European Automotive Center

Well, What can I say, I’ve only been coming here for the past 12 years, and Armando takes care of me like family. I never have to worry about anything, he is very honest, reliable and trustworthy mechanic/​auto shop person.
I have recommended him to a lot of my friends, they are all very grateful for me.
Thank you EAC and Armando for taking such good care of my cars and my friends cars.

I recently moved to Poway and was in need of a repair shop. I first took my Mercedes GLK 350 here to get service A done (since my car is waaaayy past warranty with 150,000 miles on it) and my break light repaired. Armando and his team are fantastic. They’re efficient and honest. Since my car has a lot of miles on it, they took the time to thoroughly inspect it and make sure everything was okay.
They called before they started any of the work to let me know the status of the car. My suspension will need replacing in the future, and rather than try and sell me on how I need to do it now — they let me know that it wasn’t a big emergency so to save up the cash and they can do it later. I really appreciated that since most places will make you feel like your car is going to explode the minute you drive away if you don’t make the repair right then and there.
While waiting on the part for my brake light to arrive, I had to leave to go up to Orange County for a wedding, Armando and his team were more than happy to lock my car up in a garage for the weekend and let me pick it up that Monday morning!
About two and a half weeks later I was hearing a strange noise in my car like something was rolling around when I made a turn. I called the front office and they set me up with an appointment right away, no questions asked, and made sure the person Simon, who serviced my car two weeks earlier was there to inspect and see what was going on. I dropped my car off on a Monday morning and they offered free shuttle service to work (but luckily my husband was available to drive me!). They took apart my car and checked everything to try and locate the strange noise. Low and behold it was a cosmetic part rolling around in my console and I was good to go. Armando was kind enough to wait for me to get there to pick up my car at 6pm and didn’t charge me for the time it took for his guys to search my car. Now that’s some great service!
Bottom line, my car is like my kid and I trust this place with it. Good honest people doing a honest job and now I recommend them to all my friends!

Now that IAN is gone I might have to find a new place. He was excellent but no longer there.

I’m incredibly disappointed in Poway’s European Automotive Center. I took a Land Rover to them for a Pre-​Purchase Inspection (~$ 109) to see what problems the car had before I bought it.
It was incredibly difficult to get them to email me the inspection report because the manager was out and I guess they can’t email without their manager? Absurd. I needed the report because I was trying to buy the car the next day and they made it very difficult for me to get.
The inspection report they gave me was essentially useless and lacking in detail. I wasn’t sure whether they had even really checked the car. Sure enough, I bought the car and upon driving it home, the car overheated on the highway. I also immediately noticed a ton of other obvious issues with the car that were not mentioned on the inspection report. For example, the report made no mention of the fact that the headliner of the car was coming down, that the trunk did not open, that the bumper was cracked in many places, that one of the lights was out, that the car was overheating, that the windshield wiper nozzles didn’t spray, etc.
I relied on this company to let me know whether the car I was about to purchase was in good condition. They said it was great condition, so I bought it. And clearly they didn’t check it closely or it would have been obvious that there were a ton of issues.

Misdiagnosed car problem, overcharged for everything. I ended up going elsewhere for my repair. Not going back.

I took my cars there for years and had friendly and good service. I stopped going after the following incident but it may be my fault. I had an 1998 SUV that I was keeping going and its battery died on my wife and I had it towed to European. I got a call to approve the work, which was around $ 550 to replace the alternator. I approved it. I picked up the car and came home and then checked mainstream online parts suppliers: rebuilt alternators with new cores ran $ 75 everywhere but I was charged $ 450 for the part. I called European and they explained that they only use OEM parts and that alternator OEM is really that expensive. So this is really my fault because I did approve the fix. That said, I’m not a mechanic and I expect my mechanic to explain my options. If they knew I could have saved $ 375 for a part on an older car I’m just trying to keep going, I would have wanted to know that. It was enough for me, a longtime customer of 6 years, to look for a new mechanic.

its a nice place, people are warm and helpful, did a good job with my Audi, all in all, highly recommended as compared to the dealerships (they’re just a rip off)

