Tune Craft La Mesa

I have taken all my cars here for over 20 years! Mike and Allen are great. Without a doubt great people, fast service and most importantly honest.

Based on the brief conversation with who ever answer the phone. .I will not bring my car here.

My friend Teri Sue referred me when I had some trouble with my car recently. She used to work for them and they took very good care of me and my car. I felt I could trust them for my friend is very trustworthy. I am so very happy to know where I can go if I have any more trouble. I pray not. They were able to fix my car pretty quickly and they looked busy. I highly recommend them!

Great service and reasonable pricing. Never had an ancillary issue after taking my car in. Also convenient that they’re open on Saturdays.
Been taking my car (s) here to get an oil change and minor service ever since I moved to San Diego. $ 30 will get you an oil change with filter, plus topping off of all fluids. They also throw in a windshield cleaning and may check minor details on your car (e.g. they fixed a squeaky door hinge for me without request).
Can’t complain about the family-​friendly service by Alan and the rest. Depending on the type of work, prices may be a little high but are still competitive.

Great service and good prices. I’ve taken three cars there so far and always left happy. The get my cars back to me pretty quick. You don’t get the feeling your getting screwed. they vibe honest if that makes sense and that’s rare in that business. My only complaint is they don’t have any water or coffee while you wait. This is not a huge deal but if your dropping 500 bucks on getting your car fixed… a little paper cup of water while you wait eases the pain ;)

Been here a few times already, always had a good experience. Best place I’ve found in San Diego so far. They’ll also advise you on what types of repairs you can afford to wait on, to help you save money– which is a pleasant surprise! When my 99 Taurus was ailing, they helped me extend its life right up until the transmission started to go, and then they told me it was done. The car wasn’t worth the cost to fix it, and they strongly advised me against driving it for even small things anymore.
I’ve since bought another car and moved to OB, and have been dabbling in other repair places closer to me– and wish I hadn’t! I think the half-​hour drive to La Mesa would be worth it to visit these guys just for the peace of mind. I plan to go back to what I know the next time my car needs help.

Talk about integrity. I brought my vehicle in to have an error diagnosis code read (which they kindly did free of charge) about a month ago. The reader showed it as what was (or should have been) a fairly simple fix. They quoted me, I told them I would return soon. In the meantime I went to my regular mechanic and he quoted me something that FAR exceeded the quote from Tune Craft. No brainer, I would have Tune Craft fix it. Long story short, it wasn’t as easy as originally expected, and the cost ended up being on par with the second mechanic I consulted. HOWEVER, they honored the original quote. Amazing. Unheard of. Looks like I now have a new mechanic.

I have been going to see Mike and Allen for 10 years. My family has taken their cars to Tune Craft for a long time. Always have had a great experience there and no exception today, quick oil change and great service. They checked out some other concerns for me and all is well!

My entire family has come to Alan and Mike for the last 20 years. They have always been incredibly honest (my sis came in with an old car once and told them she had $ 900 to make it run– dumb thing to say– and they told her the cost was about $ 200 to do what was needed). They do not take advantage of their customers. The guys might be a little gruff at times, but I totally trust them! I would and have recommended them to many people and will continue going back to this location.

I’m surprised by some of the recent bad reviews. I’ve found them to be friendly, very efficient at a reasonable price. They are now my choice for oil changes in La Mesa/​San Diego.

Terrible place!!! The manager Mike is very rude and dismissive. First impression is everything Mike, treat every customer with respect!!! Never going back!!!

The only mechanics I trust with my car.
It’s a beat up, 05 Honda Civic that I intend on running into the ground before investing in a new one (shockingly rare in this day and age lol). I’m treated with respect, always straight forward and concise with diagnostics, and never have any issues on pricing. I’ve had a series of annoying experiences in the past with people doing oil changes on my car — upselling, insisting I need this or that done. At Tune Craft, there’s no sales pitch — just quality work and suggestions as to what I might need or expect in the future. I HATE feeling pressured to get things I’m uncertain of regarding my vehicle, and I’ve never felt that way here. Great information, and exceedingly helpful — as they have been for my mom in the past as well. I recently had issues with power steering fluid and received assistance on the house. Always professional, without the gimmicks or sales pitches — we need more of these in San Diego!

