Chris’s Auto Smog & Repair Center

Chris and Team were amazing. After our fuel pump went out on our way to Mexico they quickly got us in to diagnose what was going on. They were very up front on pricing and were very fair with their labor. When it turned out to be a more than a few hours work they lent us their minivan (!!!) so we could make our deadlines at an orphanage we were fixing up in Mexico. They went above and beyond to keep me posted while in Mexico and they opened up on Sunday to deliver us our car, it was running beautifully and made it successfully all the way back to Salt Lake City. This is good old fashioned, human centered business. Highly recommend them!

All I can say is «Thank you!» To Chris’s! I had the unfortunate issue of having stopped on the road outside of In&Out to run in a grab something and when I came out my Jeep wouldn’t start. My wife was at work ~20 miles away and couldn’t come pick me up. I was trying to figure out how I was going to arrange a tow when I remembered I had seen a garage in the parking lot. I figured I’d give it a shot without any real expectations. WOW! I was incredibly lucky. They were able to walk over to my Jeep, give it a jump and pull it into the garage. Within 10 minutes of me being there, they had checked everything and determined it was just the battery had gone bad. Unfortunately for me, the lady behind the desk told me they didn’t have my battery in stock, but they could have it shipped. Great, I’m thinking– now I’ll have to leave my Jeep and find a ride home. Then she says, it should be here in 45 minutes! Needless to say I was surprised! In all reality, it only took 15 — so within 30 minutes of having my Jeep die, I was back on the road like new! Their prices were amazing as well! I highly recommend Chris’s and they have made a long term customer out of me. I will certainly be back for my maintenance needs!

Great service and trustworthy! A friend referred me to them after bringing her car in countless times. Their prices are so reasonable. I had been quoted over $ 300 to fix my rear shocks and they were able to do it for $ 180. They show and explain everything and tell you what needs to be fixed now and what can wait. I won’t go anywhere else now.

I was referred to Chris’s auto by several different people and I am so glad that I took their advice. Not only did they repair my car but Chris and his wife went out of their way to accommodate me. I highly recommend their services and will go back for future needs.

$ 45 for smog check with the certificate. It’s probably the best deal I found after calling several smog check places. It is sort hidden behind the IN-​N-​Out, but it’s worth the find if you want to save some money on smog check (most places are least $ 50 or higher). I came on a Saturday morning and there was no wait. It took about 30 minutes. The waiting area is very small so you may not have a spot to sit on a busy day. Overall it’s decent and they get the job done.

This is the BEST mechanic I’ve been to! They have great affordable rates and I always feel like I’m «in the know» with what is wrong with my car… and I’m not a car person! They take the time to make sure I understand what needs to be done (and why!!) and they have always honest. My boyfriend used to work on cars and has backed up everything they had told me. It’s great, as a girl, to go to a place and know that I am in good hands! Chris and Terri are awesome and welcoming and when I’m waiting there I get to play with their adorable doggie mascot! What more could you want! Thanks so much you guys, I’ll be coming back for sure!

We have been going to Chris’s auto since 2007. Terry is great explaining what is going on and calling to confirm work. Chris shows you what’s going on with your car and doesn’t recommend unnecessary work. A few weeks ago the work on our engine took longer than expected and they helped us out with transportation. Good people and good service.

*** BE AWARE***
Brought in my own oil for oil change and paid $ 15 labor. I brought Royal Purple for oil change. It is an expensive high performance oil. It is a dark purple no doubt.
They took my $ 50 oil I brought & gave me some of their cheap 99 cent oil.
DISHONEST
Now I have to go buy another $ 50 bottle of oil. Who knows what they put in here. Chicken grease?
$ 115 just to change my own oil.
*** DO NOT TRUST*** !
They stole my expensive high performance oil & gave me their cheap in house 99 cent oil.
Yelled at me to get out here or she’ll call the cops. –WTF?!
Update:
Moreover, get this… they tell me my oil is leaking at the timing belt & it’ll cost $ 600.
Get out of here. My car is brand new. Took to my actual mechanic & there is nothing leaking anywhere. He even changed their oil out & put mine in for free.
Dishonest… read other reviews. It’s their style. –Avoid.

