John’s Bascom Automotive

I work across the street, so it is very easy to drop my car off. I have always had good service, good communication and fair prices. What more can I ask in a car repair shop

I’ve never been here before. I stopped in this morning, frantic because my tire pressure light was on for 10 miles on the freeway. The fellow who helped me — I think his name was Kevin — put air in my tires and helped me calm down. Then, without me asking, he checked my oil and filled up my windshield washer fluid. They wouldn’t accept any payment. Talk about angels in mechanics’ clothing!
If I could give more than 5 stars, I would.
08÷29÷15 Joanie Stein

Simple review. Highly recommended! We dropped off my 2006 Toyota Sequoia for a 100k service. Prices were good and par with other service places. But these guys came highly recommended. They called all the time when there were updates or issues. No sales pressure here. My Sequoia came back in perfect shape. And clean!

I’ve always had a great experience here. Honest mechanics and honest prices. My car has always been fixed properly and on time. Highly recommended!!! It’s not easy to find a good mechanic these days, these guys are the real deal.

I wanted to give a review since last summer in 2014. I pulled up to John’s Bascom Automotive with a worn out Saturn SL 1 from 1994. The dashboard light just died. The car is so old, things breaking down. I think his name was Mike… guy with dark hair and moustache, assisted me. Called me to pick it up.
I came over the next day and got it. As I drove home, I turned on my headlights. My dashboard looked like it was not lighting up. I drove back to John’s Bascom Automotive about ready to have a nervous breakdown. Some pushy older lady drove immediately up and parked illegally in front of my illegal pushy parking out front. She walked in front of me demanding attention right now. This is how it is for automotive repair companies that do good work and are honest. You get desperate pushy people. I fear I was one of them. At the time, I was pretty close to broke and my car dashboard light I felt was not fixed. Mike still calmly talked to the lady, helped her. Then got in my car, explained to me that the dashboard light is faint, will not show up in the daytime, to test it out at night. He let me know there would be a rattling sound as there was a lot of broken pieces from other mechanics in the dashboard, they had to take it out and put it back in. He was pleasant and my angst did not rattle him.
When night time came, I tested the dashboard. Yes, just as he said, it was lit.
I felt so stupid. I wished I could thank the guy for being so patient with a girl that has a migraine and a lack of cash. But instead, I’ll just give him a stellar review.
PS: The heavens parted, a unicorn came down with a rainbow. I was able to get a new car now. THANK GOD.

I have gone to John’s since meeting my husband and his family has been going here for years before that. I am confident that these guys will get the job done right the first time. I have no problem recommending John’s to my friends.

I can’t recommend these guys enough– honest, professional, and quick. I’ve been using them for 7 years and they have always been straight up. More than once, I’ve brought my car to them thinking I knew what the problem was, and expecting to have to pay out the nose for some major repair, and they found that it was something simple and relatively inexpensive. Super ethical folks. I will never take my car anywhere else.

I’ve used John’s Automotive as my primary ‘car fixer’ for about 20 yrs. This week I came in again for a minor problem, but a problem none the less. Mike took the info. They remedied the problem. The price was reasonable. They briefed me on possible causes and future actions. I’ve always been satisfied with this business.

I passed John’s Bascom Automotive on my way to work when I happened to be in need of a place to do a Smog Check. I saw the signage out front and with the close proximity to work I decided I would give it a try. There were many cars outside waiting to be looked at, so I assumed it was a good place. Unilocal definitely solidified my decision. I was able to call when I got to work and schedule an appointment for 2 hours later. John’s son, Mike, was very friendly and easy to talk to.
As a new to the area resident, I will definitely go back to John’s for more service work done by nice, reliable people. It’s also very nice that it is within walking distance of my office, so I can drop it off during the day.

We found this shop through references from other families at our school when our former mechanic did a «wall job» on our Sienna.
John was able to identify the problem, get it all fixed on time and at a reasonable cost.
When my car needed what I thought was going to be a big amount of work (brakes, power steering,…) the shop found that my previous mechanic had totally missed problems with the v-​belt and John’s made it all right for very fair price.
Thanks!

