M & R Automotive

Menlo Park, United States

4.7

Closed now

20 reviews

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 650-325-3900
Website:
www.mandrauto.com
Address:
1281 El Camino Real, Menlo Park, CA, 94025
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.2 miMenlo Park Caltrain
0.2 miMenlo Park
0.9 miAtherton
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Today

Today 7:30 am – 5:30 pm
Closed now
Local time (Menlo Park) 22:14 Monday, 9 June 2025

Business hours

Monday 7:30 am – 5:30 pm
Tuesday 7:30 am – 5:30 pm
Wednesday 7:30 am – 5:30 pm
Thursday 7:30 am – 5:30 pm
Friday 7:30 am – 5:30 pm
Saturday –
Sunday –

Description

Specialties

M & R Automotive is your small, personal auto repair shop. Since 1968, we proudly maintain and repair most European, Domestic, and Asian automobile makes. Our service and maintenance program is very thorough; we use all of the latest computer repair equipment, computerized service and repair information, and maintain your vehicle history. We aim to meet all your automotive needs, from an oil change to alignment and suspension repair.

History

Established in 1968.

M & R Automotive was started in 1968 by Wes Mcnay as an import car repair shop. Over the years we have expanded to include Asian, North American, as well as European cars. We have been a state of California smog inspection station since the early 1980’s and we are now a STAR certified inspection station. We have been a CSAA approved auto repair shop for over 30 years. Our crew has been together for many years. Henry has been here for over 20 years and is now an owner of the business, Stuart has been with us for over 30 years, Eric for over 10 years, and Dennis our service manager has been here for 16 years.

Meet the Business Owner

Henry M.

Business Owner

Henry has been in the auto repair business since high school. He ran is own shop in San Francisco as a young man prior to coming to M & R in 1992. Henry is an ASE certified Master Automobile Technician as well as a certified smog technician. Henry is very skilled at not only figuring out late model electronic problems but is also skilled at repairing older cars.

He has restored many cars including some vintage Mercedes Benz as well as American muscle cars.

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20 reviews of M & R Automotive

