Precise Auto Care

Mr. Tin Tran is a professional. I called ahead to get a quote for brake pad replacements and I was able to drop my car off on a Saturday and pick up the same day. His price was the best compared to all other auto shops in the area and I am supremely happy with the efficiency and quality of the job done.
I will definitely return for work I need done on my car in the future.

This is a long overdue review. We have been coming here for about three years now.
Tin is wonderful! We have on two different occasions with both our cars had our car battery die on us. Of course it would happen over the weekend or New Year’s weekend. Both times we left our cars in their lot and called in to let them know we left our car there for him to take care of. The next day we get a call to let us know our car issues and they take care of it and is ready to pick up.
Tin is very reliable and communicates well!

This review is solely for my oil change experience. I called Tin at 11am and dropped off my car around 1pm. By 330pm, I was informed that I could pick up my car. The price for the oil change was honest and reasonable. I will definitely go out of my way to come back here for car issues.

I took my 2004 Infinti here for a power steering pump and the brakes, and my 2005 Ford for engine mounts and oxygen sensors.
This is a well equipped shop. They do quality work, are honest, friendly, and charge reasonably for their labor. I recommend them highly.

Tin does FANTASTIC work on cars. He is affordable, quick, and a very honest business man. I appreciate his efficiency whenever I bring my Lexus here to get serviced. He is always able to fit me into his schedule, and is affordable. if you are looking for a good spot to get maintenance or work on your car done, come to Tin — you will NOT be disappointed!

We have 4 vehicles in our family (Mazda 6, Toyota Camry, Toyota Highlander and Honda CRV). I change all the fluids in our vehicles myself as well as other small maintenance work. I try not to take our vehicles into the shop unless it is work that I cannot perform myself or work I deem not worth my time. I am very particular when it comes to vehicle maintenance.
Tin and his team at Precise Auto Care is the only mechanic that I trust our family vehicles with. I typically take our family vehicles in for brake jobs, thermostat change, and coolant flush. I find Precise Auto Care’s pricing cheaper than other shops around the Bay Area and Tin is VERY HONEST. Sometimes I’ll buy parts from Tin and do the work myself because he can get OEM parts at a better price than dealerships. Tin never up-​sales his customers for services that is unnecessary.
If you are looking for a great auto shop that is honest with their customers, look no further!

Recently, my dad brought his 2005 Tundra truck in for oil changes on transmission, differential, break fluid and power steering. They spotted bad break rotors in the front and fixed it which stopped the steering wheel vibration at the speed of 50 – 60 mph! Total price was reasonable. My dad said Tim (owner) was very honest & trustworthy, and his mechanic (Dot) was very kind tok good care if his truck. Good job guys! (He is one tough pleaser)

I have been going to see Tin for my car problems for the past 5 years. He is one of the best mechanics I have ever had. He is very honest and trustworthy as other reviewers have noted. I have recommended to many of co-​workers and they have all been very satisfied with his work. He is also very quick and wastes no time. I have never seen him try to do an upsell or recommend unnecessary repairs.
Overall, I would highly recommend Tin for anybody who is looking to get their car fixed without getting taken advantage of.

Tin, the mechanic who runs this place, is a honest and trustworthy guy. I’ve been here several times, for things ranging from getting my oil changed to fixing my car after it broke down. Everything has been reasonably priced. Will definitely continue coming here for stuff involving my car as long as I am in the area.

Great place to get work done. They are honest and quick with service. We take all of our company fleet here, as well as many of our personal vehicles. Been coming here since early 90’s. There are other shops with similar names, but this is the one to come to. They are ON Lafayette in Santa Clara.

My car’s tire pressure light was on for about a week so I needed to go somewhere to see if there was a nail embedded in the tire or at least check the pressure. I called Precise Auto Care and the owner was super nice and said to come in a few hours so he can check it. When I went, he checked and balanced all four tires for free and the pressure light was gone! I’m so impressed by the quick and quality service and I’ll be sure to come back. Highly recommended!

My parents and I have been going to Tin and Precise Auto Care for years. He is an amazing mechanic and has been able to fix any problem we have had. He is nice and friendly, and is sure to let you know what it is thats wrong with your car, and shows you your old parts and what was wrong, and what he fixed.
He is extremely honest and will never try to «sell» you anything you don’t need. His prices have always been more than fair and cheaper than most shops.
I will continue going to Tin as long as I can!

So far Tin and his team are 3 for 3 in fixing various issues with our cars. Two cars with leaks, one with a leaking valve cover and another with cooler line, as well as A/​C work and I can happily say that his work is very good and reasonably priced. I’ve found that it’s best to call him and check his workload/​availability but I’ve never had any issues here. I appreciate that he’s very honest: he told me that my Jeep has a two piece main seal that was leaking slightly and that he doesn’t attempt to fix them as he can’t guarantee that it won’t leak afterwards. Most mechanics would happily take your money regardless! To boot, he’s an ASE master mechanic so he knows his stuff.

I am extremely happy with the service I got from Precise Auto Care and Tin.
Went here to replace the pads on my rear brakes, inspect the front suspension, and perform the 90 k mile service. There were a few opportunities for Tin to do unnecessary work such as replacing the front suspension control arm, resurfacing the rear brake rotor and even replacing the air filter. For each of these cases, Tin recommended waiting. It seems to me most other shops would have taken advantage of all three. Tin did not and has earned my trust.
The final costs were less than quoted on the phone.
Honest service, fair prices and responsive. Why go anywhere else?