I was really pleased with my experience here. I had a problem with what I thought was my break pads– according to the dealership. The dealership was going to charge me $ 650– but I wanted a second opinion so I came here. Turned out I only need the front two break pads replaced-​opposed to all 4(which was what the dealership said) — and they gave me a free tire rotation. Very friendly and affordable. So happy I was recommended to come here! I will definitely be coming back for any car maintenance I need.

My go to guys for 12 years now. I have had Porsches, BMW’s, and now 2 Mercedes-​Benz they keep alive for me. Chris and his staff are good, honest mechanics. I highly recommend, and most of my friends and family continue to use them! They can fix anything!

I went here to get a smog check. The price was reasonable around $ 45 for the check and certificate. However, they claimed that my car passed the emissions test but failed something called a functional test because they could not read the onboard diagnostics system from my car. I took my car to another shop and they said that everything was ok, so I ended up having to pay for two separate smog checks. It ended up causing me a lot of extra trouble. Don’t take your car here unless you want to get cheated!!!

This place says that they only charge 14.99 for an oil change so I figured I would try it out. I was hoping they could look at my blinker as well because it wasn’t working and I needed help… They needed charging me another 5 dollars because they needed to change some part that the oil goes in so it was actually 19.99 and they wanted to charge me 40 dollars to just look at my light. This is frustrating because I could have gone somewhere else and paid 19.99 for a oil change and they would have least looked at my light for free! This place is a joke and I’m super unsatisfied! The woman at the front counter wasn’t very nice either!!! I highly recommend you go somewhere else!!!

Go somewhere else. There are plenty of auto repair services available in this area. Took my car in for a smog check and oil change. Passed smog, no issues. Two days later check engine light came on. Took it back in to see if they could run a diagnostic to figure out what caused it. The lady behind the counter was rude and told me that she was ould not provide the service because I made it sound like it was their technicians fault. I waited on the owner Chris to show up and was told again that it was not their fault. He told me, «If you go to the doctor because you are sick, get better, then go home and get sick again, is it the doctors fault?»
I went to the Econolube next door and was greeted by a friendly technician who ran the diagnostic and cleared the fault for free. Needless to say do not go to Chriss Automotive.

My family have been taking their cars to Chris for over 10 years now. I don’t know much about cars and pretty much go with the suggested maintenance that is suggested by them. Last time my wife took her car in she was told it needed new rear brake pads car is only 2 years old with 45,000 miles I thought this sounded strange and told her to hold off on it. They insisted if not changed her rotors would be ruined in 2 weeks. Took the car to a friends house who is mechanically inclined a couple of weeks later. He inspected the pads and told me they had about 40,000 miles or a couple years left on them. This made me very upset they tried to scare my wife into spending $ 150 on something that didn’t need to be done. I’m not sure how much money they have stolen from us in the past but we will not be going to this place again. Losing a customer of 10 years over $ 150 does not seem like good business to me.

My check engine light went on in my car. I called a couple places finding out basic information. The person who answered the phone did not speak good English and was not easy to understand. I immediately gave up and moved to the next place. They might have great service and great prices, but I will never know because I couldn’t understand the person on the phone. Just an FYI to management.

