Bay Auto Center Mechanical Services Center

The only two times I let them wash my car after oil change and my car started to have problems, such as accelerate problem and starting problem. I called them asking why, instead they made joke about it and told me to get another services done. Yet, it still didn’t fix the problem… until I took my car back to San Leandro Nissan services center. They took apart the possible problem area but found nothing. Once they put the parts back in the normal settings. My car’s back to normal. Yet, it cost me a few hundred dollars for the services and all the exams on the car.
Now, it is happening again. I thought to give Bay Auto another chance to just have oil change. Then they washed my car before I knew the oil change was done. My car is now having starting problem. Coincidence??? So I checked their online reviews and found on Google, another customer had the same bad experience as me. Now to think of that the times my car started to have problems were the only two times they washed my car after oil change. The other times I was in a rush without car wash, my car didn’t have any problems.
Just trying to make another appointment with Nissan services center. Suck that it will cost me another few hundred dollars.
I guess to be safe in the future, I will put Bay Auto off my services list.

I would give these guys 6 stars if I could. Have been their customer for about 4 years. This business is a gem. Andy and his team do great work, charge honest prices and look for ways to save their customers money. For example, my driver’s side sun visor kept falling down. I brought the car in for an oil change and asked them to see what it would cost to replace the visor. They said that it would be $ 280+, which was a lot for me. They also said that if I didn’t care about having a lighted mirror, the cost was $ 80. I didn’t care that much and got the unlighted mirror — never miss the light. They always give an estimate of costs and usually come in below that. Always courteous and wash the car before they return it. Front desk folks speak several dialects of Chinese and of course English! Best mechanic in the Oakland/​Alameda area, hands down.

I’ve been a client for a little more than a year. Honest, and each time something is wrong they give you an idea of how bad it is/​how urgent to change the piece. Not pushing for upgrades or things you don’t need.
Prices are totally ok.
Service is quick, and very cordial. Will keep going back for any maintenance to my car!
And they give the car a quick wash when ready– nice extra touch. Highly recommended!

Went to the dealers because the light was on. And they said they checked and I needed a motor for my wind shield wiper… took it to bay auto to get it done and found out I didn’t need a motor and that the wire was just damaged. I appreciate the honestly.

For the price it wasn’t bad, its close to my office, so it was easy to drop my truck off and walk back to work. The desk staff was friendly and they even organized my mess in the backseat before returning my truck to me. All in all… They did what they promised and answered most of my questions, although there was a little confusion with the billing, we’ll see how all of this develops.

Oil change was half the price that my *last* mechanic quoted me. Repaired hood opener. VAcuumed and washed the car as well. Very friendly. Called me to give a quote before more work was done. Reasonable. I will return if needed.

Did not have an appointment but was able to get the car worked on.
The man working the counter was very personable and continuously had a smile on his face. The service was very fast and at a reasonable price. They even washed and vacuumed the car. I will defiantly be coming back.

Best auto shop in Oakland for tune-​ups and minor tire repairs.

I’ve always passed by Bay Auto Center but never thought they were such an amazing mechanical service provider. We took my brother’s car in to have some work done and they were so honest and up front regarding what needed to be fixed, and the price.
Everything was taken care of in a very timely manner, and they were very accommodating and friendly. They even cleaned the carpets and interior for us, very very thoughtful of them. As I drove the car home, it ran so smooth and perfectly, a job well done.
If you’re looking for a trustworthy and efficient auto center, I highly recommend giving Bay Auto Center a call! Great work guys.

I had a nail in my tire and on a whim, took my car to this place. Despite having a full garage in the midst of various auto repairs, they removed the nail, plugged it up and had me on my way in 10 minutes. Only cost $ 15 bucks and they were super friendly as well. Awesome!

Love Bay Auto Center. They work on all my cars and they always take good care of me when things need to be done. Couldnt ask for a better shop. I would recommend them to anyone that needs their cars done!

Just had a quick oil change, decent price and they also washed my car! Love these guys!

We were Bay Auto customers for 2 ½ years before we moved out of the Oakland area, and were very happy with their service the whole time. They are courteous, always complete work quickly (most recently, they did our 75K-​mile tuneup with literally NO notice — we dropped the car off that morning and it was ready by the afternoon), and go out of their way to give customers a pleasant experience. More than once when we brought our car in for something minor (light lit up on the dash, for instance), they solved the problem and didn’t even charge us anything. And even simple procedures like oil changes always come with a free car wash. Rick and his staff are great, and we will miss them!

AVOID AT ALL COSTS. I’ve never had a worse experience with a mechanic. And that’s saying a lot. Even with a phone call follow-​up, they simply didn’t care or offer an apology. I was going to them because of thier rating on Unilocal which is not accurate today.

