List 17 Auto Services , Car Repair near Santa Cruz, CA (Part 2)

Kevin Gonzales Awesome Place !! I wish I could give it higher ratings. Trustworthy, Quality, and above all they like there toys !! Big boys break toys so its nice to have guys working on your toys that know what you really need instead of a generic part that gets you by. Thanks to all the great staff there !!!

Kat Hsueh I started coming to Pearce Auto Repair a couple of years ago to service multiple cars, mainly my 2016 Golf R. I take this car to the track and after wearing out the stock brakes, I purchased some aftermarket pads and Chris found some nice aftermarket rotors for me and installed both. The rotors and pads worked well for a year of many track days. I no longer live in the area (over 140 miles away) but I find a reason to go to Santa Cruz so I can also have my car worked on at Pearce. I appreciate Chriss knowledge about general car stuff, racing prep and his great customer service! He also always makes time for my car when theres an urgent issue. Most recently, I heard some random rattling from the undercarriage and made an appointment to have him look at it in the same week. He had one of his guys check underneath my car to make sure everything was okay and bolts were tightened. Pearce European has expanded and they now have a tire machine so they can do almost everything there (no alignment yet). I trust them completely and their prices are reasonable. Highly recommend!

Andy Acker Used to be great! Took my car here for years and received reliable service/repairs at fair prices. Over the past 2 1/2 years, however, quality has fallen off while prices have shot up. Every time Ive brought my car in, theres an issue on the repair, and in one case after 4 follow-up visits they still cant get it right. I used to recommend people here all of the time, but I dont anymore. Its sad, because Jesus truly ran a great garage and seemed like a good guy. Im not sure what happened. It pains me to write this, but there it is.

Victor Arango Best shop in town. Competitive prices, amazing customer service and most important honest and trustworthy tech. Jesus explained the work needed and informed me of future needs. Without a doubt will return for all my car needs.

carlos escamilla This man is amazing. He got my purple baja bug "Grimace " back on the road . Its running amazing now! Its worth every penny .

lance edwards Good service fast turnaround

Justin B Great experience here. They were very personable and communicative throughout the repair process. Doesnt hurt that they also have an adorable pup working at the front desk! Will definitely be back for any future electric repair needs.

Sarah Engel Tim and his staff are real honest people. the best and most affordable mechanics in Santa Cruz. I really appreciated them helping me when my rv had issues only 2 days before I was supposed to leave for a trip. They squeezed me in to their busy schedules and didn’t cost me a fortune.

Gary Liu My car collector friend recommended Nate Smiths Optimal Auto Care, and Im glad I took his advice. I brought in a 2007 BMW Z4 Coupe that had a stubborn issue. It always pulled to the right. Multiple shops including a dealership had tried to fix the issue, but Nate Smiths Optimal Auto Care was the one that finally solved the puzzle. Rather than throwing parts at the problem, they were able align the car taking into account of all the variables that could make a car pull to the right. In this case, it turned out to be tire pull, uneven cross camber and toe. The car now drives perfectly straight. I was a mechanical engineer by training, and I could not be happier with the result. Thank you Nate, Antonio, Jeremy, and Chris. -- Gary Liu

Alex BP Received a referral from another reputable mechanic that could not solve a complex issue with our Mini. They were able to quickly diagnose and solve the issue for about half the cost that I was expecting. Great communication throughout the process. I highly recommend.

Masako Nagaoka I had bad flat tire on Friday later afternoon. AA Auto Collision Center helped me finding towing Company and tire shop that they have stock of my tire within the business hours so I can drive home. it was close to 5:00 pm on Friday, Their decision and help were great. Highly recommend.

William Ulrich AA Auto did a great job repairing my 97 Firebird Formula. They performed quality work within budget and fixed a long-standing window issue that I thought would force me to replace my door. Check them out for any body work you might need.

