Toscalito Marin Tire & Automotive

We were headed to Tahoe several warning lights came on regarding the engine. We had just gotten the car serviced 4 days before. This was the closest open auto repair shop so we called and Alonzo said to come on by. Alonzo’s team ran a full diagnostic within 30 minutes of our arrival and we were back on the road within an hour. No further problems with the car. Super knowledgable and helpful!

Had a really awesome experience there today! John and his team provided me with the most friendly, timely, and inexpensive tire repair one could ever desire. Convenient and courteous. Thank you so much for making my day better!!! :)

Even though you buy tires that come with a package of unlimited balancing and rotations be prepared to spend several hours waiting for that free service even if you make an appointment.

Easy, fast and very customer service oriented. I saved over $ 100 on a service compared to another popular vendor in San Rafael.

I have been to this shop many times, and the guys are always incredibly helpful, patient, and kind to me. They also saved me from being ripped off by the Chevy dealer in Novato, and worked with me on payment since I am a poor starving artist! Alonzo and Johnny have gone above and beyond their call of duty anytime I’ve needed anything for my car. I absolutely recommend this shop.

Today I came in because my car was making a funny noise I came in to get a quote and Loren was incredibly rude, as soon as I told him I couldn’t afford the price. He put his hand in my face and yelled «bye». I could not believe he did that. I have never felt so disrespected in my entire life. He could have explained the prices to me and I would have felt better about spending my money here. I really felt like he didn’t care about helping me or his customers.
I always come in and Alonzo helps me and he really is a genuine and a humble mechanic. I really felt like I had confidence in him and his shop. He really took the time to explain to me everything about my car. I really loved coming here up until meeting Loren. Unfortunately I will never be coming here again and I would not recommend coming here. Unless you see Alonzo.

I’m a little surprised from previous reviews about this place. I’ve had nothing but awesome service from everyone here. I’ve been coming here on and off for about 5 years and several different cars and every time they are fast and honest. A big plus is they are open on Sundays and located next to a Starbucks so you can wait for your car and have some coffee to pass the time.
Loren has and always will be polite and informative. These guys get the job done honestly and quickly and really, what more do you need from a mechanic.
Excellent shop, will be returning for any auto repairs in the future.

I was rally disappointed when i went into the shop for a nail on my tire. I was told it was in the wall of the tire so it had to be replaced, and that I should just have them all replaced. I understood that with my type of car it was best to replace them all at once. The salesman who was helping me gave me a quote for over one thousand dollars. This included a $ 129.95 alignment as well. I called around and got the same tires and service from another local San Rafael shop for $ 800. I felt taken advantage of, and wouldn’t recommend going in there if you don’t really know much about tires. It caused me an entire day’s worth or work to find something less.

I am reviewing this again due to my recent experience with these guys. I think i just caught them on a wrong day at a wrong time. There definitely are people behind this business who actually care about the customers and go to great lengths to solve their problems. I admire this quality in any business and I will definitely put them back on my to go places for any future car troubles.

Awesome service. Loren was super helpful. I thought I needed a new tire but he looked at my and told me I didn’t — could have easily sold me something but didn’t. Great service and I’m sure I would be just as happy if they did do work for me!

Took my car into the San Rafael location last Saturday at 8:30AM for tire rotation and oil change. They said I needed rear brakes done, which I authorized. I went across the street to Starbucks to get some work done, and was given an ETA of about 90 minutes. Eight hours later, they were not done. Their equipment to calibrate the brakes wasn’t working, and they tried to have the same piece of equipment sent to them from some of their other locations, without success.
Long story short, I left around 6PM Saturday without the work being completed, and was asked to come back on Monday. To top it off, the emergency brake sensor could not be shut off, and, although the car drove OK, several warning lights lit up and a persistent loud warning ding accompanied me anywhere I drove over the weekend.
I dropped the car off the following Monday and picked up the rental they got me. When I returned on Thursday, the car was done. They did discount the labor portion of the job by $ 105, but I felt this didn’t adequately compensate me for the wasted day, aggravation and having to miss out on some rare time with my family.
Overall, it seems like the car is running OK now, but I cannot recommend this company given my experience.

I can highly recommend Alonzo Thurman and his team at the San Rafael (Irwin St.) Toscalito. They really understand the concept of customer service. I bought a classic car with a really old spare tire (about 46 years old) and they helped me understand the potential safety issues with relying on such an old tire and also helped me with obtaining wheel locks for my very expensive wheels. I really appreciate good service and Alonzo is the best.

Always get a second opinion. That’s what brought me here. Wanted to get a second opinion to fix my power steering. Or lack thereof.
So I set up an appointment for next day and dropped it off early in the morning. They told me there was a key drop but all there was is a hole in the front door to toss your key in. There were no forms or envelopes to put your key in so no way to explain what was going on. So I waited and eventually left key with the guy who opened up.
Called around mid day and they gave me an estimate. It was about twice as much as the estimate from another shop but then they added a few things that I did not ask them to look at. Completely unrelated as a matter of fact so I really wondered why they even took the time to look at the brakes. Anyway, we went over various options to reduce the cost but I thanked them for the estimate and told them I would pick it up in the evening.
So I get there after work and the car is still on a jack with the hood up. They tell me a hose broke off when they looked at it. They also now gave me a third option to just fix the minimum and it would be fine. I could rent a car to get home.
So here is the thing. Had they presented me with all options at the beginning, I probably would have had the work done and not needed to rent a car. But at this point was not particularly impressed of how they played me and I already made an apt with the first shop.
Again I thanked them and started to leave. Then he goes oh but wait you have to pay for the analysis. WTF? Up to this point no one has said anything about a fee. Not yesterday when I made the apt and not this morning. Was downright mad now! I argued and the guy gave me the keys and ushered me out as if I did something wrong.
Too bad. They could have had a customer. But they are more interested in gouging, misrepresenting and over charging.
I won’t be back.

