Bernie’s Transmission

I went to Bernie’s with a transmission that wouldn’t shift, thinking I probably needed an overhaul. I grew up in the transmission business and was pretty sure a bad bushing was allowing tranny fluid to leak enough to be a lost cause. Bernie agreed that the trans probably needed some serious work. This is a sealed transmission and you can not add fluid without putting it on the lift and accessing special filler hole. He added some fluid and an hour later, sent me on my way and the car has run perfectly for the last two years. Last month the trans started acting wonky again, this time I was sure it was a goner. Bernie took a look and it and let me know that the time had come for an overhaul, totally believable at nearly 200,000 miles. He completed the work on time, on budget and didn’t leave a mess. He is honest, fair, clean, timely and friendly. Having worked in my Dad’s busy transmission shop as a high school kid, owned my own shop as well as having worked in car dealerships and a business owner for the last 37 years, I can say with confidence this guy is the real deal. I wouldn’t hesitate to use him again.

First like to give a big Thank You to Leo! Brought my truck in today thinking that there was something wrong with my transmission. Leo and I drove it around so he could experience what was going on only to find that it wasn’t the transmission at all. He drove me to another shop where he suggested. Really honest guy and will refer him every time based on being just a good human being!

My rating is based on honesty. That is hard to find now in days. I brought my car to get a 2^nd opinion because I was told by another local mechanic that I needed a new rebuild transmission that would have a starting price of $ 2500. When Bernies transmission diagnosed my car they told me the transmission is just fine but that it was the computer module. And suggested I take it to the dealer as they can have the part at hand. I was not charged for them to look at the car. I did go to the dealer and they were right. I ended up spending less than half of what I was quoted from the first place. Thank you for your honesty. They could’ve replaced my transmission and I could’ve had the same problem. Thank you again. 06 mazda3

My Subaru Forester would not drive in reverse and so I had it towed to Bernie’s. It turns out that the transmission fluid was just low. They didn’t charge me. Amazing honesty and service. Other shops might have tried to pull a fast one, but not these guys.

Still «clicking» along with no problem! Put 15K+ miles on the car since the last visit — looks like the right recommendation…

Women — stay away! Based on all the positive reviews here on Unilocal about Bernie’s Transmission on York in Highland Park, and in an effort to support local business, I stopped in and spoke with Uriel (who held a dirty red rag over his mouth as he talked with me) and he advised they’d need the car for 3 days. That was fine with me so I arranged to bring in my car the next morning before 9am, which I did. Spoke with Leo about the transmission issues I was experiencing, gave him my contact info, and walked home. That was Wed. By Thursday afternoon I hadn’t heard from Leo so I called. Uriel answered and said, «Leo not here — family emergency — not back ’til next week.» I asked about my car and Uriel advised, «Your car is weird — nothing to do with it — I no fix.» I asked him why Leo or he hadn’t called me to advise this. «Leo called away — I no fix you car.» Hmmm… I was angry. Walked to get the car and Uriel talked me into bringing the car back the following Tuesday. When I did, I advised Leo I was sorry to hear of his family emergency but asked why he hadn’t called me. Leo defensively replied, «Well you seem not in a hurry…» I reminded him of Uriel’s assessment of a 3-​day repair and that he, Leo advised he would call. He shrugged and said this time he would call. Well, he did call back with an estimate of $ 6,000 to replace the transmission on a 2002 VW Jetta with 121,000 miles. I called a gear-​head friend and asked if $ 6k was a fair estimate. He laughed and asked, «Who quoted you that?! No, that is NOT a fair estimate.» People (especially you ladies) don’t waste your time at this filthy, poorly run «business» called Bernie’s Transmission!

Great work! Thanks Leo. My clutch went out on a big hill and rolled back into a churches driveway. I had to have it towed out of there before everybody came in. The 1^st place I thought of was Bernie’s because of the rep they have around here. So Sunday morning I have it towed here hoping to just drop it off near by and push it in when they’re open. But they just happened to drop by so I got to leave it in the yard and two days later drove it out for a lot less than I thought. And it’s got a warranty!