Aaron Seletzky These guys are great. They never suggest unnecessary work and have always been super honest with me. I often feel like mechanics are trying to pull one over on me but not these guys. They have taken care of a 2007 ford ranger for me, as well as a 2017 Subaru forester. I always feel comfortable bringing my vehicles to them. I made a mistake about six months ago cuz I was traveling and needed an oil change in the forester. I took it to a Valvoline and had them change the oil. Recently it was due again and I took it to West Side Auto. Turns out Valvoline had managed to over tighten the oil pan plug and it was totally seized up in there. We thought the oil pan was gonna need to be changed out for a new one, but these dudes put in the extra effort and were able to extract the stuck plug, even tho it took some serious effort. I think most mechanics would’ve gone the easy route and swapped the whole oil pan. Not these dudes tho. They saved me a whole bunch of cash by going the extra mile. I would confidently take any vehicle to these guys!

Malandro Coisas Horrible mechanic Do not trust Take your car somewhere else Paid to have Vtec solenoid gaskets changed and new alternator put in Didn’t test the alternator before putting it in just to tell me that’s it’s no good and they want to charge me to put old one in After I paid almost $1000 for the job I discovered two days later my power steering was going out I open the hood of my car to find the power steering reservoir unclipped and upside down and power steering fluid all over the engine bay After further inspection I found the low pressure line also left unsecured and had rubbed up against the pulleys causing it to grind a hole into the metal line and causing the leak and loss of power steering I called the shop and the owner completely denied any fault and refused to pay for damages These people are crooks stay far away

Paul Flood Santa Cruz Tire and Auto has been our go to shop for years, servicing both our work vans and company cars. They’ve always been upfront and honest about what each vehicle needs, never pushing unnecessary repairs. Their team is knowledgeable, reliable, and easy to work with. It’s rare to find a shop that consistently delivers great service with integrity. Highly recommend them for both personal and business vehicles.

Patric What a great shop. My PT Cruiser needed smogged. I was handed an instruction sheet and a set of directions to follow. Drove it towards Watsonville turned around and followed them to a t. Rolled into the shop and they did the smog. I passed the first time. Nice outside tables and indoor seating. I listened to the conversations with other drivers and the advice they gave was spot on by the book responses. Some really great folks you cen truly trust. ireally appreciatted the kind service.

Michael Panov I had one hour to do an emergency nail-in-tire repair before my sons martial arts class ended, and these guys were lightning fast. They removed my tire, diagnosed that a repair would be too dangerous due to the nail being too close to the tire wall, got me a quality tire replacement at a good price, balanced the tires, and I was out of there in 45 minutes. I was super impressed with the front desk person. Special shoutout to the garage crew who were all super fast, and very professional. They had a bunch of different cars they were working on too. I was impressed with how quick they got me out of there. Thank guys!

alma blanco great customer service! even though we walked in, they got to us relatively quickly. the man at the front desk was very helpful and nice. would definitely recommend this place to a friend or anyone asking about car repairs

Steve Ionescu The work they did was affordable and for such a small shop they did their best to accommodate for the work. Had some aftermarket parts added and installed that ended up being more of a pain, but they got the job done.

Susan Wente Tony did an amazing job on my dents my car looks brand new. Thank you so much great service and quick turnaround.

Stefhany Figueroa I’ve had a great experience with Cen Cal Automotive! The team is incredibly friendly, knowledgeable, and honest.David , Steven and Allen took the time to explain everything clearly and offered fair, competitive pricing. It’s not easy finding a shop you can trust, but Cen Cal truly delivers quality service with a personal touch. Highly recommend for anyone in the Santa Cruz area!

Kai Adam-Chinn The saying goes “cheap, fast, or good- pick two.” I genuinely feel that when it comes to Cen Cal Auto you don’t need to pick, they check all three boxes. We’ve had several cars worked on by them, including a lift on my Tacoma and wheel bearings on our Crosstrek. It’s always been an easy exchange with prompt service, fair pricing and quality work. I respect the way these guys do business and would recommend them to anyone looking for an unpretentious and honest shop.

Sharon Mullenaux Have been going here for a while. Friendly and helpful team, especially the owner. They do good work, car is always ready on time and I never question the charges. Honest hard-working folks.

Benjamin Vance Josh, Greg and Dana were such a pleasure to work with! I had my differentials re-geared on my F-250 and everything went perfectly smooth. They also installed an extra leaf spring for my rear suspension and an air-bag system for towing. Communication was awesome and I love the results!