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Crescent Park, CA
Dennis is so great! I don’t know much about cars and my former mechanic was ripping me off. Then I was recommended to try this place. Dennis always quotes me good prices and does good work. He’s great at dealing with my panicked phone calls when I think something is wrong with my car and can usually fix the problem that same day.
Place rating: 5
Menlo Park, CA
I’ve been going to M&R for 33 years and I would not want to go anywhere else. They’ve done so many extra errands to meet special car needs; they know who to refer to when necessary; and their prices are far lower than dealer.
Dennis, Stuart, Henry. .. all are just great to work with. I trust them with my vehicles, plus they’re convenient.
Place rating: 5
Menlo Park, CA
There was a squealing noise at times when I hit my brakes. I took my car in to the guys at M&R, and after a thorough review of the brake system they couldn’t find anything wrong… so they didn’t charge me for their time. Thanks, guys! I’ll be back the next time my car makes a funny noise or needs an oil change. :D
Place rating: 5
Mountain View, CA
Dropped off my car during lunch for a much needed oil change. Henry helped me despite having a busy day. I really appreciate them going out of their way helping me with my auto needs, and will definitely come back for my major service in the near future.
Place rating: 5
Portola Valley, CA
Great business and great staff. Stuart is Awesome, Honest and really knows his cars!
M & R Automotive is the only place we take our personal and work vehicles when in need of repair. I wouldn’t recommend any other mechanic. Thanks guys!
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Shout out to Dennis who helped me with my blown mercedes benz transmission.
Dennis saved me $$$ when the dealer in SF wanted to charge me double the price to fix it. He also helped me out with the towing service after Geico wanted to charge me $$ to tow my car from SF– Menlo Park. I appreciate Dennis’s assessment of my car, integrity and service. My car is back in action .
Thanks Dennis and staff !!
Place rating: 5
Menlo Park, CA
I trust Dennis and M & R completely! They take great care of my car so I never have to worry. They helped me get the most out of my 20-​year-​old car (often checking it with no charge), and now that the warranty is done I am glad to be able to bring my new car in. (I was never completely comfortable with the included service at the dealer where I bought it.) I prefer to know my mechanics, Henry and Stuart — and have them know my car. They are smart, thoughtful, honest. And the place is spotless, which shows how much care they take of everything!
Place rating: 5
Palo Alto, CA
Absolutely amazing! Not only are the wizards with our cars. They are also unbelievably honest! We’ve taken our cars in not once but twice to have them reset the engine and not charge us. Go here ! The best in the Bay Area no question!
Place rating: 5
Menlo Park, CA
Called and got a STAR smog appt starting in 15 minutes. Only took about 15 minutes, too. Fast, friendly, and reasonable service ($ 34.95 +$ 8.25 certificate fee). Will definitely be back.
Place rating: 5
Bay Area, CA
I was in need of a smog test and happened to drive by this place and saw a sign that said walk-​ins were welcome. So I looked them up on Unilocal and found good reviews for the most part, as well as a $ 5 off coupon for a smog test. Even though I was a little reluctant after reading one neg Unilocal review regarding being a solo female, I went in and I actually found the staff to be extremely friendly and helpful. Dennis, the gentleman at the desk, was not familiar with the Unilocal coupon, but he did not hesitate to honor it anyway. They did only the service I requested and did not in any way try to up-​sell me on any other services. I found them to be very female friendly. Plus I was in and out in less than 15mins! Wonderful experience and I highly recommend them :-)
Place rating: 5
Menlo Park, CA
Dennis and the mechanics at M&R have taken care of our cars for over 10 years. Any make or model, any age, they are good at getting to the problem, honest, ethical and reliable. I won’t go anywhere else.
Place rating: 5
Belmont, CA
I have gotten ripped off by lots of mechanics in the past, but these guys are the most genuine and fair that they come. Everyone at my work uses them, and that’s how I found them too. They have been servicing my car for years as well as my coworkers. How nice to know of a place I can take my car to, and trust in their honest, efficient and top quality work. They have done little things for my car for free over the years which most other places would be too stingy to do. The mechanics and the owner all have good character and will service your car at the best price. Thank you soooo much guys! My coworkers and I are all very grateful for your service.
Place rating: 5
Redwood City, CA
Wow, I really liked these guys! I used an Amazon voucher to get an oil change and inspection this morning. Here’s why I’m so happy I did:
1. Scheduling the appointment was no hassle. Matter of fact, I called twice to reschedule on them (sorry M&R), but never did anyone get impatient with me. I’m used to calling garages and getting someone who is super rushed, and mulitasking, but they calmly made it work for my schedule.
2. When I walked in to the front office, I was surprised how clean and spacious it was. Henry’s desk was spotless, not a stray paper in sight. I remember thinking while he was entering my info into the system, «they must be strict about filing things immediately after use… man, I wish my desk was that organized!»
3. The environment is really friendly & lighthearted. It seems like the guys that work there have good synergy.
4. They are fast! They told me to plan to leave the vehicle for two hours, so I walked across the street to café borrone and did a little work on my laptop while having breakfast. Henry called me after an hour-​fifteen to say it was ready, so the timing was perfect!
