Tehachapi Automotive

Well, I’ve lived in Tehachapi for only 3 years so I didn’t know where to go for work on my cars. I tried Tehachapi Auto a few times, but the last couple of times, not too happy with them. Asked them to rotate tires on my truck, normally $ 25 or even free if you purchased tires with them. They said minimum charge is ½ hr labor, even if it only takes 10 min, so it cost me $ 50. Next time there I asked them for tires for my car and they said ‘sure’. They quoted me price and they would order them for me. Was surprised when they called and said that they needed to take my car somewhere else to get them put on. When I heard that, I realized that they don’t even do tires there. Looked up local tire dealers in Tehachapi and the first one I called said when I asked them if T. Auto had called them for some tires they said ‘yes’. I said that I would bring car to them instead. They gave me better price and gave me a few perks too, like free rotation, road hazard, etc. They said I would not have gotten perks if I had let T. Auto do the job. They should have just said ‘We don’t really do tires’ and pointed me in right direction. They were just trying to make every dime they could on me and didn’t care that I wouldn’t have gotten extra perks. Kind of shady, if you ask me. Also get better service and a better price at Jiffy Lube for regular oil changes. Never going Back to T. Auto.

They where great ! took my car in and right away they took care of it and my car runs great no more misfire’s or stalling out and a great warranty came with the repair at no additional cost you guys are great. Thanks guys and office staff is very friendly.

I have never met a bigger bunch of crooks in my life! As I’m waiting to get ripped off and price gouged myself, they’re ripping a guy off right in front of me for a failed smog because of a check engine light. Anyone that has had a vehicle smogged before knows that a smog shop will normally warn you if you have a check engine light, your vehicle will not pass smog, NOT TEHACHAPI AUTOMOTIVE! They’ll just take you for every dime they can.
I was quoted over the phone $ 550 to replace a $ 45 sensor on my truck. Since I didn’t have the time to make the repair myself or take it to another shop and it was a $ 94 diagnosis fee, I told them to go on and do the work. When they finished my truck they tried to get me for $ 650. I argued with the mechanic and made them honor the $ 550 I was originally quoted. Needless to say these guys think they have the Midas touch and apparently charge $ 100 per hour for their work (higher than any shop I have ever been to). Not only do they charge and extremely high price per hour, they do everything they can to up-​charge and tell you things are wrong with your vehicle that may or may not be. They tried to tell me I had bad batteries. You don’t have to be a genius to know that when you have a vehicle that won’t start because of a bad sensor, that it will run your batteries down trying to start it. Of course my batteries had a low charge, it hasn’t been starting right and hasn’t had time on the road to recharge.
Also, they do not have an hourly labor rate posted in their office, so who knows how much they’re charging others. Take your vehicle ANYWHERE else to be repaired!
*UPDATE 2÷9÷15
I received a letter in the mail today for my complaint, from Tehachapi Auto. They claim in their letter that they do a complete inspection on all vehicles. This is why they told me about my «charging system being low» and that the batteries needed replaced. Funny thing about this so called «complete inspection» they do. 1) My batteries are still working just fine. I have had no issues with them. 2) They didn’t mention that I had an oil leak or a bad power steering pump on my truck. I knew about both of these but they didn’t know that. If they really did a «complete inspection» like they say they do, these things should have been easily caught.
They also claimed no one waves the diagnosis fee when you have your vehicle worked on at their shop. If you’ve ever had your vehicle to a shop, you know better. If no one waved that fee a lot of people would take their vehicle elsewhere, after finding out what’s wrong with it.
They also claim their hourly labor rates are posted and cheaper than the other shops around. If they are, I sure didn’t see them and I had to sit in that waiting room for quite some time. So I had the time to look around and did not see anything. I guess at every shop you should ask the rates and if they mark the parts up 100% because that is what these crooks in Tehachapi do (Crankshaft position sensor at Autozone — $ 44, Tehachapi Auto — $ 88 — 100% mark up). I don’t know what the other shops around Tehachapi charge but I do know I’ve been to specialty shops in Bakersfield that charge $ 85 per hour. At a specialty shop, you would expect higher prices because they are experts in their field.
One more thing. What I originaly brought my truck to the shop for, is not fixed (intermittent stalling and not starting). All they did was pull a code and replace a sensor. My truck is still doing the same thing. They obviously don’t have real mechanics there. They are parts replacers with fancy tools and lifts, nothing more than that.
I hope, through my terrible experience, I save someone the time and trouble of going to these thieves. It’s so sad that you cannot just simply trust people anymore.