This place has great customer service and a great turn around time on their repairs! Leo and Danny are both great!

Went in based on Unilocal reviews and I would definitely recommend this place for the tech’s knowledge, friendliness and most of all honesty. I went in to get a trans problem checked out on my Classic Bronco and the tech very quickly diagnosed the problem which was very simple. Since I caused the problem by trying to fix it myself prior to coming in, the tech told me what I did wrong and recommended I take a look at it myself. He could’ve easily put it up on a lift and charged me $ 100 for 5 minutes of work but didn’t. I plan on returning when I am ready for trans service or repair.

After a couple of weeks with my truck’s newly rebuilt transmission, I can honestly say the work that Leo and his guys do at Bernie’s Transmission is fantastic. When your transmission goes to sh@%, it’s just about the worst feeling in the world on top of being a total hassle and a fair amount of $$$.
Leo arranged for my truck to be towed to his shop from another mechanic’s place and from there it was smooth sailing. He completed the work early and even made some improvements on my existing transmission without being asked. He’s an honest guy that does stellar work. Thank you Unilocalers for helping me find him! You made me and my truck two very happy campers. I’m going on a road trip to celebrate ;)

I have an older muscle car that was leaking transmission fluid and stopped by Bernie’s to get it checked out. Danny could not have been more helpful. We immediately went on a test drive and talked about the performance of the transmission. After putting the car on the lift, we could see it was leaking form several seals. Danny assured me the transmission itself was fine, but that I needed a complete seal job. No pressure, just a recommendation. I had the work done and the tranny is as good as new. Everyone there was great (Danny, Leo, and Urich) so your car will be in good hands.

Like others, I can vouch for both Leo and Danny. I drive a 2003 Acura MDX SUV with 135,000 miles which, without much warning, recently experienced a major transmission failure. Based upon these Unilocal reviews, I had it towed to Bernie’s. Originally, Leo quoted $ 2500 plus tax for a full rebuild. The job then got delayed through no fault of theirs, since Honda/​Acura sent them the wrong parts. Nevertheless, they knocked the price down to $ 2400 out the door. Pretty decent of them. They used all OEM parts, including the special Honda fluid required for these complex transmissions. I didn’t get competitive price quotes but I’m sure this could not have been done for less, at the same quality level, anywhere else. It’s a huge job, and, with OEM parts, really expensive.

I was waiting to write my first review until I’d find a place that really deserved a 5 STAR rating. People usually give 5 stars way too easy or maybe their standards are very low. I have never felt so welcome at a auto shop. Since the time i called to ask for their business hours Leo made me feel as a friend. I actually went to this place based on their reviews and i want to thank all Unilocalers on this page. I went to AAMCO for a quote and they said that my transmission needed to be refurnished and probably needed a new one. They quoted me from $ 1,200 — $ 1,900. I went to another shop and they quoted me at $ 800. Finally i decided to look online and found Bernie’s. Leo found the problem. It was a simple leak. I paid only $ 220 and he fixed the leak, change all the fluids and filter in the transmission, and changed the engine oil and filter as well. This is the first time a find a HONEST Mechanic and he can be sure that he will be my #1 choice from now on. At the end of my visit he asked me… how did you find my place? Internet? Unilocal… lol Leo actually checks out Unilocal to view the reviews of his business and I want to tell you all that he thanks all of you because thanks to us he is making business a penny at a time as he says but a honest-​well-​earned –penny.
THANK YOU LEO!
P. S. He referred me to a general mechanic… I’ll let you guys know how did it go cuz i need to fix the suspension on my car

Great place. Leo is the best. I got my transmission service quoted for $ 1,400 at a different spot, and Leo quoted me $ 850. He worked around my schedule and even delivered my car to my house after it was finished. Awesome.

