Bruno’s Automotive & Machine Service

I’ve now been to Bruno’s multiple times with more stories like my last one. Today I had to tell another one of them.
For the last two weeks my brake light has started going off and on. When I brake harder is may stay on for a couple of minutes. This morning I took the car into the shop with no appointment. The mechanic who knows me now asked me some questions, checked the brake pads, open the hood, then put in some brake fluid. He asked me to drive it around for a bit then return. It was fixed! When I asked how much he said $ 5. I did not have any cash so he said not to worry about it.
Well you know what… they will never have to worry about having a customer for life. These guys are awesome. :D

Sammy and the guys at Bruno’s are great! My family’s been taking our cars there for 10 years and we are always well taken care of. They get to the problem and get our cars in and out and fixed as quickly as possible.

I first went to these guys by accident. They are behind Precision Tune, so if you really like brand-​name shops you might never try them. They’re shaggy-​looking guys, too. But I have never met mechanics who care more about cars. The guys at Bruno’s have been able to figure out problems that other mechanics couldn’t – for example, a certain VW Bug specialist was never able to get my Super Beetle running smoothly, but Bruno’s repaired it beautifully. I trust these guys completely. And if you become a long-​term customer, you’ll find out that they’re really friendly guys, too. They just did some suspension work on my BMW. I’m a happy customer.

Bruno’s is the best place that I’ve found so far. I’ve been going to them almost 10 years.
I’ve spot-​checked them quite a few times over the years on both repairs and maintenance. I would have them diagnose the issue, then I’d take the car to a different mechanic, have them diagnose the issue and compare. Bruno’s price was not always better but it was always competitive. Their diagnosis was always confirmed by the competing mechanic (without my prompting).
I trust Bruno’s but, if you haven’t been to a lot of mechanics, you should always get a second opinion if the car is drivable and the service is over $ 100, even if you go to Bruno’s. Build up your own trust with the mechanic; don’t take my word for it.
Also, understand that Bruno’s isn’t a specialist. If you want a great pair of tires for a great deal, you won’t get that at Bruno’s. They can get you some tires but they’ll be expensive and you’ll be better off at a tire store. If you’ve an electrical problem, there are car mechanics that specialize in electrical issues so they’ll do a better job and a bit cheaper than Bruno’s.
Samir is a mechanic and the owner. Craig is a long-​time employee. A few years ago, they had more mechanics but now they are back down to Samir and Craig.
The guys at Bruno’s are very sensitive about their price and work. They aren’t great conversationalists: they grunt, are covered in oil and are scary to non-​mechanics. But, underneath it all, they really want to be the best and most affordable mechanics. If you want to delay some service to save money, just tell them and they’ll suggest what services to drop. At 30K, 60K and 90K, it’s a good idea to bring in a print out of the services that you want done and what you DON’T want done. They won’t try to guilt you into services; if you don’t want them, they won’t try to convince you otherwise. But you can’t be a wilting violet: if you don’t understand or want to see something or want an explanation, you’ve got to speak up and ask.
All their receipts are handwritten and difficult to read and, sometimes, don’t even seem complete. So, don’t be surprised when you don’t get a nicely printed service summary at the end. Ask if you don’t understand something. For some people, this may be too uncomfortable so you might want to skip Bruno’s.
Now, you have to understand that Bruno’s is not about cheap oil changes and free brake inspections. Their oil change is on the high end, $ 40, but they won’t rush. If you’ve never had a bad oil change, you might wonder why it might be worth paying $ 40. Paying somebody $ 50-​$ 100 to clean leaking oil off your engine and do a proper oil change sucks, not to mention the angst of suddenly seeing steadily increasing oil drops on the floor of your garage.
Bruno’s may even throw something in for free; they sanded off a melted garbage bag from the bottom of my car once, for free. (I brought the car, complaining about the smell.) I think that they also replaced a gasket for free once. I can’t guarantee that they’ll do this for you; I’ve been going there for 10 years.
Overall, Bruno’s is straight and fair. All their services cost money; they don’t do services below cost, just to get you in the door.
Plus, they usually aren’t that busy so you don’t have to wait forever, just to get an oil change.

They seemed friendly enough initially and did repair my brakes. But I had an unpleasant experience, not all their fault, but still left an unpleasant taste.
They called me to pick up my Mercedes. When I arrived, I didn’t see anyone around. After wondering what to do, I drove off with my car, figuring they would send me the bill. This was a mistake, as they called the police, fearing that I was stealing their services. Though this was quickly straightened out, I didn’t appreciate the way it was handled.