Just purchased a 2008 Audi. Gave the shop a try and was very pleased with the price. The mechanics who worked on it where great and explained the work done. I will be A long time customer

Top Rate Service! I have been going to European Auto for a couple of years now, but Ian and the team took what could have been, and personally seemed like a catastrophic engine issue, into a manageable repair. Although my car was out of service for 7 ½ weeks, thru no fault of theirs, they provided me with a loner car and tirelessly looked for a replacement head for my 525 BMW. And even rejected one, which I have no doubt a less reputable repair shop would have convinced me to take. They kept me informed and worked with me on the ever rising cost of repairs. I have my baby back and will definitely recommend them to anyone! Thank You!

I have been with them since 2002. Honest trustworthy and friend for life thanks Armando and Ian

Only place I take my Volvo. Always do a great job and are always friendly. With an older car that keeps needed repairs it seems as though I’ve become a regular. Only negative of this shop is the wait times. But with European auto consistently being jam packed with business, it’s understandable.

These guys are great… Responsive, honest, low cost and thorough. I’ve taken a few cars here, from my M3 to my gf’s C300, and leave satisfied every time.

Waiting 2 hours for a required smog test is unacceptable, though they might throw you a $ 10 bone and car wash to make up for the wait.

Went there for front brakes for my Ford Truck (Front brakes including rotors). Estimate = $ 800 (I paid my $ 60 fee to have them look at it and left). Went to Perry Ford estimate = $ 500 ($ 0 for them to look at it). Finally went to the local Meineke and they did the job for $ 444. Honestly, need I say more?

First of all, customer service is second to none which makes writing this review easy. I’ve taken my Land Rover LR4 there several times for routine maintenance with no issues whatsoever. The first time was for an oil change and in the middle of services they contacted me stating that there is such a big difference in the last model LR3 and my LR4. They mentioned that they had to go to Land Rover to pick up a part and my cost for the service never increased.
They’ve got a client for life… matter fact I need to schedule my brake service.

I highly recommend this shop to get your car repaired! Ian and Armando are so nice, honest and accommodating! We have had several Mercedes for over 25 years and my husband always preferred going to the dealer for repair work. I started coming here several years ago after a couple very frustrating visits to 2 different local Mercedes dealers, including the one I bought my current car from! I have been so pleased with their welcoming customer service attitude, their honesty and upfront prices! I recommend them for ANY car repair or service you need!

I took my BMW in a few days ago to have some lighting issues investigated. The guys working there seemed knowledgeable. I showed up without an appointment and the work was still done in just a few hours and they even picked me up right away when I asked for it. They replaced 3 parts and solved the problems beautifully, and only charged me for the quote plus parts, which was much cheaper than I expected.
Took off 1 star only because I didn’t receive a call when the car was ready, and had to call them to ask after 4PM which makes me feel like if I hadn’t called when I did then I would have had to pick it up the following day which would’ve meant another missed day of work.
I would definitely use them again.

I’ve had my 2000 BMW 540i serviced at this shop many times over the past several years and the mechanics do a great job. I’ve never had a problem with any of the mechanical work done to my car. Ian, the service manager is excellent! He’s actually a big reason why I continue to bring my car here for servicing. He is honest and tells me what I need to take care of now, and what is something that can wait. We also own an older Mercedes ML320 and the shop has done all the mechancial work on that vehicle. Ian is pleasant and knowledgable and I feel that my car is in excellent hands when I leave it there to be serviced. I highly recommend this shop.
Cindy

My car broke down twice in one day. It was too late to go to a mechanic, so I called this place very early and they were super nice. I got my car towed there. I told them I knew there were a lot of things wrong with it, but just let me know what the main problem is. So, they told me the problem and fixed. Unlike most repair places, they would try to get as much money as you can out of you. I didn’t feel like that at all with this place. They fixed the one thing, and then they ran some tests and figured out what else I needed to have done. Just so I knew. I really appreciate their professionalize, and their honesty. Using them from now ON!

My search for someone listed as registered to a Brake and Light inspection for DMV, brought me here. Seems a bit upscale and prices reflected that. But everything went well. Nice sitting area while I waited.