Berkeley Auto Care

Very disappointing experience. As a result of their poor diagnosis of a problem, I had to go back multiple times. At the end of it all, I ended up having to replace a number of parts, not all of them necessary. Of course they didn’t mind adding a diagnostic charge each time. Even after all of this I am skeptical that the problem has been completely fixed! Not going back there again.

I’m new to the area, and work right across the street from this place so it was an easy choice when my tire pressure light came on. I’ll admit I’m pretty terrible with anything involving cars, so I decided it would be somewhat less embarrassing to ask for help getting air in my tires than to try and do it myself. The guy working helped me out right away, and was extremely nice about it. Will come back when I need some real work done.

Awesome awesome car shop, the staff is really friendly and the price is reasonable. The best carshop experience I’ve ever had.

I took my car to Berkeley Auto Care a couple months back to get my breaks and rotors replaced and couldn’t be happier with the service I received! Robert went over the model breaks to show me how worn my breaks were and then showed me the actual breaks and rotors that they replaced on my 2003 Toyota Corolla. He took the time to explain why the condition they were in made it necessary to replace them, how the repairs were made, and where they are located on the car so that I know how to prevent damaging my rotors in the future.
Accidentally, I left my to-​do list at the shop so without me asking for it, Robert texted a picture of my list to me so that I wouldn’t have to go back there to pick it up. I will definitely be coming back here for all my car issues!
Today, I took my car back to the shop because the front part of my car was making a weird noise. I left my car there for them to do a diagnostic and Ricky called me back an hour later to let me know that my left front wheel bearing needs to be replaced. I asked a million questions (as I always do because I’m a skeptic) and Ricky took the time to explain everything to me. Ricky even offered a discount if I ended up needing to get the right wheel bearing replaced as well. He agreed to take care of it by the end of the day today and made other accommodations to ensure my happiness and satisfaction with the services that his shop provides.
I highly recommend Berkeley Auto Care for any auto repair needs!

My Nissan car was towed by scumbag brothers towing in oakland. I found my car was damaged by the towing and engine behaved weird. I sent the car to Berkeley Auto care, and they was able to identify the problem and fix the problem well within a day.

*Original review (update below)-Sincere estimate and work. Being a woman I’m wary of being overcharged by mechanics, but Ricky explained their costs and my old car’s problems. The overall cost was resonable and I didn’t feel taken advantage of.
*Update– turns out my full price repair was no repair at all! After leaving with a seemingly awesome experience, my elation was deflated when shown (during an oil change) that the repair I paid for was actually not fixed at all. Ricky’s fit me in and said the part they used was dysfunctional. Nice for them to figure that out after making me pay full price! They did a second repair but it’s hard to believe in the integrity of their work.
Worth a downgrade in rating and not going back.

I was visiting from out of town when my alternator needed to be replaced, and the great reviews about this mechanic persuaded me to go there. Unfortunately, I have reason to believe that people were paid to leave such reviews. The diagnostic that was performed did not reveal any other issues, but LESS THAN 24 HOURS LATER the serpentine belt broke causing $ 1,500 in damages (believe me, I wish I were exaggerating that number). Following up with them would not have done any good as I was already 4 hours outside of Berkeley. Who knows, maybe this place really does earn the great reviews and I just had some really bad luck, but it’s pretty apparent that a major mechanical error was made at some point while my car was in their hands.

Been back multiple times with oil changes, broken window replacement and other issues and I have to admit that this auto care is one of the best I have been to. Ricky is one of the nicest guys around and extremely willing to make accommodations for the customer. They offer the lowest prices to ensure that customers are getting the best deal and do not push anything onto their customers.
I had my car broken into twice in this last half year, and they were quick and efficient in ordering the parts and getting the window replaced within the day even without an appointment or call beforehand. Robert and Ricky are the two people I interact with whenever I visit, and they are extremely friendly and make small talk with you while you wait. I haven’t had any problems with my cars, and they always let me know beforehand if there is anything that might need replacing and give me an estimate, but they have never pressured me into changing anything which allows me to go home and do some homework on pricing, but they are usually the best price I find anyways.

tl;dr friendly guy Robert is very helpful
My boyfriend’s car had been having trouble starting for about a month, and we were getting ready to drive it down to LA so we came to Berkeley Auto Care to get it checked out before the trip. He knew a mechanic in LA who would look at it after we got it down there, so we just wanted to get the car checked out in Berkeley to make sure it was ok to make the trip to LA. After hearing how much it would cost to get the car checked out, my boyfriend decided it was a little too much for him to afford. So we talked to Robert about the issues it was having and about our situation, and he offered to take a quick look at it. So he looked under the hood and made some suggestions, free of charge. He was really helpful and reasonable and we really appreciated him doing that for us.

Awesome customer service
Good prices
Fast/​Thorough
Polite/​courteous
This place is excellent. Way better than O’Reilly and the like.

Ricky and the techs are awesome. They not only fixed my belts, but also recommended other options that we’re beneficial. Also they swapped out my old lights free of charge (usually would have taken me 20min) and answered all my questions. Great experience and fair price. Ask for Ricky he always hooks it up!

They just tried to charge me $ 150 to check my check engine light. 75 $ if I agreed to do the repairs there. Aamco does the check for free. I was gonna get the repairs done there anyway, but not any more. Very surprised…

I went in today freaking out because I thought something was wrong with my steering wheel and I was so worried about what it’d cost me. But when I described the problem I was walked through what it could possibly be and it put my mind at ease. Not only that, he tested my battery and tightened the connectors on my car for free. They could have taken advantage of the fact that I knew nothing about cars and made me do the inspection, but they were so great and didn’t pressure me into any extra work. I am definitely coming here again and I would recommend you do the same!