JBA Customers For Life!
We’ve used JBA for service on our ’06 Maxima for about 3 years now. Reason for our first visit was that I was convinced that we needed a brake job due to a squealing sound. I figured the wear sensors were touching the discs and it was time for a brake job. Again, rather than charging us for the more expensive repair, the assured me by pads were fine and all that needed to be done was to clean the brakes. I got another 10k miles on my pads.
On another visit the car was making an obnoxious rattling sound coming from below the motor during acceleration. I expected the worst when Mike called to tell me his findings. All it was was a cracked piece of sheet metal heat-​shield around the exhaust. They patched it up and sent me on my way for just a few bucks.
They could have told me it was a much more major issue and I would have believed it, but these guys were honest and only charged me for the minor repair that was required.
At our most recent visit (Nov. 2012), I had the car in to inspect for pulsation when braking on steep downhill slopes. Turns out the front rotors were warped from heat and required re-​surfacing. When we got the car back with all new pads I still wasn’t happy with the feel of the brakes — they just didn’t seem to have the stopping power as before. We learned that the brand of pads they used wasn’t compatible with my vehicle so Mike swapped them all out for factory pads at no additional cost! No complaints, no arguing, no problem.
Also during this visit, they noticed that my water pump belt was showing cracks and signs of wear. Mike suggested that I change it to avoid more costly engine repair if it were to fail. I had him replace the belt and he showed me the old one afterwards. He could have sent me down the road knowing I’d be back when the belt broke or worse, but he was thorough in his assessment of my vehicle and honest enough to warn me up front.
These guys are the real deal, the kind of shop you will want to recommend to others and write your own Unilocal reviews to promote. Honesty, integrity and fairness are such rare traits in the auto repair community these days. The crew at JBA are all of that and I will be using them as long as I drive a car in the Bay Area.

John, thank you for the call to follow up. I didn’t expect to get a call from you personally.
John called and offer for the refund of the air filter. I think I should acknowledge that as a 4 stars.

Very happy with this place. We have been bringing our cars here for years! I always feel like they are being honest with me and straight forward. I never feel like they are trying to make more money.
This past weekend we took our Jetta because the passenger side window would not roll up. They took a look at at it and told us we need to order a part for something in the door that had broken and it was going to cost close to $ 600. My husband told them not to fix it as we can not afford that right now. They called a couple hours later to let us know that they had installed a small wooden block to keep the window up! A temporary fix until we can afford the real replacement piece. AWESOME. We definitely feel comfortable bringing and leaving our car here and will continue to do so.

EXPENSIVE!
i have received full synthetic oil changes with tire rotations for $ 70. they charge $ 115 for the same service. WOW. i don’t even want to ask what a new battery and sparks would cost.

I am always happy when I bring and pick up my car from this fantatic place. I feel as if the goal is to keep my car in good running condition. As a single woman I need to bring my car to a place where I can trust them with my money, this place has my trust.
Which reminds me I have to schedule a day to bring my car here to fix my whatever it is called!
Fantastic car doctors!

Great guys. Respectful. Fair. I used to be married to a mechanic so trust is a big issue for me when it comes to my car. Ever had your car worked on only to find out pieces were missing when you got it back? 3 of five lug nuts for example? For ten years one person touched my car but as life happens I’ve had to move on.
Mike and John have been great. I’ve had my car therem twice and each time they have listened to my concerns, diagnosed the issue, and explained everything. No surprises. No trying to sell more than I ask for. They checked my brakes and tire pressure on the first visit free of charge (had a power steering leak). Second visit was a fuel injector problem. Fixed that, checked my oil that time and topped me off.
Car is running great one week later. Do I know how their prices compare to others? No. I don’t care though because they’ve earned my business.
Mom and friend have also recently used them and are happy as well.

Three weeks ago, I bought a 2000 VW Jetta TDI with the intention of running biodiesel in it. My mistake was buying it off of eBay, although I did get what I thought was a good price.
Since I don’t know much about cars and this was my first diesel, I dropped it off to get an oil change and get it checked out. The check engine light turned on just as I got there. I left the key in the after-​hours drop box and caught a ride home.
Shane called me the next morning and told me what was wrong with the car. He gave detailed and clear explanations of everything, telling me what I needed to fix right away and what could wait. He called around to get me the best prices on parts.
As he worked on the car, he found other things wrong with it, and he communicated with me every step of the way. Every time there was a delay, he would explain why. The car ended up being in the shop for 3 weeks, since the previous owner abused the poor vehicle. (Seriously, who splices a radiator hose with a spark plug?! Even I know that’s a bad idea.) But I got great service at a reasonable price.
If you need a diesel mechanic, come to John’s Bascom Automotive and ask for Shane. You won’t regret it.

I truly love this place. They are super honest and get the job done when they say it will be done.
Only shop I use!

