Cr Automotive

This place is very thorough and efficient they really walk their clients through every process and educate them on everything that is going on with the vehicle. they make sure the price is right or at least confirm ed and they also have a AAA discount. I highly recommend coming here if you live in the area. they are trust worthy. Darwin and his staff knows there stuff.

Honest, quick turnaround, get it right, trustworthy. We’ve been going here for years owning Mercedes, Subaru, Lexus, Toyota and Fiat over the years and feel lucky to have this go-​to shop in our community.

I would never return to this business even if I was offered free service. The owner is rude, inappropriate and should not be trusted. Please don’t remove my post; anyone who needs decent service should read this.

Honest, Accurate and Fair.
My girlfriend knows nothing about cars and they have had plenty of chances to take advantage of her and yet they never do. They fix her car and when I suggested a incorrect diagnosis (that would have cost her more money), they let me know that I was wrong and it would be a wasted expense.
I recently brought a car by that I was going to purchase and they did a diagnositic evaluation for $ 120. It took more than an hour, included a test drive, and they explained many things that I was unaware of from my test ride.
I am amazed that reviewers complain of the diagnostic charge. It costs time and time is money. The computer gives an often vague code: ex. fuel system. But figuring what in the fuel system is the problem takes time.

This guys have worked on my Toyotas for years. They are great!!!
NCB

I CAN NOT BELIEVE HOW SCREWED OVER I GOT BY THESE GUYS AND AAA FOR THAT MATTER! AAA referred me to their shop to get the 40-​point safety check. I had to pay an additional $ 50.00 to get my entire truck looked at. My main concern was my clutch. They gave me a laundry list of repairs and told me nothing was wrong with my clutch except it needed the fluid replaced. Being that I was a member of AAA and them being AAA approved, I agreed to the repairs for almost $ 800.00. Not only did they do work I didn’t authorize, but it turned out, my entire clutch needed to be replaced. After paying for a bunch of repairs that could of waited, out $ 800…I can not drive my car until I save enough money to by a clutch. A clutch was why I came in. AAA sided with the shop who stated, they never heard any sounds coming from the clutch!!! I told them when I went in it was making a grinding sound. Blown away, broke, violated, pissed and just beside myself. these guys should NOT be in business!!!

My car was overheating on Christmas Eve day while driving into SF. I had AAA tow it to CR Automotive on the recommendations of AAA. The Monday after the holiday I received a call from Darwin that my thermostat was not working. I said to go ahead and get it fixed and call me when it was done. I picked the car up about 2 PM that day and while driving back north 40 plus miles to my home, the car started to overheat again! I called and talked to Darwin the next day and he didn’t seem fazed by the outcome and or offer to make good on his work. Since I lived so far from his location and having a car that is still overheating I took it to a local shop, which took another week, two visits and a $ 509 more to identify problem. CR Automotive installed a cheap aftermarket part that was failing and didn’t test the system to see if it was working. Sending me down the road with the same problem and $ 128.49 price tag! I wouldn’t let this shop work on my lawn mower!

I have been taking our cars to CR Automotive for at least 15 years — starting with when Richard was the owner/​operator and now with Darwin and Jimmy as the owners/​operators. We’ve taken many cars there over the years — mostly Honda Civics, but also a Honda Accord, a Volvo, a Saturn and a Nissan. I was very satisfied with Richard’s service, and continue to be very satisfied with Darwin and Jimmy. I always feel they give you the «straight scoop» on the work that needs to be done, always are looking out to help reduce the costs involved, and have, on more than one occasion, done repairs on very short notice to help with a difficult situation. I feel they are hardworking and do a great job!

CR Automotive looks after my safety when they check over my car at each oil change and before I go on longer trips out of town. But even a good maintenance program does not stop the occasional malfunction of parts. When I had my fuel pump go bad the other day, which the AAA guy said was common for vehicles, AAA pulled my car from San Francisco to Mill Valley so that I could get it repaired properly at CR Automotive. Not only did they repair my car, but also they checked to make sure the system that powers my fuel pump was working properly so that I can be confident in the car being dependable again. It is good to have the people at CR Automotive to rely on for the maintenance and repair of my cars. Thank you.

