Smitty’s Service

San Diego, United States

4.4

Open now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 619-281-7722
Website:
smittysservice.net
Address:
3441 Adams Ave, San Diego, CA, 92116
b/t Hawley Blvd & Mansfield St
Normal Heights
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
1.1 miFenton Parkway
1.2 miQualcomm Stadium
1.3 miMission San Diego
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Bussiness info

Accepts Credit Cards
Yes

Today

Today 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Open now
Local time (San Diego) 13:08 Thursday, 19 June 2025

Business hours

Monday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Tuesday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Wednesday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Thursday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Friday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday –
Sunday –

Description

Specialties

Smitty’s Service is San Diego’s oldest family-​run automotive repair and maintenance facility.

We invest in highly trained technicians, provide quality parts and back our work with San Diego’s best warranty. We’re so confident of the quality of our work, we offer a 2 year, unlimited mileage warranty! We also have a 2 year, 24, 000 mile nationwide warranty through TECH-​NET that covers you when you travel.

History

Established in 1945.

When Smitty first opened the shop he was just as likely to shoe your horse as he was to fix your car! He established a reputation of honesty and reliability that is carried on by his grandson Mike Magers. Mike’s so confident of the quality of their work, he offers a 2 year, unlimited mileage, nation-​wide warranty! Providing dependable maintenance and repair requires knowledgeable technicians that are ASE certified. That’s only part of the equation. Smitty technicians have been here an average of twelve years. Happy people giving your car love for nearly 70 years.

Serving San Diego since 1945, including North Park, Normal Heights, Hillcrest, City Heights, Clairemont Mesa, Kearny Mesa, Mid-​City, Kensington, and University Heights.

Meet the Business Owner

Mike M.

Business Owner

Mike Magers lives in Normal Heights where he raised his three kids. Smitty’s Service is in the heart of Normal Heights. Mike earned a degree in business at San Diego State University and later in Transportation Technology at Cuyamaca College. He is an ASE certified Master Technician and is certified with the CTI Technical Institute for Hybrid repair.

Being blessed with an established auto shop in San Diego, Mike had time to assemble the perfect team. He feels that people make the difference between a good business and a bad business. The technological revolution in the automotive industry meant Mike needed to emphasize education and information systems. All these changes were made while community service has remained a Smitty priority.

You will find him at Smitty’s every day doing his best to live up to his Grandfather’s legacy. Say «Hi» when you’re in next.

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Normal Heights
Adams Ave & Hawley Blvd

