Envirotech Auto

I finally found the best Toyota mechanic in the area. It took me five years, but I found him. I own a 1996 Toyota 4 Runner, 2WD just shy of 200K miles. I have had to do very little work on it– except replacing a catalytic converter that was stolen, and the starter, which was messed up by the guy replacing the converter. A week ago my clutch started sticking. Very quickly it ramped up to the jamming at stop lights and I could not get into gear. The guys at my usual oil change shop recommended John at Envirotech and I managed to stutter and stop my way into the shop. THANK YOU!!! It is way too much for text for me to tell the entire story, but John was a magician with my Toyota. Incredible work. Since buying the truck in 2003, the clutch has never felt this good. It’s like gold. Clearly John has not only a talent, but a love for what he does. He fixed two other errors from previous services at other shops, while replacing the clutch etc everything (it was in beyond bad shape, I had no idea) and did not talk down to me because clearly I know nothing about cars; which I know nothing about cars, and yet, due to some of the things he seemed to know and comment on at the initial check up, just by going through the 5 speeds and looking under the car, I knew immediately he knows what he is talking about and is trustworthy. If you own a Toyota, there is only one shop in the Bay Area I would take it and that is to John at Envirotech.

A few years back (2006 or so) I bought a Toyota Sienna and thus was on the search for a good Toyota mechanic. I originally found John through Yahoo reviews which raved about his service so I started taking in my van for maintenance and repairs. Over the years I found him to very honest with fair prices and no pressure tactics. John was always extremely professional and didn’t try to nickel and dime me with charges for small stuff (e.g. Error codes).
I recently moved from CA and John would always take the time to give me advice on smog issues when I sold it. Without reservation I highly recommend Envirotech.
Depending on the time of day street parking can be scarce. The shop is located steps from a Caltrain stop so you can drop off the car and take the train.

We just bought a new Toyota FJ Cruiser and had an incident where we were hit hard on the bumper which needed to be replaced. Other dealerships gave us the run around.
We had the fortunate luck to hear about John Marin at Envriotech.
My husband contacted him and within alittle over 24 hrs, not only did he source the part, he had it installed and it is perfect.
John also gave my husband a discount on labor just because he had to wait an extra
15 min.
John was professional, courteous, knowledgeable and overall genuine, which as we all know is hard to find in this business.
John will now be our go to person for our Cruiser, along with our sports car.
We cannot thank you enough John, and will highly recommend you to all our friends!

I’ve taken my mr2 here many times and have not been disappointed. John is a real professional and overall good dude. I would recommend taking your Toyota here!

I saw John for my Prius. I am very apprehensive about dealing with mechanics because I’ve been taken advantage of in the past for my lack of car knowledge.
John is nothing but honest and he gave me a great deal. He is truly an expert and gave me a very reasonable rate on my car. I would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone.
This is an auto mechanic shop that you’ll feel good about having for life.

This is a great shop. I have a 93 Lexus, (and before that a 95 Corolla) and I trust it with John completely. He is a master of his trade when it comes to Toyota/​Lexus. I feel that he is very honest and transparent about everything he does. I never feel like he is trying to do work that doesn’t need to done. He checks with me on every part that he recommends replacing, explains the reason and the labor required to get the job done. His rates and the prices of parts are completely upfront and honest. Nice person and professional. He cares about the health of my vehicle in a genuine way.
If you have a Toyota or Lexus, I recommend this shop very highly.

Had a great experience. Took care of electrical and body issues with my Prius. Great service with clear and fair pricing. Everything was explained along the way, with no pressure. The location right by the Caltrain station was a huge convenience and plus. John is a nice guy and easy to work with. I’m coming back.

I’ve found that John has gone out of his way to make sure my Prius is done right. He is very attentive to detail and treats my car like his own. I think his price point is reasonable, considering he’s paid my car a lot of attention in my last 3 visits. When I expressed skepticism about some information regarding one of the parts he was putting in, he called a manufacturer to get a fuller story. When I dinged my hubcap, he noticed it since my last tune-​up. When he felt a service wasn’t necessary, he discouraged me from doing it. I think his service is fair, honest, and thorough. I would return.

My car needed an O2 sensor replacement. John did the job promptly for the reasonable, agreed-​on price, and also reset the error code and checked on monitored systems — and also topped up the oil and coolant. I’m a little behind on maintenance, and he also quoted me fair prices for the other procedures I should do. Everything he recommended was appropriate and would save me money — and make my car more reliable.