This place is actually a hidden gem — I’d been passing by Bay Auto for years and never thought to take my car there because it looked like a bit of a dump, and they were always doing body work there in a huge tent out front. Then eventually they moved the bodywork elsewhere and started just servicing cars. I finally got curious and checked them out on Unilocal only to be pleasantly surprised by the high ratings.
So I took my aging Honda in with good results — fast, honest work for reasonable prices. This continued for many visits — each time Rick the main mechanic would give me a thorough assessment of what work was being done and what my options were and often locating cheaper or used parts for me if I wanted to save money. It’s your option and no different from trying to source parts yourself. Or just go with the factory parts if you want to pay $$$!
Eventually I got so confident that I decided to take my ’93 Audi S4 to Rick. Even though he always seems to be working on Japanese imports he was more than willing to work on it. That too has now been serviced by Rick many times and several larger ticket things have been handled very well, including a replacement clutch that came in on budget even though several additional items showed up that needed to be looked at. When the clutch pedal broke during bleeding due to a fatigue fracture it got replaced at no extra charge no questions asked. If it had been their fault they could have just told us it was defective and charged us, or they could have not told us and fixed it without telling us, perhaps concealing some other problem. But no they were completely on the ball and let us know what was going on and took care of it completely.
So our experience has been nothing but good and I feel confident recommending Bay Auto and Rick to my friends, neighbors and Unilocalers at large. As they say, YMMV, but in this case I really feel like it is unlikely to vary much from very good.
PS. A year or so ago they cleaned up the facility and put on a fresh coat of paint — nothing too fancy, it’s not a fancy place, but it should look less scary to those of your used to fancy joints.

My car (which is only 5 years old with 73K miles) wouldn’t start a couple of days ago. It was not the battery. After trying repeatedly and letting it «rest» a while, we got it to start, but I took it straight to this shop, which is only a few blocks from my office and so very convenient. I had read good reviews on Unilocal so I decided to try them out, especially since I would be able to just walk back to pick up my car when it was ready instead of trying to get a ride.
They couldn’t find a problem with the car so gave me a list of recommendations. A couple (replace the spark plugs, clean the throttle body plate) could have been (and probably were) related to the car not starting. The other ones (change the engine air filter – had just been done a month ago; change the cabin air filter; oil change – needs to be done soon but not overdue yet) were not related and but were adding another $ 130 or so to the bill, so I scratched those items.
I am going with 4 stars but it probably should be more like 3.5 because I feel like it was a little pricey, especially for the parts. I expect labor to be high and I know the parts will cost more than if I go into an Autozone, but $ 18.95 per spark plug? When you can buy them at the store for less than $ 5 each? They could charge $ 10 each and still be making a 100% profit. The total cost including parts and labor for changing the 4 spark plugs and cleaning the throttle body was $ 200 even. I feel like that is a bit high, but then again I am not an expert on mechanics, unfortunately, and I am new to the area, so I’m not sure if this is the norm or not. I know that every time I have to take my car to the shop for anything more than an oil change it ends up costing over $ 100 so I wasn’t exactly astounded by the price.
Beyond complaining a little about the high price of parts, I can’t complain about anything else. They were very nice and accommodating; I brought my car in around 10:15 AM unannounced and they were able to work on it the same day. They called me by about 1:00 with the list of recommendations, we went through them, I OK’d the two and eliminated the others, and my car was ready at 4:00 PM at the exact price I was quoted over the phone. Most importantly, my car now literally roars to life and feels more powerful, so I think the spark plugs were most likely the problem, and I’m glad they were honest enough to go that route rather than recommending something super-​expensive like a new fuel pump or an engine overhaul or something. Obviously I would have gotten a second opinion on that but there are definitely shady mechanics out there who will try to convince you your car requires way more work than it really does.
So, voila… I am satisfied with the service, the location is perfect for me, the price is a bit high but I sort of expect that by now, so I will definitely go back next time I need service or maintenance work. I also look forward to trying out their body shop in East Oakland for a bit of minor damage to my bumper.

I brought my car in to have a tire valve fixed after I broke it off parking. Bay Auto staff was very nice and thorough in their evaluation, and called me few times during the day to tell me what they found. They ended up fixing the problem, and even threw in some work for free! I believe they even washed my car… I highly recommend them.

They took care of my cars for 15 years now, excellent service and quality work. Well done guys.

Thank you bay auto for all that you’ve done for my car! anytime I have ANY isses with my, bay auto is the first place I call. they are honest and very respectful people. There has been times where I swear my cars acting up, and the guy here will call me and tell me that there is nothing wrong with it. honest business, I bet any other mechanic would create a list of things that I need repaired, I know thats what honda does. so thank you for always fixing my car, and for helping me keep it in the best condition possible while running such a respectable business.

Finally found my mechanic for the Bay Area! My car was literally shutting down on I-​880 and I had to exit. Luckily I exited about 100 ft away from Bay Auto Center. By the time the car was pushed to the drive, the mechanics were already leaving for the day but compassionately agreed to help me. They correctly guessed that the alternator was broken. The diagnostics cost only 70 (I usually saw 90 in CO) and then I headed to the Bart a block away. The next day they called me with the estimate and work that needed to be done and it was ready for me after work. Best car breakdown ever. They also wash and vacuum your car!
My only complaint is that the part prices are a bit high compared to buying off the internet. I could’ve gotten the alternator for almost 200 less, but I guess that’s the price you pay for convenience.