20 reviews of Smitty’s Service

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Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
A lot of mechanics have fake, 5 star Unilocal reviews, but you should note that Smitty’s doesn’t need fake reviews. I’m a real person, and I’m writing an actual review. Got a new timing belt on my Civic here (not the S2000 that’s in my picture but sadly with me no more). It was a fine experience. I came all the way from Poway because a friend and San Diego native recommended Smitty’s. Worth the trip! Besides, there’s not a lot to do on a weekend in Poway, particularly if your car’s in the shop.
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
Thank you Smitty’s for the Fast and Excellent service! I took my Black Ford Ranger after having 4 different mechanics check it and tell me it would be over $ 2,000 to get it fixed but they had no idea what the issue was until they got under the hood. WTF! I took it to Smitty’s on a Thursday evening handed over the key’s to Guisseppe (Joe) and he called me Friday first thing in the morning told me what the issue was and provided me a quote. 1 Hour later the office guy calls me back and gives me a lower better quote!!! I Almost cried took me about 6 months to get it fixed and it was done in 1 day and I got tires also WORD!!! Special shout out to Guisseppe for the extra time he put in to my truck! THANK YOU AS WELL TO THE WHOLE SMITTY’S CREW FOR GIVING MY MY ZIGGY LIFE AGAIN! I have and will continue to recommend you! Forever your Loyal customer
Place rating: 1
San Diego, CA
****Stay away from this place unless you want to get ripped off!!! ****Took my car in to get a new battery and diagnostic check and neither were done. Old battery was left in the car and I was stranded on Labor Day weekend without a car. When I returned the car on Monday to get the battery I paid for the staff and owner didn’t seem to care that I was inconvenienced on a long weekend. No compensation for their poor customer service. Furthermore, the owner even admitted that this happened 5 times before! Got my $ 30 diagnostic charge back but nothing for leaving me stranded all weekend without a car. My husband had problems with them too and now going to shop down the street. No more Smittys bs for us.
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
New to the Normal Heights area, we were referred to Smitty’s by a neighbor, and I’m so glad for that. Helpful, able to fix all issues for my son’s older Nissan pickup, reasonable cost for services, friendly.
And, the next day, when I needed to limp my daughter’s car to Costco a few miles away, because one of her new tires from Costco was nearly flat — Smitty’s staff cheerfully helped me — inflated that tire so it wouldn’t be ruined. Great shop!
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
Long time customer 30 years now and I still Trust and take my cars to Smitty’s. 1990 Dodge Dakota had 3 different friends tell me it was a computer problem. I Finally took it to Smitty’s where they told me the same thing but the problem was they could not find a working match to fix my truck. A few weeks later they found a match. The call was a Shock. They told me your truck is fixed and ready to go. I thought my bill would be a $$$$$$ but they Shocked me again. I left as Happy as can be. My truck is not all that but they sure made me feel as if I were driving a Hummer truck. TRUST /​GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE /​AS GOOD AS IT GETS !
Damian Ayala
Normal Heights resident for 30 years.
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
Exceptional service, friendly staff, and fair pricing. My car started acting up and a friend suggested this place, recommended to him by a physician we both worked for that’s been coming here for years. Anyway, I called and got a quote for diagnostic on my car, they gave me a fair and reasonable price but the shopper in me decided to call around. I called a local Dodge dealer that told me they would diagnosis the problem for free. So of course I decided to go with the dealer, you cannot beat «free». Well needless to say I got there to drop off my car and «free» became 130 dollars, 1st 30min are free. Well I decided just to leave it and let them diagnosis. Got the call after several hours. guess they needed me to believe they spent more then 30 minutes. I was going to cost $ 622 before taxes. Well I let them do the one thing it needed to get my car back on the road and ran, ran fast.
Called Smitty’s and told them what the dealer recommended. They quoted me a ¼ of what the dealer did.
Needless, to say I took my car to Smitty’s for the additional repairs and maintenance along with a few additional things and still left paid less then a 1⁄3 of what the dealer wanted to charge.
Smitty’s had my car back to me within the business day purring like it was new. I will go back to this place for ALL my car needed and would recommend them to everyone. This is the first mechanic shop I didn’t feel like I was getting robbed or up sold at.
THANK YOU Smitty’s.
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
Smitty’s has been on the end of my street as long as I’ve lived in NH for close to a decade. Only this year have I discovered what a gem of a shop they are! I went in for some service earlier this year and discovered that they are an honest, no pressure shop. They even discovered some service that Bob Baker Ford had charged me for and never performed. The job they ‘re-​did’ came in at a fraction of what the dealer charged even with OEM parts. They have always come back with honest quotes and don’t bat an eye if you prefer to skip some items so long as it is safe. They treat you like a person and not an opportunity to make money in the short term.
This past visit I needed a new starter and had some questions about some previous recommendations and an upcoming smog. Instead of taking advantage of this anxiety and fixing things preemptively they used their experience and recommended that I perform the smog first and come back if I did not pass so they had a list of «must-​fix items.» That kind of honesty is what I have come to value as a customer.
I will never take my truck anywhere else if I can avoid it. Mike and his team clearly get what it means to provide quality service, which is so rare in their industry. Cheers to Smitty’s!
Place rating: 5
Monrovia, CA
Exceptional customer service, rapid-​fire repairs that don’t break the bank, and a truly unique vibe that really draws you in, this family owned and operated Normal Heights gem is helping me get over my phobia of car problems. I’ll definitely be bringing my car back the next time anything goes wrong. These guys are the best!
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
