Moore’s Precision Auto

I have taken my Volvo station wagon to Moore’s Precision Auto since 1998. David Moore was excellent: determining what was wrong from a simple description, fixing things perfectly with Volvo parts, and economically. I followed Volvo’s service schedule and got 260,000 miles on my 1987 station wagon. In June 2004 I bought a 2000 V70 since the 1987 Volvo did not pass new emission standards.
David Moore needed to retire early, and took great care in finding someone with his same high standards, education and experience to buy his repair shop. Sergio Cordero is that person.
Sergio has maintained my 2000 Volvo since then. When I lost my job in 2010, Sergio helped me to maintain the car to Volvo’s excellent standards, yet saved me money. He takes time to lay out in advance what needs to be done and when so I can save enough money to have it done in time.
This is in contrast to experiences at 3 other Volvo repair shops. I went to Gabriel’s Volvo repair in Ojai when I first bought my Volvo in 1998. Gabriel did not replace the water pump as was stated on the repair sheet. He forgot. My engine overheated and Gabriel did not accept any responsibility. I went to David Moore Precision auto. The replacement cost me $ 3500.
When David was on Christmas holiday, a heater hose cracked. I went to the Ventura Volvo dealer who said I needed a new radiator costing $ 550. I only had the hose repaired. The day David returned, I took the car to him. He said the radiator was not cracked. If it were, he would seal it, not replace it.
Another Christmas a vibration started under my car halfway to Ventura. Precision auto was closed. I took the car to a new repair shop on Thompson. They said I needed a catalytic converter and they would use the one from a Volvo in the back The converter would cost $ 760. Instead I went to the dealer who told me one of the mounts for the muffler fell off, and the muffler was bouncing against the bottom of the car. The part was $ 3.00, the minimum repair was $ 85. Had Sergio fixed it he would have charged cost of the part, and whatever time it took to change it.
Two friends bought cars from Sergio. They are working perfectly after 1 – 4 years. Sergio maintains them.
Another friend started having trouble 2 weeks after she bought a Volvo in San Fernando Valley. She took it to Sergio. He inspected the car, and found it had been in an accident, and the frame damaged. Sergio helped the woman with documents for a small claims case she won.

My car needed a new clutch. It was completely worn out so I took it to Precision Auto. This seemed like a nice clean shop. The staff there is very friendly and kind. Sergio is charismatic and communicates well.
The clutch replacement was performed in a timely manner, they gave me a ride home, my car was tested and washed before being returned to me. I am not an expert in what this kind of work costs but it seemed reasonable to me. If this were the end of the story, I would give this shop 4 or 5 stars.
But this wasn’t the end because about 50 miles later, my drivetrain starts making noise. Quiet at first but growing louder as I drive, then I feel vibrations from the back of the car. I jacked up the car and stuck my head under there to see a large quantity of grease sprayed around just in front of the differential.
So I take the car back to Precision Auto and spend about an hour trying to convince Sergio that there is a problem. He tests the car and is somewhat evasive until I tell him about the grease. Then he finally puts the car on the lift and can see the damage. He agrees to investigate.
A few hours later he calls and explains that the techinician that changed my clutch had reused the CV joint gasket instead of replacing it. (I do not know why they took this part of the car apart anyway) This allowed the grease to escape. Sergio explains that they inspected, cleaned and repacked the CV joint and installed a new gasket and its fine now. This seemed ok to me at this point, I mean everyone makes mistakes now and then so as long as he ‘made it right’ I would be ok with that.
I then pick up my car and it was immediately clear that the CV joint is ruined with all the vibration I felt so i bring the car back the next day. Sergio tests the car again and declares that ‘its not that bad’ and he refuses to repair it. He begins to become unpleasant about the matter as I press him on it and reminds me about his certifications as an automotive technician as if that matters. My driveshaft is ruined and I will now have to repair it at my own expense.
Although it would be possible to force Sergio to take responsibility for this, it probably isnt worth the trouble since its probably not a good idea for him to work on my car again.
So the issues are:
— They take shortcuts (the reused gasket).
— They seem incapable of taking responsibility for their mistakes.
I should say that I have nothing against Sergio, he is actually very personable and fun to talk to. But his values as a service provider are questionable. If you take your car there, I think they are technically knowledgeable but you should be aware that if something goes wrong with the work, you will be on your own. Based on this experience, I would not recommend this shop. At least, I wouldn’t recommend them for anything complicated.

Hopefully this review will help to balance out the first review posted. I had no choice– I had to post about my experience. I’ve been going to Sergio since the day I got my driver’s license and got my Acura. He is the nicest mechanic I’ve ever heard of. My husband, my mom and my whole family go to him. He is honest, experienced and cares about his clients. I remember when David Moore handed this shop over to Sergio. He was very popular locally and knew Sergio would take care of it.
Now for my last experience– I bought my car battery from Sears and my husband and I put it in ourselves. A few months later my car died while stopped at an intersection so I towed it to Sears because I thought it could be the battery and it had a warranty. They told me it was the alternator and they put in a «new» one and the next day my car would not start. To make a long story short I should have gone to Sergio instead of being lazy and let Sears put not one, but two bad alternators in my car. Meanwhile I had to get my car towed and jump started on my own to get it to Sears. I ended up towing it to Sergio’s to get some real help. He charged my battery for me and took it over to Sears ON HIS OWN free of charge because he didn’t want me to drive it because it was unsafe. He talked to Sears for me and demanded they put a new alternator in my car. After they put the second bad alternator in my car they recommended I go to a specialist and would not give me my money back. Instead of letting them put a third bad alternator in my car I had Sergio put a new one in and I have never had a problem with my car since. I’m not calling the previous poster a liar but I can’t imagine him ever reacting in that way and using those words. This is coming from someone who has gone to him for car services for years.

No Stars for this crooked auto shop. Earlier this morn my husband dropped off his Volvo for a routine maintenance appointment. They completely SCREWED my husbands Volvo up. The man who owns the place– Sergio Cordero, claims on his website
to be a Master technician. This Idiot had left the foam packaging on the newly installed air filter. Upon picking up his vehicle tonight, my husband paid Sergio for the vehicle maintenance and as he drove away from the shop, he noticed that his car was not running right due to a lack of power. He immediately drove his car back to the shop and approached the owner and told him there was a problem with his car and what had he done to it. Sergio responded defensively, saying to my husband that «your car is F’d up and you are just trying to blame me for this Sh! t and all you want for me is to fix your car for free». Then he screamed for my husband to leave the premises and to never come back! We are now having to tow our car over 30 miles away to get it looked at by EXPERTS at a certified Volvo dealership. DO NOT GO TO THIS BUSINESS!!!