I’ve been to this place twice and do not ever plan to go again. There is an older man there, I believe he is the manager and his name is Mike, and he is very rude. The first time I went I took a used car that I was planning to buy and asked him if he could do a complete diagnostic and let me know if there was anything wrong with the car before I bought it. He charged me $ 80 for the service and said the car was in good condition despite a few minor things, which included a bad tire and a bad brake light. I ended up buying the car due to Tune Craft’s feedback. I trusted that a well-​known mechanic shop would have the expertise and equipment to properly diagnose any issues.
Unfortunately, I was wrong about this place. I found out that the car was in an accident about 4 months later by another mechanic because of the problems I was having with the car. The mechanic said he was surprised Tune Craft didn’t notify me of this problem after paying $ 80 for them to check it. The place that sold it to me (Auto Speed Gallery) provided me with a clean title at the time of purchase but the car was crashed and never reported. In addition to the mechanical problems I had, some parts of the interior of the car started to fall apart.
I then went a second time to Tune Craft (because it’s so close to my job) so I could get brakes and other parts replaced on the car from parts I purchased at AutoZone and the manager at Tune Craft quickly turned me away because he said he doesn’t accept any parts from any other place except for their own shop due to a liability. I then took the parts back to AutoZone for a refund since I thought this was standard for all shops but the manager at the AutoZone in La Mesa told me that he’s never heard of such a claim. He said that many clients purchase parts from AutoZone and have mechanic shops put these parts on. He said Tune Craft said this so they could make more money. It wouldn’t have been so bad if Tune Craft would have been nicer about the situation instead of telling me to look for someplace else.

UPDATED 1÷15÷16
Be forewarned – if all goes well with basic repairs, you’ll be happy and treated fine. But seriously question anything, and you’ll face sour grapes from then on.
Their labor rate is great at $ 75/​hour, but you get what you pay for in terms of breadth of knowledge and suitable equipment for complicated repairs. Their parts prices are very high compared to Carquest and O’Reilly’s, and only slightly lower than dealers.
They totally botched work on the emissions control system of my 2000 Infiniti I-​30, literally giving up and telling me I had to go elsewhere for repairs (which I did, to Autotech of El Cajon, a vastly superior operation.)
Their batteries have free replacement for only 18 months and no proration, while most others are 3 years full replacement and 3 years prorated.
My advice is to use them for basic mechanical work only, but anything electronic, do your research and choose a highly qualified facility like Autotech.