5. I had previously known (but not dealt with) one of the items they brought to my attention needing repair. I asked if they could fix it before I leave so I don’t have to schedule another appointment, so he called over the mechanic and asked if he could step away for a bit to deal with one more thing on the van. He fixed it in 15 minutes, and seemed glad to do it!
Place rating: 5
Tucson, AZ
M and R was great. I canceled one appointment and was late for the second. They did a great job without complaint. Thanks guys!!!
Place rating: 5
Menlo Park, CA
I discovered these guys through a Groupon for an oil change and a 15-​point inspection. The oil change was quick and the inspection came up with two or three things that needed work, one of which was my timing belt and my drive belt. I checked around for prices on parts and what the job entails, what other people usually do while they’re in there doing timing and drive belts, even getting some quotes from other mechanics-​one of which quoted me four times as much as M&R.
I took my car back to M&R, told Dennis I just wanted the belts changed, they did the work, didn’t try to upsell me on other parts that didn’t need replacing, got the job done before they said they would and charged me exactly what they said they would on the quote.
I’m impressed, and I will go back.
Place rating: 1
Yucaipa, CA
Went to this place for a routine smog check and oil change. First and foremost I am a woman, and they tried to charge me $ 400 for both the smog + oil change. I assertively said that was a little steep isn’t it. The guy just responded rudely and said this is their fixed price. I told him I would come back with my stepfather, he said wait I will give you a percent off $ 350. So I took the offer. What a mistake I made, not only did I wait 4hours for a smog+oil change they didn’t even change the oil (step dad checked oil and told me it was dirty oil) and told me they weren’t sure why my car didn’t pass smog (smog check should show the codes of why car didn’t pass), they wanted me to leave my car for a couple days to figure out why. They told me they would estimate parts, labor, and any other work that had to be done in order to figure out why my car didn’t pass. I told them no and left. A day later my tire indicator comes on so I go to a tire place, they tell me my tire sensor was broken and duck taped to my tire… WHATTTT…the mechanics at M and R had broken my tire sensor then taped it to my tire. I will never go there again, very untrustworthy, unreliable, and terrible customer service to boot. If you want a great mechanic go to Quality Tune Up in Fremont, they are amazing.
Place rating: 2
Redwood City, CA
I called M & R this morning after I got an Email from amazon offering an oil change, tire rotation and inspection for $ 20.
Once I mentioned that I had the coupon from Amazon, the person from M & R immediately started to tell me that, «for that, I needed to make an appointment and that I needed to leave my car for at least 3 hours.» Then asked me to hold on while he finished attending someone else in the other phone line. I wait about 5 minutes and I decided to hang up. I believe that if they offer coupons for services at reduced prices they shouldn’t treat the coupon’s holders as second class customers.
And I understand that they are a small operated company but if they are, they shouldn’t advertise knowing that by doing so the demand will exceed their work capacity.
Place rating: 5
Menlo Park, CA
Dennis is awesome. I called him with my 1993 Eurovan Camper which the local VW repairshop in Redwood city refused to take a look at.
Dennis and his team did the right work to investigate deeply why the transmission wasn’t working — and he figured out the selenoids just needed some cleaning. Contrast that to everyone else who recommended replacing a transmission that is impossible to get and expensive to rebuild (a shop in Seattle quoted me $ 20k for the job, the shop in redwood city wouldn’t even look).
Also, the little things: A previous shop had replaced the lights in my dashboard. Inadvertently, they had placed the fuel gauge below the empty notch, so it always showed empty. Dennis and his guys constructed a little hook to push through the mileage reset button to lift it over. 10 minutes of work vs. hours.
This is a great shop and I would recommend anyone check them out.
Place rating: 5
Concord, CA
These guys do exceptional work!!! They are quick and extremely reliable. I come here to get everything done by these guys. They are all very nice and friendly. I don’t trust just anyone to work on my car. My safety is placed into their hands. Prices are fair and work is great!!! I’ve been coming here for the last year for my oil changes and any mechanical work I may need to my 2009 Lexus. Henry, Eric and Stuart are are highly professionally trained mechanics with more then enough experience. Love these guys. They take care of me every time. They’ll take care of you as well!!!
Place rating: 5
Seattle, WA
My car’s maintenance light came on, so I brought my car here since they were so great last time. They gave me a quote for the oil change and told me they’d also take a look at the rest of the car. I got a call not too long after I dropped off my car, letting me know that some services they recommended, and even which ones were more important than others. I felt reassured that they were looking out for me but NEVER pressured to pay for a service right then. I opted to go with one of the extra services they strongly recommended and put off the other items for later. Again, as a girl who doesn’t know a whole lot (or… anything) about cars, it was completely refreshing to have someone so politely explain things to me without being condescending or pushy.
I feel almost silly raving about an auto shop, because it’s a place you hope to not have to visit too often. But having to get my car’s oil changed felt like a pretty mundane, almost-​pleasant chore rather than the ordeal that it used to be.