Pacific Auto Works

This place is fast and convenient. With the Unilocal coupon, it’s very competitively priced bi got a smog check there, and will go back.

Came just to change the oil of my toyota camry but was disappointed… They are not accurate with what they are doing. They couple times tried to lift the car in order to change the oil but ended up damaging the car. Would not defenetly go there anymore

They are ok if you want to change oil or The lights. However for heavy duty issues they might not be the best. For example for electrical issues in the car like car windows are not working, they asked for an unreasonable high price just to diagnose the problem.

Went in for a smog test. Failed with really high measurements in most categories. They wanted me to pay for an expensive diagnostic plus further repairs to get passing. Went to another shop and my measurements were completely normal (roughly 10x less than what Pacific was claiming). Maybe they only do this to new residents moving from out of state like myself, but I can’t recommend taking the risk.

This place is exactly what you think it is. Fast, straight to the point and the price mentioned is $ 65 before the Unilocal discount. So total for me was $ 55 for new clients. Appointment is better they mentioned but I just showed up and called them on my way (which was 5min lol)
Thanks for helping me complete this task pacific auto!

I always wonder about bad reviews and whether, in a customer-​oriented business, sometimes the customer is what gets in the way.
I say this because I’ve had nothing but great service at Pacific Auto. I went for a smog for a car that hadn’t been in service for a while. It failed. Paul, the owner, explained that my computer literally had amnesia and would have to relearn in order to pass the Gold smog test. He told me how, and why, and didn’t charge me for the test.
Came back with a car with its mind back, and passed easy and done quickly. As we finished, I asked about my rear light which wasn’t working. In about 5 minutes he opened it up, replaced 3 bulbs that were burnt out, and said «no problem, just remember me next time.»
I will. Great service, good pricing.

Good reliable service, they did what they said on time and at a reasonable price

I’ll save you time from the other reviews: Go here for a smog w/​coupon. Go elsewhere for every other repair.
They quoted me over $ 100 higher than other auto shops to replace my alternator, and this is after I’ve looked up the cost of the alternator alone. They’re using the smog check as a way to get you in the door and up-​sell you.

I’ve known these guys for years and they’ve always done a great job. Their office was located across the street from mine for many years and they’d always call me when it was ready to be picked up, and made a lot of effort to keep my business. I trust them with my car more than anyone else and instead of taking my car to get serviced at the dealer, I always bring it to them to work on it. In fact I’m taking it to them tomorrow instead of the dealership.
Literally, I’m showing no favoritism, but am writing this review to help convince any other people that are looking for a deal and better service that’s as great as the dealership to your car without the expense, GO HERE.

These guys were really professional, genial and affordable.
My tire was leaking and they immediately took me in. They quickly found not one, but two nails, fixed it in 20 minutes, checked all my other tires and only charged me $ 30.

Ugh. That about sums up my experience (s) at this place. I give them one star for being conveniently located and open on Saturdays, and the other star is because they weren’t mean. Low standards, I guess? Anyway, allow me to elaborate:
Back in December, my alternator freaked out on me on a weekend when my usual car repair shop (Richardson!) was closed, so I went to Pacific Smog out of desperation. Nearly $ 400 later, my alternator was fixed – or so I thought. Earlier this week, the battery light came on in my car, so I took it to Richardson to see what was up (because I trust them). I told them about the Pacific Smog experience, and they said (a) I was majorly ripped off by about $ 150 and (b) I should go back to them to see if the defective alternator I got from Pacific Smog was under warranty. I did all that, and the alternator was indeed under warranty, so they fixed it for free, but those negative three stars are for HASSLE, AGGRAVATION, and WASTE OF TIME/​MONEY.

