Lake Forest Tire & Brake

I am thrilled and impressed by the integrity of this location’s owner, Cal. After constant issues with the dealership gaslighting me, I took my car to Cal for a basic alignment. He did a thorough review of the condition of my car and found, among other things, a cracked brake pad and a problem with the tires that would have perpetuated the alignment problem — neither of which had been spotted/​reported by the dealership. The cracked brake pad especially freaked me out.
He gave me an extremely generous price for the repairs. I’m talking, it would have been $ 4k easy at the dealership, and was under $ 1k for the described issues and several other things I asked him to take care of. I was floored. He explained his method of doing business and said he would stand behind his work if there were any issues. I was incredibly impressed by how forthright and honest he was.
My car currently runs smoother than it did the day I bought it, thanks to Cal.
My boyfriend and I are so, so excited to have found Cal. We will definitely be back and we fully intend to tell everybody we know about this place.
Thank you so much, Cal!

I am a single working mother and just my luck my car overheated. I was very leary and had no idea where to take my vehicle. It was so severe I was afraid to drive it any where to have it looked at. So my daughters father suggested Cal at Goodyear. His family takes all they’re cars to him. When I got there he was very honest and addressed my concerns. He assured me he does not take advantage of anyone and told me what needed to be done without upselling other problems thst could occure. He made sure I had a way to get to work by paying for my rental car. His pricing his extremely fair and when I needed help he worked with me. I go to him for everything. I won’t go to anyone else. He builds a relationship because he values his customers and his business! Thank you Cal!

We are long time customers of Cal, the owner, and used to take our cars to him when he owned Express Automotive; it was a given that we’d follow him to this new location!
We’ve been taking our cars to Cal for a very long time — it is wonderful to have someone we trust take care of us and our vehicles. We know that if he fixes something, it is fixed correctly — and we know that if he says that something needs to be done, it really needs to be done. Also, as others have said, his prices are reasonable.
Cal is not «just» a mechanic — he cares about his customers and builds relationships with them, something rare in this day and age. Our daughter had ongoing issues with her car (an older car with more than 100K miles) and Cal was always kind and helpful to her and even came to pick her and her car up when it died a little way from his shop. You can’t beat such excellent customer service.
We’ve referred many people to him over the years and everyone has been very pleased — we have a number of friends who are now also his regular customers.

I stumbled upon this place after driving over a bolt nearby. They were able to get me in fast, checked all my tires (unfortunately, I had a nail in another one!), and patch me up. For FREE! I met the owner and heard his story. He’s passionate about cars and seems very honest. I’d definitely come back again. Thank you for all your kindness and help!

I just bought my tires here. Fast friendly service with great prices. What more could you ask for?

Had a problem with my car — turns out it was a simple fix, and ended up getting an oil change because it had been overdue. I don’t know much about cars but I got taken care of and was in and out in a jiffy!

These guys are the BEST! My husband and I have taking our cars to Cal for many years now. He and his guys have always been honest and professional and done a great job repairing our cars. Cal will give you a fair price and great service. I highly recommend going here for any of your vehicle maintenance or repairs.

Lake Forest Tire & Brake is just the kind of place I was looking for: Honest people, great mechanical work, small family business, and unbeatable prices!
I met Mark years ago at American Tire & Brake. From a Unilocal review, I discovered he had moved to this place so I followed him. I always felt comfortable with his recommendations. I brought my car in for service in December and got new tires, front brake pads, rotors, 4 wheel alignment, and oil change. I compared prices with the estimates from the dealer as well as American Tire & Brake. I could not believe the huge price differences!
I brought my car in for additional service this past weekend and met the owner, Cal. I was glad to see that Cal is just a nice as Mark is. He was kind to arrange me a ride home. I got the feeling that he cares about his business and wants his customers to be happy. I thought it was cool when he showed me the old parts he had replaced because it was good to see they really needed to be replaced.

This location changed management a little more than a year ago. At that time I came in because my car needed a major service (head gasket needed to be replaced). The manager Cal was very helpful and courteous. At the time I was unemployed and I must have misheard the quote he gave me on the phone. When I went to pick up my car the quote was higher than what I expected which was a shock to me especially since I was unemployed. I expressed my shock (not anger) and Cal was very understanding and felt bad. He lowered the price as much as he could and then even offered 2 free oil changes (I use synthetic, so each one is worth $ 69.99) to help me out. It is great that there are still empathetic businesses that really demonstrate care. All their work is always exceptional and I’ve recommended them to all my family and friends.

I used to see Mark at American tire and brake Mission Viejo, but I found out he had moved and is now managing Lake Forest Tire & Brake, so we followed him here.
He has always been so honest with my wife and I, and has turned us away on several different occasions «nope, nothing was broken.» and didn’t try to up sell us.
Honest, Fast, reliable service.
A good mechanic is hard to find. We’ll be coming to this shop
as long as they’re around.
The other manager, Cal, seems like a nice man too (just met him today). He double checked with me that I was satisfied with everything when picking up my car. Customer service is top priority here.

