U & I Auto Repair

Really great. I called Sang on a Saturday to ask about a check engine light and to do a 120,000-mile maintenance check. It was late on Saturday, and so he couldn’t do the maintenance, but he offered to check my engine light for no charge — and it wasn’t a big deal. I hope to use him for the maintenance check soon! He seems like a great guy and very honest.

I swung by this shop this morning to see if they could help me with questions about how my brakes worked on a recently purchased heavy duty van.
Sang came right out to meet me, he listened to my updates, and immediately knew I had hydroboost brakes, and reassured me that the behavior of my brakes was normal. He’s a joker and he me laughing along with him right away. He test drove the vehicle, and right as he started it caught there are some engine issues, just from the noise.
In the end of 20 minutes together, I know my brakes are safe, he recommended I drive the vehicle as is, was given a recommendation for changing oil type, and I will definitely go back when I need service to see Sang.
He didn’t ask for even a tip for his time, so the best I could do was write up this review so others could learn what a great mechanic and human Sang is!

Sang did airshock repair in one day and phoned me with status updates every few hours. Couldn’t ask for better communication and execution.

I’ve taken three different cars to Sang over the past 10 years or so, and he’s been great. He has good mechanics and he charges a fair price — less than what other shops have quoted me. He’s done everything for me from replacing a transmission to routine maintenance. Sang even got out his heat-​gun and straightened out the dent in the plastic cover on my bumper — no charge.

I can’t say enough great things about Sang! He is honest, affordable, and can always accommodate my car needs.

I’ve been here twice and both were fantastic experiences. 2^nd time I got an oil change, new wipers, and a new tire. Everything was done at time at exactly the price I was quote, with great customer service from good ol’ Sang. This is the only place I’ll take my car in the city.

Sang had to move since the owner of his shop is rebuilding — He is taking some well deserved time off.
Look for U&I in it’s new location –coming soon!

My Mini Cooper’s coolant reservoir sprung a leak (rather inconveniently) right on Franklin near Fell. Since the temperature went up quickly, I pulled over and shut the motor off right away. I was pretty much stuck… and pondering the expensive combination of a tow truck and a repair at the BMW dealership. I took a walk to see if I could find some coolant to buy and pour in to limp home… and I stumbled upon U and I a few blocks away. A man (who I believe is the owner) met me out front and asked me what I needed. To my great surprise he seemed perfectly willing to work on my Mini (many places aren’t). Since I was there I asked him to go ahead a fix a couple of other outstanding items as well… and to change my oil. He charged a VERY reasonable rate… and he even went out of his way to find cheaper parts instead of buying the massively marked up versions from BMW. The fix was done in one day… and it was flawless. Go to this place… they’re great!

I had to have some front tail lights installed and just needed the labor. I found Sang very knowledgeable and I was in and out in 30 minutes. He definitely impressed me with his quick service and reasonable pricing.

Sang is a super nice guy who does and charges what he promises. I switched from another mechanic who seemed to like to try to solve problems by putting in new parts until he got the right one. This doesn’t happen with Sang.

Sang it Loud!
I’ve been going to Sang for many years to have work done on my old 1991 Ford Escort. He’s always given me good service, fair prices and never given me a reason to not trust him.
I decided to go to another neighborhood mechanic just to try someone else. There was a «noise» and he told me it would cost $ 1000 to fix it. I didn’t have the work done and the car worked fine.
Later my battery kept dying. I took the car to Sang and he discovered that the trunk light was not turning off when the trunk was closed and simply disconnected it. He could have gouged me but didn’t. He charged me a minimal amount for the time it took to discover the problem. I asked him to look at the «noise» and he said there was nothing.
That cemented my trust in Sang. He’s a gentleman and runs a clean, organized and efficient operation. What more could I ask for in a mechanic?

I would not recommend this place. I brought my car here for a brake and light inspection because it was conveniently located and gave me the lowest quote I could find ($ 90). They then managed to find $ 270 (+ $ 95 in parts which I bought myself) worth in repairs that were «necessary» in order to give me the certificate. By the time they gave me this second estimate, they had already done the inspection, so it didn’t make sense to take it anywhere else because I would have to pay for another inspection.
I did call Action Auto, who gave me a lower estimate but advised me to just get the job finished at U & I. I don’t know a lot about cars, and it was pretty clear that Sang (the owner) sized me up and figured he could squeeze something out of me. Sang could tell I was skeptical and kept talking about how he was giving me a good deal and other things that just made me trust him less.
It definitely was not worth the convenience. I’ve had much better experiences at Action Auto (in potrero hill) and S & N (way out in Fairfax, but Bob there is an amazingly nice and honest guy).