If you’re too lazy to read the whole story below — here’s brief summary: I brought the car which ran perfectly for a smog check. After Pacific Smog & Auto Repairs for which I paid $ 1200 I had to sell my car to the junk yard.
I would love to get a response on that from the business owner if he really cares about his business reputation.
Story as follows.
I have brought my Mercedes 1996 C280 to Pacific Smog & Auto Repair on 7÷16÷2010 for a smog check. Paul, the mechanic, told me that my car failed the smog check and needs repairs. He identified the problem — mass air flow sensor needs to be replaced and he suggested that I apply for a special repair assistance program. I got approved for $ 500 with $ 100 deductible. He replaced the sensor on 08/​10/​2010 and total of repairs was $ 713.86. Paul told me to drive about 300 miles and bring the car for a smog check again. I did that and he said that it wasn’t enough, so I brought him a car second, third time & forth time after driving 2k miles it was still not enough for some reason to pass the smog check. All that time I was driving without registration sicker although my registration was already paid for. I got stopped by police several time and had to explain what is the problem. Meanwhile, as I was driving the car more felt that it was running rougher than before. On day I was driving on the bridge and saw that my level of coolant is low. First I thought that it is not a big deal I din’t add coolant for a while. However, I have decided to stop and check on it as soon as i got off the bridge. I found out that most of the coolant was gone. I added some water and drove the car to Paul as he was the closest mechanic around. Paul told me that my radiator is leaking and offered to replace it for $ 617. I called my other mechanic to shop for better price and he offered me $ 490. Paul said that he can match the price and I’ve decided to go with Paul. It was big mistake. He replaced the radiator and that that car was ready to go. He also said that it still needs some driving before I complete a smog check. After a week of driving I felt that the car was even rougher than before. All of the sudden when I was driving home the coolant light when up again and after 5 minutes CHECK ENGINE light went up as well. At this point I got really worried and next morning I took car to Paul again. He took a look at it and said that 1 hose needs to be replaced (charged me $ 50), did a leak check on radiator. He said that everything was fine, although the car will need tune up (another $ 350). At this point I was very very frustrated with Paul’s level of service. I didn’t want to work with him anymore. My plan was to take it to different mechanic for a second opinion. However, next day when i drove to San Jose, i was on the freeway, both coolant and engine lights went up again and even worse, i saw the engine temperature arrow going up above 100… I took the first exit and stopped as soon as I could. I saw smoke coming out from the hood of my car. Next morning I had to tow away the car from Campbell to San Francisco. I was very angry with Paul that he let me drive the car in this condition. I told him that I am not paying him for anything anymore — altogether i’ve spent around $ 1200 with his business and end up with a broken car — so I insisted that he would identify the problem and fix it free of charge. He refused and said that he was doing everything correctly and it wasn’t his fault. Now he was telling that it must be something to with cracked head gasket of the engine which will cost over $ 1500 to fix. I towed the car to ONE TWO THREE Auto Service (390 1^st street, San Francisco, CA 94 105) where another mechanic Steven did a test for me ($ 65) and said that radiator was leaking again. He also mentioned that it is a standard procedure to do the overall check after radiator is replaced to make sure what caused it to start leaking. Paul never dine it. After talking to Paul again over the phone he said that he will replace radiator by warranty but he cannot guarantee that it won’t happen again. He also said «So what do you want me to do? Do you want me to fix everything for free now?»
It is hard for me tell whether Paul is directly responsible for the engine head gasket being damaged — he denies it, but one thing I know for sure that he is responsible for identifying incorrect problems. Not knowing what the car’s real problem was, cost me money on unnecessary repairs and even more importantly put my life in danger as I was driving a damaged car on the freeway.
I believe that Paul owes me money for all repairs that he made if not more.

I had to get my car a smog check (necessary evil of course) so I chose the place closest to where I live. Sometimes convenience trumps all. I called at 10 am, and they said I could come by at 12:30. I had the coupon printed out with me, and for $ 50 total I was done in less than 30 minutes; my results were already transmitted to the DMV. It was the easiest smog check I’ve ever had done, and I’d definitely go back to this place.