I took my car in for a check engine light. They ran the computer and it said there were two O2 sensors out. I have know idea what the hell this is so I said ok fix it. It was 358 $. Surprise surprise the check engine light never went away. I came back in and they said i didn’t ask them to run a diagnostic. So either I get money back for parts only and basically give them 200 $ labor for doing nothing but letting me down, or get diagnostic done to find the problem. Basically they changed the sensors for no reason when that wasn’t even the problem. I will never go there again and I recommend just going to the dealer even if labor cost are a little more.

Got my tires changed, and they forgot do the alignment after they replaced them, so 2 of the brand new tires were worn out on one side at the following oil change (5k). Replaced again 2 tires out of 4, asked them to check the alignment and now I have again 2 tires that need to be replaced again after only 3000 miles, clearly have not been aligned. They will never see me again.

wow, the review i wrote last week was removed. .. ??? PLEASE DON’T REMOVE REVIEWS!
anyway, when i came up to mill valley from the city i asked around for a good mechanic. i started taking my car to cr automotive after the recommendation of a few friends.
i was never super confident with their work. on a couple of occasions there was something not right about my car after picking it up from them. on one occasion the lower half of my engine fell out. but yeah, the last time i had an issue with my car i brought it back to cr; (the reason why my car had fallen apart sounded reasonable, but not air tight). they said there were more oil leeks than originally diagnosed, and said that my head gasket needed to be replaced. i had them do the work. when i picked up my car a few days later, there was something terribly wrong. there was a noise that sounded almost «hollow» coming from the right side of the car. there was an incessant squealing when i drove down the street.
not trusting cr, i brought my car to marin auto works on miller st in m.v. they checked out everything and found that the manifold gasket had not been secured properly when the guys at cr had put my car back together; in order to replace the head gasket they would have had to come in contact with the manifold gasket. this is what was causing the «hollow» sound; the exhaust system wasn’t sealed. m.a.w. also fixed my back brakes (the most logical cause of the high pitched squeals), and a couple of other really important things that cr missed (there was a problem with my steering that could have gotten worse and dangerous left unchecked/​unfixed).
i would never recommend cr. i would avoid them at all costs.

I drive an old 1990 Ford Bronco, & being this old I really try to avoid spending too much on repairs/​upkeep!
I have been going to Darwin & crew for 3 years & they have always been honest & upfront, choosing to repair or use reconditioned parts before new expensive ones. Also, always warning of potential future possible risks or failures!
I live in the City but will always travel out there to have my car taken care of.

I’ve been doing the Don Quixote quest for awhile now, dreamin’ the impossible dream of finding a good car mechanic in Southern Marin that’s close enough to a bus stop that I can drop my car in the morning, catch a bus to work in SF, and take the bus back to pick it up in the evening. Long ago, when this place was owned/​run by Richard, CR Automotive was great. Some years ago Richard sold the business and now it’s not quite as reliable. For some things –general maintenance, engine work like timing belts and water pumps and so forth– these guys have been just fine.
But if it’s something big, or over a few hundred bucks, then I suggest at least getting another opinion.
Case in point: I took one of my cars to CR because I was having trouble getting the manual transmission into 1^st gear and thought the clutch might be going. They drove it and said it needed a whole new transmission. When asked how they could tell it was the transmission and not the clutch, the guy replied «experience». A new transmission would cost about $ 2500 –and several hundred more for a new clutch, which should be replaced since they were in there anyway– so I decided to check with Aamco in San Rafael. They guy at Aamco took about 30 seconds to say it was just the clutch that needed replacing and the transmission was in great shape. Clutch replaced, car works great. The scary thing is that if I had taken the advice of the «experienced» guy at CR Automotive, then my car would probably be working just as well as it does now, but I would have forked over $ 2500 more than necessary.
And so the quest continues.