Unfortunately, I had a fairly disappointing experience with this shop. I brought in my MINI Cooper for an alignment after installing lowering springs. I provided specific alignment settings, so they charged me a higher fee for a «custom alignment». No problem there — there’s a cost to being picky. I leave the car with them, and when I return they tell me that they were unable to get the settings I provided. Hmmm.
Well, turns out that they didn’t know how to adjust the rear suspension, so they didn’t even _​try_​to make any changes (the was given back to me with readings from their machine showing that the rear was precisely the same before and after) and they only adjusted the front toe. They then proceeded to charge me the full «custom alignment» fee even though they didn’t even make the changes they should have made if it was a standard factory alignment! I get that most basic maintenance shops don’t understand how to work on custom stuff, but in this case all they needed to do was adjust the suspension using the same parts every MINI comes from the factory with. To then have the audacity to charge me a higher fee then normal in order to do less work was insulting.
I own multiple cars and was looking for a good wheel & tire shop to be my new regular place, but unfortunately I won’t be going back here.

They have always done great work, and for many years I was very happy to drop my car off there for tires, oil changes, etc as my job was nearby. Recently however, I made an appointment for an oil change, asked the guy at the counter if it would be done in an hour, «yeah» he replied. When I returned just over an hour later the car was still in the same spot, untouched. A different guy at the counter told me it wasn’t even going to be started for another ½ hour. When I reminded him of my appointment he got someone to start on it right away, but it still took another hour. I felt a little better after blaring Barney and Caillou for my 5 year old in their waiting area the entire time, but I won’t go back unless I’m able to leave the car the whole day.

I take no pleasure in writing negative reviews. I don’t. Checking my profile will reveal I’ve never posted less than five stars. However, I felt it important to recount what transpired during my visit. (It should also be noted I never received a response after writing Vince, the owner).
First, the good news. Throughout my visit, I received great customer service from Alonzo. He was professional, courteous and knowledgeable.
Unfortunately, my interaction with Johnny Henderson, defies description.
INSTALLED 2 DIFFERENT SIZED TIRES
During a scheduled maintenance at the Toyota dealership, a technician mentioned my tires were completely worn out because I had two different sized tires on the car. Because I’ve only purchased tires from Toscalito, I called the shop. Alonzo told me he’d take a look.
Upon arrival, a manager named Johnny was engaged in a heated argument with a client. The experience was so uncomfortable, clients in the lobby were exchanging nervous glances. Because I had positive transactions with Toscalito in the past, I assumed the customer must have been unreasonable.
I didn’t want to add fuel to the angry client’s fire, so I quietly indicated I was the person who called about the two different sized tires. To get away from the argument, Alonzo wisely walked me outside and confirmed the tires were different sizes and completely worn out.
While Alonzo was reviewing my history on the computer, Johnny came over and started blaming me for not noticing the tires were of different sizes. In a level voice, I explained how I relied on Toscalito’s professional service. This is where things became awkward.
Please know I wasn’t looking for free tires! I simply wanted to find how the whys and hows of the installation of the different sized tires during my previous visit. Instead, of acknowledging any error, Johnny went on the offensive and started accusing me, in a very loud voice, of trying to get free tires. Several times, he literally yelled that the entire situation was my fault.
I was baffled why he would try to blame me for the mistake… especially since I had an alignment done at the shop on a subsequent visit after purchasing the tires. Couldn’t the technician at least have mentioned two different sized tires?
When I asked his for his name, Johnny pointed to a card holder and said I should call the owner. When I acknowledged I would contact ownership, Johnny yelled, «I won’t be threatened,» before storming out of the shop.
Immediately after Johnny exited, Alonzo apologized for the unprofessional behavior and did his best to have me leave a happy customer. He did such a good job, I even purchased tires and a new alignment.
Despite Alonzo’s valiant attempt to rectify Johnny’s horrific customer service, I’ve decided I won’t return to Toscalito. I liked using the shop in the past, but the poorly handled situation, combined with a lack of any response from ownership told me all I needed to know.

Loren and Johnny demonstrate excellent customer service and reliability. Whenever my car needs repair, this is where I go because I know they the best!

I went here to get my tires changed and aligned and Alonzo hooked it up! The service was really fast and Alonzo told me what else needs to be done with my car without me feeling pressured.

I stopped in with a nail and new I needed a new tire. Mario was a gem! I never felt like I was being up sold! He even got his hands dirty helping remove a stubborn lug nut.
I will be going back for my tires on our other car.

I adore Johnny and his crew at Toscalito’s in San Rafael. They always perform the work right, on time, and on budget. Highly recommended.