Found Pacific Smog and Auto repair after getting list of approved facilities from CA DMV. Looked for one with high ratings, and I noticed one of the reviews had a link to a site that had a coupon. The coupon was outdated, but I called, and they agreed to honor it anyway. (cool!). They confirmed the cost, which was reasonable. I went in, and they said it would take 30 minutes. I had a cup of coffee, and returned to find that they check came out fine. I paid the very reasonable fee ($ 45 out the door), and I was back in my office and online, sending Awnold my registration dough. Kudos to Sam. I should also add that I did tell him that if I was happy I would write a good review on Unilocal.And, i did tell him that that was where I heard about him. signed PJ

Went here for a smog but my check engine light was on. The car passed fine but they can’t clear it with the computer showing an error. It ended up being two oxygen sensors and would cost a few hundred bucks.
They were nice enough to negotiate the price a little when I explained my situation and had the repairs done in two days. They cleared the smog without charging for another test and the check engine light hasn’t returned.
They explained everything well and that’s my biggest issue with getting anything done on my car. Some places assume you don’t know anything and just ask you to grab your ankles. These guys were good about not doing that.
Auf.

When I come here, I never feel like I am being ripped off. I don’t know too much about cars (I’m not going to use «I’m a girl» excuse here), but I can trust the mechanics here with my car. From basic oil changes to major mechanic problems, they take care of pretty much anything. When I referred to the car door handle as «the door opener,» Sam-​the-​mechanic laughed at my mishap, but I did not leave here feeling dumb, which is always a plus…

Let me preface this review by saying that I originally came here to get my car smogged because it is located one block from my house and there is an online coupon for $ 15 off. I did not have the highest of expectations after reading the reviews.
To my surprise everyone I spoke with was attentive and easy going. I made an appointment earlier in the day around 11am which I was told was unnecessary. I arrived on time for my appointment at 4:30 and they were finished the smogging by about 5:45. It cost $ 45 (after the discount) and the necessary documents were electronically transmitted to the DMV. I couldn’t have been more pleased with their service.

I had originally brought my car to get an oil change at Quality Tune Up a couple of months ago and they told me I needed to replace my Radiator right away! I said okay because I did not want to ruin my transmission with a minor issue. $ 400 later, I got my car back.
Now comes this Saturday and I noticed a leak after parking in a spot for less than an hour. It was transmission oil leaking. I brought my car to Pacific Smog & Auto Repair and they quickly diagnosed that Quality did not bolt a lug nut tight enough and therefore the radiator was leaking. After bolting it down, they later discovered that there was a leaking hose as well. They replaced it and had my car ready in about an hour.
To be honest, I dont even know if Quality even diagnosed the problem correctly. Pacific Smog & Auto took the time to fully inspect the issue before making a suggestion and fixing the problem.
Pacific Smog & Auto are very trustworthy in my book and will not charge u for something that does not need to be fixed. I will not go to Quality Tune Ups anymore cause they nearly costed me a new transmission all because of their careless mistakes.
PS & A will be my go to guys from now on and I will probably save more money here than going to a cheap a$$ quality tune ups that doesn’t even know what they’re doing!!!

These guys are generous with their time. I go to this mechanic frequently. One of the guys seems really aloof, but he actually means well. I had a small drip coming out of the left side of my car, and I brought my car by for them to look at. It turned out to be nothing significant, but they spent a ½ hour trying to find the leak. They eventually found it.
They didn’t bother charging for them time. Just a band of decent mechanics who don’t try and cheat you, and would rather have you as a repeat customer.

Here is the online coupon for $ 15 off:
Total for a smog check with the coupon is $ 45.
My experience here was pretty blah. I did not get the sense that they cared about my business.
They were able to fit me in without an appointment on a Saturday morning, perhaps because I came when they opened at 9:30 AM. The process took 30 minutes. This is a place that electronically sends the test results to the DMV.
I asked them about installing an armrest inside my car — a process which should only take 30 minutes. The first guy quoted me $ 45. The second guy, after looking at the instructions, quoted me $ 80. Neither one seemed confident that they knew how to do it. I decided to take my armrest elsewhere.