I’ve been to the shop on three separate occasions.
The first two were for my ’01 Escape. In both cases, I was expecting to be hit with crazy fees to fix, but Tin gave me very fair prices. He never tried to charge me for services I didn’t need, turnaround was fast, and prices for the work required were very fair. No complaints at all.
Today my girlfriend managed to peel off part of the plastic protective shield on the bottom of her car, and my first instinct was to call up Tin. The shield had actually ripped part way through and was hanging almost as low as the street. After explaining the problem, he told us to come by. We may have to leave the car there for few hours while he sourced parts, but no big deal.
The actual experience was more like 5 minutes long. He had us pull the car into his garage, jacked it up, drilled a few small holes into the shield, and grabbed some plastic wire ties from his work bin. Then, he used the wire ties to tie the partially ripped shield back into its original position. The end result is just as sturdy as if we were to spend $ 100 on a replacement part. That is some MacGuyver shit right there. Clearly he’s been around the block a few times.

Tin is a very honest and thorough mechanic. I’ve taken my Corolla there a half-​dozen times or so and can easily recommend him.
When mechanics like Tin can be found on Unilocal,I have no idea why the hell anyone would get their car fixed at a dealership, which makes its revenue from charging inflated fees to people who are too lazy or clueless to know better. There’s a better way, people!

**WARNING BAD MECHANIC******
I went to that place because I found it on Unilocal and it is very close to where I live.
I had a burn smell my car so i went there so the mechanic can check it. He told me that the top gasket of the engine was leaking. He charged me $ 320. And week later, my car was still smelling burn, so i took my car back and he told me that the back of the engine was leaking. He told me, it should be fixed. A week later, still smelling oil burn, so i take it to another mechanic:
I found out that my car was leaking from everywhere, even the coolant was leaking. How is it possible that those guys did not fixed it after 2 tries!!!
Really, I expect from my mechanic to check my car seriously and let me know what is wrong!
Tony

I’ve taken my Civic here couple of times and service has been great. I don’t know anything about cars, but these guys were great at explaining what was wrong and giving me what felt like a fair price when I called other shops.
Highly recommended if you are in the Santa Clara area.

I have taken both my cars here a few times and I love working with Tom. However, I just called today (Mar 21, 2011) and he no longer works there. Does anyone know where he is working now? The other employees have not worked on my cars so I can’t speak about them.
05-​14-​2011 update: Tom will be opening a new shop close by very soon. Here is the new place.

They FIXED the problem! To me, that’s all it matters! Highly recommended!
Here is my story:
My car’s evil check engine light went on 2 weeks ago, and the engine was shaking pretty badly whenever it’s at idle. So I took it to mechanic #1.
Mechanic #1: The error code is system too lean. The problem might due to the intake manifold ($ 300, part only) and/​or mass air flow sensor ($ 214, part only).
Me: What should I replace in order to fix the problem?
Mechanic #1: Hmmm, not sure. I can’t guarantee anything.
Basically, mechanic #1 couldn’t pinpoint the problem. Instead of spending $ 514 + labor and get nothing done, I went to mechanic #2.
Mechanic #2: It’s gotta be the mass air flow sensor! $ 216.58 please $$$.
Me: You sure it’s gonna fix the problem?
Mechanic #2: YES, $ 216.58 please $$$.
After replacing the sensor, the check engine light went off, but the engine still shook pretty badly when it’s at idle (fooled me once). It felt like the engine was choking. So I went back to mechanic #2 again.
Mechanic #2: It’s gotta to be the tune-​up! You need tune-​up. $ 289.75 please $$$.
Me: So after the tune-​up, the engine will stop shaking???
Mechanic #2: YES, $ 289.75 please $$$.
So I did the tune-​up, and it still didn’t fix the shaking problem (fooled me twice). Before I left, mechanic #2 was like «it’s probably due to some xxx part (I forgot the name of it), and it costs $ 1000+». Aaaarghhh… forget it! Since the evil check engine light is off, I guess I can still drive it. I did drive it, but not for long. The evil light went on AGAIN last night! It was driving me CRAZY! Since I don’t know what goes after «fool me thrice», I decided to check Unilocal trying to find a mechanic who can actually FIX things. That’s how I found Precise Auto Care.
I took my car in this morning. Viet told me the error code was system too lean (Still?! So basically I spent $ 506.33 at mechanic #2 for nothing! Yes, I got jacked!), and he needed my car there to do a thorough inspection (Thorough is good!). So I did. After an hour, Tom called me saying that there was something wrong with a hose, and to fix it, it’s gonna be $ 300. Sure, why not, just FIX it so I don’t have to see that stupid check engine light again! After another 3 hours or so, they called me again saying that my car was ready.
So I went in. Tom showed me the hose that was causing the problem. It had a hole on it. That’s why the check engine light went on and that’s why my engine was shaking. The bill ended up to be $ 289.98. They changed the hose and the intake gasket.
Hose: $ 22.70
Intake Gasket: $ 59.66
Labor: $ 200, $ 80 per hour
While I was driving back from the shop, I could feel the difference immediately. The engine was smooth like baby oil. I will let you guys know how it runs after 2 weeks.
I have always been cheap to pay inspection fees. Precise Auto Care does charge inspection fees. But now I’d rather pay for it and let them find out what exactly the problem is then spending all the money and replacing all the parts that have nothing to do with the problem. A $ 506.33 lesson. Well learned.