Automax Service Center

Took my Inifiniti here for the first time this morning after being referred by a friend. Just needed a new headlight installed and Jeff was super helpful with that. The office is SUPER clean, lounge/​waiting area was spacious, had work space and comfy chairs. Price was great, honest company and I will def be a repeat customer! My ONLY complaint would be that the hours aren’t amazing (for my work schedule at least) M-​F 7:30 — 5:30 being open Saturday would be a dream but I would still make it fit into my schedule.

I’ve been bringing my Jeep here for years. The prices are not cheap but are lower than the dealership and the service is tremendous. I had an issue with my radiator which wasn’t completely fixed the first time and Jeff went above and beyond what was necessary to correct the problem. Of course it is never great that you have to take your car back in for the same problem but the response to the mistake, the time spent making sure the problem would not occur again, and the concern shown were priceless. Thanks Jeff!

I’ve gotten my Audi serviced here several times and have zero complaints. Jeff is both warm and professional and you get the sense that delivering quality customer service is important to him. Car is running fine and seems happy.
Worth noting that I used to pay the extra $$$ to get my car serviced at Newport Audi but realized after several years they aren’t in the business to save customers money. Although Automax isn’t cheap, I know I’m saving a lot more money. So if you’re accustomed to getting your car serviced at gas stations or in the residential garage of a friend-​of-​a-​friend-​whose-​cousin thinks they know about German cars, then you won’t like the estimates because you’re too frugal to appreciate quality service.

EXPENSIVE & they want to replace parts that DID NOT needed to be replaced! Brought my car in for broken pipe on my BMW… they wanted to also replace my radiator and there was NOTHING wrong with it! Took my car somewhere else… fixed what only needed to be fixed… paid almost HALF of what this place wanted! Also, do your research on approx labor costs… the quote on labor alone here was ridiculous!

Went here for two reasons…
1^st I went here for a service and they quoted me a price which was fine. When I showed them this awesome flyer they keep putting on my car day after day, they said I already gave you the lowest price quote. Thats BS! Whats this stupid flyer you keep putting on my car?
2^nd I asked them to take apart my door panel because it has like 10 of their flyers stuck inside my window jam. Does anyone know what I am talking about? They laughed at me and would have to charge me. Took it straight to the dealer who opened it up for free on the spot, they took an awesome picture of all of the flyers in my door, and said they wanted to hang a photo of this on their office.
Last time I ever go here. I see your flyer guy in my parking lot its gonna be trouble.

I broght my car there once because I received those flyers they put in my windshield. Decided to give them a shot for a simple oil change and filer change. Walked out with a 700 minus 50 bcuks coupon bill =T.
2006 BMW I think they do a decent job but get ready to pay for an arm and a leg. (not much cheaper from the dlr). And it was my last time there.

DO NOT GO TO THIS PLACE FOR ANY KIND OF WORK TO BE DONE ON YOUR CAR. RIP-​OFF!
BTW, I’ve never written a review before this time but I want people to be fore-​warned.
I went to Automax after I received one of their postcards on my windshield at Tustin Marketplace, arrived at a nice and clean building, greeted by Jeff, one of their service writers, who was very friendly and seemed knowledgeable. I was politely taken to my work and picked-​up by their shuttle while my car was getting an estimate, nice treatment right, at the end of the day I got the estimate of work to do done!!! I was in shock!
First of all, they could not repair what was originally wrong with my car (an electrical issue in my dashboard) but told me I have several other things that needed to be repaired to the tune of approx. $ 3,000 and that my blown-​out headlight would cost me $ 100.00 to replace! I told them the last place that replaced my headlight only charged me $ 50.00, they said they needed to remove a tire to get to the headlight??? so the labor was $ 75.00. But what about the cost of the rest of the repairs!!! The only response I got was that all the repairs needed to be done. Obviously, they would not touch my car at those prices.
I decided to get a second opinion the next day. The second repair shop went through my engine and could not find any of the problems that Automax told me needed to be repaired, someone was trying to rip-​me off with UNNEEDED repairs. I still need to get my electrical issue repaired but I think I will go to the dealership for that issue, I’m going to be very careful next time.
BUYER BE WARE!

Jeff has always been very helpful and friendly. I was happy with my service and would happily go to Automax again. Thanks for taking care of me guys!

Appoinments not kept… WHy make them then???