After going to several mechanics in the Bay Area… John is the best!!!
He is honest, friendly, caring and personable. I had a noise that the Toyota Dealership tried to fix and couldn’t (yet, they charged me and told me «that’s just what the car does»). John fixed it.
He also did a full check and gave me a list of other things I «could» fix but gave me no pressure to do so… I really felt he was just giving me a heads up.
He is the first mechanic I actually TRUST… a previous Toyota dealership mechanic… he knows his stuff…

I called this guy up about doing the 60K servicing on my 4 year old Lexus. At first he said he’d do it for $ 395 but didn’t seem familiar with what was needed for that servicing. He quoted me change of differential fluid, transmission fluid and coolant. I said that I wanted what was recommended by the manufacturer as the 60,000 mile servicing. He said that it didn’t need spark plugs. I said that the dealer said there servicing would be $ 1200 to 1500 and wanted to know why there was such a big difference in price. He calls me back with a new quote of over $ 1100 with a bunch of new items and he said it did need the spark plugs changed after all (not sure why he didn’t know that to begin with or why he’d say otherwise without knowing). Between talking to him the first time and the second time I did my own research and found what all was recommended by lexus on their website. I read him the items that Lexus recommends and then instead of just accepting that the designer and manufacturer of the vehicle might just know a little more about it than he does he wasted the next 10 minutes of my time over the phone trying to convince me that the items he was recommending were actually needed (new coolant, thermostat, differential oil, transmission fluid, clean injectors, decarb, throttle cleaning etc.).
It appears to me as if this guy was just seeing what he perceived as an opportunity to make money and then quoting just a little cheaper than the dealer by doing a bunch of unnecessary items.
It also appears as though he’s not that familiar with newer Lexus vehicles.

John is a knowledgeable, personable, great mechanic. He serviced my Toyota & if he couldn’t help me with something he found someone who could. I ALWAYS felt his prices were fair & he didn’t treat me like a dumb girl (which I am not).
I highly recommend!

John is a very nice person. He explained everything to me and show me all the old parts that he has taken out. He even did some extra works for me without charging me. I highly recommend John to anybody that are looking for a nice and honest mechanic for their Toyota.

John will take care of your car like its his. Need I say more?

John is a very honest man. He gives good service, goes above and beyond what any dealer/​shop would do, and has very reasonable rates.

The owner of the place knows his cars. I’ve taken my car there several times and he just lays out what is wrong with the car and gives me the option on what I want done. A repair shop where the mechanics just tell the truth is one to keep on speed dial. That would be this shop!

This is why I love Unilocal.I first checked reviews then called John to get some help with my car antenna. Right off the bat I could tell that he’s knowledgeable about Toyota cars. Like other reviewers, I agree that he is sincere and honest.

Great experience at Enviro Tech. The owner was kind enough to accomodate a saturday schedule if I could get there early. Early worked well with me and so I took the appt.
When I arrived, John was already there and ready to go. I found John to be pleasant and very sincere. He dropped me of the nearby starbucks and then picked me up when the service was over and drove me back to the shop
At the shop, he went through a detailed review of what he did to service my car and point out things that he saw that was out of the ordinary. For example he pointed that the rear right disc drum appeared to have some water marks and rust marks on it and not on the left side. He asked me if I was in some standing water and I told him I was not. We surmised it may have happened when the car was new and in the lot and it was not clear if that drum was inspected at the dealership during the first service that was done
I like it when auto mechanics take the time to show me what they did. Being mechanically inclined myself, I appreciate the time and information. From my experience, you can get very little information when servicing at a dealer and thats why I dont send my cars for service at dealers even when they are under warranty — US law states that as long as the owner can prove that all necessary manintenennce work in accordance to the owners manual is done, no dealer can deny you warranty on your cars
Overall I had a good experience at envirotech. The owner was accomodating to my needs for a saturday service and spent the time showing me what he did and what changes he would recommend

I had my struts done one Saturday morning. This guy is a total rock star in terms of auto servicing. Very sincere and honest. Most of all he knows what he’s doing. Very detail oriented and lays down options for you to choose, unlike other shops that «persuade» you to buy what they’re selling. I’ll definitely be back if my car runs into any problems. Kudos to you John!

Great shop for personalized attention for your car. Owner managed and operated so you know that they stand by their work. Highly recommended.