well as each trim! Very impressed with the quality of work and the attention to detail.
Same day service! The only qualm, which isn’t even that bad, is that my particular radiator wasn’t in stock and had to wait 4 hours until it arrived. The actual install was about 2 hours.

I just bought the Radiator this morning from Paul for my M35. I didn’t have him install it because I love working on my cars and saving some money. Well installed it everything seemed back to normal but my temp was still a little high??? So I called Paul up for some advice and he said due to the radiator sitting lower than the engine theirs a airlock that won’t let the coolent travel as it should. So he advised me of the pressure realease location and told me how to do it. Well I just decided to take it to him at this point since I was short for time and he said he could do it in less than 10 min. So as he said he released the pressure, double checked everything, replaced a reservoir hose for me for FREEEEE! I asked him how much? And he said nothing just come back next time you need AC or Radiator service. He wouldn’t even take my $ 20 bucks for lunch. I really recommend this shop! Very humble, and honest.
Thanks Paul.
Ben
Irvine Fence Co.

Great PRice! Great Service Thanks

Was kind of leary with the mix reviews, but his price was the lowest in the area. I was geared to have both upper and lower radiator hose replace, they check everything and said only the upper hose were to be replace, everything else is fine (imagine that… turning away business. very honest)… got my car all fixed up.

Welp, my neighbor HIGHLY recommended Paul. My car had spewed coolant one evening and I wanted to nip the problem in the bud since I will be on a midnight shift at the beginning of November. Before I went I replaced the coolant cap at my lovely AutoZone (a store that I really like). Paul checked my old car, asked me a few questions, and then told me there was nothing wrong. He said I may have solved the problem by replacing the cap, but if the heat indicator goes past a certain point, to bring it back.
As far as I am concerned this honesty and professionalism is as good as it gets.

Wow this place is a diamond the rough. Paul is extremely helpful and goes beyond the service of any business I have come across. If you want good honest to goodness work done with a positive atmosphere — this is the place to take your car to — what a savior. I can’t say enough…

Based on all the «positive» reviews for this place I thought I could trust them with my A/​C issues. He told me he would put in stop leak and dye. Stop leak tries to seal a leak as the leak leaks and dye helps a mechanic locate where the leak is. The car ended up leaking everything out in 1 week instead of 3 months after my visit. When I brought it in for a followup the mechanic just felt around the pipes for oil. Didn’t even use the UV light required to see the dye and told me that everything would have to be replaced for $ 1000.
I then put in stop leak as they recommended which completely clogged my AC. DO NOT use the Quest/​Interdynamics «Super Seal» product. I recently had to replace and flush all components. Did it myself, saved money, and I got to keep the tools.

So my radiator cracked about two hours ago and through a friends recommendation I decided to call and get a price estimate. His price was the lowest of all the places I called. I got estimates from $ 50 more than his quote to an outrageous $ 250 more!
The owner of the shop is a great honest guy. He has been here since the early 80s. He does radiator and air conditioning repairs only.
He’s been here for nearly 30 years… That’s saying something considering how quickly businesses seem to be going out of business these days.
He is very knowledgeable of his niche. He got me in and out in about 45min for my 2000 Honda accord. He work done was super professional and the employees were so amicable and friendly.
After the install was finished they actually check out everything with the install to make sure everything is working properly. He also provides a 1yr warranty on his work.
I was really surprised to find ZERO reviews of this place. Paul gets most of his customers from word of mouth. I hope my Unilocal review helps. I know I am but one reviewer who actually signed up for Unilocal today just to write a review. Been using Unilocal for years.