FTS Auto Repair

I was initially turned onto this place for repair, as my girlfriend was looking for an honest & fair auto repair shop for her Honda.
Having not used them before we were apprehensive. They’re reviews looked pretty good all considered, and they offer service discounts through Unilocal… Great offering through Unilocal!Thanks much Nick! Well done on your Unilocal service offer discounts!
Both my girlfriend & I were impressed with the level of honesty & service, 5 stars are well deserved Nick! Thank you.

Joe And The Guys At FTS Are Great.
I Totalled My 2004 Mitsubishi Eclipse Last Week And Bought A 2003 Ford Taurus At The San Diego Auto Auction (A Fixer-​Upper!!!)
Brought The Car To Joe And They Told Me Exactly What Was Wrong. Alignment, Passenger Rear Mirror Was Falling Off, Transmission And Oil Pans
Needed Repair, And The Part That Holds The Battery Needed Replacement. All For Under $ 1500!!! Nuff Said!!!
Thanks Joe And FTS!!!

I just moved here from Texas and after parking my truck over night, I awoke to a puddle of fluid underneath. I assumed the fluid was from the transmission so I took it to a nationwide transmission shop near me. I was told that it was coolant from a blown head gasket and for $ 2,500 they could fix it. That didn’t sit well with me so I wanted a second opinion. I chose FTS after reading positive reviews on Unilocal and I couldn’t be happier. Joe and his team found that my problem was actually a bad water pump and had me back on the road in a few hours for thousands less than I would have paid for work I didn’t need. Awesome shop! They are the only place I will bring my cars here in San Diego. If you want a trustworthy shop that will shoot you straight, FTS is that shop!

My battery seemed to be on its last legs and I wanted to check it out before I ended up with a car that would not start. I stopped in at FTS Auto Repair and they quickly tested the battery, showed me the report, and replaced my battery while I waited. Joe was very helpful and gave me the $ 25 Unilocal discount. I have been looking for a trustworthy auto repair shop that is open on Saturday and I think I just found one.

I went to FTS Auto based on positive Unilocal reviews and canceled my appointment with Firestone. The customer service «Joe» was very friendly. The wait was reasonable for the work performed without an appointment. It was an overall pleasant experience. I am going back next week for a gasket repair. I highly recommend FTS Auto

Affordable, fast, great mechanics!!! Thank you Nick & team for making our experience smooth sailing … Highly recommended for any car problems

You know how your car always seems to break at the worst times? Well I dropped my husband off for deployment and was headed home to get on a flight and that’s when my car chose to die on the highway, needless to say I was panicked. However within my first call to Nick at FTS auto I felt completely at ease. The guys are so understanding of budgets & life circumstances, very fast and efficient with services and above all-​HONEST which is very rare with mechanics. I never felt pressured to get more work done, they knew my budget and told me honestly that if the fix was more than my car was worth they would tell me so I wouldn’t waste my money. The customer service is above and beyond at this place and I have already recommended them to everyone I know who needs auto work. Very thankful I stumbled upon this place and I’ll be using them faithfully for the rest of my time in San Diego!

Awesome job in finding out the issue with my Explorer. Great job by Nick and his team! Thank you!!!

I’ve been going to FTS several years now. Nick did me a great service that I’m forever grateful. You get what you pay for. This place is highly recommended. Thank you Nick and the mechanics who worked on my car.

Fast Quick and easy, and very affordable, Nick had me in and out in minuits not hours as i was expecting, very professional and knowledgeable, will be back, you have a customer for life. They are quite simply as good as it gets
Graham

Finding a good auto mechanic can be one of the toughest tasks for a consumer these days. Thankfully, if you look hard enough and long enough you’ll find shops like FTS. They seem like the type of business who’s been doing it right from day one: with high quality work at reasonable prices and who run their business with honesty and integrity.
I found these guys here on Unilocal and decided to give them a whirl after reading all of these other stellar reviews. I wasn’t disappointed.
I was having issues with the front suspension on my 2006 Toyota Matrix. Nick checked me in and asked what I needed. I described the issue with the suspension and he discussed possible causes with me. When pressed as to how much these different issues might cost to fix, he was very diplomatic and said that they would take a look at the issue first before giving me any prices. But at no time did I feel like I was about to be taken to the cleaners. I also requested an oil change and a tire rotation. He said they would also do a 60 point safety inspection as well.
After inspecting the car, he called me back to let me know that the front shocks were in fact in need of replacement, but that the noise that I was hearing was due to one of the top bearing plates being damaged and also needed replacing. He said that a wheel alignment would be necessary as well. He quoted me a price for the shock replacement, top bearing plate replacement, wheel alignment, oil change and rear brake adjustment that was very reasonable. And they had my car ready in about 4 hours.
Nick didn’t try to upsell me on anything. He didn’t offer to change my air cabin filter (an $ 8 part that most shops charge $ 25 to change because it’s so easy to do), he didn’t offer me a fuel system flush or replace my windshield wipers. In the past, if a shop tried to sell me on any of these services, I didn’t return.
Looking forward to coming back. I think I’ve found my new mechanic.