We took our car in to get our BMW fixed. Our trunk would not close. They replaced the trunk latch and said that was all that was wrong. Our bill was around $ 400 and the repairs came with a 2 year warranty. Great! That’s good!
Well, the trunk was now only latching part of the time. There was also a weird buzzing sound around the latch. This started the very next day after getting it repaired. I called AutoMax 4 days after the repairs to see if we could come in, because the trunk was not latching at all again. They said they were too busy that day, but ti come in Monday. Well, we went out of town and the trunk was latching again some of the time.
We just got very busy and didn’t take the time to take it in. Two weeks ago, my husband took it in to get it looked at. They said they were too busy to look at it, but to come back Monday. Again, we got the same story on Monday. Today Joe got up early to take it in when they opened, so he would be the first customer.
This repair was a warranty issue, but the tried to claim it was a whole other issue. Greg, the manager, said the wiring went bad. He also proceeded to say that the wiring went bad from us trying to slam the door shut when it wouldn’t latch!
We wouldn’t have had to slam it if it had been fixed correctly the first time! We don’t slam it, by the way, we had to figure out a dumb trick to get it to latch.
My issue with them… Greg… is that he had no integrity on this issue. He said he was going to bill us $ 217 for the labor of this repair from today. They kept brushing us off and acted as if they did not want to repair the bum work they did in the first place.
We had thought we found a great place to get our BMW repairs done besides the dealership. But we are now left disappointed and aggravated. Are there ANY honest BMW auto repair shops with honest pricing???
I do not recommend this place to anyone!

We took advantage of one of their discounts, and we were satisfied. We need engine work done on our Honda Accord. I haven’t been back in a long time, but this place did it right.

I found a $ 50 off coupon on my windshield so I decided to take my BMW 745 there for some minor work. After a brief visit and diagnosis, the adviser came back to me with a whole slew of problems that he said had to be fixed. I decided to let them do some of the work that I though was most important at the time. They did an OK job and the facility was nicer than a normal mechanic but after everything was said and done and $ 2000+ later, I couldn’t help but feel like I was still over charged and up sold on non essential fixes. Long story short, I’ve never been back since. They boast dealership quality repairs and facility at a lower cost. Although they are a bit cheaper than the dealer, the savings is very very minimal and the experience was not much better. I wish it would have worked out since they are literally down the street from my house.

This review is based on one experience only for a small repair.
I found Automax to be organized, communicative, and polite. And I appreciated their spotless customer spaces — both the service writers’ offices and the well-​appointed lounge.
The facility is immaculate, which counts for something. Family owned and operated — that often means an intense focus on quality, and I hope to find over time that such is the case with this establishment.
After taking my ’06 Porsche (OK, I mean Boxster) to the dealer for all repairs since buying it new in late ’05, a ~ $ 900 tab to replace a radiator fan last month motivated me to look elsewhere when a headlight burned out. I’ve changed car lightbulbs before, but it’s way too complicated on my little 21^st century hot rod, and I’m older and lazier now.
Years ago I followed a similar pattern. For the first four years I took my trusty, ’79 Mazda 626 coupe to the dealer for all maintenance. Then, in an attempt to save a few bucks when the shifter went sideways, I tried an independent garage. Maybe I saved money on the work that was done, but I learned later (from the dealer) that the symptoms suggested I didn’t need the extensive repairs done by the independent garage. So there’s an argument for sticking with dealers, too.
OK, back to the present…
Go ahead, laugh at me, but replacing a light bulb is a $ 100 job on my car. The bulb itself is $ 25, but the labor is where the major cost comes in. I looked around under the bonnet and in the wheel well and figured I’d regret tearing into it on my own. I tried Automax because they left a calling card with a $ 50 coupon on my window at The District, so I wound up paying about $ 50 in the end.
So far, so good.

My wife has been taking her ’05 Mini to Automax for scheduled maintenance because they are literally right across the street from her job. She had them change the oil a couple of times with no problems. One day, she takes the car in for a routine oil change and Automax tells her she needs a new crankshaft after about 77,000 miles. How does a routine oil change turn up a problem with the crankshaft? Unfortunately, my wife approved the repair (over $ 1,000) and paid them without calling me first.
Fast forward to this week, the Mini now has 83,000 miles. On the way to work, the steering locks up and she just makes it to work without crashing. She takes her car to Automax and they tell her there is nothing wrong with the steering, the real problem is that she needs a new transmission (cost: $ 8,000). It seems when the transmission dies on the front wheel drive Mini, it causes the steering to malfunction. Right.
Long story short, she calls a trusted former mechanic who had proved his honesty over many years, and he smells a rat. He refers her to an associate who is a European transmission specialist. He finds nothing wrong with the steering or the transmission.
These guys a either incompetent or untrustworthy. Go elsewhere.

Read this review before you go here –
For regular service this place is ok, but it is NOT necessarily cheaper to other dealerships — the price is pretty comparable. And you dont get the loaner car.
Here is the kicker — after my regular service was done, I was told that I need to replace a wear and tear part (belt) and associated components — total expenses I was told would be close to 1000.
this was a real sticker shock for me — especially for a place that is relevant only if it provides same service as a dealership at a lower cost to you and more convenience.
The next thing i did, i took my car to a nearby dealership — and got the part replaced for — I kid you not — total all in cost of 154 bucks! this dealership also gave me a loaner car for free — this is your much maligned Fletcher Jones (which btw i was told horror stories about — and they turned out to be NOTHING like the negative reviews i have seen on this and other boards.
By going to a dealership I saved a ton of dough, got better service and value. Tell me why is this place in business again?