Was an American Tire customer for the last 15 years, but read the reviews since they changed ownership in Dec 13. Gave Mark a call at Lake Forest Tire and got set up with exactly what I needed at a GREAT price… much lower than I expected for better tires than I received at American. There is NO upselling like at American and although there is a free check of your alignment, it turns out I didn’t need one. Great customer service, free rotations and balancing for life, and just plain old nice guys to deal with. I will definitely be back with my other cars when the time comes.

It feels like winning the lotto when you find an honest mechanic. I always had a hard time taking my car in because if I needed brakes it always turned out to be 3 times the work that needed to be done.
Mark was very patient and understanding when I tried to explain all the things I was told were wrong with my car. He addressed all my concerns and fixed the things that needed to be fixed and put me at ease that the other things that I was told needed work were fine.
Thank you so much.

My family and I have been going to Cal and his team for car repairs for over twenty years now. He services all our cars as if they were his own, and has always been amazing about understanding needs financially.
His new team and location may be hidden a little bit off the road, but I always keep a handful of their business cards in my purse! I hand them out like free candy whenever friends say they need car work done!
Here’s the big thing about how this company runs– They are honest and they will work with you no matter what. I’ve always been wary of car repairmen because they know a lot more about cars than I do and could probably very easily convince me to spend a lot of money that I don’t have on repairs that don’t necessarily need to be done. YOU WILL NEVER BE SCAMMED HERE. They will take a look at your car and give you a very detailed, very accurate report. All you need to do is listen and ask questions and figure out what you can afford to do. They will then tell you what work is the most urgent– things that need to be done ASAP or else you’re going to have some serious car problems. They’ll tell you what may need to be done in a few months or so, and they’ll tell you what you can probably wait a year or so on. You tell them what you can afford, they’ll tell you what they can do with your budget, and you get an honest evaluation of your car.
I have an eleven year-​old PT Cruiser that I’ve owned for a little over two years, and anyone who knows anything about PT Cruisers probably knows they can be a little tough to make last. While my car has had numerous repairs over the past two years, they’ve almost all been age-​related, and I’ve had work spread out over a couple of months just to make sure I get all of the use out of each individual engine part before I replace it. I have always trusted Cal to be entirely honest and open with me about what he needs to do with my car. And whenever my car won’t start, or it makes a weird noise or lights I don’t understand show up on my dashboard, I know that I can call him and even if he’s already closed, he’ll be figuring out a way to get my car to his shop so that he can work on it the next day. I’ll probably be taking my cars to Cal until the day he decides to retire– and then I’ll probably cry that he retired!
Bottom line: Need car work? ANY car work? GO HERE.

Although this business is not the easiest to find, it is well worth your time and effort to find it, since you will experience that rarest of rare — the honest mechanic.
Now, I’m not saying that they won’t point out the various defective parts or repairs that may or should be made to your vehicle — that’s their business — but just listen to their detailed explanations of their recommendations and ask questions — and you will see for yourself that they are giving you the best advice.
No high pressure and they always take the time to explain. What more could you ask for?
I am in the automotive business and have experienced every type and kind of mechanic from dealerships to the independents and you will not experience more straightforward and honest treatment than you will receive here.
They take the time to do it right and to answer all your questions — and although it may take a little longer than you expected as you watch them with other customers — you definitely appreciate it when it’s your turn.
Hint: Make sure to ask for the WiFi password if you choose to wait for your vehicle, and the time will go by in a flash.

I was looking for a groupon coupon and found one for wheel alignment $ 49 (reg $ 89) and this location was nearest where I live. I called and spoke to ‘Mark’ who said to come in without groupon coupon and he’ll honor the $ 49. So I showed up and the location is sketchy. Many Hispanic men standing at the corner waving down cars maybe to offer their labor? IDK. I was welcomed, treated courteously by Mark and offered a complimentary water. I settled in with my book.
45 min later, he informs me that my car is not a 2009 but a 2010 and they need to do the alignment again. I assured him that I bought the CR-​V new and I’ve owned it for five years but he insisted it was 2010 and did the alignment again. I just shrugged and kept waiting. Another guy with a mercedes stopped by and he was given VIP treatment with great conversation, humor, friendly advice. It was funny that Mark called him ‘Sir’ and called me ‘my friend.’ I’m an American Indian but do deserve the same courteous respect that any other customer gets. So after 1.5 hours, Mark tells me that a screw needs replacement for $ 135 and the struts need replacement for $ 236 and if I were to do it today, he’d make my alignment free. Sketchy? I thought so. So I refused and five minutes later, drove out of there paying $ 49. Not sure how to test if my car was aligned properly or not. Was the work done right? Probably. Will I go here again? Only if i have to.