FTS valued my business. On my last visit I went in for an oil change. I’ve been to many mechanics for oil changes with my 2003 Toyota Solara. I’ve had mechanics: break off screws without replacing them which they’ve blamed on rust, being upsold $ 90+ at a normal oil change, having scheduled oil changes take over 1 hour.
When I went to FTS they were fast, honest, and reasonable priced. They did an evaluation of my car and told me what needed to be repaired in the future, but it wasn’t urgent. I felt comfortable in the lobby, and I didn’t feel any sales pressure. I was so thankful to be treated with honesty from my mechanics. I definitely recommend FTS Auto for oil changes and your car care needs!

I’ve come here repeatedly for oil changes. I have an old car so usually people try to tell me that my car is falling apart. They do a great job at balancing importance of repair for me so I don’t break the bank. They answer all of my questions so well, even with hand drawn visuals. I recently had to convert my old air conditioning system and they gave me a great deal. I always leave satisfied. Definitely recommend.

My son took his new (to him) 1970 Ford Galaxie there this week for some repairs and we couldn’t be happier to have found them. They were professional, courteous and took the time to answer our questions before and after the repairs. We will definitely be back!

I love FTS because I can trust them.
That’s a big thing for me when going to see a mechanic, especially for the first time. They have the most incredible reviews and I got a glowing referral for their services. They lived up to ALL the hype.
I went in for an oil change and I got a no-​nonsense assessment of what needed to be done and when. They didn’t try to oversell me or get me to fix things that weren’t in need of repair. I really appreciate that!
They also worked quickly and got me in with little notice and completed my service before the estimated time.
I will definitely be back to FTS, in fact, I have my other car scheduled for this week. :)

I had an emergency issue today with my Lincoln MKX and needed the vehicle to be looked at as soon as possible, my friend who also takes his vehicle to FTS referred me to them, he gets his vehicle maintenance and any work done at their shop all the time.
Well, the emergency issue was all my lights/​sensors came on for airbags, tire error and an ODO error came on and my vehicle went into a weird mode of feeling like I was in 5^th gear trying to drive. Well, I had to call AAA to tow my car to FTS and not only was Nick able to get my vehicle looked at today, they were also able to fix the problem today as well. They were awesome and I definitely know that I will take my vehicle there for any other work/​maintenance that I might need. I highly recommend them to anyone looking for vehicle servicing!

These guys rock! I highly recommend them since they are honest mechanics that have always treated me fairly.

BE WARNED!!! THIS IS NOT THE PLACE TO EVER TAKE YOUR CAR!!!
I started using FTS years ago at the recommendation of a friend. He stopped using them, but never told me or shared the reason why. Since I live in North County and much of my extended family lives in Clairemont, I recommended they use FTS. Now, I’m the kinda of guy that knows a little bit about repairing the basics… brake job, alternator, radiator, etc. However, I would not attempt to change out the engine in a car. My son threw a rod, so he needed a new engine. Because of his situation, I recommended he buy a certified used engine. Of course FTS sold him on a new engine anyway. It took them over 6 weeks to complete the job. A few days after he finally got the car back the engine started making a lot of noise. He was in North County, so he had his car towed to my mechanic to take a look. Turns out my son bought a rebuilt engine NOT a new engine…(there’s a label under the engine indicating same). He took the car back to FTS and they rebuilt the head at no charge, but it took them another 10 days! My mechanic said FTS charged double what he would have charged for the engine job, and that it should have only taken a few days to a week. The car has been fine running fine ever since.
Another family member took her car to FTS numerous times over the last few years. Each time they found many problems in addition to the original one. She complained that they always under quote the final charge by hundreds of dollars, and that the job is never completed when promised. My mechanics shop is too far away and that’s why she continued to use FTS. After my son’s fiasco with the engine replacement, my family now takes their cars to a Unilocal 5 Star shop and have had much improved service.
I DO NOT RECOMMEND UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!!!

This place has nice customers service but they are not trust worthy.
I came in for brake check up. They were kind and helped me out. They quoted me for all new brakes and totaling out to $ 700. That is a ridiculous price and he also offer financing for 6 months. I left and went to midas. After inspection I only need rear brakes and they quoted me for $ 139.
Always get a second opinion and quote. If I didn’t I would have been robbed by fts!

They wanted to charge me $ 2400 for a blown gasket… well, so they said it was blown in my 11 yr old Ford Taurus that my stepson drives. I am thinking, the car is probably worth that much so I better get a second opinion. I went to another shop for a quote. They performed a test in front of me which indicated that the gasket was fine. Also, they said before the test that if this needs repair, it will cost about $ 1500, NOT $ 2400…btw, it was radiator that needed work… seriously? Just because I am a woman don’t you think that I am that dumb…
Enough said. I am not going back there again and if I could I would put negative five stars.