I had a dead battery so I stopped by this repair shop for some help. The auto mechanics were very nice and helpful. Being a girl and knowing nothing about cars, I was skeptical about the cost so I called around to compare prices and this place had the best deal! I’m all about a good deal, so I had them change my battery. It was quick and easy!
Cheap. Great service. Conveniently near campus. & a fast repair. Perfect for every college student!

These guys are very friendly and helpful! I brought my car in, and within an hour or two they had replaced my tires and given me an oil change. They also discounted my oil change. I needed it done last minute so I didn’t have a chance to shop around — I don’t think I necessarily got rock-​bottom prices for the tires + installation but that’s my fault for not having the time to comparison shop. For the speediness and friendliness, I recommend them!

This was quite honestly one of the best car service experiences I’ve ever had. My car was broken into and left with a missing window, missing stereo system, and dangerous pieces of broken glass everywhere. They immediately took care of the glass, found the best deal for parts, and fixed my car within two hours of receiving the parts. Robert was extremely understanding of my situation and worked with me to address all of my concerns. I would highly recommend this place to friends!
EDIT: As happy as I initially was with their service, I do have to mention that they ended up breaking my door handle as a result of replacing my window. Apparently the plastic that made up the handle inside my car was getting very old. They called me before I went to pick up my car and asked if I wanted to get it replaced. I said no because I did not want to incur anymore charges than the $ 250 I already had to pay for the window. They remedied the broken handle by pasting it back together with some glue…
Well that came apart VERY quickly. Ever since, my passenger car handle (interior) has been broken and I have to get out of the driver’s seat and let out my passenger by using the exterior door handle. I understand that the door handle was probably quite weak, however if I am paying them to replace my window, I would not expect them to return my car to me with any additional damages.

A while ago I posted a review about this place giving it 5 stars… I’ve since changed my mind about this place. I recently had to come in due to a problem with my car not holding any coolant and thus over heating. I called this place asking if they could get me in just for a diagnosis and they were able to squeeze me in (was there for 5 hours by the time all was said and done though) in the end it ended up being a problem with a cracked radiator.
Here’s where it gets stupid: they want nearly $ 700 dollars to put in a new one along with new hoses and a seal and labor… PLUS THE DIAGNOSTIC! WHAT?!. I’m sorry but that is BS! I know I look young but i’m not stupid. First off, the price of the diagnostic should not be a part of the estimate for fixing it if i come back to them to have it fixed. Which after I asked them about it they said they’d take off half of the $ 99 dollar diagnostic (Yes i said $ 99) in the total price of the estimate for fixing it which was brought down to about $ 650 instead (oh yes… so much better).
In a phone call to my dad I confirmed that a new radiator costs no more than about $ 50 or $ 60. They wanted something crazy like $ 150 for it. Methinks not! So when I came back to them to tell them my verdict that I wouldn’t be having them fix it soon because I couldn’t afford it, one guy pulled me aside (same guy that handed me the first estimate sheet.) and hurriedly printed a «new» estimate with the diagnostic taken off (now down to $ 600. i’m sorry but my car is only worth about $ 1000 at best… I’m not paying that much to have a new radiator put in) saying «oh yeah we had the diagnostic on there before, this is without it» when he is the same one who i asked about the diagnostic being on there in the first place and he said he’d only take off half. probably noticed me on the phone checking their work.
Long story short, don’t trust these guys. If they think they can take advantage of you they will definitely try to BS every last dollar out of you. Not very honest. Not cool Berkeley Auto Care… I will not be back…

I just can’t say enough wonderful things about this place! Everyone is always so kind, polite, and just tremendously helpful. What amazes me most is that the professionals here won’t hesitate to stay late and remain after-​hours to work on a problem until it is resolved – even if it’s only to give a clear and accurate estimate of service! This for me is 5-​star customer service.
As a woman I’ve dealt too many times over the years with getting taken advantage of in the car care industry, and I have never felt that way for even a moment with Berkeley Auto Care. Cesar and also most recently Ricky have both helped me immensely, going above and beyond to do research on less expensive products, liaise with my other mechanics for better service on my vehicle, and find creative solutions for tricky problems.
These guys are just wonderful and a pleasure to work with! Thank you for all your help today, Ricky! You’re great.

Fount this repair shop on Unilocal,since it’s near my work, thought I would give them a try. I needed new tires and alignment done on my truck.
*Nevermind my flurry of auto mechanic Unilocal reviews, I’d rather not talk about it…
Ricky was really nice, gave me a quote over the phone, and I followed up with an appointment. Car was dropped off at 9am, and by 1PM I got new tires and perfect alignment on my truck. Pricing was extremely fair, I only know this because I’ve shopped around a bit, and while getting his quote I was on my phone checking online tire prices.
I’m glad I found this place and happy to have a local mechanic I trust.

I’ve visited this shop about 3 times now, and their service has always been great since the first visit! Ricky was persistent and always in constant communication with me.
With some shops, you worry about getting scammed and if they’re going to charge you for more than you actually need done. Don’t sweat it here, they definitely have the customers best interest in mind. They were having a difficult time locating new parts for me at a decent price, and as a college student, it was important to keep the prices low. It took a few more days than I hoped for, but Ricky and his team found some alternatives and I am now reunited with my wonderful chariot.
Definitely take your auto needs here, but like with any shop, be persistent and call often. They’re more than happy to provide you with updates and their customer service is top notch. This location is accessible, and for many students, is close enough to campus and apartments that you can take public transportation or walk to where you need to go after dropping off your car. Even if you need accessories, stop by and ask. They had some fluids that I needed and there isn’t a auto supply store nearby! Overall, I trust these guys. They’ll take care of you.