Carlson Garage

Known these dudes for about ten years. Had met them when my buddy Zack was using the shop which was being run by Dan Chin Jr. before he left Charles and Jeff to run the shop’s day to day operations.
Had this review been written anytime before ’05, I they might have rated a five star. Especially when Zack or junior was doing the work.
Charles and Jeff charged reasonable prices and got my car repaired fairly quickly however, they seemed to neglect certain things one might expect from a dealership shop where they actually PREDICTED preventative measures such as a necessary over haul, brake changes, tire rotations ignition related problems. Result: may car goes to shit unexpectedly. Not a fun thought when you spend plenty of time driving between CA, Reno, Vegas, AZ,…
The reason they’re getting three stars instead is because if they had told me from the get go the last vehicle I owned was doomed, I could have ditched it, instead, of repeatedly wasting time and money on a car that was already on it’s last legs.

Really nice guys, courteous, very friendly… and I have to say don’t bring your car there because they’ll replace stuff that doesn’t need replacing and charge you a LOT.
Basically they replaced a clutch when the car didn’t need it (just need the hydraulic slave cylinder). If that wasn’t a $ 1,100 bucks I wouldn’t be too worried but that’s $ 800 extra and it didn’t need it.
If these guys rip you, just call the California State Bureau of Automotive repair. (Keep all used parts). It cleared things up very quickly for me.

These guys are great: honest, efficient, and friendly! I’ve taken my ailing Jeep Cherokee here four or five times and always been pleased with my experience. Most recently, I showed up with an interior light that refused to go off. (It wasn’t a fuse problem and without an owner’s manual for reference, I feared the worst, assuming an electrical problem or something.) Jeff came out immediately, figured out the problem (something to do with my headlight switch?) and had me on the road in under five minutes for free. Granted, this wasn’t rocket science — I’m sure that many of my male friends could have figured this out as well — but the point is that the guys at Carlson’s are just cool. They don’t bullshit and they don’t rip you off — they’re just really good mechanics. I recommend them to everyone!

I’m editing my review for these guys. I used to give them 5 stars, because for 3 years they did great work on my car. However, the past few times I’ve been there, I’ve had NOTHING but trouble.
I spent $ 1300 to get a bunch of stuff fixed, and EVERYTHING they fixed, I had major problems with. And either they are just forgetful, or actively negligent, because they’d say things like «Oh, we checked and replaced all the lights and bulbs– we don’t know why the Check Bulb light is on!»…and then I find out I’m driving with only one headlight.
I took it in for a specific problem, and they found OTHER things wrong with it (few hundred dollars) but didn’t fix the original problem. I had to take it back, and then it was something really obvious.
I no longer trust these guys. Which is sad, because they were the only honest, cool mechanics I knew of.
Based on Unilocal reviews, I am now gonna try Bob’s Volvo.

I LOVE these GUYS!!! They’re the best. DOn’t even think that they are going to over price you or take advantage of you. They will tell you like it is and fix it asap! They are also happy to give you advice and answer any questions that you might have. Jeff and Charles are the guys to look for!