We’ve been going here for like 5 or 6 years.
Found the place to begin with as we needed a smog check and we were hooked.
It’s right off the 5, back through the parking lot of the Pacific Beach In ‘n Out. Sometimes the lot back there is packed, sometimes it’s easy to park. They can get super busy too. You can always call and see when they might have time for your car.
If it’s a smog check, make sure you get there with plenty of time to get it done, I’d call in advance to find out how long it takes.
When you walk in, you will probably see Terri at the desk, she’s a pretty happy person, always making us laugh. She can get super busy with the phones and managing the flow of place, but she always helps people out as soon as she can. She knows a lot about cars and will give you a rough idea of how long it’s going to take to do whatever you came in for.
They have a couch, two chairs, magazines and a water cooler inside (it’s not a huge waiting area) or outside there is a bench that faces the office or take a short walk to In ‘n Out or 7 – 11 or something. If you need a lot of car stuff done, there is a car rental place a few blocks away.
Everyone we have dealt with here is super friendly. They all know so much and Terri will explain it to you in detail about what is up and if there is something that concerns them about it and why maybe you should think about fixing it at some time, but they never imply you have to fix it right then (well, maybe if something is seriously wrong with your car and it’s not safe or not operating). If you need details they will answer any specific questions. Just ask them.
They want you to know about your car so you can take care of it and keep it running well. Like anything, if you don’t take care of it, one day you are going to have to get a lot fixed all at once.

DON’T GO HERE!!!
I went in for their oil change special. When I went in to pick up my car, they started frantically telling me about all the leaks my car has, all the cracks it has. Just trying to get business. I have one small leak. When I park I have like 3 drops on the cardboard if I’m parking on a nice driveway. They went heavy into all this work I needed, and I should get it fixed immediately. DON’T TRUST ANYTHING THEY SAY!!!

Turns out they didn’t know how to smog my car as it is slightly different than most. Didn’t even try to work with me, just kept telling me how much more how much more how much more…
Not going back.

I was totally ready to come home and give this place a horrible review. Honestly I picked this place because of the price. It is not a «only pay if you pass» place but it was the cheapest that I found in the area, $ 36.
I called to get a quote earlier in the day and the person had a heavy accent and tried to carry on 3 conversations at once while I was waiting, very confused, on the phone wondering if she was talking to me. I decided to go thinking it was the cheapest, and I could grab lunch at in n out while I wait.
I ended up standing at the front counter for 5 minutes before I was even acknowledged. Yes, they were standing right there talking.
When I came to pick up my car they told me a couple things that I should take a look at fixing. There was no pressure to get me to fix them there, it was just a little fyi. The woman also told me my hair was really pretty.
Overall, they got the job done and the price was decent for something no one really wants to have to pay for.

Wow!
I am super surprised about the one star ratings… I have been going to this mechanic for over seven years since my previous mechanic retired. I can’t say enough good things about Chris’s Auto Services. For the past seven years, my father, grandmother, brother and husband all bring in their cars to Chris for service.
My brother and I drive newer cars so we take our cars in for regular Mobile One Synthetic Oil Changes.
My father, grandmother and husband drive older cars (Toyota 4-​Runner, Corolla and Ford Taurus) and every repair they have ever needed, Chris has done amazing work.
Possible «Cons» With Chris’s Auto…
1.) Note: When you call Chris’s Auto, the receptionist (woman) that usually answers the phone has a pretty thick accent, but don’t let the accent fool you – she is extremely knowledgeable, smart, personable and AMAZING. She knows more about cars that people Midas working in the garage.
2.) Location: I don’t like Pacific Beach… the area in which they are located, I completely see how it would attract some INTERESTING (SEEDY) people. My family and I much prefer to do business in the community in which we live, but we’re so happy with the service we get from Chris’s Auto, we’re willing to travel.
The Pros…
1.) They are honest – they do excellent work on foreign and domestic cars. Chris, the owner, know more about BMWs than any other mechanic in San Diego. Period.
2.) Price– they are extremely comparable to other local mechanics and you get quality work (as good as or better than the dealer) but for much less of a price.
3.) Turn Around– Our car gets fixed in a very timely manner.
4.) Customer Service– Willingness to Explain You Car’s Situation and Consulting/​Troubleshooting to Meet the Needs of my Car! Working with them is second to none. They use quality parts, everyone that works there goes way above and beyond.
The guys that work in the garage are extremely knowledgeable, sincere, honest and AMAZING, too. I am thoroughly shocked about, and not to mention, in complete disagreement with the people who only rated this business one star. I hope that they stay in business for long time as I will not take my car for service nor purchase a new car without the help Chris.