Brought in my *sexy* Subaru station wagon for a simple oil change…
Sang referred to me as «pretty lady» at least a half dozen times. Unfortunately that doesn’t earn a good review in my book…
First, I was informed that I needed new front brakes and my tires rotated. No thanks, all I wanted was an oil change. Yes, my tires could probably be rotated but I definitely don’t need new brakes. Nice try though.
Second, I was charged $ 2 (TWO FREAKING DOLLARS!!!) for 1 quart of washer fluid. What the hell? I can buy 3 gallons of washer fluid for that price. Sang didn’t take it off the bill even after I voiced my displeasure with being charged for something I didn’t request. Grrrr… soured my entire experience.
I’ll still give 3 stars because they were quick and efficient and did do the single simple task I had asked them to do correctly. However, beware of the washer fluid!

Sang is a very good and honest mechanic.
I could tell stories, like the time he personally drove my mom home because her car had to stay at his shop.
Or the time my car broke down making loud and scary noises, and my friend came with me to Sang’s shop. Sang didn’t paint me a scary story about a lot of unnecessary work, he simply suggested some minor and inexpensive repair which would solve the problem. My friend said Sang really knew what he was doing and was looking to minimize my cost, and the way she knew that is because she used to be a gas-​station-​and-​garage owner herself.
About the Unilocaler with the tire store story — I have been to other mechanics and they always seem to want to talk you into more and more repairs. I sat in the waiting room of a certain tire store as they told *every single customer* that their battery was low and needed recharging. Maybe they noticed a fresh bolt in the brake area, and took the opportunity to advise you of how «dangerous» that was.
I’ve always found Sang to be friendly, humorous, honest and a good mechanic so I am happy to recommend him.

Been coming for years. Always known Sang to be fair & honest and will be upfront with you if you ask him. He is very friendly but know his humor may come off a little «funny» to some people.
His shop does good work and would recommend.

so i brought my car here to get my brakes fixed. it was a pleasant experience. i was told my tires were pretty bad and should replace them. the quote i got from them was outrageous. so i looked elsewhere and went to big o tires. they gave me new tires for a price waaay lower than at u&i. but this is not all. when i picked up my car at big o tires i was asked «have you had recent work on your rear brakes?» when i said yes they responded by telling me that one of my rear tires was about to fall off because it was not tightened properly and was extrememly dangerous. that really scared me and i will never go back to u&i!!!

Sang has always been attentive, honest, and trustworthy. We have been taking our 2000 camry to Sang since 2004 and he has always gone the extra mile to save us money and get the repairs done as fast as possible. He is always joking and I think some of the other reviewers may have misconstrued his humor.

I feel compelled to offer my input. Even though Sang (sp?) may have voiced a few times that he wants money (and let’s face it, kinda nice to be able to put food on the table, so who can blame him?), he seems honest enough. Note — don’t walk in, hand over your keys and walk out and hope for the best. Read the fine print. Ask up front if you want old parts back. Ask for a written estimate that clearly details all the work performed if you want that. As with any service provider, just make sure you take a proactive part in making sure your service matches the bill.
Sang fixed my car, it seems to be working well now, and unless any further problems are present, I can’t complain.

Sang is one of the first people I met when I moved to San Francisco from the East Coast. I pulled right into his shop and asked him to please remove the yellow Jersey plates from my car. He happily obliged and I’ve been going to him ever since. He took great care of my beloved Honda over the years, even though it had more than 200,000 miles on it (of course, you’d never know that since the speedometer/​odometer broke a long time ago and stopped recording miles). There were a million other things wrong with my car but Sang never took advantage of that and always gave me a good deal. He even hosed off the bird crap from the hood one time so it wouldn’t eat away at my paint. How nice is that?

Sang makes no bones about wanting your money and honestly, I can’t blame the guy, he is a businessman, afterall. That said, he’s been very good and very reasonably priced with fixing my car and even thrown in little freebie repairs here and there. His quotes have certainly been comparable to my old specialty VW mechanic in Sunnyvale (I miss you, Bugformance!). I know, because I almost always call other repair shops for comparable quotes to check that this guy’s prices are decent.
Still, three stars just for being a car mechanic.