These guys are my only German car service provider. Their prices and services are so much more competitive then any dealer you can go to .
They really go out of their way for your business.

I’ve been taking my car to Automax ever since my ’06 MINI got out of warranty so this review is not based on one visit. I’ve had an oil change, my rear brakes replaced and most recently brought it in because my car had stalled as soon as I turned on the A/​C. Just prior to it stalling, I smelled a burning smell inside my car. Surely it couldn’t be good. So I brought it into Automax.
I’ve been dealing with Greg ever since I started bringing my car in and he’s very personable and is up front with everything. He told me that the AC compressor crapped out and it would cost me X-​amount dollars. I wanted to see if his price was comparable to others so I shopped around. This is where they get knocked down multiple stars. They misdiagnosed the problem. It wasn’t air conditioning related at all. It ended up being the vibration damper crank pulley, which drives the AC, supercharger and water pump, and had I kept driving, it would’ve ruined my engine. After the 2^nd shop replaced the AC compressor (which they don’t think was the problem in the first place) and replaced the vibration damper pulley, they still came in less than Automax’s quote.
Don’t get me wrong, they are a higher end shop, they have a nice customer lounge with WiFi, they have drop off service and some people appreciate that but after my experience, they’ve lost my business for failing to find a potentially catastrophic problem.

Cons: Their prices are very high, although when I called dealers in the area, they did charge less here for a BMW Inspection/​Tune-​Up than the dealers did. However, don’t think super cheap pricing — you still pay a premium. They aren’t open on the weekends.
Pros: The service is top notch. They often add extras, like a free car wash for every service, and replacement of light bulbs without charge for parts or labor, which is a plus. They seem to do good work.

Well, they did it again :)
I went back at 30,000 (or there abouts) and as usual, I went home a happy porsche owner.
BTW, when they clean your car (also included at no extra cost) they don’t do a good job, they do an AMAZING JOB.
Love, love, love these guys… what more can I say?

The Nordstrom of auto service for your BMW. Thank you Greg, Jeff and crew for kind, attentive and customer-​first service.
After driving an old Mustang, followed by an old Mercedes, I never thought I would be able to own a new BMW at 26 years old. As luck would have it, I now own an E46 325i.
When it comes to my BMW — my smart and sleek Bavarian pride and joy — I am at a level beyond OCD. Meticulously caring for my BMW is not just a hobby, but a lifestyle, of sorts. If you are like me, Automax is the place for you.
Many hands have been under the hood of my 2003 325i, including my own. After spending thousands at the dealership in maintenance over the course of several years, thinking that they were the best blokes for the job, I reluctantly granted myself permission to try an independent shop.
One fateful night I returned to my car after dinner in Irvine to discover a Automax gift certificate carefully placed in the window. Normally, I hate this. But since this was actually something useful, and the timing was right, I put my OCD in check and gave Automax a try. Also, I noticed that only the most well-​kept Bimmers in the vicinity had been graced with this first-​time $ 50 coupon — how satisfying.
I was given a tour of the shop on my first visit and allowed to see the equipment and meet the mechanics that would be performing the operation on my baby. This impressed me because it was not only completely unexpected, but no other shop had ever offered. The shop was immaculate, well-​organized and humming right along.
Since then, I have been back to Automax several times for repairs and maintenance. I have found them to be flexible, reasonable, and honest folks. When my steering started to give me grief, Automax performed a comprehensive investigation into the front end to diagnose the problem — and they found straight away what Crevier had missed after several failed attempts. Then, Automax fixed the problem at virtually no cost to me except for my time. Since then, they have done several smaller repairs for me as a courtesy when coupled with other jobs — a concession that, upon my suggestion at the dealer, would only elicit guffaws from the commission-​hungry service advisors. Automax sends me additional coupons in the mail that are good for any/​all work — and they honor the coupon no matter how small the job, no matter how low the invoice.
As a customer, Automax repeatedly saves me time and money compared to the dealer, whilst doing it with an unprecedented level of class. They are always able to get me in quickly, sometimes even at the last minute. At once, they are both honest and consummate professionals who understand how to gain a customers trust and repeat business.
The shop and waiting area are always comfortable and tidy — not redolent of grease and grime, unlike their more modest competitors. You could certainly spend less for a repair at a quicker, dirtier shop — there are plenty just here in Irvine like that — but Automax offers peace of mind and backs up their work with a warranty. Yes, you read correctly — a warranty. Moreover, everyone you will deal with is assuredly fluent in the English language — how novel.
Lastly, as for the folks who gripe about Automax not being open on weekends, well, you can’t have it all. When you own your own successful business, you deserve weekends off. Even many dealers only do pit stop work on weekends, anyway. Quit your whining and take comfort in the superb quality work and value you will get at Automax, without sacrificing your pride or dignity for a deal elsewhere that turns out was, in fact, too good to be true.
Thank you, Automax!