Needed my first oil change in my 2012 Prius following Toyota’s two years of free service. Decided to try these guys based on the numerous good reviews here.
An old-​schooler named Mike took care of me and quoted a price of $ 62.55 plus tax for an oil change (with synthetic Mobil 1, 0w-​20) plus another $ 20.00 for a tire rotation. I passed on the rotation since Discount Tire will do it gratis.
Thought the oil change price a little high but rolled with it.
When I came back an hour later the car was just finished, right on time. While waiting to be rung up I was perusing the signs for the various services offered which I had not noticed earlier. Oil Change (5 qts.) with fluid top-​offs and tire pressure la la: $ 29.95.
So I asked Mike WTF, over? Why is the price more than double just for substituting synthetic oil?
Keep in mind the Prius only holds 4 qts. of oil, not like most cars that take 6. So, a $ 33.00 mark-​up, more than double, for the difference in price of 4 qts. regular oil vs. synthetic. Really?
Mike’s 1^st whopper. «Yeah, that’s right, ya know, synthetic’s 12 bucks a qt.» I about spit up at that pile of cow dung. Check the Walmart price for a 5-​qt. bottle. Comes out to $ 4.53 a qt. And that’s retail. RETAIL, people!
Let’s do the math. Regular oil (retail) about $ 2.50 per qt. Mobil 1 (retail) $ 4.53 per qt. Difference in price per qt.: $ 2.03. Multiply by 4 qts, et voila! $ 8.12 total difference in the price of the oil. NOT $ 33.00!!! That’s a 406% mark-​up. Greedy, greedy, greedy.…
Mike’s Whopper #2:
Driving off I checked the little next-​service stickee on the windshield. 3,000 miles. Wha-​a-​at? Toyota recommends 10,000 miles. 3,000 miles is what most mechanics recommend as a conservative, very conservative, cycle for a conventional oil change.
So did the servicer make a mistake and put in conventional oil – which could damage this little rice-​burner engine? Did he make a mistake filling out the sticker? Or? U-​turn.
Mike says no mistake. That’s what they recommend, even for synthetic oil (Y’know, that crazee expensive $ 12.00 a qt. stuff.. .).
Why? «Because of all the dirt in the air and the smog and the stop-​and-​go traffic.…» Is this Beijing? Mexico City? The moon? Isn’t that what an oil filter is for? Isn’t that why synthetic is superior to conventional oil, because it doesn’t break down as fast?
I said, what do you recommend for conventional oil? Change every 500 miles?
«Nope, same.» So this is where crazy starts making more crazy since, according to Mike the master mechanic, there apparently is no practical difference whatsoever between conventional oil and synthetic oil and by implication you are (I am) a moron for paying more than double for a synthetic oil change than for a conventional oil change.
Well, I would certainly be a moron to return to Tune Craft La Mesa. I’m just hoping I got the right oil.

I took my SUV here last year to have some work done for the 60,000 mile checkup. I believe they did decent work, but the correspondence with the employees was disappointing. The guy I worked with had an attitude and wasn’t too pleasant. I called back recently to ask a few questions about a problem I was having and another guy, Mike had an attitude over the phone as well.
Note to Tune Craft: First impressions are crucial. Please take the time to review customer service with your staff because it really will result in folks taking their business elsewhere. I have now chosen another shop because of your phone etiquette and the face-​to-​face experience I had in your shop last time I was in. When a customer asks questions over the phone trying to learn more about their vehicle, it isn’t helpful if the employee seems irritated and anxious to get off the phone. Answering questions and focusing on customer service is what’s going to bring more customers to your shop.
This review is coming from a pretty level-​headed consumer who can deal with a little attitude, but attitude on multiple occasions is not acceptable. I will not be dealing with this shop in the future.

Unbelievably kind people with affordable prices and FAST service. I loved how the owner showed me the going rates for parts to show me what exactly I was getting and what it could be. They are such honest men– which can be a rarity in the car business.

fast, friendly & efficient! oh, and how could i forget the best part– honest!
came here twice: once when my check engine light was on & the second time for a smog check. both times they were kind, fast and honest. i drove off knowing my car was taken care of and i wasn’t gouged after doing so.
highly recommended.

Came here twice already for oil changes.
They are located right across the street from a nice coffee shop which is nice for waiting.
They are quick and call you when your done.
They save your personal information for future visits and I have never been called or emailed about coming in unlike other places that call on a periodical schedule.
THE NEGATIVES:
There waiting area is SMALL maybe 3 – 4 people can sit down
There waiting area is really dusty and needs some spring cleaning
It does get busy there and they seem to need like 1 – 2 more mechanics on the pay roll.

Great. I’ve been here a few times. You have an honest mechanic here. I asked about my breaks and if it needed new break pads. They took my car. Tested it. No, you don’t need anything, still have tread on the breakpads.
They could have said I needed the whole thing redone for $ 1500, I wouldn’t have known any better probably.
This is honest service.