Paragon Auto Service

I am posting this on my wife’s Unilocal account.
I avoid mechanics as much as possible and work on my own cars. I have been robbed and swindled by so called «ASE Certified mechanics» and «mechanics» that were referred by friends. These days I have zero tolerance for fishy mechanics that lie and steal.
With that said let me compliment Paragon Auto for their honesty and reliability. When I can’t solve a car problem, or if I don’t have time, I gladly call Paragon Auto. I have gone to them for years and hope they will be around for many more. Are they perfect? Well, their labor is not free and they aren’t psychic or have X-​ray vision, (qualities we wish our mechanics had).
I always thank Victor and Long personally because they are trustworthy. I would like to take time out of my busy schedule to thank them over Unilocal.A big Thank You to Victor, Long, and Paragon Auto!

Ask for long. He will do your car right. He did smog for all my cars evo, wrx, 350z, s2000 and ac recharge at a very good price.

Took my Jeep there after I heard and saw a screw in one of my tires. The mechanic (Long) took a look and told me how much it would cost before doing the repair. I agreed. He then came out to show me he pulled out a very short screw and a repair would not be necessary. He could have lied so I felt good about the place. I just took my Jeep back in today for some popping sound when I turn sharp and some weird AC rattling noise. I let you know how it goes.

Came here cuz my car was leaking oil like crazy and was making noises I’ve never heard before. described the problem to Long, he put the car on the loader took a look and quickly diagnosed the problem to be a broken steering pump hose. Gave me honest advise and said I could probably do the repair myself. Thanks Long for your honesty and SERVICE. Comin back for sure!!!

Very very very happy my dad use to come to this shop when he was alive. He said he trusted the mechanic they knew what to do and they were all honest. It took them an hour an half to fix my moms Dodge Durango which took another shop 2 an half days which they still couldn’t pin point the problem. They also smog my Kia Sedona plus certified for $ 42 which the other shop was going to charge me about $ 75 for smog. I recommend this shop to all my family and friends. Thank you so very very much.

I’ve had several cars worked on over the years at Paragon. Why do I keep coming back — honesty and value. Long and Victor are always great! They know what they are doing and they treat their customers with respect — love them!

These guys need a lesson in customer service. I took my car into get a smog check — and apparently you won’t pass smog if your check engine light is on. I didn’t know this.
I was depending on these guys to be professional experts in their field and do the right thing — maybe call me and let me know: ‘Hey your check engine light is on — so you won’t pass smog — but we can look into the problem and fix the problem and THEN run the smog test’ — NOPE.
Victor ran the test told me my car failed and just kind of shrugged. He said I didn’t ‘ask him the right way’ when I asked him why he ended up testing my car with the check engine light on — knowing it wouldn’t pass.
If he would have called me to fix the problem he would have been able to make more money off of me — and I would have been able to pass smog. But they just took my money for the failed smog test and sent me on my way.
On top of that — I get my car fixed and bring it back to Victor — because on the smog test print out it reads ‘come back within 30 days and get a re-​test for free’. Victor takes my car and calls me 30 minutes later telling me this story about how smog machine won’t test my car.
I went somewhere else to smog my car and they said they had never heard of a smog test just refusing to test a car.
These guys basically stole $ 33 from me and I had to go elsewhere to get a smog check. I would never come here again or recommend their services to anyone. I wholeheartedly regret my decision to come to these guys for help. They have shady business practices and should be reported to the Better Business Bureau.

Took my VW Passat there because it was leaking coolant.
Long quickly did a free pressure check and found the leak, it was the coolant flange. We had it replaced only a year ago at another place, so Long advised us that it might be still under warranty there. He gave an honest and selfless recommendation and did what was best for the customer.
Definitely would go there again.

I’ve had my car smogged here twice. I’m impressed by the professionalism, quick service, and price ($ 41.50 including tax). Highly recommended.

This place is great. Something must have changed after 08′ because that is the year where most of the complaints are coming from. I have no complaints with Victor, Long or the third gentleman whose name has managed to escape me. They receive my car for minor problems on a walk in basis or almost always politely ask if I can bring it first thing the next morning. They may keep the car all day but they get the job done and when they cant they don’t charge me. They will refer out objectively if the problem happens to be beyond their collective expertise and I think that says something I get my oil and tires maintained there, even if the basic services are not the cheapest in town. But they do have low prices on repairs and more serious maintenance issues and I think it has more to do with the overhead they are paying at their location as opposed to management or labor problems. These guys are not rip off artists, they know what they are doing and they are pretty friendly. I will take all of my cars there every time until they give me a reason to do otherwise.

I admit this place is much cheaper in the area than any other places, especially by the capitol auto mall. You sure do get for what you pay for. Cheap labor that is… They charge you so cheap for the labor. The workers don’t get things down quick enough. They take a day or two, and even forget about your car! They are very unorganize. I remember this place about five years ago when they had MUCH MUCH better employees. Back then I remember they had Michael and Phuong, best employees yet. I was a regular customers because of these two. Michael then quit due to the owner, Quang, not giving him insurance and he ended up opening his own place. Phuong, I believe is still working here, he manages the place now. He is getting a bit older and less knowledge since Michael isn’t around anymore.

i went here yesterday morning at around 10:00 a.m. and was told that I could come back at 1:00 and they would smog my car and give me a certificate so that i could sell. The guy that does the smogging was out for the morning. So i returned at 12:55 as i was told to be there at 1:00 p.m. with my car and they told me they were now too busy. I said how could you be too busy as i had an appointment for 1:00. they replied well they couldn’t do my car that day. I would have to come back. Had a very bad attitude i think they need to remember that with out us people out there they would not have a business. I would not recommend anyone go there as they obviously have no commitment to the customer. STAY AWAY

The same old car needed a smog check again! I had Paragon take care of it and I’m as pleased with the service as I was a few years ago. The cost went up to around $ 41, but that’s about average if not less these days. These guys are hard-​working, smart, and know their stuff about all makes and models of cars. They will call you with a diagnosis and quote, and they will call you when your vehicle is ready to be picked up. By bringing your repair needs here, you help support a local business that provides solid, quick service at reasonable prices.

Beware! They are a chop shop with minimal customer service. They will tell you what you want to hear to get the business. EX: The Manager states, «sure– come by now for a walk-​in SMOG test». When we get there, moments later, they tell us that the only lift they have is currently in use and they cannot get to it until later in the day. Message to the owner: Try doing some discovery work over the phone (vehicle type, availability, etc) and don’t waste potential clients time!!!

This place is not that far from my place (walking distance), when I first moved to this area, I took my car there to get a basic oil change, they charge the same as the Pennzoil Speed Oil Change Center down the street, but it took them 2 hours! I dropped my car off before lunch time, they said it will be done in a hour, so I went home to get something to eat, came back a hour and half later, they FORGOT about it! I have to wait for another half hour to get my car back. I wasn’t too happy about it. So even they are so close to me, I rather go down the street and get it done somewhere else.

I have been bring both a Dodge and a Mercedes to this location now for a few years and have been very happy. Almost every issue I have had has been diagnosed, quoted and fixed the same day. I don’t know how they compare pricewise as I have not had many mechanical issues over the years. Even if I had I would have to have had the same issues twice and take it to two places to get a price comparison.
Also, they have never charged for diagnosing the issue. They give you a call and tell you what the problem is and you can say, «No thanks. I don’t want it fixed.» then go pick up your vehicle.
I have only had one issue where I didn’t think the problem was fully resolved to the level I wanted. But for the course they are par.
Sometimes language barriers can be an issues when communicating though.