I have been coming to these guys for years… Leo and Uriel are the best… they just replace the clutch on my 71 Chevy C20 truck… and I referred my business partner to them and they took great care of her… My ex-​wife has gone to them… I wish they would screw her over. LOL but of course they took great care of her… the great thing is you know you can trust these guys…

Just brought my car in for a check because the car wouldn’t change gears and was acting very sluggish. My normal regular mechanic checked it out, told me the transmission was shot for sure and that he could replace it with a good used trans for $ 1,000. (part and labor)
I almost told him to do it but decided to take some time out of my day and bring the car to Bernie’s for a second opinion. Well, turns out there is nothing wrong with the transmission and it was all related to a leak in my engine coolant!
These guys saved me a lot of money and time. Honest mechanic’s in LA… Imagine that.
I highly recommend them to check out any issues you may be having.

A month and change ago the ‘transmission failsafe’ warning started going off sporadically in my BMW 5 series– locking my transmission into 4^th gear.
Damn.
A diagnostic fix by my own indie shop didn’t help, so I took it to a dealer (BMW of Monrovia — don’t go there for anything. their sales staff is just as clueless as their service dept) who hardly bothered to inspect the problem determining that the transmission needed to be replaced. They walked me through their decision tree and apparently they didn’t even get that it could be a problem with the sensors or solenoids nor did they even care to inspect. I guess it just seemed ok that the natural life of a transmission should be 120k miles and that was that.
I quickly looked around on Unilocal for a shop and Bernie’s came up. I dropped by one day and I saw stalls with transmissions being rebuilt and I knew I was in the right place
Leo at the garage made sure to take good care of me. He personally hasn’t worked on (many?) ZF transmissions and at first glance he wasn’t sure of the answer but he called in a friend so that he wouldn’t just jump to replacing my transmission. Together they figured out that my suspicion had been right on — that it was some stuck solenoids. Prior to then, he said that he’d be fine with installing a cheap tranny I found at a nearby junkyard. When I came in and I checked out the car, I felt good giving the check for the repair knowing they had saved me thousands.
These guys know what they’re doing and they’re a serious shop. It took some time for them to get to my car– roughly 2 weeks total. While it took longer than I would have expected, it’s because they were probably helping others as much as they were helping me. It’s no wonder their garage is always packed.
If you have transmission issues, go to Bernie’s. Simple as that. Don’t waste time elsewhere.

I came here this last weekend because I had my check engine light reading done and there were a bunch of transmission-​related issues that I wanted checked out. I took it to Bernie’s in the morning and they called me back later to pick up the car, that they had checked out the transmission and had found no issues. No charge. I will definitely be back when there’s transmission work that actually needs to be done. The last place I took my car to wanted me to pay to have them even take a look at the transmission when I was already paying $ 400 for the power window motor to be replaced. Bernie’s was a great experience.

It is an honor to work with such a professional team. Our funds were low but we needed to have the work done. Danny, Leo, & the team were kind enough to work with us and in the end it was a win win situation. I can’t think of any other place where the people were upfront and honest. Although the work took longer than expected, it was worth waiting for.

Just got back from Bernie’s Transmission, and I really wanted to make sure this place gets its recognition. I promised these guys I would give them a good review because they definitely deserve it.
Danny helped me out and immediately put my car up and checked out my transmission fluid leak. I was really afraid it would be tons of money to fix up my transmission, but I found out that my problem wasn’t as bad as I thought it out to be. He calmed me down immediately, and I got a great quote.
He said he could fix it within 1.5 hours, but he and the guys actually did it in less than an hour, and a darn great job at that. Danny actually spent some time explaining to me what he was changing, and after all was done, he showed me what they had fixed and made sure I was welcome.
If you guys have a transmission leak or anything you need done on your transmission, these guys are great. Just don’t be intimidated and ask questions. It’s the best way to learn.
And tell them Alex from Unilocal said hey!