We’ve had two more visits to Smitty’s, both for the required follow up oil changes after our engine replacement. Each time, the staff is incredibly helpful and thorough. Today, when simply doing an oil change, the mechanic noticed that our SUV might have a bad wheel bearing, something that had nothing to do with the service being performed. Super impressive, especially considering the tire place that replaced our tires last week didn’t notice. Scary!
Remember way back when when mechanics cared about your safety, not the bottom line? That’s Smitty’s in a nutshell. Bravo to Mike and each one of your team members!!!
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
Three times in a row I’ve been blown away by Smittys! Mike and the rest of staff can show many other businesses a thing or three about customer service! Hands down thee best experience ever for auto service.
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
Trustworthy mechanics are tough to find. Look no further cause these guys are legit. Always the friendliest and helpful service, and their prices are very fair and reasonably priced. Very happy with this place and would highly recommend to others.
Place rating: 5
Lemon Grove, San Diego, CA
I was first introduced to smitty’s by my brother who just loves these guys. I had an issue with my truck not passing smog. I had been trying to find out what was wrong with my truck for 8 months. I had taken it to 4 places including the dealership and almost $ 2000 later I still had the same issue. Turned out to be the evap system. Smitty’s had it taken care of and fixed within a few hours. What I like about these guys is not only do they do what’s needed they don’t try to get me to get extra and unneeded work done on my truck, like most shops when they see a lady. There straight direct and to the point. Now I know why my brother recommended smitty’s because there great mechanics and they are a great bunch of men that make me feel great about taking my truck to them. Thank you smitty’s for your amazing service!
Place rating: 1
San Diego, CA
I came to Smitty’s to have a Interstate Batterie checked out to see if it was charged. The clerk told me some BS about a procedure that was going to cost me $ 35 bucks just to see if was charged. I told him the batterie was sitting in my back seat but he insisted on charging me! I took it to Chief Auto and they checked it for free no hassle. I’m calling Interstate parent company to complain :(
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
Love these guys. Trust them to give you the straight story and not charge you for things you don’t need. I won’t be seeing them as much for a while for certain kinds of service, ’cause my new Jeep is still in warranty, but you’ll see me there for oil changes and stuff like that. For anyone in Normal Heights or Kensington, it is a drop and walk back home kind of thing.
Place rating: 1
San Diego, CA
Only one star because there is no option for 0… awful service, unnecessary repairs… it all started 9 months ago with a simple brake repair. As soon as we picked up the car, the check engine light came on. We went back into Smitty’s just to be recommended more and more repairs — oxygen sensor, fuel pump… hundreds of dollars later the car is still not fixed properly and we are having to go to the dealership to take care of the problem, which turns out is still a brake issue!!! Wish we had never gone. Do not waste your money going there!!!
Place rating: 5
Tracy, CA
My wife and I were here visiting our son and our front brakes started making terrible noises. I wanted to get them fixed before getting back on the road for an eight hour ride home. Tim said that he used this shop and was very satisfied. I called them at seven and they said they could fix it in time for our leaving. Hector was most helpful. I appreciate the outstanding service. The gentleman who repaired the brakes showed me the worn out pad that was rubbing as we drove… absolutely worn out! Thank you Smitty’s!
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
Sorry Smitty’s this has been long overdue for you guys:(
A brief history:
We started taking our cars to Smitty’s back around 2005. They always were honest, reliable, friendly and gave you quality product for a good price. Around 2008 – 2010 we purchased two new cars that came with dealer warranties and we felt obliged to go to the dealer for repairs.
Current:
Looking back on it. that was stupid. We should have kept coming to Smitty’s. Most recently one of the dealers f’d up and I told them that I wanted to take my car elsewhere. I took it back to Smitty’s and they quoted me for the exact same repairs almost $ 250 lower than the dealer. Add to that their friendly attitude and quality service and all around it puts me in a better mood. I’m never going back to the dealership.
Do I recommend Smitty’s? Hell yeah. You would be stupid to take your car anyplace else.
side note: A colleague of mine took her car there after many encounters with other shops. She loves them. One of the times she went they told her that a repair that she thought she needed wasn’t necessary. I love the fact that they don’t tell you to fix things that aren’t needed– An honest service shop:) Can’t find too many of those.
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
Why has it taken me so long to write this review??? I’ve anyways been a fan of Smitty’s. They not only do good work, but they’re not expensive and they’re really friendly, which is pretty rare! But today’s experience had prompted me to write this.
My car broke down yesterday on the freeway and I got it towed to Smitty’s. I used their night drop envelope to leave my keys and tell them what the problem was. I got there at 8 am and they had already taken my baby in. It’s 3 pm and I just got the call that it’s ready. How rad is that???
Thanks, guys!!!
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
I can’t believe I have never reviewed Smitty’s. Not much can be said that hasn’t already been mentioned. The Four F’s: Fast, friendly, fair, and feliable (why isn’t «reliable» spelled with an F?).
Been going to Smitty’s for about ten years and I have never had an issue. I hate when I HAVE TO go to the dealer, who are generally the opposite of The Four F’s…but I do have another F I would like to share with them at times.
Lots of great places to hang out on Adams while waiting for your car, too.
Wish I could give more than five stars…
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
Amazing staff! I was the second owner of my car and turns out the aftermarket HID installation was shoddy! They reverted headlights back to factory for me with minimal cost. I highly recommend this shop! I’ll be going here for all my repair needs in the future! Thanks guys!!! Free wifi too if you don’t have XLTE. ;-)
–Ryan