Walked in to ask about a smog and possibly, if failed, an adjustment, or full carb rebuild. The owner said «I could drop off my vehicle if I didn’t mind leaving it a couple of days till they could get to it». I said okay.
Two hours later I dropped it off (Tuesday 2pm).
Friday (three days later) I stopped in to see what was coming along. That’s when I met the owner’s creepy son. Pretty nasty talker — real ballbag.
He tells me, he wanted to talk to me about what was needed. I asked were the work order had gone? (It was written out, and I was given the copy.) He then struggled with this real big difficulty but finally managed to get the work order out and read it.
Then he said I was never told the vehicle would be seen in a couple days. WTF? Then he said that the work would be started no sooner than a couple of weeks or more — he wasn’t sure?
This is the second time in a few years I come to this service station and get a needless run around «burn». That last time I had a tow drop my car there and then the run around «burn» was too much for me to endure, so I had to re-​tow the car a second time somewhere else, of course for a repeat fee. These guys are one day going to get someone so angry that they get a into a physical altercation. (Not me though just to be clear. I’m fully done there!)
That _​_​_​hole son and his dad’s _​ucked up shop will not be seeing me ever again, nor should they see you. Your mind, time, and money are terrible thing to waste!
By the way, the next service center I went to made a better start on the job, but at the end they robbed me. They were still trying to drain my wallet when a mechanic friend reviewed the goings on, and suggested that I flee. When my warranty period is exhausted there I will be posting them here on Unilocal too.

This is the type of place that would make a person want to spend money on a new car.
If you have never had a reasonably priced mechanic and came here all the time for work… well, a car payment would make more sense to you. That is not how it is supposed to work.
They would create an impression that car repairs are just too expensive. Bascom simply charged about double what every mechanic I have been to owning my 1987 Sprint since 1992.
Two years ago I was planning to drive my car to Portland OR. I wanted to take care of a idle issue… might be a fuel delivery issue, vacuum leak, etc. Needed to address it. I have been pretty angry about this for a while now. I finally decided to Unilocal it.
I must admit that just 4 years earlier I took the car in for clicking in front. They replaced my front CV joints/​Axles and charged about double the going rate. I paid $ 420 for remanufactured axles. Yeah, I know… DUMB me. The cars was wobbling all over when I picked it up with the new axles 3 days later. They had to put another set of them in. You would think that for a $ 250 job (in most places) that it for almost DOUBLE they would be at least putting new ones in? «Fool me once, fool me twice» (I digress)
Well, anyway… 4 years after my gold plated Pope blessed front axles were installed… I took it in and they said it was a tune up issue. I found it odd because it had only been not even 25k since my last tune up, but I figured maybe the nearly 8 years that had gone by could be enough to advise a new tune up parts. He said the spark plug wires were the culprit to my idle dropping low. I would not be too surprised, though I was quite skeptical.
I made them aware I needed it road worthy for a 700 mile road trip to my new home.
Here is the kicker: «How much for the tune up?»… you know, new spark plug wires, 3 plugs (3 cylinder car), distributor cap/​rotor, oil change/​filter, air filter, coolant flush, adjustments…”$ 380″ (!!!) «How much? did you say, again??» $ 380 for the tune up.
Yeah. Well, I was in a position, I was leaving in 4 days and wanted this idle taken care of. I was told by folks «they are expensive but did really good work». «Okay», I said. I was thinking they BETTER do some damn good work… almost $ 400 for an 87 Sprint to get a freakin tune up???
Last tune up I got was $ 190 for everything, coolant flush aside (which is a $ 40 job inc fluids often times at any local indie joint… Bascom charged $ 60 for this alone). That $ 190 tune up was T & T Auto on San Jose Ave. I thought that was pretty average. That kept me going back to T &T, for many yrs, telling friends to check them out. Charge a decent price and you will have a customer for life. Do good work and provide good prices… they will tell friends and you will have even more money coming in. Charge a lot, likely they will come recommended w/​a «but they are pricey» disclosure… do bad work then and charge a king’s ransom while providing inconsistent repairs then…
well, let’s just say I dropped my 380 bucks on a tune up to resolve a dropping idle I learned to say not so nice things about them after this repair incident.
Did not work. I drove to PDX, OR.
In about 100 miles the idle came right on back down again when I 1^st reached a stop for gas. I was ticked.
Thanks. I obviously cannot travel over 600 miles to to you again to take care of a faulty diagnosis and repair job.
I still visit the bay area often. Friends have asked where to go for repairs. My response?
«Just don’t go to Bascom… expensive, and they do not always repair cars well. Check out T & T. Check out ANY-​BODY… just not Bascom.» and I tell them about both repair incidences. This is not the kind of advertising businesses want.
Yes folks: I spent nearly $ 800 for a tune up and front axles for a 87 Sprint Turbo. That should say enough about how much they are over priced.