Peter Katsaros Paul and his crew are great. They helped me pick a set of tires for my truck in no time, gave me a competitive price, and had them in the shop the next day. The initial install was quick and seemed too easy, I left super happy. A few days later I had a vibration show up and brought it back. The expert balancer did his thing and wanted to warranty the tires as he deemed them defective. No questions asked they ordered new tires and again with a quick turnaround they got me back on the road. It has been a few weeks and I am super happy with the tire recommendation and the quality of service they provided.

Belén Fuentes I came in for a tire rotation and to have a technical issue checked out, and I was really impressed with the service. The staff was professional, efficient, and most importantly, they took the time to explain everything clearly. They didn’t rush through the details or try to upsell me on things I didn’t need — just honest, straightforward help. I left feeling confident that my car was in good hands. Highly recommend this place if you’re looking for reliable auto service and clear, friendly communication.

Vickie Rutan They were very pleasant and easy to deal with and did a wonderful job on the repairs!

Surely Iam Love Very efficient shop. Staff is very friendly. Communication was great. And I got my car back sooner than anticipated.

Jerry Abreu Max and Nick at Cricle Star recently repaired my 1985 Mercedes 300D Turbo Diesel. I am the second owner of this car and have owned 3 different models over the years. They are my favorite car to own. I have worked on many items on these cars and follow all the W123 clubs and repair gurus on these cars constantly. I have always been handy, but I know my limitations both in time and money. I was referred to Cricle Star by another local W123 owner I knew. I wanted to do a AC conversion to R134 and didnt want to mess with this myself. I also wanted to do a coolant flush and replace cooling system components, again a messy job and didnt have the place to do it myself. Max is not cheap $$. But after taking my car to him, I will never let another mechanic in this area touch my car again. He is the most knowledgeable, experienced, detailed mechanic I have ever had the pleasure of working with. Him and his tech Nick, fixed things on my car I didnt even realize werent working properly and did so at a reasonable cost considering the results. My car feels like new! It is 30% faster and runs smoother than I ever thought possible for a Merc diesel. They even fixed my bumper moldings and rear sway bar links just as a courtesy since they noticed how clean my car was and how obsessed I was about maintaining it. I cant thank Circle Star enough for being so committed to these old classics and for the level of professionalism. I truly believe that "you get what you pay for!" especially when it comes to Circle Star Motors.If you want the best look no further.

Nick Schermann Best Mercedes-Benz shop in town up to date clean the best of the best. They can do programming/replacement on the newest models

V Trini was honest about the repairs and charged a fair price compared to others around the county. He made sure to update me as repairs progressed and showed and explained the failed parts. His repair is still holding strong to this day. Thanks Trini!

Alexandra Franco Trini is an excellent mechanic. I called him after having been quoted by TWO other places in town that my car work would cost $1000, and he laughed and did the math for me and said he could do it for close to $350. I brought my car in THAT DAY and he had everything fixed in a couple hours, offered to give me a ride so I wouldnt be stranded, and checked all my fluids and everything too. The man is incredibly nice and accommodating, please take your business to him!

Alex Krem Emiles love of cars is evident to anyone who visits his shop. He is knowledgeable and committed to top quality work, he knows sports cars and how to fix them -- well, quickly and efficiently. I took in my 2008 Jag XK with a host of small problems. Not only did he fix them quickly and inexpensively, he spotted other things I had not. The car is now in good hands. Thanks, Emile.

Penny Natapraya The transmission on my Range Rover got wrecked on a trip from Los Angeles to UC Santa Cruz. This really sad situation led us to Emiles Sports Car Performance. We were so fortunate to find this gem of a shop. Emile’s mechanics, Peter and Aiden are top notch and were able to rebuild the transmission quickly and at a fair price. There is even a 2 year warranty for the work ! They also had the car washed before pick up. Emile, who is very knowledgeable, listened to our concerns. He was always willing to take the time to explain things in a very clear, concise manner. Peter was also very professional on the phone. They checked everything while they had the car. Had to return for a different reason - Rats chewed through wires and caused the service engine light to go on. Emile made sure my son was well taken care of. The mechanics were able to fix this issue in about and hour and my son was able to get back to class. Price was again fair. I know when they work on my car, it is in good, capable hands. I just wish they were in the Los Angeles area but I just may have to take a trip there just to have my car serviced properly. Highly recommend. Don’t bother with the dealer. Emile and his crew turned an awful situation into a positive one.